Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)

Ron Burgundy is San Diego's top rated newsman in the male dominated broadcasting of the 1970's, but that's all about to change when a new female employee with ambition to burn arrives in his office.

Director:

Adam McKay

Writers:

Will Ferrell, Adam McKay

Stars:

Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd

1 win & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Will Ferrell	...	Ron Burgundy
Christina Applegate	...	Veronica Corningstone
Paul Rudd	...	Brian Fantana
Steve Carell	...	Brick Tamland
David Koechner	...	Champ Kind
Fred Willard	...	Ed Harken
Chris Parnell	...	Garth Holliday
Kathryn Hahn	...	Helen
Fred Armisen	...	Tino
Seth Rogen	...	Eager Cameraman
Paul F. Tompkins	...	MC
Danny Trejo	...	Bartender
Scot Robinson	...	Waiter at Tino's
Ian Roberts	...	Stage Manager
Darcy Donavan	...	Hot Blonde

Storyline

Ron Burgundy is the top-rated anchorman in San Diego in the '70s. When feminism marches into the newsroom in the form of ambitious newswoman Veronica Corningstone, Ron is willing to play along at first-as long as Veronica stays in her place, covering cat fashion shows, cooking, and other "female" interests. But when Veronica refuses to settle for being eye candy and steps behind the news desk, it's more than a battle between two perfectly coiffed anchor-persons... it's war.

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Plot Keywords:

anchorman | 1970s | dog | cat | sexism | 

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Taglines:

Ron Burgundy wishes you a happy 9th of July.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexual humor, language and comic violence

Details

Official Sites:

DreamWorks

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Spanish

Release Date:

9 July 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Action News

Filming Locations:

Atlantic Avenue, Long Beach, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$26,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$573,025 (Australia) (22 October 2004)

Gross:

$1,492,415 (Australia) (5 November 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks SKG, Apatow Productions, Herzog-Cowen Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min 104 min (extended)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film had been pitched to DreamWorks nearly 20 times before, following the successes of Old School and Elf. DreamWorks had little faith in the film, doubting Will Ferrell and Adam McKay were able to pull off an entire film based on news anchors. Despite the doubts the film would bomb, it grossed $84 million domestically and the director had so much extra footage they were able to make a second film out of it.

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Goofs

In the scene after Veronica fills in for Ron, Garth lights a Cigar for Ed, however you can clearly see that the cigar hasn't been cut, making it impossible to smoke.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Bill Lawson: [narration] There was a time, a time before cable. When the local anchorman reigned supreme. When people believed everything they heard on TV. This was an age when only men were allowed to read the news. And in San Diego, one anchorman was more man then the rest. His name was Ron Burgundy. He was like a god walking amongst mere mortals. He had a voice that could make a wolverine purr and suits so fine they made Sinatra look like a hobo. In other words, Ron Burgundy was the balls.

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Crazy Credits

At the opening, there is this proclaimation: "Based on actual events. Only the people, places and events have been changed."

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Connections

Features Smokey and the Bandit Ride Again (1980)

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Soundtracks

"Cherry, Cherry"
Written & Performed by Neil Diamond
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

This absurd comedy had to convince me...and somehow it did

When Anchorman came into theaters, I avoided it like a dead sewer rat. When it came onto HBO, I pretended it didn't exist. In fact, I would not have even LOOKED at it had my remote control not stuck on the stupid channel. So I watched a few minutes. I didn't laugh. I wasn't surprised.

Then one day, surfing the premium movie channels, I was thoroughly unimpressed by the offerings. So I turned on Anchorman, about 5 minutes in. For the next hour and a half, I proceeded to laugh hysterically. Scene after scene, line after line, I found new reasons to laugh. By the end, I could hardly breathe.

Unconvinced that I had stumbled upon a a re-watchable movie, I tested and retested it over and over. And over. Result confirmed.

Anchorman tells a simple story: acclaimed (and consequently arrogant) news anchor Ron Burgundy is forced to adapt when an attractive new female member of the Channel 4 news team (Applegate) begins changing the way he and his quirky news team work. That's it. This story is predictable, prescription-esquire, boring. But Anchorman does not draw it's strength from story. It draws from the hilarious situations. It draws from randomness. It draws from brief--but memorable--cameos. It draws from those 100 or so unforgettable one-liners.

That is, if you're looking for cinema, for a fine work of craftsmanship, a eloquent script, and an Oscar nomination, go watch a FILM. If you find randomness hilarious, then watch this MOVIE.