anchorman

Fred Willard and Chris Parnell co-star as high-ranking executives of the station. Bill Kurtis narrates.

It was written by Ferrell and Adam McKay, and directed by McKay.

The movie is a tongue-in-cheek take on the culture of the 1970s, particularly the then-new Action News television-program format. It portrays a San Diego TV station where one female reporter (Applegate) struggles to become the first "Anchorwoman".

This movie contains more Frat Pack members than any other, with five making appearances. It also contains Steve Carell, who is usually considered to be the seventh and newest member. Owen Wilson is the only Frat Pack member not to make an appearance.

Characters

Ron Burgundy, (played by Will Ferrell), a five-time Emmy award-winning journalist, is the main anchor for the KVWN Channel Four News Team. Always confident, he is nevertheless ignorant, egotistical, and not very intelligent (he believes "diversity" is "an old, old wooden ship used during the Civil War era" and that "San Diego" is a German phrase for "whale's vagina") but also remains the rock for the entire group. He develops an infatuation with newcomer Veronica Corningstone, initially having trouble wooing her with tried and true measures that allegedly won him many bimbo-type women in the past. He has a great fondness for scotch whisky and can play the jazz flute. He loses his job when, instead of saying his catchphrase, "You stay classy, San Diego", he reads "Go fuck yourself, San Diego" off the teleprompter.

Veronica Corningstone, (played by Christina Applegate), is hired for Channel Four from Asheville, North Carolina to comply with newly instituted "diversity standards". Burgundy develops an infatuation for her, culminating in a date. The two characters fall in love, though their affections are interrupted by a rivalry when Corningstone replaces Burgundy on one broadcast. When she is made co-anchor, tensions between the two come to a head, culminating in Burgundy's termination when Corningstone sabotages his teleprompter, altering his signature sign-off from "Stay classy, San Diego" to "Go fuck yourself, San Diego". Veronica is a hit as the new anchor on the show, but reconciles with Burgundy after he tries to save her from a bear. At the end of the movie she becomes co-anchor with Ron for the first world-wide news network. In a deleted scene on the DVD, Veronica reveals that she changed her name from Rita Genkin to "Veronica Corningstone" because the latter was "easier on the ear".

Brian Fantana, (played by Paul Rudd), is a lustful field reporter for the Channel Four News Team. He absurdly overestimates his personal qualities. For example, he wears a cologne called "Sex Panther," which his friend Burgundy describes as smelling of "pure gasoline" and other coworkers describe it as smelling like "Bigfoot's dick", a "used diaper filled with Indian food", "a turd covered in burnt hair" and numerous other negative associations. Fantana nonetheless believes it to be a powerful aphrodisiac, stating "60% of the time, it works every time". At the end of the film, it is explained that he goes on to host the Fox Network's Intercourse Island. He reveals at the beginning of the film that his penis is called The Octagon, and his testicles are James Westfall and Dr. Kenneth Noisewater. Fantana considers himself the stylish one of the group.

Champ Kind, (played by David Koechner), is the southern sportscaster for the Channel Four News Team. He vehemently opposes the adoption of co-anchor Veronica Corningstone, asserting, "It is anchorman, not anchorlady, and that is a scientific fact!" At the end of the film, it is declared that Kind, whose signature catchphrase is "Whammy!", became an NFL commentator, but ended up being fired after being accused of sexual harassment by Terry Bradshaw. Champ is a stocky, balding man who always wears a ten-gallon hat.

Brick Tamland, (played by Steve Carell), is Channel Four's weatherman, He has an IQ of 48, and has a habit of stating unrequested or irrelevant information, such as how he likes to eat ice cream, that he enjoys a nice pair of slacks, and that he thinks that women's periods attract bears because "the bears can smell the menstruation". His condition is the source of much of the film's comedy, especially in the anchorman battle mid-point in the movie, wherein he inexplicably produces a hand grenade that he cannot remember acquiring and murders a rival by throwing a trident (During a summary of the battle, he says, "There were horses and a man on fire, and I killed a guy with a trident!"). He is treated as something of a mascot by the rest of the people who work at Channel Four, and in many ways, his personality is dog-like: not bright, but good hearted and loyal. Much of the time, the group has to watch their friend as if they were watching a child. At the end of the film, it is explained that Tamland married, had eleven children, and became a top political advisor to President George W. Bush.

