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May 3, 2005 4:14 pm US/Central
Ferrell Praised At 'Screaming' Premiere
'Kicking & Screaming' Opens May 13
LOS ANGELES (AP) ―
As a soccer player, Will Ferrell is a great comic actor — or so said some of the actor's fellow cast members from "Kicking & Screaming."
The family comedy, which opens May 13, enjoyed an unusually breezy, relaxed world premiere Sunday at Universal Studios.
Attendees included Ferrell, co-star Robert Duvall and real-life former football player and coach Mike Ditka, as well as countless child actors from the film.
"Kicking & Screaming" follows a new-age father (Ferrell) who becomes downright possessed by the spirit of competition when he ends up coaching his son's soccer team. Duvall plays Ferrell's winning-obsessed father, the coach of a rival team.
"It's kind of a story of fathers and sons," Ferrell told AP Television News. "And Robert Duvall, who plays my father, is kind of the legendary local soccer player and he coached me growing up, and now I'm coaching my son, and we kind of butt heads on the soccer field."
Off-camera, however, the actors got along swimmingly. "Talented guy, with taste," Oscar-winner Duvall ("Tender Mercies") said of Ferrell. "Not like a lot of comedians hitting you over the head, trying to make you laugh all the time. He's very subtle about things."
How was Ferrell on the playing field?
"We didn't really play a game with him," replied Jeremy Bergman ("The Station Agent"), one of the child actors on Ferrell's team. "But we saw the true soccer side of Will."
Which is what? "Not very good," Jeremy confessed.
Ferrell was none to pleased to hear this little talk. "Really?" he asked, feigning fury. "They're liars!"
"Kicking & Screaming" is expected to enjoy modest box-office success, as it's the only family targeted film to be released between now and "Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith," which opens May 19.
About a month later, Ferrell returns to the screen with Nicole Kidman in a big-screen comedy inspired by the beloved '60s sitcom, "Bewitched."
"I think it's gonna be a really exciting," said Ferrell, who noted he has only seen a couple "Bewitched" scenes. "You know, it's a whole different premise from the television show," he continued. "So it kind of encapsulates enough from the TV show, but then it's not exactly what you think it's going to be."
(© 2005 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
