All language subtitles for Episode 08 Elf
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1
00:00:11,635 --> 00:00:12,715
Buffer!
2
00:00:16,807 --> 00:00:19,978
In 2003,
a large, relatively unknown man
3
00:00:20,060 --> 00:00:21,861
danced joyously on a table in…
4
00:00:22,521 --> 00:00:24,481
an abandoned mental institution.
5
00:00:24,565 --> 00:00:27,896
It is one of the creepiest places
I've ever been in my life.
6
00:00:27,986 --> 00:00:29,146
Certifiably insane.
7
00:00:30,446 --> 00:00:32,317
Well, crazy or not…
Insane!
8
00:00:32,406 --> 00:00:34,027
…for nearly 20 years,
9
00:00:34,116 --> 00:00:36,237
this timeless, beloved movie
10
00:00:36,326 --> 00:00:38,326
has filled the world
with Christmas cheer by…
11
00:00:38,412 --> 00:00:39,872
Singing loud for all to hear.
12
00:00:39,956 --> 00:00:42,165
…with a cast and crew of…
Complete nobodies.
13
00:00:42,250 --> 00:00:43,460
And some somebodies.
14
00:00:43,542 --> 00:00:44,883
Jimmy the Dream.
15
00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:47,299
He was dreamy to me, yeah.
16
00:00:47,380 --> 00:00:51,340
But this inspiring Christmas
romp didn't just emerge out of nowhere.
17
00:00:51,426 --> 00:00:54,545
"I wanna do stop-motion animation."
It had its own inspiration.
18
00:00:54,637 --> 00:00:56,137
Exactly like Rankin/Bass.
19
00:00:56,222 --> 00:00:57,392
Ready, Santa?
20
00:00:57,473 --> 00:01:00,103
Followed quickly
by its own legal troubles.
21
00:01:00,185 --> 00:01:01,094
What?
What?
22
00:01:01,185 --> 00:01:03,856
Is it Movies That Made Us
or Movies That Made Us Get Sued?
23
00:01:04,438 --> 00:01:06,358
This unquestionably, hilarious…
24
00:01:06,441 --> 00:01:07,941
You stink.
25
00:01:08,025 --> 00:01:10,566
…Christmas comedy…
The studio didn't like it.
26
00:01:10,653 --> 00:01:12,162
…was constantly questioned.
27
00:01:12,237 --> 00:01:14,617
"You are completely insane
28
00:01:14,698 --> 00:01:18,039
to think that Will Ferrell
should be the lead…
29
00:01:18,118 --> 00:01:19,039
No!
30
00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:20,579
…of anything."
31
00:01:20,996 --> 00:01:23,117
And like Buddy himself…
32
00:01:23,207 --> 00:01:24,998
…the making of this Christmas classic
33
00:01:25,085 --> 00:01:27,954
is a tale of humble, innocent beginnings…
34
00:01:28,045 --> 00:01:29,256
Okay. Now what do I do?
35
00:01:29,338 --> 00:01:31,009
…that, through perseverance,
36
00:01:31,091 --> 00:01:32,430
grew up…
37
00:01:32,509 --> 00:01:36,299
…into one of the most
surprising Christmas classics of all time.
38
00:01:39,432 --> 00:01:41,891
Stick around.
He's gonna take his pants down.
39
00:01:41,975 --> 00:01:43,596
Why would it be any other way?
40
00:02:07,043 --> 00:02:10,962
These are The Holiday Movies That Made Us.
41
00:02:12,173 --> 00:02:15,763
Time to start
preparations for next Christmas.
42
00:02:15,843 --> 00:02:17,853
Elf, the larger-than-life story
43
00:02:17,929 --> 00:02:21,558
about a tall, awkward man
who thinks he's an elf.
44
00:02:21,640 --> 00:02:23,771
That's ridiculous!
Quite ridiculous.
45
00:02:23,852 --> 00:02:25,312
He's on a journey to find his…
46
00:02:25,395 --> 00:02:26,805
Dad!
Who has anger issues.
47
00:02:26,896 --> 00:02:29,066
You want money?
He pushes everyone's buttons…
48
00:02:29,149 --> 00:02:30,438
Hey!
Get out!
49
00:02:30,525 --> 00:02:31,935
Call me "elf" one more time!
50
00:02:32,026 --> 00:02:33,735
…and pulls one person's beard.
51
00:02:35,737 --> 00:02:38,067
All whilst falling in love…
52
00:02:38,158 --> 00:02:40,948
I'm in love, and I don't care who knows!
53
00:02:41,034 --> 00:02:44,615
…and warming the cockles
of his father's angry, cold heart.
54
00:02:44,706 --> 00:02:46,615
And, in the end, saves Christmas.
55
00:02:46,707 --> 00:02:49,707
But as for the start of this story, well…
56
00:02:50,752 --> 00:02:52,923
it begins a long way from the North Pole.
57
00:02:53,006 --> 00:02:57,385
In fact,
it begins here in 1970s Philadelphia,
58
00:02:57,468 --> 00:02:59,348
specifically, with a young Jewish kid
59
00:02:59,429 --> 00:03:02,139
who had a somewhat
unorthodox view of Christmas.
60
00:03:02,223 --> 00:03:03,393
Hanukkah was fantastic,
61
00:03:03,473 --> 00:03:05,604
but there's something
62
00:03:05,685 --> 00:03:07,514
special about Christmas.
63
00:03:07,604 --> 00:03:09,653
There's plenty special about Christmas.
64
00:03:09,730 --> 00:03:11,860
You're running downstairs.
Presents are there.
65
00:03:11,941 --> 00:03:15,401
Don't forget that it's…
Cold outside. It's warm inside.
66
00:03:15,485 --> 00:03:17,526
But what David loved more than anything…
67
00:03:17,614 --> 00:03:18,824
I really,
68
00:03:18,907 --> 00:03:21,697
really, really love Christmas movies.
69
00:03:21,783 --> 00:03:23,493
David watched Christmas movies…
70
00:03:23,578 --> 00:03:24,578
Around the clock.
71
00:03:24,621 --> 00:03:29,290
Until the clock struck 1993,
when he left Philadelphia and traveled…
72
00:03:29,375 --> 00:03:32,835
Past the sea of swirly-twirly gumdrops.
73
00:03:32,920 --> 00:03:34,881
…on his way to Hollywood
74
00:03:34,963 --> 00:03:37,634
in pursuit of a Christmas-movie
scriptwriting career.
75
00:03:37,716 --> 00:03:41,597
But instead he worked at a…
A lingerie factory. Yeah.
76
00:03:41,679 --> 00:03:43,468
It's a wonderful life indeed.
77
00:03:43,555 --> 00:03:46,475
If you want to know
about spaghetti straps, I'm your guy.
78
00:03:46,558 --> 00:03:50,399
But living the ultimate life
of a young man wasn't enough for David.
79
00:03:50,479 --> 00:03:51,860
LA threw me for a loop.
80
00:03:51,939 --> 00:03:55,069
During Christmastime,
it was just hot and weird,
81
00:03:55,151 --> 00:03:57,700
so to make myself
feel more like I was at home,
82
00:03:57,778 --> 00:04:00,068
I would rent
all these Christmas movies.
83
00:04:00,156 --> 00:04:04,786
But when he reconnected with one
particular favorite from his childhood,
84
00:04:04,868 --> 00:04:06,579
an idea sparked for David,
85
00:04:06,663 --> 00:04:08,252
like a light bulb.
86
00:04:08,330 --> 00:04:09,961
We'll call him…
87
00:04:10,040 --> 00:04:10,961
Rudolph.
88
00:04:11,042 --> 00:04:14,551
Who, just like David in LA…
Rudolph is a misfit.
89
00:04:14,628 --> 00:04:16,129
He doesn't fit in.
90
00:04:16,213 --> 00:04:18,684
He goes out to find out where he belongs.
91
00:04:18,757 --> 00:04:19,588
Ready, Santa.
92
00:04:19,675 --> 00:04:22,925
By relating to the plight
of this poor, deformed reindeer,
93
00:04:23,012 --> 00:04:25,771
David Berenbaum had an idea…
I got an idea.
94
00:04:25,848 --> 00:04:28,228
…that would change Christmas forever.
95
00:04:28,309 --> 00:04:31,809
I'd simply turn Rudolph into a giant elf.
96
00:04:31,896 --> 00:04:33,185
And that idea was called…
97
00:04:33,773 --> 00:04:34,653
Elf.
98
00:04:34,731 --> 00:04:36,192
Right.
99
00:04:36,276 --> 00:04:39,526
So, with a heart bursting
with the Christmassy innocence
100
00:04:39,612 --> 00:04:41,112
of Rankin and Bass,
101
00:04:41,197 --> 00:04:43,737
David began hammering out
a Christmas story
102
00:04:43,824 --> 00:04:46,365
about an elf named Buddy
in New York City.
103
00:04:46,451 --> 00:04:48,292
I don't belong anywhere.
104
00:04:48,370 --> 00:04:49,290
Elf is funny.
105
00:04:49,372 --> 00:04:52,172
That's a good start.
It was silly, absurd.
106
00:04:52,250 --> 00:04:53,670
But then again…
107
00:04:53,750 --> 00:04:58,800
One of the hallmarks of a Christmas movie
is that it has to have a big, big heart.
108
00:04:58,880 --> 00:05:01,630
So, for Elf…
The emotional journey of Elf
109
00:05:01,718 --> 00:05:04,677
was always a father-and-son story…
110
00:05:04,762 --> 00:05:08,562
Which, to David, was,
well, very close to heart.
111
00:05:08,641 --> 00:05:11,271
My father passed away when I was younger,
112
00:05:11,351 --> 00:05:16,072
so the emotional drive of the film
is searching for the father.
113
00:05:16,149 --> 00:05:17,939
And I knew telling the story…
114
00:05:18,026 --> 00:05:20,146
Dad, I love you.
115
00:05:20,235 --> 00:05:23,065
…that I could connect to it
on that level.
116
00:05:23,156 --> 00:05:26,735
And I knew that's the journey
that I wanted Buddy to go on.
117
00:05:26,826 --> 00:05:28,696
Well, now with a fully formed script,
118
00:05:28,786 --> 00:05:30,956
it was time to go Christmas shopping.
119
00:05:31,038 --> 00:05:33,749
I showed the script to my agent.
She said it was great.
120
00:05:33,832 --> 00:05:36,002
And next thing he knew, he had a studio.
121
00:05:36,084 --> 00:05:37,995
MPCA optioned it for a year.
122
00:05:38,086 --> 00:05:39,667
And just like that,
123
00:05:39,755 --> 00:05:41,415
Elf had… legs.
124
00:05:41,507 --> 00:05:44,216
So, they got straight down
to the business of casting,
125
00:05:44,302 --> 00:05:46,971
and no surprise,
they obviously wanted to go
126
00:05:47,055 --> 00:05:49,555
with a powerhouse
Saturday Night Live comic legend,
127
00:05:49,639 --> 00:05:51,560
but not the one you're thinking.
128
00:05:51,641 --> 00:05:54,312
They wanted
to make this a Chris Farley movie.
