Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
They bring you the news so you don't have to get it yourself.
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
Production
Budget
$26 000 000
Revenue
$90 574 188
Director
Scenario
Composer
Alex Wurman
Producer
Actors
Will Ferrell
Ron Burgundy
Christina Applegate
Veronica Corningstone
Paul Rudd
Brian Fantana
Steve Carell
Brick Tamland
David Koechner
Champ Kind
Fred Willard
Ed Harken
Chris Parnell
Garth Holliday
Kathryn Hahn
Helen
Short description
Set in 1970s San Diego, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy centres on a local television news anchor who enjoys celebrity status and an easy working life. His position is unsettled when the station hires Veronica Corningstone, an ambitious reporter who has no intention of covering only light "women's" items. Ron initially tolerates her arrival, assuming she will stay in a subordinate role, but Veronica wants the anchor desk itself, and the professional rivalry between the two turns into open warfare.
The film was directed by Adam McKay, who wrote the screenplay with Will Ferrell. It was the first feature McKay directed, followed by Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie the same year and later titles including Talladega Nights, Step Brothers and The Big Short. Ferrell leads the cast as Ron, with Christina Applegate as Veronica. Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, David Koechner and Fred Willard play supporting roles, and Judd Apatow produced.
Made for 26 million dollars, it took about 91 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds 7.1/10 from roughly 399,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6.7/10 from 4,759 votes. A critics' rating of 6.3/10 from 202 reviews places it below the IMDb audience figure. A sequel, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, followed in 2013.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film was made in the style of an autobiographical show that Will Ferrell watched about Jessica Savitch, where one of her male colleagues confessed that he had previously been an absolute chauvinist.
- The first draft of the script featured the following list of potential actors: Champ Kind: John C. Reilly, Brick Tamland: Ben Stiller, Ed Harkin: Ed Harris, Garth Holliday: Dan Aykroyd, Frank Vitchard: Alec Baldwin. The script also listed other members of the potential news team – Marshall Connors and William H. Macy.
- A significant portion of the scenes from the trailers were completely cut from the final version of the film. These included scenes where Burgundy takes a bullet meant for Veronica, and then footage of them exiting the television van to a cheering crowd, with Burgundy’s wound bandaged. Ron’s line asking Garth about his divorce at a party was also removed. There were also cuts of Ron bumping into an open filing cabinet drawer and falling; alternative dialogue where Ron asks Veronica what she dreams about; a scene of Veronica and Ron passionately embracing on a conference table, which then breaks; a scene where Ron admires his billboard; and a scene where he stands on the side of the road with a long beard and a guitar on his back, trying to hitchhike, among others.
- Many of the actors, like Will Ferrell, are skilled in the art of improvisation and sometimes they would come up with 20 different variations of responses, trying whatever came to mind first.
- The car that Ron borrowed is a 1970 Pontiac, likely a Catalina model (two-door, hardtop).
- All scenes with Amy Poehler were removed from the film.
- 23 people participated in the street fight scene.
- Maggie Gyllenhaal auditioned for the role of Veronica.
- The zoo scene takes place in the old Los Angeles Zoo, which closed in 1965. The surviving buildings are landmarks in Griffith Park.
- Chemp's line, "I'll take your mother, Dorothy Mantus, to a nice seafood dinner and never call her again," is a reference to the comic book series "Daring Dan: Pilot from the Future," where the main villain Mecon threatened Dan's mother, Dorothy, in a similar way.
- Paul Thomas Anderson was initially the producer of the project.
- When the credits roll on the monitor in the studio, and Ron and Veronica tease each other, two of the writers listed in those credits – John Hamm and Adam Scott – are close friends of Paul Rudd.
- Since the film's release, rumors of a sequel have circulated. Presentations were made to Paramount Studios, but to no avail. Will Ferrell later stated that work on the sequel would begin in 2012.
- According to Mr. Burgundy, Ron's full name is Ronald Joseph Aaron Burgundy.
- The NBC building is located close to downtown San Diego, and Horton Plaza can be seen in the same shot. NBC did not occupy this building until December 2001.
- The boat being towed by a squirrel in one of the early news broadcasts is a 1990s Ski Nautique by Correct Craft.
