Comments on: People should believe 71% of what they hear on the news

People should believe 71% of what they hear on the news

Potomac Avenue — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 07:54:29 -0800

Ron Burgundy did the News last week in Bismark North Dakota. Some thought it made a mockery of the news, but the station is pretty happy with how it turned out. This week, Ron dropped in on Emerson College to give some advice to the journalism grads, starting with "Of course you have to report the facts. Unless it's too hard to find the facts — then, just make something up."

By: NoMich

NoMich — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 07:59:44 -0800

Aside: He also co-hosted all three hours of a Dan Patrick Show last week, did a curling event up in Canada, and interviewed Peyton Manning on ESPN. There is no way in hell that Anchorman 2 will be nearly as good as the marketing blitz they are doing for it.

By: filthy light thief

filthy light thief — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 08:07:06 -0800

Isn't it widely agreed that the majority of US news coverage is already (unintentional) self-mockery? Especially with 24 hour coverage pushing coverage of events that are such non-stories, just ti fill (or kill) air time. In otherwords, by including Ron Burgandy, Bismark just said that there were in on the joke, and thought it was funny.

By: oulipian

oulipian — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 08:10:30 -0800

There is no Anchorman 2. This is all viral advertising for the soon-to-be-unveiled subsite, MetaFilter News, which will have a burgundy background.

By: Melismata

Melismata — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 08:10:53 -0800

He was going to appear on ESPN's SportsCenter, but they cancelled it due to the breaking news at the time about Jameis Winston. (At least, that's what they claimed; maybe they cancelled it due to realizing that it was a really stupid idea.)

By: Naberius

Naberius — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 08:11:01 -0800

It's kind of sad that real journalism, or what remains of it, has latched on to Anchorman 2 so hard. As if the only way it can be relevant to anybody's life is to play along with some pop culture meme of the month.

By: Melismata

Melismata — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 08:13:07 -0800

So true, Naberius. They're desperately clinging to the golden age of anchorpeople, not realizing that the 70s was a long, long time ago and that today's average 24-year-old is going what the what?!

By: Gin and Comics

Gin and Comics — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 08:14:07 -0800

Does anybody have an estimate on how much they might have spent marketing this movie? Maybe I don't want to know?

By: Thorzdad

Thorzdad — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 08:14:09 -0800

It's kind of sad that real journalism, or what remains of it, has latched on to Anchorman 2 so hard. News departments are part of the entertainment group, which, in-turn, lives under the marketing blanket. So, this is a natural development. News has to show a profit, afterall.

By: planetesimal

planetesimal — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 08:14:34 -0800

I can't be the only person who'd like to see a sequel to "The Other Guys" before a sequel to "Anchorman".

By: jeffburdges

jeffburdges — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 08:16:21 -0800

Very interested in that JakToGo bag, but way too expensive. And I already own a Rufus Roo ~~jacket~~ waistcoat, about half the price. I'd check out skyscanner.net's wearable luggage review before buying one now. Apparently all the straps for bag mode hurt the appearance when being worn and double the price. All the news sources about wearable luggage reference only JakToGo though, wonder if they're involved in some payola.

By: sammyo

sammyo — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 08:18:29 -0800

None of you get it, Emerson College renamed the entire news college after Ron! All you foggies, get with it or get a grave. This is the future. The Onion is already the de facto newspaper of record. The world imitates the comic. Life is art. Lame is... well this post but what the heckers dudes, don't bother getting a life.

By: stltony

stltony — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 08:20:16 -0800

Stories Burgundy touched on when on KX News • Christmas tree story • Then he threw it over to the weather guy • fire in a garbage truck • baggage fees and wearable luggage • santa story • small town speed trap dummy (a 20 year thing that's probably reported on once a year) • facial hair story. So, there, there's the hard-hitting, investigative reporting that Burgundy is making a mockery of. HEAVEN FORBID (clutches pearls, faints on couch)

By: thelonius

thelonius — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 08:21:51 -0800

I can't be the only person who'd like to see a sequel to "The Other Guys" before a sequel to "Anchorman". Desk pop!

By: Rykey

Rykey — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 08:35:31 -0800

From the link in the OP: This Ron Burgundy Infatuation Makes the Media Look Pathetic Well, I'm glad they've identified THAT culprit.

