It’s hard to think of two funnier people in Hollywood today than Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart. The former is perhaps more beloved than any other comic out there, thanks to a long career of lead roles in comedy classics like Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Elf, Taladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, and Blades of Glory. Meanwhile, the latter has experienced a meteoric rise to fame in recent years, using films like Think Like A Man, Ride Along, and About Last Night to go from high-grossing stand-up comedian to A-list actor.
As the two joined forces for this month’s Get Hard, they were kind enough to set aside some time to answer questions from college journalists in a 15-minute conference call. Here’s what they had to say:
Q: As two very successful comedians, is there anything you guys learned from one another while working on the film?
Kevin Hart: The one thing I’ve taken from Will is his approach to his craft. He’s very professional, very humble; he’s a guy that really appreciates everything. He’s grounded.
Will Ferrell: Yes, I think Kevin and I share the same philosophy in terms of, you know we like to have a good time, but we’re thankful for what we’re doing professionally. But at the same time we try and stay grounded and work hard.
Q: What was it like working with director Etan Cohen, given it was his first time directing?
WF: It was a great experience working with Etan. You know, we surrounded him with a really good team, in terms of the first a.d. [Assistant Director] and director of photography. So, he was allowed to do what his strong point is, which is monitoring the comedy. You know, it’s a real benefit when you can have a writer as strong as Etan feeding you extra jokes.
KH: From my side, I’ll pick up off what Will said. We got lucky, we got a guy who had his first time directing, though he had been behind the camera a lot, so he soaked up this knowledge. He was protected by a team of producers, who knew what they were doing as well. All in all, everyone helped each other. Etan’s confidence grew as the movie progressed and we got a final product because of it, so I tip my hat to him. He did a good job.
Q: How did Cohen end up taking the reins on Get Hard, and what made you want to work with him?
WF: Yes, Etan is obviously an established comedy writer here in Hollywood, given his track record. And I think he was just in town on a short list of guys who were ready to direct a feature; he had done a short film that had attracted some notice. But when you talked to him about a script, in terms of his articulation on story, he sounded like he was a director. And I think that’s what kind of gave us the confidence to want to work with him.
Plus, he also, in like a 1920s or 1930s way, wore those old khaki director pants and spoke through a bullhorn, so those things really make him appear as a director.
Q: What originally made you guys want to do this movie?
WF: Well, this was an idea that my friend Adam McKay had for a long time, and we kept talking about it. So we kind of generated the idea from our company. And as we started digging into the casting, and we thought it would be really great to pair up with, well, the first name we started with: Kevin. So we called him up, pitched him the idea, and lucky for us he was into it. He kind of helped right away in the development process, from the script to his character. That’s how it all kind of came together.
Q: Was there much improvisation on set, or did you guys mostly stick to script?
KH: Well, there was something on every page of the script, of course, but from that foundation, there was room for us to move around. We had great writers on the film, and they left room for us to explore our characters and play around.
Q: Why is it important to have the ability to laugh at some of the important social tensions you guys touch on in Get Hard?
WF: I think it’s a great way to explore our differences, once you kind of get through the chatter, we kind of realize how similar we all are. And you get that by examining through social comedy and you’re just able to point out how silly these attitudes are, that seem to pop up from time to time.
KH: Well I can’t say it better than that.
Q: We’re in the age of remakes as a culture. So as a comedy duo, if you guys could team up again and remake a classic comedy, which ones would you do?
KH: Turner and Hooch!
WF: Well, Kevin’s choice is Turner and Hooch.
KH: Turner and Hooch! It would be amazing!
WF: I believe that was Tom Hanks with a dog.
KH: Yeah, you playing Hooch!
WF: Okay, I want Hooch. All right, my choice … oh remake of a classic comedy! Kramer vs. Kramer!
Q: When you guys were preparing for the role, were there any prison movies or television shows that helped you prepare for the role?
KH: For me, yes, I watched a lot of Mask and Sanford and Son. It really put me in the position where I was ready to come to set every day and it got me ready for every day.
WF: I watched a lot of shows on the cooking channel. It didn’t help me at all. It was actually just a waste of time and if I had to do it over again, I wouldn't have watched those shows.