129
00:05:54,394 --> 00:05:58,185
Hey, look at me, I'm covered in elf dust!
130
00:05:58,274 --> 00:06:01,494
Which would have been a different movie.
A movie that David…
131
00:06:01,569 --> 00:06:03,778
Very different movie.
…didn't wanna make.
132
00:06:03,862 --> 00:06:04,702
Yee-hoo!
133
00:06:04,781 --> 00:06:06,120
And so, because he cared
134
00:06:06,199 --> 00:06:07,778
so much about his script,
135
00:06:07,867 --> 00:06:11,367
David decided to run the clock out
on the one-year option…
136
00:06:13,163 --> 00:06:15,004
…so he could opt out of the contract
137
00:06:15,083 --> 00:06:16,213
and meet someone at…
138
00:06:16,292 --> 00:06:19,711
this cafe.
Someone who truly understood him.
139
00:06:19,795 --> 00:06:22,255
Someone like producer Jon Berg.
140
00:06:22,339 --> 00:06:25,889
First thing as I sit down with a writer
I've never met after reading a script.
141
00:06:25,968 --> 00:06:27,848
He is a complete nobody…
142
00:06:27,928 --> 00:06:29,309
I was a total nobody.
143
00:06:29,389 --> 00:06:31,678
…who has no track record,
but he's talented.
144
00:06:31,766 --> 00:06:32,766
That's one word.
145
00:06:32,850 --> 00:06:36,899
And he wants a manager, and I say to him,
"I'll be your manager."
146
00:06:36,978 --> 00:06:39,858
Just what he needed,
someone with a track record.
147
00:06:39,941 --> 00:06:43,860
I'm a complete nobody
who has pretty much no track record.
148
00:06:43,944 --> 00:06:46,735
But he did have a partner,
Todd Komarnicki.
149
00:06:46,822 --> 00:06:48,572
When Jon and David met for coffee…
150
00:06:48,658 --> 00:06:52,077
We could only afford a coffee.
…Jon gave something to chew on.
151
00:06:52,161 --> 00:06:54,581
I can't pay for this guy's,
you know, lunch.
152
00:06:54,663 --> 00:06:57,584
Then what on earth
could Jon bring to the table?
153
00:06:57,667 --> 00:06:59,167
Will Ferrell as Buddy.
154
00:06:59,252 --> 00:07:01,052
Sorry I'm late, gang…
155
00:07:01,129 --> 00:07:04,879
Jon and I knew that this script
was custom made for him.
156
00:07:04,966 --> 00:07:06,716
What's your favorite planet?
157
00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:09,471
There was something Will nailed
on Saturday Night Live.
158
00:07:09,553 --> 00:07:12,934
What?
A perpetual innocence.
159
00:07:13,014 --> 00:07:15,634
Role up a fatty
full of fellowship and funk.
160
00:07:15,725 --> 00:07:17,975
Something bright
shone out of that person.
161
00:07:18,062 --> 00:07:19,062
So check me out!
162
00:07:19,105 --> 00:07:21,064
The way Jon and Todd saw it…
163
00:07:21,149 --> 00:07:24,319
That's central to Buddy the Elf.
I like to smile. My favorite.
164
00:07:24,401 --> 00:07:27,362
That's why Will felt perfect.
This is gonna be cool.
165
00:07:28,781 --> 00:07:31,370
But given David's high standards,
166
00:07:31,451 --> 00:07:33,161
would they be able to convince him...
167
00:07:33,244 --> 00:07:35,293
Great! Fantastic! Let's go for it.
168
00:07:35,370 --> 00:07:37,500
Despite your effort,
you answered correctly.
169
00:07:37,581 --> 00:07:39,211
So, the question was,
170
00:07:39,292 --> 00:07:41,382
can Jon Berg deliver Will Ferrell?
171
00:07:41,461 --> 00:07:42,591
Of course I can.
172
00:07:43,920 --> 00:07:47,430
As nervous laughter
emanated from this rookie producer…
173
00:07:47,507 --> 00:07:49,887
Funny enough,
sometimes being a good producer
174
00:07:49,968 --> 00:07:54,558
is playing basketball on Saturday morning
at an agent's house on his tennis court.
175
00:07:54,639 --> 00:07:57,100
Jon laced up his shoes
and got ready to shoot hoops.
176
00:07:57,185 --> 00:07:58,845
Or jump through them.
177
00:07:58,935 --> 00:08:02,016
I played with Jason Heyman,
represented Will Ferrell.
178
00:08:02,105 --> 00:08:04,146
Pitch him the movie.
He reads it, likes it.
179
00:08:04,233 --> 00:08:08,452
He sends it on to Julie Darmody,
Will's junior manager at the time.
180
00:08:08,528 --> 00:08:11,199
She likes it. She kicks it up the ladder
181
00:08:11,281 --> 00:08:14,161
to the big kahuna in Will's life,
Jimmy Miller.
182
00:08:14,242 --> 00:08:16,832
He reads the script, likes it,
and sends it to Will.
183
00:08:17,413 --> 00:08:21,382
And Will finally read it,
and his people said, "He's attached",
184
00:08:21,459 --> 00:08:22,959
and that begins the journey.
185
00:08:23,043 --> 00:08:24,754
So, our three nobodies…
186
00:08:24,836 --> 00:08:26,877
Yeah.
…had this somebody say…
187
00:08:26,963 --> 00:08:27,803
Yeah.
188
00:08:27,882 --> 00:08:30,971
Now, their biggest challenge
would be getting a studio to say…
189
00:08:31,052 --> 00:08:33,642
Yes.
I'm calling people at the studios.
190
00:08:33,721 --> 00:08:35,260
I had a good elevator pitch.
191
00:08:35,347 --> 00:08:37,268
I tell them I have
this amazing script…
192
00:08:37,350 --> 00:08:39,440
Yes?
…and Will Ferrell's attached.
193
00:08:39,519 --> 00:08:40,688
Yes!
194
00:08:40,769 --> 00:08:42,980
I'm trying to get them gassed up.
Yes!
195
00:08:44,273 --> 00:08:47,692
However…
Everyone passed. Everyone passed.
196
00:08:47,777 --> 00:08:49,777
I can't do anything right.
197
00:08:49,861 --> 00:08:53,451
One of the easiest things to do
in Hollywood, for anybody, is to say…
198
00:08:53,533 --> 00:08:55,332
No.
Mostly, what you hear is…
199
00:08:55,408 --> 00:08:56,788
No.
No?
200
00:08:56,869 --> 00:08:57,788
No.
201
00:08:57,870 --> 00:09:01,080
But there was something else
they heard that was truly shocking.
202
00:09:01,164 --> 00:09:03,664
They said,
"You are completely insane
203
00:09:03,750 --> 00:09:06,921
to think that Will Ferrell
should be the lead…
204
00:09:07,004 --> 00:09:09,094
No!
205
00:09:09,173 --> 00:09:10,222
…of anything."
206
00:09:10,298 --> 00:09:13,089
Well, he wasn't quite…
A complete nobody.
207
00:09:13,177 --> 00:09:15,716
It was true Will had…
Pretty much no track record.
208
00:09:15,804 --> 00:09:17,845
…when it came to movies.
That's right.
209
00:09:17,932 --> 00:09:19,022
Shut up.
210
00:09:19,100 --> 00:09:20,600
Difficult to think,
211
00:09:20,684 --> 00:09:24,554
"There was a moment
before Will Ferrell was a huge star."
212
00:09:24,647 --> 00:09:26,856
I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!
213
00:09:26,941 --> 00:09:29,610
At the time, Will really only had,
in the marketplace,
214
00:09:29,693 --> 00:09:31,114
A Night at the Roxbury.
215
00:09:31,195 --> 00:09:34,524
Which wasn't exactly a box office… smash.
216
00:09:34,615 --> 00:09:36,945
That had not performed up to expectations.
217
00:09:37,033 --> 00:09:40,004
No one had built a movie around Will.
We wanted to do that.
218
00:09:40,078 --> 00:09:42,209
However, turns out they weren't alone.
219
00:09:42,289 --> 00:09:46,250
So I get a call out of nowhere
from a guy named Cale Boyter.
220
00:09:46,335 --> 00:09:47,835
He's a bear of a man.
221
00:09:47,919 --> 00:09:49,210
Okay. All right. Bye.
222
00:09:49,297 --> 00:09:51,167
Like meeting a thunderstorm.
223
00:09:54,467 --> 00:09:55,298
Ha!
224
00:09:55,385 --> 00:09:56,385
Who are you?
225
00:09:56,470 --> 00:09:57,809
That's a great question.
226
00:09:57,888 --> 00:10:00,888
Cale Boyter was a junior executive,
emphasis on junior,
227
00:10:00,975 --> 00:10:02,304
at New Line Cinema.
228
00:10:02,393 --> 00:10:05,273
Which, at that time,
was primarily known for…
229
00:10:05,354 --> 00:10:07,774
Nightmare on Elm Street.
230
00:10:07,856 --> 00:10:10,687
And other very edgy horror
or edgy comedy movies,
231
00:10:12,153 --> 00:10:13,533
and not done a family film.
232
00:10:13,613 --> 00:10:14,863
Isn't that weird?
233
00:10:14,947 --> 00:10:17,576
Or in Cale's case, any film at all.
234
00:10:17,658 --> 00:10:21,408
I had never put a movie together.
I didn't know what the hell was going on.
235
00:10:21,495 --> 00:10:23,534
But driven by a simple desire…
236
00:10:23,623 --> 00:10:26,832
Frickin' love Will Ferrell.
I wish I could see more Will Ferrell.
237
00:10:26,917 --> 00:10:28,037
…the junior executive…
238
00:10:28,126 --> 00:10:31,126
Went and grabbed the script, read it,
and said, "This is…
239
00:10:31,212 --> 00:10:32,673
frickin' unbelievable."
240
00:10:32,756 --> 00:10:34,427
"This is perfect for him."
241
00:10:34,508 --> 00:10:37,847
And they called me and they said,
"We wanna option the thing."
242
00:10:37,927 --> 00:10:41,427
It's nice to meet another human
who shares my affinity for elf culture.
243
00:10:41,514 --> 00:10:45,934
Here we are, back to Producing 101.
Finally, you got the actor.
244
00:10:46,019 --> 00:10:47,980
Yes!
You've got a studio interested.
245
00:10:48,063 --> 00:10:48,984
Yes.
246
00:10:49,065 --> 00:10:51,225
But it's not a green-lit movie.
No!
247
00:10:52,150 --> 00:10:57,030
Now, you're just one of a million scripts
that people are sending to directors.
248
00:10:57,114 --> 00:10:59,374
While their script was one in a million,
249
00:10:59,450 --> 00:11:01,789
chances of getting
the directors they went to…
250
00:11:01,869 --> 00:11:04,999
Ron Howard, Steven Spielberg.
…were one in a million.
251
00:11:05,081 --> 00:11:07,541
You're not getting the A-list guys.
252
00:11:07,625 --> 00:11:08,995
And as for the B-list guys…
253
00:11:09,085 --> 00:11:13,625
We had meetings with people that wanted
to turn Jovie into a streetwalker.