- Although the film is set in the 1970s, a 1997-2002 Ford Econoline drives by in the background during Ron Burgundy's encounter with the motorcyclist.
- During the fight between the news anchors, Champ throws a man into the windshield of a car. It's a 1982-1987 Chevrolet El Camino, identifiable by its four rectangular headlights. And yet, the film is set in the 1970s.
- The Dodge news van model shown in the zoo scene was first produced in 1979, which is too late for the mid-1970s setting of the film.
- Although the film takes place in the 70s, modern buildings such as the Hyatt towers and the new Petco Stadium can be seen in many panoramic shots of San Diego.
- The film takes place in the 70s, but when Ron Burgundy cries over his dog, Brian has a Rubik's Cube (2x2) on his desk. These cubes did not become widely available in the US until after 1979.
- A bottle of Malibu rum can be seen in the bar. This product only appeared after 1980.
- Pandas appeared at the San Diego Zoo only after 1987, and their cubs after 1999.
- Some shots show Petco Park stadium in San Diego, the home stadium of the San Diego Padres, which opened in April 2004. In the 70s, the Padres shared a stadium called San Diego Stadium with the San Diego Chargers.
- In the first scene with Brick, the man behind him is drinking from an aluminum can with a dent in the upper edge. Cans of this type only appeared in the 1980s.
- Several of the fonts used in the film had not yet been developed in the 70s, such as Geneva and Chicago.
- During the opening credits, Ron's blazer is cleaned with a lint roller. The earliest patent for such a roller was made in August 1983.
- During the opening scene, an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer can be seen in the helicopter footage. The first of these ships was commissioned only in 1991.
- During the fight between Ron and Veronica in the office, Ron sprays himself with pepper spray. Such sprays only appeared in the 1980s.
- The slot machine in the news commentators' office is a Double Diamond made by IGT; this machine only appeared in 1989.
- After the scene where Brian and Ron talk about Baxter, Ron is shown running down the street to get back to the news station. When he bumps into a man, you can hear him say a line, but his lips aren't moving at that moment.
- In the scene where Veronica Corningstone is chosen as the new co-anchor, her name is misspelled in the very first newspaper as Cornerstone (instead of Corningstone).
- At the end of the scene where Brick invites Veronica to a party at his pants, the assistant director is called by his real name – Yan. This character is unnamed in the film.
- When Ron first speaks to his dog Baxter, the dog's front paws abruptly change position between shots.
- Ron's coat changes position on the chair while he is talking to Baxter.
- When Veronica's hands are shown correcting Ron's final line, the paragraph above that line looks completely different from what they say in the next scene.
- The crowd's position constantly changes during the fight scene between Veronica and Ron.
- During the party where Ron meets Veronica Corningstone, his glass is almost empty in one shot, and then immediately full with an umbrella and fruit in the next.
- During the news anchor fight scene, at the very beginning of the fight, Brian trips and falls, but immediately finds himself in the thick of it.
- After the news anchor fight scene, Ron and his team are sitting and drinking beer in the office. During this scene, the amount of beer in the bottles constantly changes.
- When Ron picks up Veronica for their first date, and Veronica is waiting for him in the television channel lobby, she zips up her jacket. In the next shot, her jacket is unzipped again.
- When Ed talks about adding variety to the channel, the position of the pencils in the background changes after a cut.
- Brian is about to hit Ed’s table with his right fist, but after a cut, it shows him hitting it with his left hand.
- When Ron is talking to his dog and eating a burrito in the car, other cars can be seen. But in the next panoramic shot, they are gone.
- In the scene on the bridge, when Ron throws the burrito out the window, the sky is perfectly clear. But when the motorcyclist falls, the sky is overcast.
- During the scene before the talk show hosts’ fight, the second team of hosts rides up on bicycles. When they talk to Ron and his team, they push the bicycles over and they fall to the ground. In the next shot, the bicycles are no longer there.
- In the scene on the bridge, the motorcyclist falls behind Ron's car. However, when they speak, the motorcycle is lying on the road in front of the car.
- When Ron blows fire with the end of his flute, the flamethrower attachment is clearly visible.
- From the view of the bridge, where Ron knocks down the motorcyclist, it can be understood that this is not actually San Diego, but Long Beach, California.
