Will Ferrell gained notable attention with his performance in the film "Elf," which quickly became a Christmas Classic and even had a sequel in the works.
However, when it came down to casting, Ferrell refused to reprise his role as Buddy the Elf and walked away from a $29 million offer because he didn't like the premise, according to an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
"I would have had to promote the movie from an honest place, which would’ve been, like, 'Oh no, it’s not good. I just couldn’t turn down that much money,'" he told the magazine. "And I thought, Can I actually say those words? I don’t think I can, so I guess I can’t do the movie.'"
Ferrell has spoken bout the $29 million offer before. In a 2006 interview with the Guardian, he admitted he "killed the idea of a sequel."
"I never liked it — $29 [million] does seem a lot of money for a guy to wear tights, but it’s what the marketplace will bear," he said. "It’s insane, but it’s not my call. The studios perpetuate it and they make it hard to say no."
Turning down the cash "wasn't difficult at all," he added.
"I remember asking myself: Could I withstand the criticism when it’s bad and they say, 'He did the sequel for the money?' I decided I wouldn’t be able to. I didn’t want to wander into an area that could erase all the good work I’ve done — but you watch, I’ll do some sequel in the future that’s crap."
Co-star James Caan however has offered a different story that hints at tensions between Ferrell and filmmaker Jon Favreau.
"We were gonna do it, and I thought 'Oh my God, I finally have a franchise movie. I can make some money, let my kids do what the hell they want to do,'" Caan told 92.3 The Fan last year. "The director and Will didn’t get along very well. Will wanted to do it, and he didn’t want the director. He had it in his contract. It was one of those things."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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