With a cast of backups, a relatively small budget, and a plot no one in Hollywood seemed to fully understand, Elf looked like it had about as much chance of succeeding as a grown human who thinks he's an elf searching for his father in New York City. January 17, 2016 Tags David Berenbaum, Elf screenplay, elf script, Jon Favreau Top 5 Christmas Movie Scripts. So, the Chiodos ramped up their schedule. The stop-motion North Pole scenes in Elf were Jon Favreau's idea. In the first preview screening, the movie ended with Buddy and Santa (Edward Asner) flying away from Central Park, with no Central Park singalong or reunion between Buddy and Walter. Ferrell told Blackfilm it was one of his favorite scenes to film. In fact, according to screenwriter David Berenbaum, the story and script for the movie dates back to 1993, and was written with Jim Carrey in mind to take on the favourite elf. It was released in the United States on November 7, 2003 by New Line Cinema. Speaking of Gimbels, although Favreau chose the department store for its ties to another Christmas classic, Miracle on 34th Street, it had gone out of business by 2003. Mary Steenburgen, who played Buddy's stepmother, had to eat a bite of syrup-covered spaghetti and pretend to like it for Buddy's sake. "It was very comforting to write a Christmas movie when you miss the snow, and there's a heatwave outside." "And we made the deadline, made the screening, positive reviews, the stop-motion sequences tested through the roof, really popular, so they stayed in the movie!" New Line executives worried that the Old School audience wouldn't want to see an earnest family Christmas movie. We know now that Elf was a massive success, and it's become a welcome addition to the Christmas canon — just like Favreau and Berenbaum wanted. But when Elf was moving into production, he was considered a wildly improbable choice for the character. Elf - David Berenbaum - Unspecified Script - Undated - Comedy - 88 pages David Berenbaum writes ‘ELF’ inspired by a variety of themes in his favorite Christmas films, as well as his own experiences. Ferrell had it worse. I had never been involved with it." "I was raised in a Jewish family, and we celebrated Hanukkah but also had a Christmas tree. There is still no official title for the project. Favreau recruited the Chiodo brothers to film the sequences, whose resume included effects for the Gremlins movies and sequences in The Simpsons. Picturing anyone other than Will Ferrell (or an actual elf) pulling off Buddy's unbridled Christmas spirit, hopeless naivete, and yellow tights is almost impossible now. Edward Chiodo told Art of the Title. Elf: A Short Story of a Tall Tale Ferrell admitted to Blackfilm, "Yeah, that was tough. Favreau explained to Rolling Stone that the original script was much darker, and that didn't gel with him. This meant the team relied on practical effects whenever possible. The idea for “Elf” began as an ode to New York during the holidays. Elf made nearly seven times its $32 million budget at the box office alone, but during the shoot, money was tight. As he explained to Jewish Journal, his dad died when he was nine, so that father/son relationship — or the searching for one — is a common theme in his work. That's no coincidence. As Favreau explained, "If I made the world that [Buddy] was from as though he grew up as an elf in ... one of those Rankin/Bass Christmas specials I grew up with, then everything fell into place tonally.". But to be clear, Caan wasn't talking about Favreau. For example, the man in the red jogging suit he mistakes for Santa wasn't a paid actor. Fortunately, the legal troubles cleared. Berenbaum also loved experiencing Christmas on the silver screen, and he counts It's a Wonderful Life as one of his all-time favorite films. After filming wrapped on Elf and before the movie reached preview audiences, Old School premiered. Fortunately, even New Line had to admit that its version didn't work, and the ending was restored. In the film, Walter receives lingerie from Buddy as an apology gift. That includes those that lend themselves to being shot in an abandoned mental institution, such as the orphanage, the police station, the mail room, and the offices of Greenway Press. Elf (Nov 09, 2012 - Jan 06, 2013) Based upon the New Line Cinema Film written by David Berenbaum; MusicalComedyOriginal. Favreau told Rolling Stone that Caan "always felt like he was being treated right on the set. This challenge extended to other scenes. Since it was released in 2003, the movie "Elf" has become a Christmas classic. As Berenbaum told Philadelphia City Paper, "I don't think we'd be talking about the movie now if Will didn't commit to play Buddy the elf, 'cause I can't really imagine anyone else on the planet playing that role at this point.". He was a lot of fun.". Instead, they created the window where Buddy sleeps inside the Empire State Building — with a very short turnaround time, as Smith told Entertainment Weekly. But Caan soon put their fears to rest. Elf is a 2003 American Christmas comedy film directed by Jon Favreau and written by David Berenbaum. When David Berenbaum's spec script first … "I was really lucky that my job in the film was to try to drive him crazy, and I would," Ferrell explained to Blackfilm. Both Berenbaum and director Jon Favreau were inspired by the studio's colorful, quirky Christmas movies. Rusty Smith told Netflix that after Favreau had finished his cut, the studio tried to reshape the movie into an adult comedy. However, Favreau had to convince the movie's studio, New Line, which was wary of spending time and money on a famously laborious technique like stop-motion. This was also the case for Faizon Love, who played the stressed-out Gimbels manager. At that point, Ferrell was known mainly for Saturday Night Live, which he'd just left, and for small parts in adult-only movies like the first and second Austin Powers, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and Zoolander. They got started, but the schedule was thrown out the window when New Line arranged a preview screening before the sequences were ready. It's this spirit that gave Elf its candy cane-sweet center. Elf is a 2003 American Christmas comedy film directed by Jon Favreau, written by David Berenbaum, and starring Will Ferrell, James Caan, Zooey Deschanel, Mary Steenburgen, Daniel Tay, Bob Newhart and Ed Asner. But he managed to make it work for most of the interior locations you see in the movie. He clarified to Jewish Journal, "It was never about Jesus, it was about Santa Claus.". Club, "I know Will was attached to an Elf 2. It became an architectural project in miniature, production designer Rusty Smith explained to Entertainment Weekly. He also wrote "The Haunted Mansion" for Disney, based off the famous theme park ride; the film starred Eddie Murphy. Advertisement By the time the project got up and running, 10 years later, Ferrell had replaced him. Screenwriter David Berenbaum and director Jon Favreau were both very much inspired by the stop-motion animated Rankin/Bass specials like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer when making Elf… ... That really makes me happy, and it's the best part of the job," Favreau told Rotten Tomatoes. David Berenbaum, Writer: Elf. One Elf element Deschanel isn't a fan of is her character's blonde hair. And yes, that really is Ferrell singing. Elf (Nov 14, 2010 - Jan 02, 2011) Based upon the New Line Cinema Film written by David Berenbaum; MusicalComedyOriginal. Gasp! Speaking to The Guardian about his decision the following year, Ferrell admitted that it was a lot of money but said he had no regrets. The film centers on Buddy, a human who was adopted and raised by Santa's elves. For all Elf's Christmas magic, Berenbaum's most important scene is watching Walter hug Buddy at the end. In 2006, Favreau told The A.V. But she told Variety that she was the backup choice to play the part, stepping in when the first-choice actress dropped out. Favreau panicked that if he showed a cut of the movie without the as-yet-incomplete stop-motion scenes, the studio wouldn't let him add them in later. This explains why he's most proud of his cameo as Mr. Narwhal. "One actress they were looking at was good at skateboarding," Deschanel said, and when the director found out Deschanel could sing, he added her now-iconic shower duet of "Baby, It's Cold Outside" with Buddy. Buddy used his elf training to construct it overnight, but it took the production team two weeks. "That's probably my most famous role of anything I've ever done because that's the one that's on T-shirts and sweaters," he told ABC. She was also excited to record a version with Leon Redbone, of whom she was a big fan. Elf: A Short Story of a Tall Tale [David Berenbaum, Aristides Ruiz, Buddy Hobbs, Ken Edwards Studio] on Amazon.com. The book is 5.25”x7.25” and is much smaller than expected. Cookies help us deliver our Services. Suddenly, Ferrell was famous, specifically for playing a beer-guzzling, streaking, ribbon-dancing, ring-of-fire-jumping frat man. Favreau also liked that the old-school technique made the movie feel more like one of the Christmas classics he'd loved as a kid. Their ultimate goal was not box office glory (although that would be nice.) Required fields are marked *. Deschanel quickly made Jovie her own, with help from Jon Favreau. 2003-11-16 04:00:00 PDT Los Angeles-- In the den of his Los Angeles apartment, screenplay writer David Berenbaum is surrounded by the stuff his … Originally, Favreau wanted to use Macy's, but the brand refused to show a Macy's Santa being unmasked (unbearded) as a fake. This is the untold truth of Elf, including the story of building Santaland, the scene Jon Favreau added for Zooey Deschanel, the lawsuit that nearly canceled everything, what James Caan was like on set, and why there won't be a sequel no matter how much Christmas cheer we spread. Another theme Berenbaum wanted to explore was a son looking for an absent father. And then they had to source all the bricks specially. But they even managed to use Riverview for the Hobbs' chic Manhattan apartment and the Gimbels department store interior, which was in the former cafeteria. "I'll see pictures online of people saying, 'Hey I'm introducing my son or my daughter to this movie for the first time.' (But people in those scenes did have to sign releases.) He also wrote "The Haunted Mansion" for Disney, based off the famous theme park ride; the film starred Eddie Murphy. Obviously they couldn't rebuild everything again, which meant Ferrell and Artie Lange, as the Gimbels Santa, had only one take to tear the production team's hard work apart. As producer Cale Boyter told Netflix, "Legally, we thought we had made a deal, and everything was cool." Christmas time is here again, and what better way to celebrate the yuletide season than with a truck load of Christmas movies to keep the spirit alive well unto the New Year. 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