THE DAILY Goes One-on-One With Comedic Talent Will Ferrell

Ferrell Posing For Cameras At “Talladega Nights” Premiere

Steering stock cars in Talladega, Alabama, may be a bit of a stretch for WILL FERRELL, but the world of sports is hardly foreign turf. The comic actor and writer, best known for his hit films “Old School,” “Elf” and “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,” attended USC and graduated with a degree in sports information. He briefly worked as a sportscaster on a local cable channel before pursuing a career in acting and stand-up comedy. For Ferrell, 39, sports are never far away. Tomorrow, Sony Pictures releases his NASCAR comedy, “Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby,” a movie steeped in the sponsor- and speed-obsessed racing culture. In ‘05, Ferrell played a soccer dad in “Kicking and Screaming.”  And more sports-tinged comedies are on the way: Ferrell is shooting a figure-skating movie (“Blade of Glory”) due next year while also mulling a parody and homage to the ABA.  SportsBusiness Journal correspondent Erik Spanberg recently spoke with Ferrell to discuss the actor’s adventures in NASCAR and beyond.

Q: What do you drive?

Ferrell: Toyota Prius and Toyota RAV-4 EV.

Q: Where was your last vacation?

Ferrell: Spent a month in Sweden this summer and also traveled to Berlin for some of the World Cup matches.

Q: What is your favorite city?

Ferrell: Acapulco -- no, no, I’ve never been there. I would have to say N.Y.

Q: What is your favorite band?

Ferrell: One of my favorites right now is Coldplay.

Q: Words to live by?

Ferrell: Try to wake up before 10.

Q: What prompted you to do a NASCAR movie?

Ferrell: This was prompted by a combination of things. As we were getting “Anchorman” made, it was kind of a difficult process to get that made because that subject matter was not something studios easily wrapped their heads around. And as [I and collaborator ADAM MCKAY] thought about what we were going to do next we were thinking it would be fun to pick something that everyone knows something about. For instance, something like NASCAR. Everyone started laughing and then it was like, wait, that’s a really good idea. We kind of stumbled across it in a way. And then we realized that we hadn’t heard of anyone talking about a NASCAR comedy idea. And that’s how it happened. But we weren’t fans, we knew very little about the sport so it was all a complete indoctrination for us.

Q: So you had to do some research for this movie?

Ferrell: Yeah, we did. Once we got in partnership with NASCAR -- and the folks at Nextel helped us, too -- we started going to some of the races and talking to some of the drivers and we got more and more information and pulled all of that together.

Q: The movie really nailed the culture of NASCAR in many ways, from the relentless God-and-family tropes to the ceaseless sponsorship plugs and even with some of the trophy wives. Did you discern those things pretty quickly?

Ferrell: What was kind of fun to us was we had already started writing before we dove in, so some of that stuff we just guessed right. Like the family-prayer stuff and things like that. As we got deeper in, we were like, wow, corporate promotion is everything. Things like signing the baby on the head. You know, NASCAR provides such access to the drivers for the fans. These guys have to sign forever and get mobbed. A lot of those things just fed off each other.

Q: You have already been in a soccer movie last year, now “Talladega Nights” and I think you’re working on a figure-skating film. Are there any sports roles left for you to tackle onscreen?

Ferrell: Well, believe it or not, we’re in talks about doing a comedy about the ABA. So that could be next.

Q: You’re a USC graduate. Have you recovered from the Rose Bowl yet?

Ferrell: You know I actually recovered really quickly because that was such an amazing game to be at and such a tug-of-war and so draining. I was sitting next to a bunch of Texas fans and it was funny -- it was such a battle that at the end of it everyone just kind of shook hands and we both said “nice game” to each other and that was about it. I was aware that I had watched probably one of the greatest college football games of all time. So it really wasn’t too much to feel bad about.

Q: You mentioned that you worked with NASCAR on the movie. Did they wince much or try to tone things down when you injected your humor into your perception of the sport?

Ferrell Lauds NASCAR Execs Like Mike Helton (l) For Support Of Film

Ferrell: NASCAR was just amazing. We have to give them so much credit because they were in it with us from day one. We said, okay, we all just laid our cards on the table: “We don’t know if you’ve seen ‘Anchorman,’ but that’s kind of the tone of what we like to do. We like to get a little crazy and we hope you’re okay with that.” And at the same time, [we said], “This isn’t a movie about making fun of the fans. We want to treat the sport with respect and we truly are impressed with the racing and what we’ve seen and so we want to shoot that as realistic as possible. And so how do you feel about that?” And they said, “That’s a combination we can live with.” They had a few notes, like, hey, this joke wouldn’t work because that would never happen in a race and things like that. We made adjustments that we felt comfortable with and so did they.

Q: Along those lines, do you think drivers and fans will take this in the right spirit?