254
00:11:13,714 --> 00:11:15,884
I'm just trying
to get through the holidays.
255
00:11:15,966 --> 00:11:19,385
They were pushing against the heart
that was inherent in the script.
256
00:11:19,470 --> 00:11:21,889
But to seduce the right director,
257
00:11:21,971 --> 00:11:23,642
they went seriously old-school.
258
00:11:23,724 --> 00:11:27,403
We were taking meetings down wherever
they were shooting Old School.
259
00:11:27,477 --> 00:11:28,937
No, seriously, Old School.
260
00:11:31,356 --> 00:11:34,937
That movie starring Will Ferrell,
Luke Wilson, and Vince Vaughn.
261
00:11:35,027 --> 00:11:36,397
It's the best day ever.
262
00:11:36,486 --> 00:11:40,277
Vince was hanging out with us
as we were talking about directors,
263
00:11:40,365 --> 00:11:42,536
and he pitched the idea of Favreau.
264
00:11:42,618 --> 00:11:45,077
What? As in Jon Favreau the actor?
265
00:11:45,162 --> 00:11:47,331
He'd been an actor in things.
266
00:11:47,414 --> 00:11:50,414
You're Jon Favreau.
Rocky Marciano, Deep Impact, Swingers.
267
00:11:50,500 --> 00:11:54,461
No one really knew what he was capable of
as a director at that point.
268
00:11:54,547 --> 00:11:55,917
Vince Vaughn knew very well.
269
00:11:56,005 --> 00:11:58,176
You are so money. You don't even know it.
270
00:11:58,259 --> 00:11:59,639
Favreau had made one movie.
271
00:11:59,719 --> 00:12:02,719
He, at that point, had made Made.
272
00:12:03,764 --> 00:12:06,104
And his one movie starred Vince Vaughn,
273
00:12:06,182 --> 00:12:08,232
but he wasn't a heavyweight director.
274
00:12:08,811 --> 00:12:10,860
They brought him in
for a meeting nonetheless.
275
00:12:10,937 --> 00:12:12,937
We are in
a tiny conference room.
276
00:12:13,023 --> 00:12:14,023
This better be good.
277
00:12:14,107 --> 00:12:17,648
He comes in,
and he really keys on three things.
278
00:12:17,736 --> 00:12:18,736
Number one…
279
00:12:19,697 --> 00:12:22,317
The first
is that he puts down on the table,
280
00:12:22,408 --> 00:12:23,778
a book about…
281
00:12:23,868 --> 00:12:26,827
A peach that lives on a farm.
Nope. It was a book about…
282
00:12:26,912 --> 00:12:27,751
Rankin/Bass.
283
00:12:27,830 --> 00:12:28,830
Wait a minute!
284
00:12:28,873 --> 00:12:30,623
As in the…
Rankin/Bass.
285
00:12:30,707 --> 00:12:32,998
The production company that made…
Rudolph.
286
00:12:33,085 --> 00:12:34,875
David's favorite Christmas movie.
287
00:12:34,961 --> 00:12:37,172
Loved it.
Well, that's a good start.
288
00:12:37,255 --> 00:12:41,546
And he really said, "This should
inform the aesthetic of the costuming."
289
00:12:41,634 --> 00:12:43,794
I think he even referenced Hermey the Elf.
290
00:12:43,888 --> 00:12:45,427
Hermey!
291
00:12:45,514 --> 00:12:47,734
Aren't you finished painting that yet?
292
00:12:47,807 --> 00:12:51,597
Favreau not only saw
the clear inspiration in David's script,
293
00:12:51,687 --> 00:12:52,856
but he even said…
294
00:12:52,937 --> 00:12:54,648
"I wanna do stop-motion animation."
295
00:12:54,731 --> 00:12:58,241
"This is how I envision the North Pole.
Exactly like Rankin/Bass."
296
00:12:58,318 --> 00:13:01,318
And we went,
"That sounds pretty damn cool."
297
00:13:01,404 --> 00:13:06,034
It also sounds serendipitous,
but his other thing, even more so.
298
00:13:06,118 --> 00:13:09,118
The second thing
was that Christmas, for him,
299
00:13:09,788 --> 00:13:12,708
was an incredibly special time.
300
00:13:12,792 --> 00:13:17,052
His mom had passed when he was young
and passed around Christmas.
301
00:13:17,129 --> 00:13:20,969
Him and his dad would watch
Christmas movies and heal together.
302
00:13:21,049 --> 00:13:23,009
So, it certainly wasn't lost on Jon…
303
00:13:23,092 --> 00:13:25,222
It hit me on the way,
like a ton of bricks.
304
00:13:25,303 --> 00:13:27,354
…himself a recent father, that…
305
00:13:27,431 --> 00:13:30,181
It's a father-and-son movie.
It's a boy.
306
00:13:30,267 --> 00:13:33,057
He's like, "I wanna make something
I can share with my kids."
307
00:13:33,144 --> 00:13:34,934
Despite his directing inexperience…
308
00:13:35,022 --> 00:13:37,652
As soon as I heard that,
I thought, "This is the guy.
309
00:13:37,732 --> 00:13:39,533
This is the... this is the guy."
310
00:13:39,610 --> 00:13:41,399
Wait. We haven't heard his third.
311
00:13:41,486 --> 00:13:42,356
Okay.
312
00:13:42,446 --> 00:13:45,826
The third thing he said,
which I thought was really ambitious, was…
313
00:13:45,908 --> 00:13:47,238
You know what?
314
00:13:47,326 --> 00:13:50,155
We'll tell you about the third thing
closer to Christmas.
315
00:13:50,245 --> 00:13:52,155
But for now, all you need to know is…
316
00:13:52,248 --> 00:13:54,378
It was exactly what we wanted to hear.
317
00:13:54,457 --> 00:13:57,087
Great! So, with that,
Jon Favreau was hired…
318
00:13:57,168 --> 00:13:58,168
That made me excited.
319
00:13:58,211 --> 00:14:01,802
…which, in turn, made
head of New Line Cinema. Bob Shaye say…
320
00:14:02,924 --> 00:14:04,294
How much that's gonna cost?
321
00:14:04,384 --> 00:14:06,715
I don't know that Elf was his cup of tea.
322
00:14:06,803 --> 00:14:08,974
Even so, New Line priced it out.
323
00:14:09,056 --> 00:14:11,725
And once everyone's feeling groovy
about the creative…
324
00:14:11,808 --> 00:14:12,889
Yes…?
325
00:14:12,976 --> 00:14:13,976
You know?
326
00:14:14,436 --> 00:14:15,436
Yay?
327
00:14:15,479 --> 00:14:18,438
We have a green light,
and we're gonna make the movie.
328
00:14:18,524 --> 00:14:19,864
Yay!
Yeah.
329
00:14:19,942 --> 00:14:21,282
Against all odds,
330
00:14:21,360 --> 00:14:22,490
these nobodies…
Yeah.
331
00:14:22,570 --> 00:14:24,700
…were given about
$30 million by New Line.
332
00:14:24,779 --> 00:14:26,700
They left us alone to make this movie.
333
00:14:27,448 --> 00:14:29,989
A movie about the love of a father.
334
00:14:30,076 --> 00:14:32,616
A movie about the magic of Christmas.
335
00:14:32,705 --> 00:14:35,284
A movie…
Directed by a guy that had made one film,
336
00:14:35,374 --> 00:14:38,004
produced by a couple of people
who had made nothing.
337
00:14:38,085 --> 00:14:39,625
And I don't know anything.
338
00:14:39,711 --> 00:14:41,841
Well, they'd just have
to learn on the job.
339
00:14:41,922 --> 00:14:44,881
As first-time producer,
I didn't know rhythms and process.
340
00:14:44,966 --> 00:14:47,716
We didn't understand
all the different maneuvers.
341
00:14:47,802 --> 00:14:51,023
I knew we should hire smart people
who knew what they were doing.
342
00:14:52,682 --> 00:14:55,143
So that's exactly what they did.
343
00:14:55,226 --> 00:14:58,397
You know, funny. Jon called me.
I was in this very room.
344
00:14:58,480 --> 00:14:59,940
I guess you're home.
345
00:15:00,441 --> 00:15:03,191
He started downloading some of his ideas.
346
00:15:03,277 --> 00:15:05,397
I thought, "This is great."
Great!
347
00:15:05,486 --> 00:15:07,236
I get this call
348
00:15:07,322 --> 00:15:09,373
about a Christmas movie in New York.
349
00:15:10,326 --> 00:15:13,035
He asked me if I had
stop-motion experience,
350
00:15:13,120 --> 00:15:14,580
which I did.
Wow!
351
00:15:14,663 --> 00:15:17,332
I was a huge fan of Will Ferrell.
352
00:15:17,416 --> 00:15:19,706
And when it came
to the production designer…
353
00:15:19,793 --> 00:15:21,212
I thought he was brilliant.
354
00:15:21,294 --> 00:15:22,955
We should just hang out.
355
00:15:23,047 --> 00:15:26,586
I met with him, and he wanted this film
to feel like Rankin/Bass…
356
00:15:27,176 --> 00:15:29,966
But not rip off Rankin/Bass, right?
357
00:15:30,053 --> 00:15:32,933
We never thought it was derivative.
We thought it was inspired.
358
00:15:33,014 --> 00:15:34,764
Very obviously inspired.
359
00:15:34,850 --> 00:15:35,679
What?
What?
360
00:15:35,768 --> 00:15:38,097
So, they got to work, working that out.
361
00:15:38,187 --> 00:15:41,856
I was pretty confident they'd be able
to make a deal with Rankin and Bass.
362
00:15:41,941 --> 00:15:43,571
Are you sure?
363
00:15:43,650 --> 00:15:47,201
It wasn't like it was Lucasfilm.
It wasn't Star Wars. I mean…
364
00:15:47,278 --> 00:15:49,869
Exactly.
Shouldn't be a problem.
365
00:15:49,948 --> 00:15:54,328
Anyway, speaking of stars,
the last thing they needed were some.
366
00:15:54,411 --> 00:15:56,620
One of the first big decisions was,
367
00:15:56,705 --> 00:15:57,865
who plays Walter?
368
00:15:58,374 --> 00:15:59,634
Welcome Garry Shandling!
369
00:15:59,707 --> 00:16:01,837
Garry Shandling is a comedy genius.
370
00:16:02,586 --> 00:16:04,245
This isn't easy for me, but…
371
00:16:04,879 --> 00:16:06,049
He passed.
372
00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:11,220
But fortunately that led us
to the next choice on the list,
373
00:16:11,302 --> 00:16:12,552
which was James Caan.
374
00:16:13,554 --> 00:16:15,424
Jimmy Caan was a dramatic actor.
375
00:16:15,515 --> 00:16:17,135
Dramatic's one word for it.
376
00:16:17,225 --> 00:16:18,765
I'm very, very…
Dramatic.
377
00:16:20,604 --> 00:16:23,153
He's been in all these incredible movies.
378
00:16:23,231 --> 00:16:25,861
He's a tough guy.
He's one of the guy's guys.
379
00:16:25,942 --> 00:16:27,072
He's Sonny Corleone!
380
00:16:27,152 --> 00:16:29,741
You blow their brains
all over your Ivy League suit.
381
00:16:29,822 --> 00:16:34,331
If anyone could bring gravitas
and strength to the role, it would be…
382
00:16:34,409 --> 00:16:35,409
James…
383
00:16:36,245 --> 00:16:37,745
…Caan.
384
00:16:37,830 --> 00:16:39,710
Eager and excited, they reached out.
385
00:16:39,789 --> 00:16:40,620
Hello?
386
00:16:40,707 --> 00:16:43,418
James Caan read the script
and luckily said…
387
00:16:43,501 --> 00:16:44,501
Why not?
388
00:16:44,586 --> 00:16:46,546
But if James Caan was on board…
389
00:16:46,629 --> 00:16:49,299
All of us were a little scared
of James Caan, I think.
390
00:16:50,174 --> 00:16:53,465
…that means James Caan
would be on set.
391
00:16:54,263 --> 00:16:57,732
Well, to provide some balance,
producers began their search
392
00:16:57,807 --> 00:17:00,307
for Buddy the Elf's co-star, Jovie.
393
00:17:00,394 --> 00:17:05,023
The studio was really pushing us
to put Katie Holmes as Jovie.
394
00:17:05,106 --> 00:17:06,106
It's your time.
395
00:17:06,150 --> 00:17:07,819
She was a big star.
I am.
396
00:17:07,901 --> 00:17:10,151
We didn't get her.
She didn't want to do it.
397
00:17:10,738 --> 00:17:11,857
Long story.
398
00:17:11,946 --> 00:17:13,527
We auditioned a lot of people.
399
00:17:13,615 --> 00:17:14,694
What about me?
400
00:17:14,782 --> 00:17:16,492
We auditioned Zooey Deschanel.
401
00:17:16,576 --> 00:17:18,787
Zooey at the time, was a young actress.
402
00:17:18,871 --> 00:17:20,711
You know, I've never had a real job.
403
00:17:20,788 --> 00:17:23,078
She has that sassy kinda edge to her,
404
00:17:23,166 --> 00:17:24,876
but is also just warmhearted.
405
00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:27,589
As an actor,
it's easy to sing Zooey's praise.
406
00:17:27,671 --> 00:17:29,381
But as well…
She could sing.
407
00:17:29,464 --> 00:17:32,174
We wanted to do something
that could bring it to light.
408
00:17:32,259 --> 00:17:34,598
So they told Zooey…
You'll be cool.
409
00:17:34,677 --> 00:17:37,557
…and set out to cast her boss.
Six-inch ribbon curls.
410
00:17:37,638 --> 00:17:39,848
We really wanted Wanda Sykes.
411
00:17:39,932 --> 00:17:42,692
What do you want?
She dropped out at the last minute.
412
00:17:43,770 --> 00:17:47,191
And Favreau knew Faizon Love
and called him up,
413
00:17:47,273 --> 00:17:48,983
and he came in and did us a solid.
414
00:17:49,067 --> 00:17:51,278
But his name tag says Wanda.
415
00:17:51,361 --> 00:17:54,201
We were so convinced we had her
that we did the name tag,
416
00:17:54,280 --> 00:17:56,580
so he wanted to wear the Wanda name tag.
417
00:17:57,409 --> 00:17:59,749
Jon Favreau made a few more calls…
418
00:17:59,827 --> 00:18:02,288
…to round out the cast of Elf.
419
00:18:02,372 --> 00:18:03,622
Favreau…
Hello?
420
00:18:03,707 --> 00:18:05,457
…wanted Bob Newhart as Papa Elf.
421
00:18:05,541 --> 00:18:06,791
And as for…
Santa!
422
00:18:06,876 --> 00:18:08,497
He wanted Ed Asner for Santa.
423
00:18:08,586 --> 00:18:11,257
That's the most disgusting idea
I ever heard.
424
00:18:12,048 --> 00:18:13,759
These were genius choices.
425
00:18:13,842 --> 00:18:15,511
And with those choices chosen,
426
00:18:15,594 --> 00:18:17,354
it was off to Manhattan…
427
00:18:17,429 --> 00:18:21,308
…for 13 days, and get as much
Christmas in as we possibly could.
428
00:18:21,391 --> 00:18:24,391
Well, the 13 days
of live-action Christmas filming
429
00:18:24,478 --> 00:18:28,268
began in New York City
on the 2nd of December, 2002,
430
00:18:28,356 --> 00:18:31,146
with a limited budget
and very limited time.
431
00:18:31,234 --> 00:18:33,855
I was figuring out
how to shoot these streets.
432
00:18:33,945 --> 00:18:36,195
How do we get the energy of New York City?
433
00:18:36,280 --> 00:18:38,161
How do you not have it come out fake?
434
00:18:38,241 --> 00:18:39,122
And the answer?
435
00:18:39,201 --> 00:18:41,790
The best way not to have it fake
is to have it real,
436
00:18:41,869 --> 00:18:45,079
that's why we just put him out there
on the streets.
437
00:18:45,164 --> 00:18:48,585
They put together a small crew
and prepared to shoot on the fly.
438
00:18:48,669 --> 00:18:51,378
We completely bought
into this guerrilla style.
439
00:18:51,462 --> 00:18:54,262
So, the first thing we shot
was the Lincoln Tunnel.
440
00:18:54,340 --> 00:18:56,010
I was terrified for Will.
441
00:18:56,093 --> 00:18:58,853
He actually went into the tunnel
with the camera guy.
442
00:18:58,929 --> 00:19:01,219
They're shoved up against the wall.
Crazy.
443
00:19:01,306 --> 00:19:03,096
And that was just the first shot.
444
00:19:03,182 --> 00:19:07,813
That day, we shot stuff like
Will playing in the revolving doors.
445
00:19:08,313 --> 00:19:10,772
Running into traffic.
He finds the gum that day.
446
00:19:11,316 --> 00:19:13,645
We shot on Park Avenue.
447
00:19:13,734 --> 00:19:16,275
That long-lens shot,
we called it the Tootsie shot.
448
00:19:16,363 --> 00:19:18,492
As for the extras?
Those are real people.
449
00:19:18,574 --> 00:19:19,584
Those aren't actors.
450
00:19:19,657 --> 00:19:22,327
The guy in the red jogging suit…
Santa! Sant...
451
00:19:22,869 --> 00:19:24,619
That guy was just there.
452
00:19:24,704 --> 00:19:26,785
Going up to people and touching them…
453
00:19:26,874 --> 00:19:29,634
Anything could happen.
That's what I was most worried about.
454
00:19:30,376 --> 00:19:32,747
The actor that everybody else
was worried about…
455
00:19:32,837 --> 00:19:34,008
Sonny Corleone!
456
00:19:34,088 --> 00:19:36,048
…was about to clock in.
457
00:19:36,133 --> 00:19:38,972
There were rumors that Caan
wasn't so easy to work with.
458
00:19:39,051 --> 00:19:39,892
Son of a…
459
00:19:39,970 --> 00:19:43,140
I think all of us had heard
stories about James Caan
460
00:19:43,222 --> 00:19:45,682
being kind of… a wild man.
461
00:19:45,767 --> 00:19:49,557
With a reputation to uphold,
the "wild man" made an announcement.
462
00:19:49,645 --> 00:19:52,226
On his first day…
He went up and gave a speech.
463
00:19:52,316 --> 00:19:56,195
"My name is James Caan,
but what I want you to know me as…
464
00:19:56,278 --> 00:19:57,647
is Jimmy the Dream."
465
00:19:57,738 --> 00:19:58,817
Jimmy the Dream.
466
00:20:00,324 --> 00:20:03,453
"When anyone says,
'What was James Caan like to work with?'
467
00:20:03,535 --> 00:20:05,535
I want immediately to come in your head,
468
00:20:05,621 --> 00:20:07,621
'Jimmy the Dream? He was a dream.'"
469
00:20:07,705 --> 00:20:08,705
I like it.
470
00:20:08,749 --> 00:20:10,999
To the credit
of our production department,
471
00:20:11,084 --> 00:20:12,503
the next day, we came to set,
472
00:20:12,586 --> 00:20:15,836
and they had changed
the stitching on his chair,
473
00:20:15,923 --> 00:20:18,012
and it said, "Jimmy the Dream."
474
00:20:18,090 --> 00:20:19,681
And with that…
Good night.
475
00:20:19,759 --> 00:20:23,140
…concerns about working
with James Caan were put to bed.
476
00:20:23,221 --> 00:20:24,892
Well…
Or were they?
477
00:20:24,972 --> 00:20:26,893
Um…
478
00:20:26,974 --> 00:20:28,934
Tell what he thought
of your fancy ring light.
479
00:20:29,019 --> 00:20:32,189
"You're not gonna have that ******* thing
on this camera, are you?"
480
00:20:33,898 --> 00:20:34,778
That was weird.
481
00:20:34,857 --> 00:20:36,688
That was my introduction to James.
482
00:20:36,777 --> 00:20:39,567
Just as Greg and James
were getting to know each other,
483
00:20:39,654 --> 00:20:41,984
it was nearly time
to say goodbye to New York.
484
00:20:42,074 --> 00:20:42,913
Bye, guys.
485
00:20:42,990 --> 00:20:45,371
But not before they shot
that heartwarming ending.
486
00:20:45,451 --> 00:20:47,662
The sleigh runs on Christmas spirit.
487
00:20:47,746 --> 00:20:49,665
Yep, that one. And they found a place…
488
00:20:49,748 --> 00:20:53,248
At the intersection
of Sixth Avenue and Central Park South
489
00:20:53,335 --> 00:20:55,994
was about the only place
that we could make it happen.
490
00:20:57,923 --> 00:21:01,182
Everybody's singing and Christmas spirit
is building in the world.
491
00:21:01,259 --> 00:21:03,970
Christmas spirit
that gets the sleigh to go,
492
00:21:04,054 --> 00:21:05,814
and Walter singing in the end.
493
00:21:05,888 --> 00:21:07,979
The singing really got me.
494
00:21:08,057 --> 00:21:09,887
A feel-good moment, as they say.
495
00:21:09,977 --> 00:21:12,977
With that,
the New York filming was completed.
496
00:21:13,063 --> 00:21:17,113
But as junior executive Cale Boyter
brought the dailies back to New Line,
497
00:21:17,192 --> 00:21:20,112
the feel-good feelings
turned into hesitation.
498
00:21:20,194 --> 00:21:23,194
I do remember
Bob calling me down into his office
499
00:21:23,281 --> 00:21:24,701
and hitting play.
500
00:21:24,782 --> 00:21:27,242
It was Will.
Dad walks by, and he sees him.
501
00:21:27,326 --> 00:21:30,616
"Dad! Dad!"
502
00:21:30,705 --> 00:21:33,205
And basically saying,
"You think that's funny?"
503
00:21:33,291 --> 00:21:35,001
It was clear what Bob thought.
504
00:21:35,085 --> 00:21:36,835
And Bob wasn't having it.
505
00:21:37,461 --> 00:21:38,301
You stink!
506
00:21:38,380 --> 00:21:41,220
Bravely looking into his boss' eyes,
507
00:21:41,299 --> 00:21:42,680
the junior executive said…
508
00:21:42,759 --> 00:21:44,548
"I do. I think it's really funny."
509
00:21:44,635 --> 00:21:46,556
You sit on a throne of lies.
510
00:21:46,637 --> 00:21:49,097
You're taking everything so seriously.
511
00:21:49,182 --> 00:21:51,442
When you're watching those dailies
out of context,
512
00:21:51,518 --> 00:21:52,938
you're not reaching for laughs.
513
00:21:53,019 --> 00:21:55,190
So, instead of putting Elf on the shelf
514
00:21:55,271 --> 00:21:57,152
and firing his junior executive…
515
00:21:57,231 --> 00:22:02,112
Maybe, he kind of quietly respected
the fact that I wasn't gonna cower,
516
00:22:02,194 --> 00:22:03,605
'cause it was ******* funny.
517
00:22:03,696 --> 00:22:06,487
Blissfully unaware of New Line's concern,
518
00:22:06,575 --> 00:22:09,234
the crew left New York
in a cloud of Christmas spirit.
519
00:22:09,327 --> 00:22:12,958
We'd have shot it all in New York
if we could afford to, but that was it.
520
00:22:13,039 --> 00:22:16,710
So, like many movies,
they ended up in Vancouver, Canada.
521
00:22:16,792 --> 00:22:19,553
It's much cheaper
to shoot on stages in Canada.
522
00:22:19,628 --> 00:22:22,719
But the stages in Vancouver,
none of them were wide enough.
523
00:22:22,798 --> 00:22:26,429
In order to create the North Pole,
we needed a certain amount of distance,
524
00:22:26,510 --> 00:22:27,681
with nothing in the way.
525
00:22:27,762 --> 00:22:30,563
So, their plans to shoot were put on ice…
526
00:22:31,141 --> 00:22:32,391
Canada style.
527
00:22:32,476 --> 00:22:35,346
We set up in a public-use
hockey rink called the PNE.
528
00:22:35,436 --> 00:22:37,517
Giving them plenty of space.
529
00:22:37,605 --> 00:22:40,395
It had enough depth
that we could sculpt the environment
530
00:22:40,483 --> 00:22:42,074
and put a backdrop we could light.
531
00:22:42,152 --> 00:22:45,201
And it was here
that they constructed Santa's Village.
532
00:22:45,279 --> 00:22:47,490
We were looking at Rankin/Bass
for reference.
533
00:22:47,574 --> 00:22:49,453
Who wasn't?
All the sets were white.
534
00:22:49,534 --> 00:22:53,163
It allowed all
of the colorful characters to pop out,
535
00:22:53,246 --> 00:22:56,076
and we decided
that was the language for our set.
536
00:22:56,165 --> 00:22:59,086
But it was a language written in 1964,
537
00:22:59,169 --> 00:23:02,878
and Elf was being made
in the digitally enhanced world of 2003.
538
00:23:02,963 --> 00:23:05,054
Technology was racing at the time.
539
00:23:05,133 --> 00:23:06,893
You bet it was.
No!
540
00:23:06,968 --> 00:23:10,307
Even with this new wave of…
Extreme graphic chipset processors.
541
00:23:10,388 --> 00:23:12,019
Jon Favreau…
You comin'?
542
00:23:12,098 --> 00:23:13,558
Where?
…wasn't on board.
543
00:23:13,642 --> 00:23:15,981
I would think about climbing on board.
544
00:23:16,060 --> 00:23:18,651
Jon really wanted to stay away
from digital effects.
545
00:23:18,730 --> 00:23:21,859
I think the concern was
he didn't want it to feel dated.
546
00:23:21,942 --> 00:23:26,112
So, when shooting
a full-sized Buddy in an elf-sized world…
547
00:23:26,195 --> 00:23:28,986
We used forced perspective
as much as possible.
548
00:23:29,074 --> 00:23:31,703
Moving to the forced-perspective
shot on the big set.
549
00:23:31,785 --> 00:23:35,154
Forced perspective
is a simple cinematic trick, in theory.
550
00:23:35,247 --> 00:23:38,537
It's done by compression.
They're supposed to be next to each other,
551
00:23:38,625 --> 00:23:42,244
but the actors
are literally ten feet away.
552
00:23:42,336 --> 00:23:43,876
No one's where they seem.
553
00:23:43,963 --> 00:23:47,473
And none of this has been done
for 50 or 60 years.
554
00:23:47,550 --> 00:23:49,050
It was reinventing the wheel.
555
00:23:49,135 --> 00:23:52,056
A misshapen, wobbly wheel
that was slow to get rolling.
556
00:23:52,138 --> 00:23:54,269
Here we go. Let's try a rehearsal. Ready.
557
00:23:54,348 --> 00:23:55,598
First day of trying,
558
00:23:55,683 --> 00:23:59,443
production lost a whole day
setting up one shot and never captured it.
559
00:23:59,520 --> 00:24:01,570
While Greg was full of confidence…
560
00:24:01,647 --> 00:24:03,688
I knew what I was doing.
561
00:24:03,775 --> 00:24:05,025
…others weren't so sure.
562
00:24:05,109 --> 00:24:08,200
There was concern on the part of New Line.
"Is this gonna work?"
563
00:24:08,279 --> 00:24:10,490
By the time we shot
the first morning,
564
00:24:10,574 --> 00:24:11,913
the producers were nervous
565
00:24:11,991 --> 00:24:15,751
they rushed the dailies
straight to the lab and processed them,
566
00:24:15,828 --> 00:24:18,078
and we watched them at lunch
the first day.
567
00:24:18,164 --> 00:24:21,244
There's room for everyone
on the Nice List.
568
00:24:21,334 --> 00:24:24,134
And everybody's like, "It works!"
569
00:24:24,253 --> 00:24:27,763
And it was like, "Yeah, it works.
I'd be fired if it didn't work."
570
00:24:27,840 --> 00:24:29,931
A good perspective indeed.
571
00:24:30,009 --> 00:24:32,890
But even with Greg
keeping a close eye on things,
572
00:24:32,971 --> 00:24:36,351
they were working to a crushing schedule.
The clock was ticking.
573
00:24:36,432 --> 00:24:39,192
Jon was gonna have to forget
about forced perspective.
574
00:24:39,269 --> 00:24:40,769
We were drifting behind.
575
00:24:40,854 --> 00:24:43,443
I'm going to be a little bit short
on today's quota.
576
00:24:43,522 --> 00:24:46,613
But that didn't sit well
with Joe Bauer, who said…
577
00:24:46,692 --> 00:24:48,323
Let me figure this out.
578
00:24:48,403 --> 00:24:51,163
I hate to do this to you.
Can you help me pick up the slack?
579
00:24:51,239 --> 00:24:54,949
So, we set up a second unit,
and we would come in every night…
580
00:24:55,035 --> 00:24:56,325
Lazy bum.
581
00:24:56,411 --> 00:24:57,790
…and set up shots.
582
00:24:57,871 --> 00:25:01,921
I didn't have a minute off
for months, but truth is, it was so fun,
583
00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:04,250
there's nowhere else
I rather would have been.
584
00:25:04,794 --> 00:25:06,884
Um, here with us, maybe?
585
00:25:06,962 --> 00:25:07,962
Okay.
586
00:25:08,632 --> 00:25:10,471
So, as Joe took his seat,
587
00:25:10,549 --> 00:25:13,640
so did Buddy, on Papa Elf's tiny legs.
588
00:25:13,720 --> 00:25:16,890
How do we get
Will sitting on Bob Newhart's lap?
589
00:25:16,972 --> 00:25:19,522
The legs that pop up were a kid.
590
00:25:19,601 --> 00:25:22,810
We came up with this rig.
He's lying on a diving board.
591
00:25:22,895 --> 00:25:27,145
Bob Newhart is in another chair
ten feet back.
592
00:25:27,233 --> 00:25:31,324
Now it seemed there were no limits
to their forced-perspective trickery.
593
00:25:31,403 --> 00:25:34,574
Not too fast, Buddy.
We had a real-size kid in the foreground.
594
00:25:34,657 --> 00:25:38,288
Behind them is a little seat
for a four-year-old boy,
595
00:25:38,369 --> 00:25:40,500
who's putting his hands
over his shoulders,
596
00:25:40,579 --> 00:25:44,250
and Bob Newhart has to lean out
and go, "Whoa! Be careful!"
597
00:25:44,334 --> 00:25:45,844
It's all for that one shot.
598
00:25:45,919 --> 00:25:50,128
And one shot at a time,
they captured all of Santa's Village.
599
00:25:50,214 --> 00:25:53,505
I think we ended up
with 47 forced-perspective setups,
600
00:25:53,593 --> 00:25:56,682
which is a tremendous amount.
Maybe a little too tremendous.
601
00:25:56,762 --> 00:25:59,603
And all of those
didn't make it into the show.
602
00:25:59,682 --> 00:26:02,143
But given the film's blatant inspiration…
603
00:26:02,227 --> 00:26:03,057
Rudolph.
604
00:26:03,144 --> 00:26:05,864
There was one element
that just had to be included.
605
00:26:05,939 --> 00:26:07,608
Jon knew he wanted to do stop-motion.
606
00:26:07,691 --> 00:26:10,030
Saving the day again, Joe Bauer knew...
607
00:26:10,109 --> 00:26:13,200
I knew exactly who to call.
All right, get on with it.
608
00:26:13,279 --> 00:26:16,029
I'm Charlie Chiodo,
and I have a brother, Stephen.
609
00:26:16,950 --> 00:26:20,539
Hi, my name is Stephen Chiodo,
and I have a younger brother, Edward.
610
00:26:20,619 --> 00:26:23,579
The Chiodo Brothers is a family business.
Three brothers.
611
00:26:23,664 --> 00:26:27,335
It's a group of siblings that create
stop-motion effects in Los Angeles.
612
00:26:27,419 --> 00:26:31,088
We like to think that the Chiodo Brothers
bring something special.
613
00:26:33,133 --> 00:26:34,133
Holy...
614
00:26:36,176 --> 00:26:38,846
With a relatively un-Christmassy résumé…
615
00:26:38,930 --> 00:26:42,140
A pipe bomb, Jobriath.
…this was the chance of a lifetime.
616
00:26:42,224 --> 00:26:46,265
We've made movies since we were kids,
and the Rankin/Bass special inspired us.
617
00:26:50,692 --> 00:26:51,902
Yeah, makes sense.
618
00:26:51,984 --> 00:26:54,694
And appropriately,
their first shot involved
619
00:26:54,778 --> 00:26:57,868
the long, dangerous tusk of Mr. Narwhal.
620
00:26:57,949 --> 00:27:01,578
The way Jon had described the scene
where the Narwhal appears,
621
00:27:02,328 --> 00:27:05,038
he wanted the tusk to come up
and rise out of the water
622
00:27:05,123 --> 00:27:06,673
like the Chrysler Building.
623
00:27:06,750 --> 00:27:08,920
And guess who did the voice
for Mr. Narwhal.
