“Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues” comes to theaters on Dec. 20, promising just as much, if not more, hilarity than the first film.
Fans have been begging for a sequel to 2004’s “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,” for years and the crew, including Will Ferrell as Ron Burgundy, Paul Rudd as Brian Fantana, David Koechner as Champ Kind and Steve Carell as Brick Tamland, are sporting their leisure suits again.
I had the pleasure of participating in a conference call with Carell and Rudd, and listening to them talk confirmed that they are just as funny in real life as they are in their movies.
The cast came back because they love working with one another, and have so much fun making the films.
Carell, who plays a weatherman, said they would have made it even without camera around.
He said, “I think we all felt exactly that same way — we all just wanted to do it for the sake of doing it, and I think we all would have done it in a vacuum.”
Rudd, who plays a field reporter, said that although “Anchorman” is a popular movie, they felt like the first one had the spirit of an independent move because it was less commercialized.
Rudd said, “That spirit still existed this time around, even though there were more eyes on us.”
Although Carell and Rudd remained tight-lipped about rumors that there would be star-studded cameos, they assured fans that they are in for a treat.
Carell said, “All those cameos that we had and the big fight scene in the first [film], people just wanted to be a part of the silliness, so I think the same holds true for this one.”
According to Carell, the script was already hilarious, and Ferrell and director Adam McKay continued to come up with new material on a daily basis.
Carell said, “There were scenes that were supposed to be about a minute and a half that ended up being 10-minute scenes.”
Both Carell and Rudd’s characters don’t have the best of luck with the ladies, but Rudd jokingly advised college guys to drop the cologne, and use their own “natural musk, which will bring the ladies in in busloads.”
Although Carell said he’s no smarter than he was 10 years ago, which helped him portray dimwitted Brick, he and Rudd have certainly evolved into superstardom, and we can’t wait to see our favorite news anchors back in action.