Ferrell: It’s funny, that’s the big question. When you think about sports comedies, did “The Waterboy” necessarily make fun of football? It does and it doesn’t. This sports comedy, obviously we’re having some fun, but I think everyone I’ve come across is just excited that we’re in their world and just talking about it. I think the fact that we are is a sign of respect. And also it shows their footing in the sports world. Any organization or individual that allows itself to get poked fun at a little bit just comes out better in the end.

Q: You filmed much of this movie in Charlotte and Talladega. Did that give you a sense of how popular NASCAR is in the Southeast, where it was popular long before it became a mainstream success?

Ferrell: Absolutely. North Carolina is the heart of racing. I knew a little of it because all my family is from North Carolina. My mom and dad grew up in Roanoke Rapids, I’ve got an aunt in Raleigh, an uncle in Wilmington, so I’ve grown up visiting the state all my life. But even more so getting to go to a place like Talladega, which is literally in the middle of nowhere and fills up to [hundred of thousands of people in the grandstands]. That’s where you really get a feel for what the sport is about.

Q: What surprised you most about getting into this world?

Ferrell: Just the kind of epic nature of a race. I think that’s why the fans love it because each Sunday a new story is going to be told. Something is going to happen to make that day different from the previous Sunday. And there is the grand scale of everything. You show up at these tracks and it’s like a mini-Super Bowl in terms of the media coverage, the merchandising, the tailgate element, the amount of fans. That’s what hit hard.

Q: Are you a big sports fan in general and, if so, what teams do you follow?

Ferrell: Yeah. I grew up in Southern California so I’m a big Angels and Dodgers, Lakers and Kings fan. Of course, my heart was broken when the Rams left. And USC, of course.

Q: How much interest was there from companies to be included, from your primary sponsorship with Wonder Bread and so on?

Ferrell (l) Says “Talladega Nights” Had Multiple Product Placement Options

Ferrell: Yeah, we were really fortunate. We had a wide selection of companies that were willing to allow us to put them in the movie. We had our pick of the litter, which was great.

Q: Did you get to know any of the drivers?

Ferrell: We got to spend a little bit of time with DALE JR., and Adam and I talked on the phone with JIMMIE JOHNSON a few times. We had a couple of invites to go hang out off the track but we were so busy during filming that it never materialized. And then of course the day we filmed with JAMIE MCMURRAY, such a nice guy. All these guys we talked to -- CASEY MEARS and GREG BIFFLE and guys like that -- were super nice guys.

Q: Do you think the Academy was thinking “Talladega Nights” when it voted “Crash” best picture?

Ferrell: Well, I think that’s a good sign for us. That one involved cars and this one involved cars. And then, of course, there is “Cars,” but that one is animated. So I think we’re safe.

Q: Is there any line from your movies that you dread hearing on the street day after day?

Ferrell: Let’s see. Well, I don’t know if I dread it, but you know it’s crazy when you’re in Berlin and someone yells, “It’s Frank the Tank” or, “You’re my boy, blue,” and you’re just trying to buy a soccer jersey and go under the radar.

Q: What was it like to go to the World Cup?

Ferrell: It was amazing. That was actually the second World Cup I’ve gotten to go to because I actually went to one of the games when it was in the states. I went to one of the games at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. But to see it in Europe [was different]. One game I saw was Sweden and Paraguay and it was in the old Olympic Stadium in Berlin where JESSE OWENS ran. I think it holds 72,000 and they estimated that 60,000 of the fans were for the Swedes. This sea of blue and gold and this small little pocket of Paraguayan fans, who I felt bad for. But people just cheering nonstop and then we saw the U.S. play Italy in another stadium and that was really fun. Actually, it felt like it was 50-50 [between fans] and it was a great match. Just to see something like that overseas makes it that much more special.

Q: Obviously, you have the means and access to a lot of events and places. Is there any sporting event you really would like to see in person that you haven’t gotten to yet?

Ferrell: I would love to go to a Winter Olympics. I went to the [Summer] Olympics when I was in high school in Los Angeles. And I’ve never been to a Final Four. I would love to go do that.

Q: You’ve made some appearances at race tracks lately. How do NASCAR fans treat you?

Ferrell Interacts With Fans At Talladega Superspeedway

Ferrell: The fact that there’s a Ricky Bobby hauler that goes to all the races now, that’s what is crazy. The movie’s not even out and I’ve got people yelling at me, “It’s Ricky Bobby!” So far, so good. They’re not throwing things at me.

Q: Do you think we’ll ever see Ron Burgundy interviewing Ricky Bobby?

Ferrell: I don’t know. I would love to see that interview, though. That’s a good idea.

Q: “Talladega Nights” has a storyline that pits your character against a disliked newcomer from Formula 1 who invades NASCAR. And now JUAN PABLO MONTOYA is leaving Formula 1 for NASCAR. Did you know something the rest of us didn’t?

Ferrell: That was announced the day we were at Chicago and the NASCAR people were so excited. They were like, “Talk about that.” We knew it was going to happen, you know? [laughs]