624
00:27:09,001 --> 00:27:09,882
Bye, Buddy.
625
00:27:09,961 --> 00:27:11,300
"Hope you find your dad."
626
00:27:11,378 --> 00:27:12,669
Nope, it wasn't him.
627
00:27:12,756 --> 00:27:14,965
Jon Favreau did the voice of the Narwhal.
628
00:27:15,049 --> 00:27:17,720
Hope you find your dad.
Thanks, Mr. Narwhal.
629
00:27:18,345 --> 00:27:20,255
With the Chiodo Brothers hard at work,
630
00:27:20,346 --> 00:27:22,136
Jon Favreau's Rankin/Bass homage
631
00:27:22,222 --> 00:27:23,932
was really starting to get its…
632
00:27:24,601 --> 00:27:26,480
legs potentially crushed.
Sorry!
633
00:27:26,560 --> 00:27:28,901
Something abominable was about to happen.
634
00:27:31,191 --> 00:27:33,320
There was some piece of bad news.
635
00:27:33,401 --> 00:27:35,361
… we got in trouble with clearance.
636
00:27:36,028 --> 00:27:39,159
The legal department at New Line
started to get worried.
637
00:27:39,240 --> 00:27:41,910
They got nervous we had stolen too much
638
00:27:41,992 --> 00:27:43,502
from Rankin/Bass.
639
00:27:43,619 --> 00:27:44,450
What?
What?
640
00:27:44,537 --> 00:27:48,287
There was a question about if they had
the rights to duplicate the costumes.
641
00:27:48,375 --> 00:27:51,664
This must have been cleared by now.
Who's producing this thing?
642
00:27:51,752 --> 00:27:54,883
Legally, we thought we had made a deal
and everything was cool,
643
00:27:54,963 --> 00:27:56,683
so we went off and made the movie.
644
00:27:56,758 --> 00:28:00,137
But the legal department
at New Line, well, they had other ideas.
645
00:28:00,220 --> 00:28:04,309
And all of a sudden,
we had lawyers in our midst.
646
00:28:05,767 --> 00:28:07,436
Lawyers with you on the set.
647
00:28:08,478 --> 00:28:12,067
Lawyers with you in the art department
saying, "Where's your reference?"
648
00:28:12,147 --> 00:28:14,317
"Where did you get this idea from?"
649
00:28:14,401 --> 00:28:16,151
We're trapped!
650
00:28:16,236 --> 00:28:18,486
They were like, "How influenced are you?"
651
00:28:20,949 --> 00:28:22,028
And we said to them,
652
00:28:22,116 --> 00:28:23,866
"Really influenced."
653
00:28:23,951 --> 00:28:26,662
There was no hiding
the movie's Rankin/Bass connection.
654
00:28:26,746 --> 00:28:28,326
True.
Favreau came in
655
00:28:28,414 --> 00:28:32,085
and threw the book on the frigging table
in his first meeting.
656
00:28:32,167 --> 00:28:35,208
But this time,
the book was being thrown at them.
657
00:28:35,922 --> 00:28:39,592
The producer came to me and said
that the film might not be releasable.
658
00:28:39,675 --> 00:28:43,296
And I remember Jon sitting
on top of Elf's miniature sofa
659
00:28:43,387 --> 00:28:45,677
with his head in his hands like this.
660
00:28:45,765 --> 00:28:48,934
Well, in order to weather
this legal storm,
661
00:28:49,018 --> 00:28:51,397
production leaped into action.
What do we do?
662
00:28:51,479 --> 00:28:54,398
Suddenly,
the blue Buddy outfit shows up.
663
00:28:54,481 --> 00:28:56,112
We tried this for one whole day.
664
00:28:56,692 --> 00:28:58,452
We shot with the original costume,
665
00:28:58,528 --> 00:29:00,107
then Will would go change,
666
00:29:00,195 --> 00:29:02,945
and shoot the same thing again
with the other costume.
667
00:29:03,031 --> 00:29:04,951
But there was a big problem with this.
668
00:29:05,034 --> 00:29:06,544
We were downfield on the thing.
669
00:29:06,618 --> 00:29:08,788
If they couldn't clear the green costume,
670
00:29:08,872 --> 00:29:10,672
they'd have to reshoot everything!
671
00:29:10,749 --> 00:29:11,828
My gosh!
672
00:29:11,915 --> 00:29:12,996
No one wanted that.
673
00:29:13,084 --> 00:29:15,844
Do you mind telling me
what you do wanna do?
674
00:29:15,920 --> 00:29:17,839
One of the outs was, "Let's just…"
675
00:29:17,922 --> 00:29:20,882
Digitally alter the coats or…
I don't know.
676
00:29:24,220 --> 00:29:27,220
However, in the end,
threats to upend production
677
00:29:27,307 --> 00:29:29,477
were a little bit… toothless.
678
00:29:29,558 --> 00:29:31,898
Basically, some fast legal work
had to be done.
679
00:29:31,978 --> 00:29:35,567
Ultimately, we proved ourselves
to be free and clear.
680
00:29:35,647 --> 00:29:37,857
Thankfully,
some smart people figured it out.
681
00:29:37,942 --> 00:29:40,112
Well, with that monster tackled,
682
00:29:40,194 --> 00:29:42,484
it was time to shoot
the New York interiors,
683
00:29:42,572 --> 00:29:44,531
which they shot in… well…
684
00:29:44,615 --> 00:29:46,945
It wasn't a Kmart,
but it looked like a Kmart.
685
00:29:47,035 --> 00:29:49,444
It was a closed-down mental institution.
686
00:29:49,537 --> 00:29:51,287
That's it! A mental institution.
687
00:29:55,501 --> 00:29:57,632
I was like,
"This is perfect for New Line."
688
00:29:57,711 --> 00:29:59,961
It was production designer
Rusty Smith's job
689
00:30:00,048 --> 00:30:01,968
to make it perfect for Elf.
690
00:30:02,049 --> 00:30:06,470
We had to repurpose
this draconian mental institution.
691
00:30:06,554 --> 00:30:08,263
It was great for the police station,
692
00:30:08,932 --> 00:30:12,561
but it is one of the creepiest places
I've ever been in my life.
693
00:30:12,644 --> 00:30:14,233
Why would it be any other way?
694
00:30:15,730 --> 00:30:17,980
But when the storm clouds cleared,
695
00:30:18,066 --> 00:30:20,816
they actually found this building
to be quite versatile.
696
00:30:20,902 --> 00:30:22,491
It was here that they shot…
697
00:30:22,569 --> 00:30:25,279
The orphanage. We shot Greenway Press.
698
00:30:25,365 --> 00:30:27,154
Francisco, that's fun to say.
699
00:30:27,241 --> 00:30:28,281
The Hobbs apartment.
700
00:30:28,367 --> 00:30:30,198
What shall we put on first?
Lights.
701
00:30:30,286 --> 00:30:32,286
I love when he's decorating the tree…
702
00:30:32,372 --> 00:30:34,922
How do we get the star on?
…to put the star on.
703
00:30:34,999 --> 00:30:35,999
I got it.
704
00:30:36,084 --> 00:30:37,963
It's what's called a "Texas switch."
705
00:30:38,044 --> 00:30:40,673
You see your principal actor,
Will Ferrell.
706
00:30:40,755 --> 00:30:42,505
He goes back to take a look at it,
707
00:30:42,589 --> 00:30:45,680
and then the stuntman
takes a running jump off the sofa,
708
00:30:46,845 --> 00:30:48,674
and it falls over.
709
00:30:48,762 --> 00:30:50,272
All done in one take.
710
00:30:50,347 --> 00:30:52,597
You know that that's not really me, right?
711
00:30:53,476 --> 00:30:55,726
While Will brought funny
to the funny farm…
712
00:30:57,188 --> 00:30:59,268
…Zooey Deschanel brought the heart.
713
00:30:59,356 --> 00:31:03,356
She's pissed to be stuck at Gimbels,
working in this ridiculous outfit.
714
00:31:03,443 --> 00:31:04,653
Enjoying the view?
715
00:31:04,737 --> 00:31:07,067
But in that ever-shining light
of Buddy the Elf…
716
00:31:07,155 --> 00:31:09,445
Someone needs to sing a Christmas carol.
717
00:31:09,534 --> 00:31:11,163
Go away.
…she gets melted.
718
00:31:11,243 --> 00:31:12,453
But let's be honest.
719
00:31:12,537 --> 00:31:15,457
We all melt just a little bit
when we hear her sing.
720
00:31:15,539 --> 00:31:18,039
We knew she could sing,
and Favreau wanted that duet
721
00:31:18,125 --> 00:31:19,536
between Jovie and Buddy.
722
00:31:23,381 --> 00:31:25,590
When someone opens their mouth
and they can sing,
723
00:31:25,674 --> 00:31:27,045
there's always that delight
724
00:31:27,634 --> 00:31:28,924
and surprise.
725
00:31:29,011 --> 00:31:31,061
Get out! Don't look at me!
726
00:31:31,138 --> 00:31:32,888
And the surprises didn't end here…
727
00:31:33,682 --> 00:31:37,153
It tickles!
…as Will harnessed his SNL improv skills.
728
00:31:37,228 --> 00:31:39,518
Again, Will. See if we get a tighter seal.
729
00:31:39,605 --> 00:31:43,736
Shoot it the way it's written once
and shoot it again with alternatives.
730
00:31:43,817 --> 00:31:45,028
We're tight.
731
00:31:45,111 --> 00:31:48,201
Don't know if I'd say "tight."
Make it more Buddy.
732
00:31:48,780 --> 00:31:51,240
Will's antics were cracking the crew up.
733
00:31:51,326 --> 00:31:52,326
Cut!
734
00:31:52,367 --> 00:31:54,498
But had a different effect on his co-star.
735
00:31:55,078 --> 00:31:56,118
Dad?
736
00:31:57,999 --> 00:31:58,878
What?
737
00:31:58,958 --> 00:32:00,998
Despite his best efforts to be…
738
00:32:01,085 --> 00:32:03,204
"Jimmy the Dream."
…Will had other ideas.
739
00:32:03,296 --> 00:32:06,836
Will is constantly doing things
that deliberately aggravate James Caan.
740
00:32:06,924 --> 00:32:09,174
And James Caan wasn't tickled.
741
00:32:09,259 --> 00:32:11,140
When we shot the tickle-fight scene…
742
00:32:11,220 --> 00:32:14,519
Tickle fight.
Jimmy Caan getting manhandled.
743
00:32:14,598 --> 00:32:17,888
After take two,
I think he was like, "We got this?"
744
00:32:19,019 --> 00:32:20,019
Dad?
745
00:32:20,520 --> 00:32:23,480
What?
James tries to end it, but Will wouldn't.
746
00:32:23,566 --> 00:32:24,816
Dad…
He wouldn't.
747
00:32:24,901 --> 00:32:26,861
I love you.
Go to sleep now.
748
00:32:26,944 --> 00:32:27,815
Do you love me?
749
00:32:27,903 --> 00:32:29,743
Will's relentless performance…
750
00:32:29,821 --> 00:32:31,321
Dad!
…had its advantages.
