'Everything Must Go,' opening in limited release today tells the story of Nick Halsey, a man struggling with a drinking problem who in the same day gets fired and comes home to discover his wife has left and dumped all his possessions on the front yard. It's a small, heartfelt movie and the actor who plays Nick? Will Ferrell. That's right, the same goofy man-boy comedian who's made us howl with laughter in 'Step Brothers,' 'Elf,' and 'Talladega Nights.' It's a wonderfully understated and deeply moving performance. Ferrell is one of the nicest celebs PopEater has spoken to and he more than opened up about his latest movie, his magical relationship with "comedy wife" John C. Reilly, and he tries to make sense of Paramount's apparent reluctance to an 'Anchorman' sequel."Yeah, I don't understand how they conduct their business. It's funny I think they ... actually I don't know what they think," he said of the studio that released the hugely popular 'Anchorman.' "Once again, they don't comment either way but it's not like it's coming from us unsolicited ... We try to explain there's so much interest in a sequel, we're not making this up!"
What attracted you to 'Everything Must Go'? Because it's sort of a departure for you.
First off, I just loved the script. The thing that attracted me the most was the premise. I felt like I hadn't seen that story before where someone who kind of loses everything and chooses to live his life on the front lawn of his house and basically live in front of everyone, exposed to the world. I just loved it.
Did it inspire you to clean out your closets?
I'm a selective pack rat. There's some things I have no problem getting rid of and others I hold onto dearly so no it did not. It's tough for me to get rid of clothes. I grew up in a household with a limited budget and we really had to make our nice clothes last and so now I'll get free pairs of shoes and this, that and the other and I'll be like, 'Oh great!' even though it stresses me out that I don't have enough room to put them, I can't throw them away. I have a rule where my wife can throw anything away as long as I don't see it, so it has to happen under the cover of darkness.
Have you and your writing partner Adam McKay managed to shame Paramount into greenlighting 'Anchorman 2'?
No! Despite all my comments to the media which after I saw ... it's one of the those things where you say something and go, 'Oh I don't remember saying that,' oh I guess I did. No, it has had no effect. (Laughs).
That's so weird. The movie made so much money.
Yeah, I don't understand how they conduct their business. It's funny I think they... actually I don't know what they think. Once again they don't comment either way but it's not like it's coming from us unsolicited. We just keep getting asked so many times about it that we have to comment. We try to explain there's so much interest in a sequel, we're not making this up! So I don't know.
Have you ever bumped into the head of Paramount at a Lakers game?
No but I relish that day. (Laughs)
Would it be super uncomfortable if you sat next to him?
It would be terribly uncomfortable for him.
Fantastic. You should set that up. It's like an episode of 'The Office.' I love uncomfortable situations.
So do I!
I loved you as Deangelo on 'The Office,' by the way. Did you come up with the Southwest obsession?
I'm probably way too honest of a person but the brilliant writing staff just came up with all that. There was a bunch of other stuff that was cut out like I used to weigh in excess of 300 pounds and I lost all this weight.
Is 'Step Brothers' also with Paramount?
No, that's Sony who we've had a wonderful working relationship with. We might do it. We're talking about trying to potentially do it.
We're just kind of two kindred souls. We were probably brothers in a past life. We just kind of click with our comedic sensibility. It really comes down to the basic thing of thinking the same thing is funny and we totally do. It's the most unique kind of relationship I have with anyone in a way.
More than your wife I'm sure.
Exactly. He's the comedic version of a wife.
Do you feel because 'Anchorman 2' didn't work out it's freed you to do smaller movies like 'Never Let Me Go?'
'Anchorman' wasn't imminent. It didn't even get off the tarmac but last year there were some things that maybe were going to happen and then they fell back into development but it did present me an opportunity to do 'Everything Must Go' and 'Casa de Mi Padre' which is a Spanish language movie. We scrambled and got that together, like two five million dollar movies with short but intense shoots, working with great people and they were two of the best experiences I've ever had. Yeah it opened up this side to do things outside of the studio system that I loved and that now I'm even more open to doing.
It's like an Oprah moment.
Absolutely. I'll wait for the studios to figure out what they're going to do and I'll go off and do these things. They're great because they're getting a lot of attention and I just love being able to step outside of what I normally do and mix it up.
Are you fluent in Spanish?
I'm not but my Spanish is excellent in the movie. I worked with a translator. The joke wasn't for me to speak Spanish poorly. The joke is literally that I'm just another Latino actor. It's ('Casa de mi Padre') kind of a cross between Telemundo and a bad Mexican movie where the continuity is off and things like that.
Your wife is Swedish. Do your kids speak Swedish?
They do. It's pretty great. That was something I was kind of adamant about with my wife like, 'You've got to speak Swedish with them.' I know enough and I keep saying to them, 'My Swedish is really good right?' and they're like, 'No! It's terrible, are you crazy?'
More Q&As From Nicki Gostin: John Waters, Keira Knightley, Jerry Seinfeld and Jesse James
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