Wes Mantooth, (played by Vince Vaughn, uncredited), is lead anchor of the competing KQHS Channel Nine Evening News Team and Burgundy's rival. Mantooth is consistently irritated by his being second in the ratings, causing him to ultimately initiate an anchorman battle against Burgundy and three other news teams. He ultimately draws up Burgundy on a ladder from a bear pit, explaining that while he hates him, he nonetheless respects him as a journalist. In an earlier cut of the movie, Mantooth was revealed to be Burgundy's brother, but this scene was deleted from the final print. His mother's name is revealed to be Dorothy Mantooth.

Ed Harken, (played by Fred Willard), is the producer of the Channel Four News station. His youngest son, Chris, who does not appear in the film, is apparently very ill-behaved. It is revealed that Chris goes to a Catholic School and has shot a bow and arrow into a crowd while on LSD, was caught reading German pornography in school, and took a marching band hostage with a gun. Ed's assistant is Garth Holladay.

Garth Holladay, (played by Chris Parnell), is Ed's assistant at the Channel Four News station. No one listens to what he says, and he does not have much of a job there. Ron Burgundy was his hero, before he used his "poop-mouth" language during a news broadcast.

Frank Vitchard, (played by Luke Wilson), is a competing news anchor whose station, Channel 2, is third in the ratings. During the movie, he gets one arm chopped off in the anchorman battle, and his other arm ripped off by a bear. At the panda birth scene, Vitchard is seen reporting for Channel 9 News, which may have been a goof by the filmmakers.

Baxter is Burgundy's Jack Russell Terrier. He has the uncanny ability to communicate with his master (in Spanish and English) and talk with bears. Other feats include the ability to open the refrigerator and defecate therein, and consume an entire wheel of cheese. In a deleted scene, it is revealed that Baxter is 21 years old.

Trivia

• The title appears to be a satirical reference to the film Porn Star: The Legend of Ron Jeremy.

• The commentary track on the DVD features most of the cast members as well as guests such as Lou Rawls and Andy Richter.

• The limited edition giftset 2-pack DVD version of the film contains a movie called Wake Up, Ron Burgundy, which was assembled mostly from unused footage from Anchorman.

• Jack Black, Seth Rogen, Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson, Fred Armisen, Paul F. Tompkins, Danny Trejo, Jerry Minor and Tim Robbins have cameo roles. Although Vince Vaughn also has a small role in the movie, he was uncredited. In addition, Stiller's father, Jerry Stiller, can be seen in the background of Rocky's Bar Grill and Fine Dining, where Ed Harken calls seeking Ron Burgundy after Veronica disappears into the bear pen near the end of the film.

• The character Ron Burgundy was featured in a short piece that imagined him auditioning for a spot on ESPN's SportsCenter when the network was just beginning. Ironically, ESPN is owned by the Walt Disney Company, with which DreamWorks (the distributors of this film) co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg had a falling out.

• This is Steve Carell's second role as a news reporter in a motion picture. His previous role was "Evan Baxter" in Bruce Almighty. Also, before his film career launched, he "played" a news reporter on the comedy show The Daily Show.

• During an interview at the release of Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Ferrell said Anchorman and Talladega Nights are the first two installments of his Mediocre American Man trilogy, also referred to as the Colon Trilogy, due to the colons splicing each title. Ferrell and the director of all three movies, Adam McKay, have stated that the last installment will be rated R, unlike the previous two installments. Ideas have ranged from Ferrell playing a CEO to him playing an astronaut, but McKay has said that the new idea that they are leaning to is even better.

• This film is number 100 on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies".

• During the end credits, while outtakes from the film are being shown, an outtake for Smokey and the Bandit II is shown, possibly a reference to the fact that the Smokey and the Bandit films were among the first to feature outtakes during their end credits.

• The film was originally rated R by the MPAA, but was later edited to be released under a PG-13 rating. However, there is a DVD version that is both unrated and uncut.

See also

• Anchorman: Music from the Motion Picture

External links

• Official movie site
• Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy at the Internet Movie Database
• Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy at Rotten Tomatoes
• Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy at Box Office Mojo
• Filming Locations of Anchorman
• Director Adam McKay discussing Anchorman on Fresh Air with Terry Gross
• In Focus interview with Will Ferrell
• IGN Visits the Set of Anchorman
• IMDB "Memorable Quotes" from Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy