David Koechner (DK)<\/strong>: Well, the fact that it was being made was enough for me. After we finished the first one, we were all hoping that we would get a chance to do a second one. In fact, we wanted to do anything else together again. I\u2019ve had the opportunity to work with Will and Steve since then, and it was great to also be able to work with Paul again. It was also nice to work with some of the other actors who were new to the series.<\/p>\n
SY: The film is the much the much anticipated sequel to the 2004 cult film, \u2018Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.\u2019 Were you always hoping to continue the series since the first film was released?<\/p>\n DK<\/strong>: Oh, absolutely. It\u2019s a special and unique group. Something really cool happens when the four of us don those costumes again<\/p>\n SY: \u2018Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy\u2019 garnered numerous quotes, with one of Champ\u2019s most recognizable lines as \u201cWhammy!\u201d What does it mean to you that fans are still quoting the movie, almost a decade after its release? Do you think viewers will embrace the sequel\u2019s lines as much as the first film?<\/p>\n DK<\/strong>: Oh, they\u2019re rabid for it, and there\u2019s still a hunger for it. It\u2019s been everyone\u2019s questions for years, not matter what I\u2019m doing; everyone wanted to know if we were going to make another film. It\u2019s the same for Will and Steve and Paul; we could be promoting another project, and there was always the question of, \u201cWhen is there going to be another \u2018Anchorman?\u2019\u201d It\u2019s been clear for years that people wanted a sequel. Obviously there\u2019s a great support for it, and people are going to be very happy when they see it.<\/p>\n SY: What was the process of reuniting with your co-stars from the original film, particularly Will, Steve and Paul, on the sequel? Was it easy to reignite the comedic banter you developed with them while shooting the first movie on the follow-up?<\/p>\n DK<\/strong>: It was really like hand-in-glove. Everyone\u2019s great to work with, and there\u2019s not a difficult personality in the bunch. The chemistry\u2019s always been there, and it came right back. Obviously, it comes from a great script, and I knew we were going to have that. So there was no difficulty for me, personally.<\/p>\n SY: \u2018Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues\u2019 also features numerous new stars who didn\u2019t appear in its predecessor, including Kristen Wiig, James Marsden and Meagan Good. What was it like forming your working relationships with them on the set?<\/p>\n DK<\/strong>: I\u2019ve worked with Kristen several times. She\u2019s just delightful; that kid is a remarkable and amazing talent. So working with her was a joyful delight. Marsden is fantastic; he\u2019s a great guy, and knocks it out of the park.<\/p>\n SY: The sequel follows Ron and his news team as they have a chance at redemption, as they start the 1980s in the world of the 24-hour cable news cycle. How has the team grown, and stayed the same, since they left their local San Diego broadcast?<\/p>\n DK<\/strong>: (laughs) I would say it\u2019s more the latter; these guys don\u2019t experience growth. They\u2019re in a bigger pond to play in, but they\u2019re the same guys. It\u2019s really hard for them to evolve.<\/p>\n SY: Will reteamed with his co-writer from the original film, Adam McKay, to pen the sequel. What was the process of working with both Will and Adam as co-writers on the set?<\/p>\n DK<\/strong>: Will and Adam are both inspirations. They co-wrote the first film together, so it was no surprise that they co-write the second script together. They\u2019re both leaders. McKay is such a delightful director, and is so inviting and warm and intelligent. The same goes for Will. They surprise you on how much material they keep giving you.<\/p>\n SY: Adam, who also directed \u2018Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,\u2019 returned to helm the sequel. What was the process with reuniting with him as a director again on the follow-up? Do you generally prefer working with helmers who also penned the script?<\/p>\n DK<\/strong>: It\u2019s certainly a bonus, because they know exactly what they want. But a good director is a good director. Since it\u2019s a personal thing for him, Adam can offer an alternative for every single character in the movie, and it\u2019s really remarkable.<\/p>\n SY: Would you be interested in making another follow-up if this sequel does well?<\/p>\n DK<\/strong>: Absolutely. But Will has always been reluctant to do sequels, from what I\u2019ve understood. But these films are so much fun to make; I would definitely make another \u2018Anchorman\u2019 movie.<\/p>\n SY: Besides appearing in \u2018Anchorman 2,\u2019 you\u2019re set to appear as Colin in the upcoming thriller, \u2018Cheap Thrills.\u2019 What drew you to the character of Colin, as well as the script for the film?<\/p>\n DK<\/strong>: Well, it\u2019s unlike anything else I\u2019ve been asked to do before, which peaked my interest. The script is real dynamite, and is a real page-turner. There wasn\u2019t a false moment in the script. It\u2019s a movie that engages you and pulls you in. It gets you hook, line and sinker.