- When Ron reads a line with a question mark from a teleprompter, it is noticeable that the words on the prompter do not match what Ron said. However, it was previously mentioned that Ron would read everything shown on the teleprompter. The same thing happens immediately after the report with the inscription «Panda Watch day #5».
- During the fight scene between Ron and Veronica, Veronica breaks off a television antenna and beats Ron with it. Before she picks it up, the antenna shifts to the side and it becomes clear that it was already broken.
- In the scene where Ron throws a burrito out of the car window, it's visible that the burrito hits a motorcyclist who then slides along the asphalt before stopping. In the next shot, the burrito lies far behind where the motorcyclist stopped, as if it didn't hit him but was placed there before the scene.
- In the scene after Veronica replaces Ron, Garth lights a cigar for Ed, but it's clearly visible that it hasn't been cut and is impossible to smoke.
- In the scene in the Jazz club, when Ron walks towards the stage, some of the extras are clapping, but their palms aren't touching.
- After Ron is fired, he walks down the street and encounters several people. A little girl scolds him, then continues walking with her mother. But after walking about 20 meters, she stops and starts running back towards Ron.
- In the subtitles during the conversation between the dog Baxter and the bear named Kodiak, the bear's name is spelled differently in various shots.
- At the end of the film, the journalist loses both hands near the bear pit, and it can be noticed that his real hands are folded on his chest under a fastened jacket.
- When Frank Witchell reports on the birth of a panda at the end of the film, the microphone displays the symbolism of Channel 9, not Channel 2. Although he mentioned being from Channel 2 during the fight scene.
- Adam McKay said that the first draft of the script featured a plane full of TV presenters that crashed in the mountains, after which it turned out that the plane was carrying monkeys and martial arts equipment. This was followed by a battle between cannibalistic journalists and monkeys.
- The Mexican restaurant that Veronica visits with the girls from the station is called “Escupimos en su Alimento.” In Spanish, this means “we spat in your food”.
- Ron Burgundy's license plate reads "IM #1".
- In the nightclub, Ron plays jazz on the flute in the style of Ian Anderson, the lead vocalist and flautist of Jethro Tull. At the end of the song, Ron shouts "Hey, aqualung!", a quote from Jethro Tull's song "Aqualung", the title track of their 1971 album. He also plays the same riff as in that song, and the scene is generally full of references to Jethro Tull.
- Director Adam McKay was supposed to play a cameo role as a national television network producer named Aaron Zimmerman, who would look very similar to Robert Evans, but this idea was abandoned. It was realized in the introduction to the film "Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie" (2004).
- The film was pitched to DreamWorks Studios around 20 times before it achieved the same success as "Old School" (2003) and "Elf" (2003). The studio had little faith in the film, doubting that Adam McKay and Will Ferrell were capable of making an entire film based on television anchors. Despite all the doubts, the film was successful, grossing $84 million, and the director had so much unused footage that it would have allowed for a second film to be made.
- Before the fight scene between the news anchors, graffiti can be seen on the wall (when Wes Mantooth's team rides bicycles into the alley) – "Channel 9" – this is the name of Mantooth's news team.
- One of Brian Fontana's colognes is called "Lime Prop".
- The film "Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie" (2004) was compiled from unused footage shot during the filming of "Anchorman" (2004). Cut storylines and edited alternate takes of scenes were used. A new voiceover created a completely different plot. The film was released directly to DVD on December 28, 2004, offered as a bonus with some editions of "Anchorman" (2004).
- A "Wilhelm scream" can be heard during the fight scene when Champ throws a man very far, through a car window.
- When Ron summons his team to him using a giant seashell, a modern NBC logo ("the peacock") can be seen on one of the buildings during a panoramic shot from the side. In the late 1970s, NBC used a stylized letter "N" as its logo.
- In the scene with the "Sex Panther" cologne, many of the colognes and aftershaves are from the 2000s, not the 1970s.
- In the scene with the “jazz flute,” the bassist’s left-hand position and movements do not correspond to the music he is ostensibly playing.
- When the “Spanish news” team descends the stairs to join the fight, it is clearly visible that there are seven of them, but in the subsequent fight scene, there are only six.
- When Ron tries to “drown his sorrows,” in one shot a man enters the bar and the sound of the door opening is heard. In the next shot, this is repeated.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
