Will Ferrell is hosting Saturday Night Live this weekend with musical guest King Princess. I can’t figure out what he’s promoting, if he’s promoting anything, or maybe he’s just cruising by for a visit for old times, to do Lorne a favour. Is it Succession? For some reason when his name comes up during the opening credits, along with Adam McKay, it always surprises me. He and Adam announced earlier this year that after over a decade of co-producing, they’re amicably ending their professional partnership. I’ve not heard that there’s any drama here but I don’t know what that means for Succession going forward into season three. None of the reporting on that seems clear to me. Succession, though, is likely going to be a factor at the Golden Globes. Or at least it should be. The show was slightly under the radar in its first season but everyone was talking about season two and there are some people who think that if Emmy voters had another month to vote, Game of Thrones may have lost the Outstanding Drama Emmy to Succession. That said, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association is all about marquee stars, and as wildly entertaining as Succession is, it has yet to produce the kind of star that the Globes pop boners for – like for sure The Morning Show will be a contender given its cast. If Succession doesn’t come up for the Globes though, count on it to be a factor at Critics’ Choice and the SAGs.
Will of course is also a producer on Hustlers and Joanna just reminded me that he attended the Governors Awards with Jennifer Lopez and director Lorene Scafaria. He hasn’t been the FACE of the film, obviously, but showing up and repping these projects is reminder that, behind the scenes, he’s been building a very impressive vault of work behind the camera.
Back to Will and his week in New York – he was on The Tonight Show last night ahead of his appearance on SNL and he and Jimmy reminisced about the Cow Bell. The Cow Bell is one of the most famous sketches in Saturday Night Live history. And it’s aged so well. I just watched it, and it’s been a while, and it’s still funny, even though I’ve probably seen it at least a couple of hundred times.
Will’s Cow Bell anecdote this time is about the sketch’s legacy, particularly for Christopher Walken. I know that Christopher’s “I need more cow bell” delivery is now iconic but you know what we don’t talk enough about? The way he says “baby” several times in the sketch might actually be funnier.
Anyway, according to Will, Cow Bell might have ruined Christopher Walken’s life. Because everywhere he goes, people either talk about cow bells or they bring cow bells.
You want to watch it now, don’t you? It’s hard to find on YouTube but Vimeo has a link here.
By the way, if you want another Will Farrell cracks everyone up sketch, my husband Jacek’s favourite is Old Prospector, Gus Chiggins, which was cut for time. It’s a classic.
