We covered the sale of the campaign trail comedy from Zach Galafianakis and Will Ferrell when Warner Brothers ultimately won an auction to nab the project, and at that point I was curious what kind of approach the central duo would take to tackling modern politics. The landscape of ridiculousness is constantly shifting after all, and you wouldn’t expect them to rely on jokes that would have been much sharper two years ago by the time the film is released. As it turns out, there will be a more focused backdrop for the film as it takes place on a campaign trail of two Southern candidates from South Carolina of all places.
The film was briefly called Southern Rivals, but as Hollywood is wont to do, the title has been shortened to simply: Rivals. This stuff has been lightly floating out there, but even during Hangover 2 press, Zach didn’t have much to say. What little info is out there came from Will…
“We’re kind of rival Southern politicians in a small congressional district in South Carolina that we’ll release for the election season next year,” the comedian said. “It kind of comments on the circus that is now modern day politics.”
That’s Ferrell giving out the slightest, tiniest detail on the plot and suggesting that the southern backdrop will be a big part of the film. Rather than venturing into that particular southern state though, the film will be shooting in New Orleans as soon as October 1st. Of course it will join a huge batch of other films that continue to end up in Louisiana for those delicious tax incentives.
I remain worried about Jay Roach being behind the camera, but it’s undeniable that Zach and Will are a powerhouse partnership. Even when relying on their default schticks the pair just bounce off of each other wonderfully. I really do want to know the tone and style of this flick but regardless, I’m as excited as I am for any developing comedy so you expect to hear more when I do.
Is this a comedy you’re excited to see, or think it will be tired before it even gets started? Let us know… twitter, boards, comments — speechify on ’em!
Source | Nola.com (via Casey Moore)