Judd Apatow says that if it weren't for one iconic director, Anchorman probably wouldn't be what it is today.
The legendary comedian told how this happened on the channel November 2, episode of Sunday Sitdown. He said the first draft of “Anchorman,” written by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, told a completely different story.
He said the story follows a group of presenters who survive a plane crash on their way to an anchor convention.
“So they crash into a mountain and it's about them trying to survive and gradually they wonder if they need to eat each other,” he laughed. “And at some point they invited me and wrote a new script, which became “Leader”.”
According to Apatow, when they began pitching the new script, some people had doubts about Ferrell's ability to play the lead role.
It wasn't until Steven Spielberg stepped in that Ferrell was able to land the role of legendary host Ron Burgundy.
At the time, Ferrell received a lot of attention for his role as Frank in Old School. Apatow recalled the comedy film and called it “hysterical.”
“But DreamWorks just forced us to restructure, which means they can't do it,” he said of “Anchorman.”
“And then one day at a meeting Steven Spielberg said, ‘Old School’ is a big hit. What else do we have with Will Ferrell? We should do something else with it.” And they were like, “Well, we just tidied it up.” And he was like, 'Well, bring it back,'” Apatow said.
Thanks to this decision, “The Presenter” was put into production and released on screens in 2004.
“(Spielberg) was the reason Adam and Will were allowed to make Anchorman,” Apatow said.
Along with Ferrell, the film starred such then-increasingly popular comedians as Paul Rudd, David Koechner, Christina Applegate and Steve Carell.
Apatow said Carell always brought the crew to tears.
“If you were on the set of Anchorman and just watching the filming, there wouldn't be anyone who wouldn't say, 'Steve Carell is the funniest guy in the world,'” he said.
“So one day I asked, 'Do you have any ideas for yourself as a lead?' And then one day he told me about a sketch he once worked on about a guy who plays poker and they were all talking dirty about sex and it's clear he's lying and he hasn't had sex. And I thought, 'Unfortunately, I understand that,'” Apatow laughed. “I know how to develop it.”
This film evolved into Carell's breakthrough film, The 40 Year Old Virgin.
When asked what advice he would give to people trying to get into comedy, Apatow turns to his new book, Comedy Nerd: A Lifelong Obsession with Stories and Pictures.
“Part of the way I wrote the book was that I included all the failures. So, all the pilots who weren't picked up, everything that was a bomb. And I tell you how it happened. How did it all fall apart? What is it like when they work? How does it feel when they don't work? – he said.
“So you have to really be strong, find your voice and not give up,” he added. “I always say: if you give up, nothing will happen. So, the main thing is not to give up.”