By: Lipstick Thespian

Lipstick Thespian — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 08:35:55 -0800

I feel sorry for Will Ferrell these days. Sure he's probably banking stupid money from all this shilling, but he look beat as hell and tired beyond his years. Can't we just go see the damn movie now?

By: emjaybee

emjaybee — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 08:37:16 -0800

I think the only thing that keeps our local news going is weather and traffic. You can't get good really local weather/traffic reporting online (yet), so during the recent ice storm, I watched more local news than I had in months. And they do a pretty good job of telling you what's going on/school closings/road issues. But when they get to anything else...even local crime cases...they just skim over stuff in a way that leaves you more confused than informed. I end up going online if there's a case I want to know more about. And forget any national happenings, you get the barest outline of what happened (maybe) and absolutely no other information. It's pointless.

By: kinnakeet

kinnakeet — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 08:38:28 -0800

I have never found Will Ferrell particularly amusing, and really, really wish this whole campaign, dragging its movie behind like a bored toddler dragging its Christmas presents, would just go away.

By: mediareport

mediareport — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 08:38:33 -0800

Worth noting: Ferrell's publicist is an Emerson alum, which might help explain why Emerson agreed when other journalism schools turned down the pleasure. Lots of TV stations apparently said no, too, which I'm guessing is why he wound up in Bismark, ND. And man, that local TV appearance is painful to watch; Ferrell looks really uncomfortable. I can see why they did it on a Saturday night. there's the hard-hitting, investigative reporting that Burgundy is making a mockery of. I didn't see much mockery in the first 10 minutes. Does it get funnier? It just looked like a pr stunt gone horribly, horribly dull.

By: Lipstick Thespian

Lipstick Thespian — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 08:40:13 -0800

Or just flip the script and have Brian Williams go on every single outlet there is and talk about the real-life news for parity's sake? Drop in on ESPN and do a cool 20 on the Syrian situation, or maybe Honey Boo Boo and do a half hour segment on the ACA?

By: Rory Marinich

Rory Marinich — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 08:47:44 -0800

It is a TRAVESTY that Anchorman 2 is hitting theaters before Zoolander 2. Also, if Ferrell doesn't return to Zoolander 2 as Mugatu I will throw things at his poodle.

By: Pogo_Fuzzybutt

Pogo_Fuzzybutt — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 08:51:35 -0800

There is no way in hell that Anchorman 2 will be nearly as good as the marketing blitz they are doing for it. It is my experience that movie quality has an inverse relationship to the amount marketing spent on promoting it. Essentially, if I see an advertisement for a movie on TV, I already know it sucks.

By: dirigibleman

dirigibleman — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 08:58:03 -0800

I liked the first Anchorman, but there's been sooooo much tsunami of marketing on this one (that started months ago!) that I hope the sequel becomes the bomb of the decade. And Will Ferrell didn't make a mockery of the news. Modern news production and delivery makes a mockery of the news.

By: davros42

davros42 — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 09:03:42 -0800

As an Emerson alum I was kind of appalled that they renamed the School of Communications. Comm Disorders is legit and they didn't deserve to be associated with this. Still, at least it wasn't the School of the Arts. But hey, whatever helps wallpaper over that whole Sexual Assualt cover-up...

By: jason_steakums

jason_steakums — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 09:03:49 -0800

