05-03-2006, 03:37 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2006
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Conversation: Will Ferrell
Conversation: Will Ferrell
Actor on hand at Talladega to promote upcoming NASCAR comedy
By Ryan Smithson, NASCAR.COM
May 2, 2006
02:02 PM EDT (18:02 GMT)
TALLADEGA, Ala. -- When Will Ferrell is walking through the garage, fans go nuts. College-aged men climb over the top of each other for a glimpse, screaming at him, "You're my boy, Blue!"
Will Ferrell is hard to miss at Talladega Superspeedway. His 6-foot-4 frame makes him easy to spot in a crowd. There is a huge movie poster in the infield featuring his trademark smirk, and the entire property feels like his house for the weekend.
The 39-year-old star of the upcoming movie TalladegaNights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby spent last weekend in the Talladega infield. It was one of the first steps he has made in promoting the film, which opens Aug. 4.
Q: Will, you have got to tell me that you actually kept that firesuit you wore during filming. What did you do with it?
Ferrell: Well, I kept a number of the driving suits. Right now, they are properly stored in the closet. I will take them out on weekends though. Just to, you know, go shopping in. That sort of thing.
Q: Was there any debate in the title at all?
Ferrell: For the movie? There was some back and forth in terms of figuring out different titles that would work the best, at the end, the title that we still liked the most was Talladega Nights, and we just kind of love [it]. It is such a historic track and such an important race that that was the one we ended up going with.
Q: In the movie trailer, you're running up the banking in Charlotte in your underwear. Was it cold that night?
Ferrell: I can't remember! I just remember that you underestimate how steep those turns are. I was very winded going up and down those turns.
Q: Were you in the Talladega infield much this weekend?
Ferrell: I did! I was able to take a little tour last night and collected some beads.
Q: Any good stories?
Ferrell: No, not really, other than we kind of got a first-hand look, on just, you know, all the craziness that goes on out there. There was a guy, I think, in just a tire and nothing else.
Q: I know you wanted to be a sports broadcaster, give us a clip of what you would sound like if you were on TV at a NASCAR race.
Ferrell: Oh, gosh. You know what? That is why I didn't do it because I am not very good at it. I am a little out of practice.
Q: Have you had lots of requests to sign babies' heads?
Ferrell: There are a few, yeah. I am sure there are going to be more and more as people see the movie.
Q: Have you actually done it?
Ferrell: No. I have yet to sign an actual living baby's head. But I hope to! Soon!
Q: Are you sure there wasn't a driver that Ricky Bobby was based on? It wasn't Rusty Wallace?
Ferrell: You know what? We really didn't know. Once we kind of ... after writing the script was when we started to learn about some of the personalities of the drivers. But there is probably a little bit of Rusty in there and other guys. It is kind of just a comedy character based on what we created.
Q: Was this the final step of NASCAR becoming mainstream in Hollywood?
Ferrell: Well, it is probably a step closer and I think that the more and more films that come out, the exposure has just grown, but I think that NASCAR is well on its way to continue to grow and this is just another piece of that puzzle.
Q: The studios were very cooperative?
Ferrell: Oh yeah. They were lining up to be a part of this movie. It was great.
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