In an imaginary e-mail interview with Semi-Pro star Will Ferrell, Hoboken-based illusionist Dave Lozo, 30, pretends to criticize Ferrell for making the same movie over and over. The irony is that it hits on truths that would never be addressed, much less answered, in a genuine chat with Ferrell. Are made-up interviews preferable? Of course not, but they do seem to get down to things that real interviews sidestep.
“It seems that all your movies are the same and you have very little range as an actor, yet people continue to go to see your movies,” Lozo says. “In Anchorman, you played a dumb newscaster who takes his shirt off. In Blades of Glory, you play a dumb skater who crams his fat body into tights. In Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, you play a dumb race car driver who at some point goes shirtless. All you ever do is play an idiot who shows off his sloppy body. Do you think America will ever get tired of that?”
The imaginary Ferrell says, “Absolutely not. American filmgoers are total idiots. They’ve been going to see the same romantic comedies and action movies for decades, so I see no reason to change up my formula.” And blah, blah, blah.
Lozo then asks, “If you have to summarize yourself and your career in one word, which would you pick — hack, fraud or thief?” To which the phantom Ferrell replies, “Excellent question. I am definitely all three of those things. See me in Wedding Crashers? I never stole a paycheck like I did in that one. I guess I would call myself a frauackief. It’s the only way to sum up my movie career.” Frauackief?
Lozo: “But Will, you were good in Stranger Than Fiction. An all-round solid performance, and you really convinced me you were physically attracted to Maggie Gyllenhaal. Why not take the plunge into more roles like that?
Ferrell: “Are you kidding? You know how much work that takes? After those make-out scenes with Maggie, I had to take a Crying Game shower in my trailer. Sorry, but I’ve got a good thing going here with my current crop of films. Heck, in Ricky Bobby, I didn’t even read the script. I just made up my lines as we went. I bet you didn’t know that.”