Some assumptions about local news operations here, conflating their sins with those of cable news, which is a whole different beast. By and large the problems of local news stem from a complete lack of money due to seriously declining interest - it's a world of skeleton crews barely able to get out and put together a story with failing equipment, even in bigger markets, even under the giant conglomerates that own huge numbers of stations (which are actually way, waaay more hands-off with local news operations than you'd think, and when they pull shady shit it's not in the local news broadcasts because they're fully aware that their op-ed bullshit would damage credibility, like that Kerry smear piece Sinclair stations had to run a few elections ago). But basically, nobody wants to tune in for half-an-hour to an hour of somebody repeating brief overviews of stuff they already read on the internet (unless there's severe weather, big local games for the sports segment, or breaking local news, which can't be counted on daily), it barely brings in sponsors, and the industry's been slow to realize that they need to be competing with local newspapers and national news aggregators on the web first, making the actual news broadcasts kind of a side product and doing more long-form local text journalism. But the long and short of it is that for the vast majority of stations it's shitty because it's kind of a giant money hole, not because it's cynical newsertainment like the cable networks - for the most part the people putting the show together are actually talented, know their shit and ache to do real journalism, but can't get the budget for it. Some of the largest markets in the country (the actual profitable ones) are different, but Bismark ain't that. It used to be that the bombastic, hyperbolic "Your pet may be slowly killing you - to find out why, tune in tonight at 5!" stuff was the domain of terrible local news, but then cable news came along and did that a million times "better", and thankfully most local news operations started shifting away from that (again, except in the really big markets) ages ago so they could try and build an audience that wasn't just the leftovers of the cable news audience. Typically they want to be seen as serious journalistic enterprises, but when your stories are "the city council today talked for an hour and didn't do much" and crime blotter-level stuff on a typical day and you don't have the resources to do deep coverage, you get 1) reporters and editors who get out of practice doing constant drudge work, and 2) the boring, watered-down, kinda shitty thing that local news now is. TLDR, all but the largest markets aren't cynical cable news entertainment clones, they're just kinda slowly dying and pretty boring. Anyways, local news teams love the shit out of Anchorman because they find it funny - I've heard it quoted so much I can barely watch the first one anymore. Also sports anchors endlessly quote Major League until they ruin your enjoyment of it, it's just like how you get sick and tired of hearing Office Space quotes working in any office anywhere. It's not some cynical entertainment ploy to have Ron Burgundy on your local news broadcast, it's because they're giant fanboys.

By: humboldt32

humboldt32 — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 09:06:44 -0800

Watching that only lowered my opinion of Local News. This country is so skrewed.

By: jason_steakums

jason_steakums — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 09:07:05 -0800

Oh, but local news still is very much the domain of the "view from nowhere" thing that plagues cable news, because they're afraid to upset anybody who might still be watching.

By: Potomac Avenue

Potomac Avenue — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 09:09:00 -0800

Am I the only person who loves both Anchorman and (unironically) local news? I love both of them so much.

By: jason_steakums

jason_steakums — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 09:09:46 -0800

I used to, but then I worked in local news ;)

By: Celsius1414

Celsius1414 — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 09:11:05 -0800

Essentially, if I see an advertisement for a movie on TV, I already know it sucks. The only great movie is the one that is never seen because it was never made. The sound of a clapperless clapperboard clapping on an empty soundstage. When your two most trusted news sources are parodies of "real" news programs, you know there's a problem way before Ron Burgundy shows up to advertise himself/itself.

By: pdq

pdq — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 09:12:38 -0800

People always talk about Manning's incredible football knowledge. When Burgundy makes his joke about the 1978 Holiday Bowl at ca. :45, Manning says "I think I remember that one, Ron, Navy squeaked one out..." Being unsure if there even was a 1978 Holiday Bowl, I looked it up. Navy won 23-16 after being down 16-7 at the start of the 4th. Remarkable.

By: Sara C.

Sara C. — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 09:12:57 -0800

Yeah, pretty sure Anchorman is to local journalism as Waiting For Guffman is to high school/community theatre. People like it because it's poking fun at their world. The woman in the ND local news broadcast who giggles nervously the whole time is my favorite part of that video.

By: Mooski

Mooski — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 09:39:28 -0800

I have never found Will Ferrell particularly amusing Yeah, I've sort of expanded that to include any and all SNL alumni after 1980. That said, mocking the news is important - if it stings too much, you may wish to ask yourself why.

By: Rykey

Rykey — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 09:49:05 -0800

I feel sorry for Will Ferrell these days. A guy who's not funny, set for life because people think he's funny? Yeah, life's a bitch for some people. snarkity snark snark snark...

By: Alexandra Kitty

Alexandra Kitty — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 09:51:34 -0800

This Ron Burgundy Infatuation Makes the Media Look Pathetic Breaking news: Someone in Hollywood still thinks the media is relevant!

By: item

item — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 10:00:18 -0800

Doesn't the world of Anchorman take place 30 years back? I sincerely hope there's a time-traveling subplot in the new movie, otherwise Ron Burgundy showing up at events in 2013 will make me feel as though nothing in this universe is grounded in reality. I'd much sooner see a Step Brothers sequel than a second Other Guys, but it doesn't look like it's happening any time soon, if at all.

By: Skwirl

Skwirl — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 10:00:35 -0800

I have no problem with this just as long as everyone involved with these stunts just goes ahead and changes the title on their business cards from things like "News Director," "School of Journalism Dean," and "Museum Curator," to "Marketing Shill." I mean, it sounds like they all should have made that correction a long time ago anyway.

