Will Ferrell has no problem going the extra mile for a joke. Whether it’s streaking in Old School or climbing into a bear pit for Anchorman, Ferrell frequently pushes the envelope if it means he’s going to get the biggest laugh. As we prepare for his next feature, Get Hard, however, Ferrell wants us to know that we haven’t seen anything yet.
We recently ventured down to New Orleans to watch Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart on the set of Get Hard. And without giving away any of the film's best jokes, we witnessed Ferrell with a knife IN his skull – while later, Hart revealed that the duo would be sharing a scene with a baboon. Those shots, however, have nothing on a scene that Ferrell said they are saving for the final day of the shoot… because he might have chickened out if they tried to shoot it any earlier. He describes it as such:
There’s definitely one scene that will be the riskiest thing I’ve ever done. I can’t [tell you about it]. There’s just one scene. It was an idea that Adam McKay came up with and we still haven’t shot it. In fact, it’s being saved for the last day.I’m always in these situations where I forget to separate what is pitched as an idea to the fact that I’m actually going to have to execute it. … I remember reading Old School for the first time, like reading about my character is going to streak, and I’m, ‘Oh yeah, that’s funny. I remember when people used to do that. That’s funny.' And then it’s the day, you’re in the robe, standing there naked and they’re about to yell action... like, why did I agree to do this?
If you watched the recent red-band trailer for Get Hard, and you made it to the end, you might have an idea what scene Ferrell may have been talking about. In the film, the Anchorman star plays a wealthy finance executive who gets caught cheating, and is sentenced to hard labor in San Quentin. He hires Kevin Hart’s character to train him how to survive in prison… assuming, incorrectly, that Hart is a convict simply because he’s black. The raunchy humor rolls from there.
While on the set of Get Hard, we toured the rooms of Will Ferrell’s makeshift mansion, which were converted into temporary prison cells so that Kevin Hart could teach his co-star how to survive in the joint. Here I am, waiting to be placed in handcuffs as the set visit rolled on.
Get Hard will hold its premiere at the SXSW film festival later this month, so look for our review out of Austin once it screens. Everyone else will be able to see the new comedy when it opens in theaters on March 27.
