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Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

They bring you the news so you don't have to get it yourself.

2004 · 94 min · Comedy
7.5 Modest
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Comedy

It's the 1970s and San Diego anchorman Ron Burgundy is the top dog in local TV, but that's all about to change when ambitious reporter Veronica Corningstone arrives as a new employee at his station.

Country of origin
🇺🇸 United States
Year
2004
Studio
DreamWorks Pictures · Apatow Productions

Trivia & behind the scenes

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Casting

Will Ferrell and Adam McKay originally wanted Ed Harris for the role of Ed Harken, but it eventually went to Fred Willard.

Casting

Several actors were considered for other roles before casting was finalized: Dan Aykroyd for Garth Holiday, Alec Baldwin for Frank Vitchard, James Spader for Brick Tamland, and Bob Odenkirk, Ben Stiller, and Ron Livingston for Brian Fantana.

Casting

John C. Reilly was originally considered for Champ Kind, and although he doesn't appear in the final film, his performance at an early read-through impressed Will Ferrell so much that a role was later written for him in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby; Reilly eventually appeared in the 2013 sequel instead.

Casting

Amy Adams, Leslie Mann, and Maggie Gyllenhaal all auditioned for the role of Veronica Corningstone before it went to Christina Applegate.

Origins

Before Anchorman, Ferrell and McKay wrote a script called August Blowout, described by Ferrell as 'Glengarry Glen Ross meets a car dealership,' which was popular in Hollywood but never got made; one of its readers was Paul Thomas Anderson, who offered to shepherd their next script.

Origins

An early draft of the Anchorman script was a parody of the disaster film Alive, featuring the news team stranded in the wilderness after a plane crash and trying to escape a group of ninja-star-wielding orangutans, and reportedly even included a musical number with sharks; Paul Thomas Anderson left the project as producer after being taken aback by the script's bizarre nature.

Filming

The film's original storyline centered on the news team tracking a group of hippie bank robbers called 'The Alarm Clock,' but poor test audience reactions—attributed by Ferrell to its uncomfortable resemblance to the Patty Hearst kidnapping—led to major rewrites and reshoots replacing that plot with the panda birth storyline in the final cut.

Filming

The cut Alarm Clock footage, along with alternate takes and new narration, was repurposed into a separate direct-to-video companion film, Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie, released straight to DVD on December 28, 2004.

Filming

Although set in San Diego, the film was mainly shot in Los Angeles, Glendale, and Long Beach on sets dressed to resemble 1970s San Diego; the brief real aerial shots of San Diego actually show downtown buildings that hadn't been built yet during the era depicted.

References

The physical appearance of Ron Burgundy may have been modeled on real-life San Diego news anchor Harold Greene, though retired anchor Mort Crim later claimed Ferrell told him he was the inspiration for the character.

References

The character of Veronica Corningstone was partly modeled on Jessica Savitch, a colleague of Mort Crim during his time in Philadelphia who later became a prominent NBC News figure.

Music

The film's memorable 'jazz flute' solo was performed by Los Angeles studio musician Katisse Buckingham.

Trivia

Ferrell and McKay recorded an audio commentary for the home release that consists mostly of random, facetious discussions unrelated to the film or its production.

Reception

BBC presenter Andrew Marr in 2021 and Sky News presenter Dermot Murnaghan in 2023 both ended their final broadcasts after long tenures by referencing Ron Burgundy's signature line, 'Stay classy, San Diego.'

Memorable quotes

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For all of us here at News Center Four, I'm Ron Burgundy. You stay classy, San Diego.

Ron Burgundy Sign-off catchphrase at end of every broadcast

[upon seeing Veronica Corningstone for the first time] By the beard of Zeus!

Ron Burgundy Seeing Veronica Corningstone for the first time

By the hymen of Olivia Newton John!

Ron Burgundy Exclamation of surprise

The arsonist has oddly shaped feet.

Ron Burgundy Reading nonsensical news copy on air

[clears throat] The Human Torch was denied a bank loan.

Ron Burgundy Reading nonsensical news copy on air

It's called Sex Panther by Odeon. It's made with bits of real panther, so you know it's good. They've done studies, you know. Sixty percent of the time, it works every time.

Brian Fantana Showing off his cologne before a date

Mm, I love scotch. I love Scotch. Scotchy, Scotch, Scotch. Here it goes down. Down into my belly. Mm-mm-mm.

Ron Burgundy Drinking scotch with the news team

It's so damn hot . . . milk was a bad choice!

Ron Burgundy Complaining about the heat

I woke up this morning on the floor of some Japanese family's rec room, and they would not stop screaming!

Champ Kind Recounting a wild night

[to Brian Fantana] “We've been coming to the same party for 12 years now...and in no way is that depressing.”

Ron Burgundy Talking to Brian Fantana at the annual party

Oh, come on. Audrey. I look like hell. I got bags under my eyes. What's that? Well, if you were a man, I would punch you. I'd punch you right in the mouth. That's bush. Bush league.

Ron Burgundy Arguing with Veronica

Knights of Columbus that hurt!

Ron Burgundy Reacting to pain

Como éstan, bitches! Spanish language news is here. Tonight's top story: the sewers run red with Burgundy's blood.

Arturo Mendez Rival Spanish news anchor taunting Ron

Not so fast, you ingrates! Public News Team is taking a break from its pledge drive to kick some ass. No commercials! No mercy!

Public News anchor Rival news team joining the brawl

Ladies and gentlemen, can I please have your attention? I've just been handed an urgent and horrifying news story. I need all of you to stop what you're doing and listen. Cannonball!

Ron Burgundy Jumping into a pool during a party

[from the outtakes] I pooped a hammer.

Brick Tamland Outtake blooper

[from the outtakes] I pooped a tape recorder.

Brick Tamland Outtake blooper

[from the outtakes] I drank a lava lamp. It wasn't lava.

Brick Tamland Outtake blooper

[from the outtakes] I ate a whole bunch of fiberglass insulation. It wasn't cotton candy like that guy said. My stomach's itchy.

Brick Tamland Outtake blooper

[to Veronica Corningstone] Apparently, my son was on something called acid and was firing a bow and arrow into a crowd. You know how kids are!

Ed Harken Explaining his son's antics

How the community felt

😵 Shocked 33%
😆 Amused 100%
😑 Weary 33%

What people are saying (1)

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Torrezno ★ 8

1 week ago

Es impresionante la cantidad de veces que aciertan con los chistes. En serio, es ciencia…

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