751
00:32:31,406 --> 00:32:35,326
It worked so damn good, just in terms
of the tension between him and his son.
752
00:32:35,411 --> 00:32:37,371
He's my dad.
But if he wasn't careful…
753
00:32:37,454 --> 00:32:40,325
He bailed me out.
…this dream might become a nightmare.
754
00:32:40,415 --> 00:32:44,705
When he gets upset with Buddy,
and he pushes him against the glass…
755
00:32:44,796 --> 00:32:46,296
What do you want? Some money?
756
00:32:46,381 --> 00:32:48,090
…everybody on crew goes, "Whoa!"
757
00:32:48,173 --> 00:32:50,973
There's an electricity here
that is dangerous.
758
00:32:51,051 --> 00:32:55,392
But there was only one person
who could get James Caan fully charged.
759
00:32:55,472 --> 00:32:57,603
It wasn't Will.
Get the hell outta here.
760
00:32:57,683 --> 00:33:00,483
On one of the final days
of shooting, Jon Favreau…
761
00:33:00,560 --> 00:33:02,770
…whispered something
into Jimmy's ear…
762
00:33:02,855 --> 00:33:04,184
I like to whisper too.
763
00:33:04,272 --> 00:33:06,573
…and he gave the take
that's in the movie.
764
00:33:06,651 --> 00:33:08,740
I don't care where you go
or that you're an elf!
765
00:33:08,819 --> 00:33:11,700
I don't care that you're nuts!
I don't care that you're my son!
766
00:33:12,365 --> 00:33:14,115
Get out of my life, now!
767
00:33:14,826 --> 00:33:18,246
So, the question was…
"What did you whisper in his ear?"
768
00:33:18,328 --> 00:33:20,249
And Fav said, "I reminded him
769
00:33:20,330 --> 00:33:22,631
that he was Sonny ♪♪♪♪♪♪♪ Corleone."
770
00:33:22,709 --> 00:33:25,378
Come here.
You're taking this very personally.
771
00:33:25,461 --> 00:33:26,590
That's great. Cut.
772
00:33:27,422 --> 00:33:30,471
From New York to Vancouver,
live action filming
773
00:33:30,549 --> 00:33:32,009
had finally ended.
774
00:33:32,093 --> 00:33:33,853
I'm like "It ended?"
775
00:33:36,763 --> 00:33:38,854
We'll figure out
what happens in the editing.
776
00:33:38,932 --> 00:33:41,063
That's when you decide
what the movie will be.
777
00:33:41,144 --> 00:33:45,193
So, as Jon Favreau and editor
Dan Lebental worked out just that…
778
00:33:45,272 --> 00:33:47,192
We like where he sings all high.
779
00:33:49,359 --> 00:33:51,490
…the Chiodo Brothers
had been hard at work.
780
00:33:51,570 --> 00:33:53,070
Or at least, hard-ish.
781
00:33:53,155 --> 00:33:55,865
Some of the stop-motion
wasn't quite finished yet.♪
782
00:33:55,950 --> 00:33:59,039
Instead, it was somebody
walking around in a big foam head.
783
00:33:59,119 --> 00:34:02,539
By the way, don't eat the yellow snow.
I know that.
784
00:34:02,623 --> 00:34:06,883
But then we get a call saying
there's a preview screening coming up.
785
00:34:06,961 --> 00:34:08,760
They had a screening with New Line.
786
00:34:08,838 --> 00:34:12,547
Jon felt if they didn't have
our stop-motion sequence at the screening,
787
00:34:12,632 --> 00:34:13,842
that it might be cut.
788
00:34:13,925 --> 00:34:17,965
The stop-motion origin of Elf
was in danger of being cast out.
789
00:34:18,056 --> 00:34:20,675
You'll never fit in!
But why?
790
00:34:20,766 --> 00:34:24,896
Jon was concerned
that New Line was trying to save money.
791
00:34:24,978 --> 00:34:28,068
They didn't have as much faith
in the movie as Jon did.
792
00:34:28,148 --> 00:34:29,978
But looking at the calendar…
793
00:34:30,068 --> 00:34:32,858
We had one day to shoot this
to get Jon's deadline.
794
00:34:32,945 --> 00:34:34,105
Better get to work.
795
00:34:34,197 --> 00:34:37,617
Okay, so Teresa Drilling,
an incredible animator,
796
00:34:37,699 --> 00:34:38,739
a real hard worker,
797
00:34:38,826 --> 00:34:43,036
she said, "Guys, just give me some coffee,
and I'll shoot it in one day."
798
00:34:43,121 --> 00:34:46,251
She worked basically 27 hours straight.
799
00:34:46,333 --> 00:34:48,844
And I think she drank 12 pots of coffee.
800
00:34:48,920 --> 00:34:51,880
It really must have been…
World's best cup of coffee.
801
00:34:51,963 --> 00:34:53,514
Because…
We made the deadline.
802
00:34:53,590 --> 00:34:54,880
Got it into the preview.
803
00:34:54,967 --> 00:34:58,387
And with that,
Jon Favreau's vision was ready to watch.
804
00:34:59,304 --> 00:35:02,175
New Line was just doing
a very small, like…
805
00:35:02,266 --> 00:35:05,516
employee-friends-family screening,
just to test it out.
806
00:35:05,603 --> 00:35:08,362
And we watch the movie,
and it's got temp score in it.
807
00:35:08,438 --> 00:35:10,228
Well, not temp stop-motion though.
808
00:35:11,818 --> 00:35:15,568
And as they all began to watch Elf
for the very first time…
809
00:35:15,655 --> 00:35:18,614
It exceeded my expectation
of what the movie could be.
810
00:35:20,242 --> 00:35:22,043
My heart just, like, sang.
811
00:35:23,036 --> 00:35:24,786
This is it, a hundred percent.
812
00:35:24,871 --> 00:35:28,172
And as they settled back,
basking in the warm…
813
00:35:28,876 --> 00:35:31,045
projector glow of comedy glory,
814
00:35:31,545 --> 00:35:35,295
it was time to bring it home
with that heartwarming ending.
815
00:35:35,382 --> 00:35:39,143
And the engine fires
and they fly off…
816
00:35:42,181 --> 00:35:44,891
And that's it. That's the movie.
Roll credits.
817
00:35:45,601 --> 00:35:47,811
I was literally thinking
they skipped a reel.
818
00:35:47,894 --> 00:35:51,605
And I am shocked to say the least.
What was missing?
819
00:35:51,690 --> 00:35:55,070
There's no Christmas spirit
that gets the sleigh to go,
820
00:35:55,152 --> 00:35:56,992
and Walter and everyone singing,
821
00:35:57,070 --> 00:35:59,990
and cutting to the people
that Buddy has met along the way.
822
00:36:00,074 --> 00:36:02,664
Hey!
All that is gone. It's out of the movie.
823
00:36:03,994 --> 00:36:06,405
Without the magical Christmas ending,
824
00:36:06,496 --> 00:36:08,996
Elf was in danger of losing its heart.
825
00:36:09,583 --> 00:36:11,293
What the **** happened?
826
00:36:11,376 --> 00:36:14,376
One thing happened
between the time when we shot the movie
827
00:36:14,463 --> 00:36:15,592
and we tested it,
828
00:36:15,672 --> 00:36:16,882
and that was Old School.
829
00:36:16,965 --> 00:36:19,635
Old School?
That happened, like, 25 minutes ago.
830
00:36:19,719 --> 00:36:20,719
Old School was shot.
831
00:36:21,721 --> 00:36:23,061
But hadn't come out yet.
832
00:36:23,139 --> 00:36:26,179
Well, when it did come out,
just months before Elf…
833
00:36:26,266 --> 00:36:27,387
It rocked the house.
834
00:36:27,476 --> 00:36:29,476
Will Ferrell the star was on full display.
835
00:36:29,561 --> 00:36:32,192
We're going streaking! Yeah!
836
00:36:32,273 --> 00:36:35,362
And Will was awesome in that movie.
He kinda just blew up.
837
00:36:35,443 --> 00:36:37,112
But how did that blow up Elf?
838
00:36:37,195 --> 00:36:39,695
Suddenly, we had a movie
starring Frank "The Tank"…
839
00:36:42,657 --> 00:36:43,947
I'll ******* kill you!
840
00:36:44,034 --> 00:36:46,034
…wearing yellow tights.
841
00:36:46,119 --> 00:36:48,210
I like to smile. It's my favorite.
842
00:36:48,289 --> 00:36:50,579
At least he was wearing something.
Hey!
843
00:36:50,666 --> 00:36:54,416
Here we were, this very saccharine,
sweet, gentle, kind movie.
844
00:36:54,503 --> 00:36:58,052
I don't think New Line, the boss-bosses,
knew exactly what to do.
845
00:36:58,132 --> 00:37:00,262
People started to question whether or not
846
00:37:00,342 --> 00:37:02,762
Elf jokes would work
for the Old School audience.
847
00:37:02,844 --> 00:37:04,965
So, New Line made a switch.
848
00:37:05,472 --> 00:37:07,393
Hello?
I got a call from Jon.
849
00:37:07,474 --> 00:37:08,474
I wanna talk to you.
850
00:37:08,516 --> 00:37:10,097
He was in the editing process.
851
00:37:10,186 --> 00:37:12,856
We kinda like that ending,
so we use that ending now.
852
00:37:12,980 --> 00:37:15,190
He basically delivered his cut,
853
00:37:15,273 --> 00:37:19,954
and he let me know that New Line
took the movie away from him.
854
00:37:20,028 --> 00:37:22,739
Ripped from the clutches
of Jon Favreau,
855
00:37:22,822 --> 00:37:24,913
Elf was in New Line's hands now.
856
00:37:24,992 --> 00:37:28,121
They tried to re-edit it
into something else.
857
00:37:28,204 --> 00:37:29,833
Blue, you're my boy!
858
00:37:29,914 --> 00:37:32,673
There was a fight to make it
more like a normal comedy.
859
00:37:32,750 --> 00:37:35,460
Which might have happened
if it weren't for the crew.
860
00:37:35,543 --> 00:37:39,304
We had been so committed to Jon's vision
861
00:37:39,382 --> 00:37:41,512
and his way of executing that film,
862
00:37:41,592 --> 00:37:42,931
that they couldn't do it.
863
00:37:43,427 --> 00:37:46,467
They couldn't re-edit it
and make it into something
864
00:37:46,554 --> 00:37:48,594
that the studio thought was better.
865
00:37:49,516 --> 00:37:52,686
Elf was Elf right down to its DNA.
866
00:37:52,769 --> 00:37:56,190
You couldn't abandon the movie's roots.
You can never change that.
867
00:37:56,940 --> 00:38:00,320
The reason the movie still works
is because it never lost its heart.
868
00:38:00,402 --> 00:38:03,362
Faith, light, love.
The things that make the world go.
869
00:38:03,447 --> 00:38:05,567
So, New Line gave Buddy another chance,
870
00:38:05,657 --> 00:38:07,577
and tested Jon's original ending.
871
00:38:07,659 --> 00:38:10,079
Filled the house
with Old School audience,
872
00:38:10,161 --> 00:38:11,791
and… boom!
873
00:38:14,333 --> 00:38:17,253
At that point, we knew
we had something that was special.
874
00:38:17,836 --> 00:38:19,297
And the rest is history.
875
00:38:19,380 --> 00:38:21,800
This is the fun part.
Where it all pays off.
876
00:38:21,882 --> 00:38:23,262
Elf not only paid off…
877
00:38:23,342 --> 00:38:24,842
It set the house on fire.
878
00:38:24,927 --> 00:38:27,637
…it exceeded everyone's expectations.
879
00:38:27,722 --> 00:38:32,101
Elf was a complete surprise to me,
because I expected, frankly, to hate it.
880
00:38:32,184 --> 00:38:35,023
Seeing a movie that you wrote
is like a dream.
881
00:38:35,103 --> 00:38:37,114
And maybe it was because of the dream.
882
00:38:37,188 --> 00:38:39,938
James Caan was nothing but a dream.
883
00:38:40,025 --> 00:38:41,025
I like hearing that.
884
00:38:41,110 --> 00:38:44,110
Or the appearance of a ghost
from Christmas movies past.
885
00:38:44,195 --> 00:38:45,356
You'll shoot your eye out.
886
00:38:45,447 --> 00:38:48,617
Or even this guy, in a "Wanda" name tag.
887
00:38:48,701 --> 00:38:52,251
Whatever the reason…
My God, this is really working.
888
00:38:52,329 --> 00:38:54,420
Yeah. Working its way
up the box office charts.
889
00:38:54,498 --> 00:38:56,498
In our second week of release,
890
00:38:57,083 --> 00:38:58,963
we were number one at the box office.
891
00:38:59,045 --> 00:39:01,505
Who knew it would just
kinda keep making money?
892
00:39:01,588 --> 00:39:03,628
Actually, it's making more than money.
893
00:39:03,715 --> 00:39:05,835
Elf was also the springboard
894
00:39:05,925 --> 00:39:08,965
that launched this group of young,
inexperienced filmmakers
895
00:39:09,054 --> 00:39:10,675
into the Hollywood stratosphere.
896
00:39:10,764 --> 00:39:13,014
And Jon Favreau
has become one of the top-ten,
897
00:39:13,099 --> 00:39:16,559
top-grossing directors of all time,
as well as producing the Iron Man…
898
00:39:16,644 --> 00:39:19,474
Avengers!
…and Avengers franchises.
899
00:39:19,565 --> 00:39:22,815
And even delivering Baby Yoda
into the world with The Mandalorian.
900
00:39:22,902 --> 00:39:25,112
Wait. Is there another Rankin/Bass...
What?
901
00:39:25,195 --> 00:39:27,565
Nah. But as for Elf's star, well,
902
00:39:27,655 --> 00:39:32,286
Will Ferrell has obviously become one
of America's most beloved comedy actors.
903
00:39:32,369 --> 00:39:35,039
And there's no question…
I'm Ron Burgundy.
904
00:39:35,121 --> 00:39:35,961
…about why.
905
00:39:36,039 --> 00:39:38,460
Will's performance is this movie.
906
00:39:38,541 --> 00:39:41,461
I mean, he is literally the engine
907
00:39:41,545 --> 00:39:43,875
and the heart and soul of the movie.
908
00:39:43,963 --> 00:39:47,094
Without Will, there is no Elf.
I love you.
909
00:39:47,175 --> 00:39:52,096
What Will Ferrell did was so true
to what I had envisioned
910
00:39:52,181 --> 00:39:54,351
from that first coffee
with David Berenbaum.
911
00:39:54,432 --> 00:39:57,353
That first coffee, that they had here…
912
00:39:57,436 --> 00:39:59,356
Here we are again.
Here we are.
913
00:39:59,438 --> 00:40:02,858
…where two regular Joes had
some coffee and percolated a plan.
914
00:40:02,942 --> 00:40:05,152
You remember
that that's where my office was.
915
00:40:05,235 --> 00:40:07,695
I didn't want to travel far
for that first meeting.
916
00:40:07,780 --> 00:40:11,489
I understand. If it doesn't work out,
you just hop… "I gotta go."
917
00:40:11,574 --> 00:40:13,405
"There's a thing…"
Sure. Yeah.
918
00:40:14,577 --> 00:40:16,077
Look at this place.
919
00:40:16,163 --> 00:40:17,293
Wow.
920
00:40:17,373 --> 00:40:18,873
Look at this.
It has changed.
921
00:40:18,958 --> 00:40:21,168
This has changed.
These windows weren't here.
922
00:40:21,251 --> 00:40:22,461
I don't think, right?
923
00:40:22,545 --> 00:40:24,875
No.
I like what they've done to the place.
924
00:40:24,963 --> 00:40:29,974
You and I, again, I think, for two guys
who'd done nothing, really, at that time…
925
00:40:30,052 --> 00:40:31,641
Neither of us had made a movie,
926
00:40:31,719 --> 00:40:34,349
and we sat down,
'cause of the script that you wrote,
927
00:40:34,431 --> 00:40:36,681
with a great concept that was hilarious.
928
00:40:36,766 --> 00:40:39,556
It happened to be the right idea,
with the right producers,
929
00:40:39,644 --> 00:40:41,855
with the right star,
with the right director.
930
00:40:41,938 --> 00:40:43,068
Jonny Favs!
931
00:40:43,148 --> 00:40:45,278
That first creative session, we got it.
932
00:40:45,358 --> 00:40:46,858
We were on the same page.
933
00:40:46,943 --> 00:40:49,324
From that very first meeting, it was clear
934
00:40:49,405 --> 00:40:52,485
that Jon Favreau was meant to be.
Check the gate on that.
935
00:40:52,574 --> 00:40:56,445
Your job is to make sure
that everybody is sharing the same vision.
936
00:40:56,536 --> 00:40:59,327
A vision that included
three simple things.
937
00:40:59,414 --> 00:41:01,625
Yeah. What was that third thing?
938
00:41:03,293 --> 00:41:07,014
And the third thing he said,
which I thought was really ambitious, was…
939
00:41:07,088 --> 00:41:08,588
Well, go on then.
Um…
940
00:41:08,673 --> 00:41:11,974
He said he wanted it
to be a timeless Christmas classic.
941
00:41:12,052 --> 00:41:14,972
That was his original pitch,
and he accomplished it.
942
00:41:15,681 --> 00:41:17,351
And I'm lucky that he did.
943
00:41:17,432 --> 00:41:20,943
So, Jon Favreau's wish
to make a timeless Christmas classic…
944
00:41:21,019 --> 00:41:23,690
You wrote a heck of a script,
we made a great movie.
945
00:41:23,771 --> 00:41:25,442
…of course, came true.
946
00:41:25,523 --> 00:41:28,994
We definitely wanted to make a movie
that stuck around for generations.
947
00:41:29,068 --> 00:41:30,909
And speaking of generations,
948
00:41:30,987 --> 00:41:33,867
when these guys set out
to make a family Christmas movie,
949
00:41:33,949 --> 00:41:35,028
they really meant it.
950
00:41:35,117 --> 00:41:37,746
This guy here,
that's Will Ferrell's little brother.
951
00:41:37,827 --> 00:41:38,947
Go back to Gimbels!
952
00:41:39,038 --> 00:41:41,038
Gardiner's daughter made an appearance.
953
00:41:42,081 --> 00:41:44,001
And Buddy's long-lost mom?
954
00:41:44,083 --> 00:41:46,304
She's somebody.
Somebody?
955
00:41:46,378 --> 00:41:49,007
The love of my life!
Sorry, Todd. That's your wife.
956
00:41:49,088 --> 00:41:52,588
And even baby Buddy himself
is Jon Favreau's son.
957
00:41:52,675 --> 00:41:55,135
Jon said, "I wanna make a movie
for my 1-year-old."
958
00:41:55,721 --> 00:41:58,681
How he wanted it to be warm and heartfelt,
959
00:41:58,766 --> 00:42:02,346
and, you know,
and be in every family's home…
960
00:42:03,728 --> 00:42:05,398
Um, I get choked up about it.
961
00:42:06,148 --> 00:42:08,478
And much like Christmas spirit itself…
962
00:42:08,567 --> 00:42:10,896
It starts, often, with one person.
963
00:42:17,451 --> 00:42:19,911
It started with one person,
Dave Berenbaum,
964
00:42:19,994 --> 00:42:23,824
sitting down and writing something
and believing in it when there was nobody…
965
00:42:23,916 --> 00:42:26,456
There was nobody waving him on.
966
00:42:28,086 --> 00:42:32,586
You know, when I wrote the movie,
I wrote it as a…
967
00:42:32,675 --> 00:42:33,675
as a son.
968
00:42:35,052 --> 00:42:38,891
And now… now I'm a father, so…
969
00:42:38,972 --> 00:42:40,932
the fact that I can…
970
00:42:41,934 --> 00:42:44,693
show the movie, today, to my kids,
971
00:42:45,853 --> 00:42:48,023
it means everything.
972
00:42:48,648 --> 00:42:50,778
When David Berenbaum wrote Elf,
973
00:42:50,858 --> 00:42:53,608
he tapped into something
more than a comedy,
974
00:42:54,572 --> 00:42:56,282
more than a heartwarming movie.
975
00:42:56,782 --> 00:42:59,452
I'll always…
I'll always be here for you.
976
00:42:59,534 --> 00:43:02,905
Maybe even more important
than Christmas itself.
977
00:43:03,831 --> 00:43:06,291
My father passed away
when I was younger.
978
00:43:06,375 --> 00:43:09,244
This movie's
about the search for the father.
979
00:43:09,753 --> 00:43:15,632
That is what, writing the film,
I really wanted Buddy to achieve.
980
00:43:16,135 --> 00:43:17,385
Um…
981
00:43:18,554 --> 00:43:20,434
So at the end of the movie,
982
00:43:20,514 --> 00:43:24,143
when… Walter hugs Buddy,
983
00:43:24,684 --> 00:43:26,644
that's the movie to me.
984
00:43:29,481 --> 00:43:30,900
My son, I love you.
985
00:43:35,195 --> 00:43:38,695
And so, Elf's legacy
is that a movie about family
986
00:43:38,782 --> 00:43:41,661
has become the ultimate
Christmas family movie.
987
00:43:41,744 --> 00:43:44,293
So, we'd better give the Elf family
some love too,
988
00:43:45,039 --> 00:43:48,208
because thanks to these guys,
this movie isn't just about love,
989
00:43:48,958 --> 00:43:50,168
it really was made with…
990
00:43:50,251 --> 00:43:51,842
Love.
Love.
991
00:43:51,920 --> 00:43:53,670
There was lot of love.
And light.
992
00:43:53,755 --> 00:43:57,545
…that has really made a little dent
in the darkness of the world.
993
00:43:57,635 --> 00:43:59,635
It's magic. It's really magic.
994
00:43:59,719 --> 00:44:01,849
That's really
the true meaning of Christmas.
995
00:44:01,929 --> 00:44:04,559
Merry Christmas!
996
00:44:06,351 --> 00:44:08,561
I feel like a ******, holding this thing.
79452