Will Ferrell:
Andre Benjamin:
Andre Benjamin: It was really Kent Alterman, the director. He called, he said, “We have this script,” I read it, and I thought it was funny. So many rappers make that move, but there seems to be like a comfort zone a lot of people don’t want to break out of. Going with full-fledged comedy, that’s a totally different look. Andre Benjamin: I never really think, “I can’t do this role, ’cause I’m a rapper.” You’re doing a job, and whatever that job requires, you jump into it. To be honest, I never thought that I was funny—when I did Be Cool, the director had to convince me to be in the movie. But I met with Kent, we talked about the role a bit, and I said, “How can you turn down a chance to be in a movie with this guy?” Will Ferrell:[In Ron Burgundy voice] With Big Time. [Laughter
Will Ferrell: It was actually one of the first names Kent mentioned, and we were like, “That’s a great idea!” Obviously, in casting comedy, you think comedy names first, but we thought it’d be great to think outside the box a little bit. So Andre came and read. Andre Benjamin:
Andre Benjamin: A lot of people think that you easily get these roles because you do music. I mean, you could knock on the door faster than anybody, but it doesn’t necessarily get you in… Will Ferrell:
Will Ferrell:
Andre Benjamin: Oh, I knew it. Will Ferrell:[Laughs.]Andre Benjamin: I was real nervous. I have to try out for movies all the time, and I hate the audition process. Will Ferrell: It’s awful. Andre Benjamin:
Andre Benjamin: I don’t remember a lot of those—I could hold it until we got done. Will Ferrell:[Laughs.] The thing with this movie was there was a little less improv, in a way. We had so much to get done with all the basketball plays that there needed to be more structure. We had to get all these different angles, which you normally just get in a scene—but this was on the court, trying to cover 10 different guys and a bench and a crowd and everything. Andre Benjamin: Don’t let him fool you, I still remember laughing. [Laughter
Andre Benjamin: As a rapper, I don’t freestyle. I used to freestyle when I used to get drunk, and it didn’t matter. Will Ferrell:[Laughs.]Andre Benjamin: See, I’m a thinker; I think too much. So for me to freestyle rap, it’s like I’m thinking three, four time steps ahead, and I hate it. Will Ferrell: There are times when you roll the camera and divine inspiration hits you, and you’re coming up with all this stuff. But a lot of times, you’ll cut, and in that moment when you’re waiting, that’s when you know the thing you want to throw in the next take. Andre Benjamin: And the opposite effect of that, too, was after we finished the reshoots, I got home and was laying in bed one night, and I was like, “Shit, I should’ve done this!” Will Ferrell: That’s the torturous part. Andre Benjamin: Something you wish you could have done. Will Ferrell: You think about it as you drive home, too. Andre Benjamin: Sometimes the improv works because you’re just in it. Like, I don’t freestyle, but when I’m writing and thinking, sometimes things pop up—that’s basically a freestyle.
Will Ferrell:
Will Ferrell:
Will Ferrell:[Laughs
Andre Benjamin:[Laughs.]Will Ferrell:[Laughs
Will Ferrell: Do you check that stuff out? Andre Benjamin: I did when our last album came out, see, because Big Boi told me to check it out. But I’ve learned that’s not a good thing. Will Ferrell: Same here. Andre Benjamin: I don’t mind opinions, because you like something or you don’t like something, but to say things about your personal life? I’m like, “Man, let me quit reading this. ’Cause I’ll stab everybody.” Will Ferrell:[Laughs.] When I was on the show, occasionally I would go [online] and I’d read one nice comment, read another nice comment, and then the fourth comment would be, like, “I’d like to DRAG HIM BEHIND A CAR!”
[Laughter.]Will Ferrell: But it’s nice that people are talking about you! [Laughter.]Andre Benjamin: But sometimes they just think too deeply about stuff. Sometimes your fans are way deeper than you are. They think you meant something like this big power-of-the-world thing that you said, but really you were just trying to find a word to rhyme with another word. You know? Will Ferrell:
Laughter.]Andre Benjamin:
Will Ferrell:[Laughs.] I remember meeting a guy on the subway, and he brought up Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, like, “What was up with that?” And usually stuff just rolls off my back, but for some reason, it just struck a chord, and I was like [solemnly], “You know what? It’s HARD to make a movie.”
[Laughter.]Will Ferrell:
Andre Benjamin:
Laughter.]
Andre Benjamin:
Andre Benjamin:
Andre Benjamin:
Will Ferrell: I’ll be in the video…do we even make videos anymore? [Laughter