James Caanwasnt exactly acting when he seemed annoyed withWill Ferrellwhile filming Christmas classicElf.
Instead, Ferrell drove Caan crazy, just like his character.
He would tease me.
(l-r) Amy Sedaris, James Caan, Will Ferrell in ‘Elf’Everett Collection
Christina, you know: I like to do bits, but Im not like on all the time.
In between set ups, [Caan] would be like, I dont get you.
And Im like, I know.
Im not Robin Williams.
And he was like, People ask me: Is he funny?
And Im like, No, hes not funny.
Now that I see it in the movie, its brilliant, Ferrell said.
But I love that the whole time, hes not acting.
Hes truly annoyed with me.
Hes like, Can this guy shut the fuck up?
I literally drove him crazy in that movie, just acting like that kid.
It was scripted a little more that he would get more frustrated and lose his temper with me.
And he didnt want to do any of that, Ferrell said.
He wanted to save it until that moment in the boardroom when he kicks me out.
He wanted it to be a slow build, and he was totally right.
The 2003 film was Ferrells first big feature post-SNL.
I left [SNL] with the concept, but not necessarily a great script, Ferrell said.
I just remember the first two weeks of shooting, we did all the New York exteriors up front.
This could be your last movie.
Then theyd be like, What happened to that guy?
What the heck happened?
This movie about an elf and the North Pole?
I literally had no idea.
I was like, This is either going to really work or this is just going to be disastrous.