Read Isaac's review of the film GET HARD here: http://www.nufec.com/blog/isaac-feldberg-on-get-hard
As the two joined forces for this month’s Get Hard, they were kind enough to set aside some time to answer questions from college journalists in a 15-minute conference call. Here’s what they had to say:
Q: As two very successful comedians, is there anything you guys learned from one another while working on the film?
Kevin Hart: The one thing I’ve taken from Will is his approach to his craft. He’s very professional, very humble; he’s a guy that really appreciates everything. He’s grounded.
Will Ferrell: Yes, I think Kevin and I share the same philosophy in terms of, you know we like to have a good time, but we’re thankful for what we’re doing professionally. But at the same time we try and stay grounded and work hard.
Q: What was it like working with director Etan Cohen, given it was his first time directing?
WF: It was a great experience working with Etan. You know, we surrounded him with a really good team, in terms of the first a.d. [Assistant Director] and director of photography. So, he was allowed to do what his strong point is, which is monitoring the comedy. You know, it’s a real benefit when you can have a writer as strong as Etan feeding you extra jokes.
KH: From my side, I’ll pick up off what Will said. We got lucky, we got a guy who had his first time directing, though he had been behind the camera a lot, so he soaked up this knowledge. He was protected by a team of producers, who knew what they were doing as well. All in all, everyone helped each other. Etan’s confidence grew as the movie progressed and we got a final product because of it, so I tip my hat to him. He did a good job.
Q: How did Cohen end up taking the reins on Get Hard, and what made you want to work with him?
WF: Yes, Etan is obviously an established comedy writer here in Hollywood, given his track record. And I think he was just in town on a short list of guys who were ready to direct a feature; he had done a short film that had attracted some notice. But when you talked to him about a script, in terms of his articulation on story, he sounded like he was a director. And I think that’s what kind of gave us the confidence to want to work with him.
Plus, he also, in like a 1920s or 1930s way, wore those old khaki director pants and spoke through a bullhorn, so those things really make him appear as a director.
Q: What originally made you guys want to do this movie?
WF: Well, this was an idea that my friend Adam McKay had for a long time, and we kept talking about it. So we kind of generated the idea from our company. And as we started digging into the casting, and we thought it would be really great to pair up with, well, the first name we started with: Kevin. So we called him up, pitched him the idea, and lucky for us he was into it. He kind of helped right away in the development process, from the script to his character. That’s how it all kind of came together.
Q: Was there much improvisation on set, or did you guys mostly stick to script?
KH: Well, there was something on every page of the script, of course, but from that foundation, there was room for us to move around. We had great writers on the film, and they left room for us to explore our characters and play around.
Q: Why is it important to have the ability to laugh at some of the important social tensions you guys touch on in Get Hard?
WF: I think it’s a great way to explore our differences, once you kind of get through the chatter, we kind of realize how similar we all are. And you get that by examining through social comedy and you’re just able to point out how silly these attitudes are, that seem to pop up from time to time.
KH: Well I can’t say it better than that.
Q: We’re in the age of remakes as a culture. So as a comedy duo, if you guys could team up again and remake a classic comedy, which ones would you do?
KH: Turner and Hooch!
WF: Well, Kevin’s choice is Turner and Hooch.
KH: Turner and Hooch! It would be amazing!
WF: I believe that was Tom Hanks with a dog.
KH: Yeah, you playing Hooch!
WF: Okay, I want Hooch. All right, my choice … oh remake of a classic comedy! Kramer vs. Kramer!
Q: When you guys were preparing for the role, were there any prison movies or television shows that helped you prepare for the role?
KH: For me, yes, I watched a lot of Mask and Sanford and Son. It really put me in the position where I was ready to come to set every day and it got me ready for every day.
WF: I watched a lot of shows on the cooking channel. It didn’t help me at all. It was actually just a waste of time and if I had to do it over again, I wouldn't have watched those shows.
Read Isaac's review of the film GET HARD here: http://www.nufec.com/blog/isaac-feldberg-on-get-hard
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