By Fred Topel | Image property of Universal Pictures
Will Ferrell has done special effects before. Elf had him tower over other actors and interact with magical North Pole creatures, but Land of the Lost is a full on CGI monster. Ferrell can’t be his usual wacky self. He can only be a different kind of wacky self.
Set Visit: Will Ferrell on Land of the Lost
“It's a whole different animal in a way,” Ferrell said. “In some ways you actually don't have to be funny all the time which is what I like about it and in other ways you can play these adventure moments just completely straight and they come off funny. You don't have to work at it too much. The flip side of it is that as we are in precarious situations, it’s such a great backdrop to actually throw out these lines that are commenting that you're about to be eaten. That's why I love Rick Marshall who is obviously scared for his life, at the same time his scientific mind is always working and he has a great appreciation of this character that's going to eat him all at the same time. It's a great combination for comedy.”
One change from the series to film is that all the characters are now adults. Instead of a park ranger taking his kids on expeditions, now Rick Marshall is a scientist. “Rick Marshall in the movie is a quantum paleontologist. So, slightly failed, there was a moment at time that we sort of see at the beginning of the movie where he was one of the stars of the scientific community, but then he wrote this book on how he thought there were holes in time and space and everyone thought he was crazy. He ended up, eventually punching Matt Lauer. That led to his fall from grace and we sort of pick him up working at the La Brea Tar Pits trying to teach children who aren't listening to him and all stuff like that. So it's slightly different in that he had developed these theories about places like Land of the Lost and it wasn't until Holly showed up and studied some of his findings and sort of reinvigorated him to get back in the field and that lead them on this adventure.”
Land of the Lost
He still rocks the awesome khaki though. “The khaki is good. I like it. I'm trying to think, not since Elf have I been able to wear the same clothes every single day. It's nice. You don't have to think about things. You don't have those awkward wardrobe moments where you tried on a different T-shirt that you thought was really cool and then it's not the same one the next day and you're like, ‘What happened?’ ‘Oh, the director didn't like it.’ Which is good. It never changes. I like it.”
Ferrell was a longtime fan of Land of the Lost and was rumored to sneak Sleestak jokes into SNL sketches. He couldn’t remember them anymore, but he just thought of a new one. “The cheerleaders sketch was based on Sleestacks though. The camaraderie the Sleestacks had with each other was a manifestation on that.”
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