By: dr_dank

dr_dank — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 10:01:46 -0800

Jim Breuer said in his memoir that Will Ferrell will not break character for ANYTHING. Ferrell was working out the character around the backstages of SNL when P. Diddy was the musical guest. Diddy had a massive entourage, including some genuinely scary dudes as his security detail and insisted on a closed set all week for rehearsals. That didn't stop Ferrell from busting in there in full Ron Burgundy mode while his cast mates are telling him "cut that shit out, those guys will kill you without thinking twice". Diddy thought it was hilarious and they wound up opening the set and being much more relaxed for the remainder of the week.

By: item

item — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 10:06:17 -0800

I have never found Will Ferrell particularly amusing Yeah, I've sort of expanded that to include any and all SNL alumni after 1980 Phil Hartman? Bill Hader? Chris Elliott? Andy Samberg?

By: ultraviolet catastrophe

ultraviolet catastrophe — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 10:09:09 -0800

Diddy had a massive entourage, including some genuinely scary dudes as his security detail and insisted on a closed set all week for rehearsals. I have a hard time believing anything associated with Diddy could be scary. It's like saying Will Smith was rolling with a scary posse. Not that I'm doubting the story, it's just such an incongruity.

By: Celsius1414

Celsius1414 — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 10:10:38 -0800

Yeah, I've sort of expanded that to include any and all SNL alumni after 1980. TINA FEY?!!!! Tina Fey is the Kaiju to the tiny no-name crushed-underfoot CGI-extra resident of Hong Kong that is your opinion on this matter.

By: Our Ship Of The Imagination!

Our Ship Of The Imagination! — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 10:11:04 -0800

I feel like I missed something. This anchorman 2 is being treated like some kind of "classic character".

By: item

item — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 10:14:15 -0800

Amy Poehler!

By: Melismata

Melismata — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 10:15:32 -0800

Dana Carvey, people. DANA CARVEY.

By: Hoopo

Hoopo — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 10:23:24 -0800

It's like wetblanketfilter in here today.

By: dirigibleman

dirigibleman — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 10:23:30 -0800

Chris Parnell, Maya Rudolph, Robert Downey Jr, Jimmy Fallon, Joan Cusack, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jon Lovitz... and I got sick of looking through the list on Wikipedia.

By: LastOfHisKind

LastOfHisKind — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 10:24:47 -0800

I don't understand why "Ron Burgundy" is treated and referred to in the media as a person instead of a fictional character.

By: davejay

davejay — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 10:24:48 -0800

This is a good opportunity to go watch Elf again.

By: davejay

davejay — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 10:26:04 -0800

I don't understand why "Ron Burgundy" is treated and referred to in the media as a person instead of a fictional character. Because funny to some? Also, I think there's precedent with Mike Meyers; successfully with Austin Powers and Wayne (with Dana's Garth), tragically not so with The Love God character.

By: Area Man

Area Man — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 10:30:00 -0800

A guy who's not funny, set for life because people think he's funny? How does that even work? I'm laughing at him but I'm mistaken in thinking he's funny? Is there something wrong with my laughter?

By: Atom Eyes

Atom Eyes — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 10:30:09 -0800

Or just flip the script and have Brian Williams go on every single outlet there is and talk about the real-life news for parity's sake? Brian Williams has about the same level of journalistic credibility as Will Ferrell. He strikes me as a guy who wanted to be an entertainer, but lacking talent, settled on the next best thing: infotainment.

By: sonascope

sonascope — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 10:31:13 -0800

Yeah, I've sort of expanded that to include any and all SNL alumni after 1980. Alas, revisiting SNL before 1980 is a bit of a shock for those of us who have entertained this belief, because they were not particularly funny, either. Bass-O-Matic...heh. Oh dear. In my household, my sister and I would band together and lug our huge black & white vacuum tube TV set into the living room and shove it under the piano, where we'd bivouac and watch SNL as our way of avoiding the youth trauma of being in the den below my parents' bedroom for their weekend sex night. It turns out that watching old SNL now is far, far less delightful than it was when we were watching it under a piano in 1978, far from the swinging ponderosa-style chandelier and the brain-melting sounds of a bear and an opera singer up to no good.

By: rude.boy

rude.boy — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 10:33:53 -0800

i think that taking it to the extreme end, with the idea that it is a person and not a fictional character, is part of the comedy goal. the folks behind the marketing of this were probably hi-fiving for the rest of the evening when they came up with the idea to place him into established sports and news broadcasts. it all started with those car commercials. the comedy (in addition to the script of the commercial itself, if you agree that's funny) is in the fact that they're treating it like a celebrity endorsement from a real newscaster, who just happens to be somehow from the 70s. and the whole thing is done with a wink. sort of. i kind of like this kind of thing.

By: Bunny Ultramod

Bunny Ultramod — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 10:35:56 -0800

I have never found Will Ferrell particularly amusing I don't know what this sentence mean. It's recognizably English, and yet still incomprehensible.

By: bonehead

bonehead — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 10:49:28 -0800

By: Ratio

Ratio — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 10:53:25 -0800

Dr Dank: Jim Breuer said in his memoir Wait. Jim Breuer wrote a memoir?

By: jason_steakums

jason_steakums — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 11:00:06 -0800

Farrel has gotten a lot better over the past few years. He's developed an empathy for his characters that's not there in the typical Adam Sandler, Chris Kattan schtick. To me, that makes him a lot more accessible than the average howling baboon. Nail on the head. I was pretty impressed with how Talladega Nights was so far away from punching down at his subject matter. It was very clearly "Ricky Bobby is an idiot" and not "Nascar fans are idiots".

By: Potomac Avenue

Potomac Avenue — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 11:01:42 -0800

I have never found kittens particularly cute. I have never found the ocean particularly wet. I have never found gravity particularly restricting. I have never found the circulation of the blood particularly useful for being alive. I have never found p particularly different from ¬p.

By: elizardbits

elizardbits — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 11:05:57 -0800

kittens are objectively cute will ferrell is not objectively funny so there

By: Potomac Avenue

Potomac Avenue — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 11:08:03 -0800

Snow is not objectively cold either. But unless you're insane or from Minnesota you feel it. In your BONES.

By: underthehat

underthehat — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 11:08:04 -0800

*Bismarck

By: Celsius1414

Celsius1414 — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 11:08:52 -0800

He sure pulled one over on the Kennedy Center Mark Twain Award folks. Actually, looking at the list of untalented past winners, I guess it's no surprise he won.

By: Potomac Avenue

Potomac Avenue — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 11:09:57 -0800

Bismarck Damn this East Coast dyslexia!

By: librarylis

librarylis — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 11:10:19 -0800

Bismarck. Like Otto. They were pretty excited about this Ferrell thing, gotta at least put the right name in there.

By: jessamyn

jessamyn — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 11:10:50 -0800

Is there any suck thing as objectively funny? There isn't, is there? I've found the weird marketing/real life crossovers from this sort of weird, but I am in the "Ferrell is funny" camp. His character in Internships was about the only thing that made the movie worth watching.

By: Mooski

Mooski — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 11:12:02 -0800

Tina Fey is the Kaiju to the tiny no-name crushed-underfoot CGI-extra resident of Hong Kong that is your opinion on this matter. ...and in my world, equally imaginary. It's okay, I'm not expecting my opinion on current entertainment figures to be earth changing for other people.

By: Potomac Avenue

Potomac Avenue — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 11:12:23 -0800

Is there any suck thing as objectively funny? Only misspellings ;)

By: Bunny Ultramod

Bunny Ultramod — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 11:12:44 -0800

will ferrell is not objectively funny Well, humor isn't entirely subjective. I mean, if you find him unfunny, that's a subjective experience, but if a certain percentage of people find him funny, we can objectively say Will Ferrell is funny to x percent of people. And it's enough to sustain a film career. Subjectively, it's enough to sustain a wonderful film career.

By: Potomac Avenue

Potomac Avenue — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 11:14:01 -0800

I mean, Will Ferrell is even being funny IN HIS OFFICIAL MARK TWAIN AWARD PHOTOGRAPH YOUR HONOR I REST MY CASE

By: Potomac Avenue

Potomac Avenue — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 11:15:18 -0800

Actually Johnathan Winters is wearing a beret that might be funny too. But barring his return from beyond Will Ferrell is objectively the funniest person alive.

By: crayz

crayz — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 11:27:03 -0800

Just as a reference point, Daniel Tosh is objectively not funny.

By: Celsius1414

Celsius1414 — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 11:28:26 -0800

...and in my world, equally imaginary. Tina Fey is imaginary? Never mind that. All I'm saying is that of the dozens of SNL cast members since 1980 -- going on 34 years ago, mind you -- trying to claim not one of them is "particularly amusing" is either woefully misinformed or willfully misrepresentative.

By: Celsius1414

Celsius1414 — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 11:29:26 -0800

Or wildly mishegoss. Your choice.

By: kyrademon

kyrademon — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 11:31:15 -0800

elizardbits' far more controversial point has been lost here. Are EVIL kittens objectively cute? What about ZOMBIE kittens? How about EVIL ZOMBIE kittens that are RACIST?

By: jason_steakums

jason_steakums — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 11:31:48 -0800

Ooh actually, a better example of Ferrell's empathetic touch than Talladega Nights, even though it's not that great of a movie, is Casa de Mi Padre. Almost anybody else's hands, that one would have ended up making cheap, derisive jokes about Mexican culture and not had any involvement with a production company like NALA.

By: Bunny Ultramod

Bunny Ultramod — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 11:33:49 -0800

I feel that one day Casa de Mi Padre will have a well-deserved cult around it. The costume design, in particular, is exquisite.

By: Potomac Avenue

Potomac Avenue — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 11:34:20 -0800

I still haven't seen it. What is wrong with me.

By: jason_steakums

jason_steakums — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 11:34:58 -0800

There are a lot of things to love about Casa, I just thought it was overly long for the actual story.

By: Hoopo

Hoopo — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 12:03:22 -0800

I watched Casa de Mi Padre while severely sleep deprived (thanks to my then 2-month-old baby) and until just now kind of forgot I didn't dream the whole thing up. That movie is weird. I didn't much like Will Ferrell on SNL other than his Inside the Actors Studio schtick and Robert Goulet impression (which now that I think about it is pretty close to Ron Burgundy). I hated that cheerleader sketch he was known for. It's more about his movies for me.

By: rude.boy

rude.boy — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 12:05:13 -0800

yes, but subjectivity is objective.

By: Atom Eyes

Atom Eyes — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 12:17:15 -0800

Bat Fight. If you don't find that funny, well... It takes all kinds, I guess.

By: mothershock

mothershock — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 12:20:03 -0800

The Will Ferrell movie that made me stop being mildly annoyed by him was "Stranger than Fiction."

By: Sara C.

Sara C. — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 12:30:44 -0800

People keep telling me to see that, and I keep thinking, "But I don't like Will Ferrell movies." So maybe I really should finally see that.

By: discopolo

discopolo — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 12:31:45 -0800

As an Emerson alum I was kind of appalled that they renamed the School of Communications. Comm Disorders is legit and they didn't deserve to be associated with this. Still, at least it wasn't the School of the Arts. Calm down. They renamed it for the day. One measly day. And sold tee shirts and the money was donated to the zoo. Good Lord.

By: discopolo

discopolo — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 12:35:58 -0800

Will Ferrell is just so outdated to me. Something about his schtick---even on The Office, it was just too much. I suspect it's because when he does his improv stuff, he can't seem to be an ensemble player anymore. He seems to have to make a grab for all of the attention by booming his voice and gets just out of synch with everybody else. It results in me feeling sorry and embarrassed for him.

By: Sara C.

Sara C. — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 12:39:07 -0800

Personally, as an Emerson Person Who Spent One Year There And Then Transferred, this doesn't surprise me at all. It's completely within the spirit of the place, which, a decade later, I now understand sort of has as its MO the task of educating future media people in cultural literacy type issues. I mean, I took a course there called "History Of The Twentieth Century" where we exclusively read and watched fictional stuff (generally primary source materials from the period, for example All Quiet On The Western Front for WWI), rather than actually having a non-fiction historical textbook. Emerson isn't really about straightforward facts. It's about creating the next generation of network execs, marketing VPs, and the like. (None of this is at all related to why I left. I left because it was expensive and I hate Boston.)

By: discopolo

discopolo — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 12:42:45 -0800

Personally, as an Emerson Person Who Spent One Year There And Then Transferred, this doesn't surprise me at all. I did my MA there. I don't use it, but I liked the program and location. And if it's good enough for Larry David's kid, it's good enough for me. But I can see how stressful it might be to fund/justify 4 years there if you're not Larry David's progeny. I declare it a fun little school and my fellow alums are doing great things with their degrees.