<\/p>\n SY: \u2018Cheap Thrills\u2019 features a talented cast, including Pat Healy, Ethan Embry and Sara Paxton. How did you build your working relationships with your co-stars on the set, and what was the overall process of working with them on the set?<\/p>\n DK<\/strong>: It was one of the most unique acting experiences I\u2019ve ever been a part of. I even had to remark after the second day that something great was happening there. All those guys and girls are just fantastic. It felt like we were doing a play.<\/p>\n SY: The movie was the first directorial effort by E.L. Katz. What was the process of working with E.L. on the set as a first-time helmer?<\/p>\n DK<\/strong>: He was remarkable. He had an incredible passion for it. He had a remarkable process for blocking and setting up and shooting the film. It was also remarkable that as a first-time filmmaker, he was able to shoot the movie in 12 days.<\/p>\n It\u2019s even more and more remarkable every time I look back on it, because it turned out so well. I was blown away by how well this movie turned out, given that it was such a modest budget, and we had no time to shoot it. There wasn\u2019t a lot of coverage, because there was no time or money. E.L. would not do multiple takes, since there wasn\u2019t any time or money, so we had to get it right on the first take; no one really dialed in<\/p>\n SY: Speaking of the fact that \u2018Cheap Thrills\u2019 had a lower budget and short shooting schedule, did that pose any challenges on the set?<\/p>\n DK<\/strong>: Well, the only difficulty was that we were shooting in September in Los Angeles, and it had been hotter than it had been all summer. We were shooting in a house that didn\u2019t have air conditioning, so that was the greatest challenge that we had. (laughs)<\/p>\n SY: \u2018Cheap Thrills\u2019 has played at several films across the country, including SXSW, the Chicago International Film Festival and the Philly Film Festival. Were you able to attend any of the screenings for the film, and how did audiences react to the movie?<\/p>\n DK<\/strong>: I was shooting \u2018Anchorman 2\u2019 when \u2018Cheap Thrills\u2019 was playing at SXSW, so I wasn\u2019t able to make it over there. But I did go to Fantastic Fest in Austin, and Drafthouse bought the film. <\/p>\n It was a really cool experience to watch with a crowd. I had no expectation of how they would react, and it really surprised me how engaging the movie is, and how much humor is in it. I didn\u2019t know about the humor, and didn\u2019t anticipate audiences laughing as much as they do. Since it\u2019s a dark thriller, it\u2019s really surprising how much the audiences laughed.<\/p>\n SY: Besides films, you have also starred on such television shows as \u2018The Office\u2019 and \u2018American Dad!\u2019 Are you interested in continuing with television in the future, and what is it about that medium that you enjoy so much?<\/p>\n DK<\/strong>: Oh, absolutely. The most enticing thing about television is that it shoots at home. For me, personally, most of it is shot in Los Angeles. I have a wife and five kids, so it\u2019s important to me to wake up in my own bed, and wake up and see my family at night.<\/p>\n I hope to do a full camera sitcom. There are several things that could pop, which could be fun. It would be great for me to shoot a sitcom here in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n SY: Besides \u2018Anchorman 2\u2019 and \u2018Cheap Thrills,\u2019 do you have any upcoming projects lined up that you can discuss?<\/p>\n DK<\/strong>: I recently filmed an episode of \u2018Justified,\u2019 (Season 5, Episode 1-\u2018A Murder of Crowes,\u2019 which premieres on January 7. 2014), which was fun. I also did a David Cross movie called \u2018Hits,\u2019 but I don\u2019t have any information on the release date for that. There was also a film I did in Canada with Brent Butt called \u2018No Clue,\u2019 which was a lot of fun. I always try to refresh and add new material. I\u2019m also developing several television and movie projects, so I\u2019m just trying to stay busy.<\/p>\n Written by: Karen Benardello During needed times of change, people have to stretch their boundaries to see how far they can emotionally and mentally grow, and they can surprise themselves over how well they adapted to that change. That\u2019s certainly the case with comedic actor David Koechner, who has garnered attention for his role as sportscaster Champ Kind in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":136754,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"2020-02-23T17:32:49Z","apple_news_api_id":"ef675d4d-87dc-4323-b49f-c3b4fae7bf9d","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2020-02-23T17:34:08Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A72ddTYfcQyO0n8O0-ue_nQ","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"middle","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":["https:\/\/news-api.apple.com\/sections\/a256d957-d5f8-3bec-b93f-7f862cadbf92"],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,8],"tags":[8941,32170,30092,15775,33153,30106,22194,3038,3708,171,2811],"class_list":["post-136750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviews","category-movies","tag-adam-mckay","tag-anchorman-2-the-legend-continues","tag-cheap-thrills","tag-david-koechner","tag-ej-katz","tag-ethan-embry","tag-pat-healy","tag-paul-rudd","tag-sara-paxton","tag-steve-carell","tag-will-ferrell"],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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