By: Melismata

Melismata — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 12:48:26 -0800

Essentially, if I see an advertisement for a movie on TV, I already know it sucks. Oh, this is so true. Brings back memories of the early 90s, when the Comedy Channel decided to broadcast all of the episodes of Monty Python's Flying Circus in order. (This was long before all tv shows were available anywhere at all times.) And during every. single. commercial break there was a promo for "Houseguest" starring Sinbad and Phil Hartman. *still shudders from the memory* Sinbad!! And during Monty Python!!

By: elizardbits

elizardbits — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 13:07:00 -0800

Are EVIL kittens objectively cute? What about ZOMBIE kittens? How about EVIL ZOMBIE kittens that are RACIST? all of them are the cutest

By: Sara C.

Sara C. — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 13:10:57 -0800

discopolo - totally true. In hindsight I somewhat regret transferring, in that, ultimately, I did end up going into the entertainment industry and the education I would have gotten there would have been invaluable. On the other hand, thanks to transferring, I'm not in six figures of student debt, which is what enabled me to pursue a career in the entertainment industry in the first place. So it's a bit of a catch 22. (Another book we read in that class!) I bear no ill will towards the school. Though I do think it's a particular kind of focused education that is more about understanding the media and less about what other more generalist universities do. I somewhat feel for people who go there for the Communication Disorders program. They must feel so fucking lost in the sea of Ron Burgundy 20 levels of meta media crit.

By: elizardbits

elizardbits — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 13:11:56 -0800

The Will Ferrell movie that made me stop being mildly annoyed by him was "Stranger than Fiction." Yeah, same, in the same sense that it took The Cable Guy for me to stop hating Jim Carrey. I don't have the patience for the aggressive zaniness of Ferrell's usual schtick.

By: Area Man

Area Man — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 13:15:20 -0800

Will Ferrell is to Stranger than Fiction as Adam Sandler is to Punch Drunk Love?

By: dr_dank

dr_dank — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 13:16:36 -0800

Ratio: Yes, indeed. I like comedian bios overall and this one definitely delivers.

By: jessamyn

jessamyn — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 13:30:50 -0800

[Comment removed: Zenabi, dial it back.]

By: cortex

cortex — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 13:58:59 -0800

[Seriously, cool it.]

By: kyrademon

kyrademon — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 14:39:18 -0800

> "all of them are the cutest" ... yeah ok that's true.

By: Brak

Brak — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 17:00:53 -0800

Will Ferrell is to Stranger than Fiction as Adam Sandler is to Punch Drunk Love? I think that's a pretty good analogy. While the movie is probably technically billed as a comedy, Will Ferrell is not generally playing a comical character, I would say. I'm a Will-Ferrell-can-do-no-wrong person, but I nevertheless enjoyed Stranger Than Fiction specifically for how different it was from his normal movies, and how well he came across in the role.

By: jscott

jscott — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 17:27:26 -0800

As an Emerson Alum, if I wasn't already refusing to send them money, this would have gotten me to stop sending them money. If we're going to play the game, then saying "they just renamed it for one lousy day!" is ignoring the greater fact of this being about as high-profile as the place can get about its news program. I graduated Film, which doesn't even really exist there anymore.

By: ColdChef

ColdChef — Wed, 11 Dec 2013 06:36:14 -0800

Will Ferrell not funny? I wish you weren't a liar.

By: discopolo

discopolo — Wed, 11 Dec 2013 10:47:13 -0800

If we're going to play the game, then saying "they just renamed it for one lousy day!" is ignoring the greater fact of this being about as high-profile as the place can get about its news program. The vast majority of journalism schools are graduating underpaid, deeply in debt, unemployed/underemployed young people. I think journalism is still in trouble anyway. (Though I think Guiliana Rancic is an Emerson alum. I'd like to work on E! and have people do my hair and makeup everyday and meet Amy Poehler and Tina Fey and play pranks on Ryan Seacrest. And pull in a lot of dough. And wear sparkly dresses.) If you'll excuse me, I have to go Pinterest sparkly dresses I'd wear if I were reporting from the red carpet.

By: discopolo

discopolo — Wed, 11 Dec 2013 10:50:40 -0800

And I might wickedly send in a small donation "in honor of" jscott "for having Ron Burgundy Day! Great job, guys!";-) I'm feeling wicked! Kidding, though, I'm saving that $5 for a peppermint hot chocolate.