Did Jon Favreau write Elf?

Elf is a 2003 American Christmas comedy film directed by Jon Favreau and written by David Berenbaum.
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Who wrote the script for Elf?

David Berenbaum is a native of Philadelphia and a graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. He is best known for writing the 2003 Will Ferrell Christmas comedy classic, "Elf".
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Who came up with the idea for Elf movie?

Elf Was An Ode To Writer David Berenbaum's Father

Much of Elf's inspiration - and the idea for the movie in the first place - came on behalf of the film's screenwriter, David Berenbaum.
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Who was originally supposed to play Buddy the Elf in Elf?

Will Farrell wasn't originally slated to play Buddy. The original script for the movie in the early 1990s had comedian Jim Carrey chosen to star in the role of Buddy the Elf. Turns out, Carrey ended up playing a very different Christmas character in the 2000 film How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
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Was Jon Favreau the doctor in Elf?

Elf (2003) - Jon Favreau as Ben - Walter Hobbs' Doctor - IMDb.
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How “Elf” Helped Launch Jon Favreau’s Directing Career (2004)

What actor turned down the role of Elf?

Jim Carrey as Buddy the Elf in Elf. The script for Elf was first written in 1993, and at the time, Carrey was attached to star in it. However, the movie did not immediately go into production, and by the time it did in 2003, Carrey was no longer interested in the role.
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How did Jon Favreau come up with Elf?

While workshopping Elf, Favreau said, "If I made the world that he (Buddy) was from as though he grew up as an elf in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, one of those Rankin/Bass Christmas specials I grew up with, then everything fell into place tonally." Along with shifting the thematic style away from PG-13 to PG ...
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Did James Caan really play the piano in Elf?

James Caan was a true delight. My favorite memory of him was shooting part of a montage for the end of Elf and he started playing piano — he played beautifully — I sang and he played and I was just astonished by his talent!
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Why did Jim Carrey not play Elf?

Jim Carrey was initially eyed to play Buddy in Elf.

However, it took another 10 years to get the project in motion, at which time Saturday Night Live star Will Ferrell was signed to star.
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Who else tried out for Buddy the Elf?

David Berenbaum initially wrote the script in 1993, with Chris Farley and Jim Carrey being early candidates to play Buddy. Berenbaum's screenplay underwent uncredited rewrites by Scot Armstrong, Chris Henchy, and the writing team of Adam McKay and Will Ferrell.
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Who was the first choice for Elf?

The Original Elf Script Was Written For Jim Carrey

Given his wild and zany characters on In Living Color, Carrey was seen as a natural for the goofiness and playfulness needed to play Buddy the Elf. That casting was not meant to be, however, as Berenbaum's version of the movie never got made.
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Is Gimbels from Elf a real store?

Fun fact: Producers wanted to feature the famous Macy's 34th street location, the largest store in the world, but Macy's refused to have their name used. So they settled on Gimbels, a now defunct NY department store–the exterior was shot at 5th Avenue and E 30th St and decorated with CGI.
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How much did Will Ferrell make from Elf?

Elf was Will Ferrell's second box office hit. He reportedly received a whopping salary of $17 million for that film alone, more on par with what his talents would dictate in the mid-2000s. He was allegedly offered $29 million to act in an Elf sequel, but couldn't get his heart into it, so he turned it down.
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Why did Macy's refuse to be in Elf?

Macy's, however, didn't like the idea of being associated with an “imposter” Santa Claus, according to Favreau. So if “Elf” wanted to film at the Santaland in Macy's, or even mention Macy's in the movie, the scene had to go. “We had to think long and hard about it,” Favreau told Rolling Stone in 2013.
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How old was Zooey Deschanel in Elf?

I was only 21 when I made that movie. I remember sitting—I was at my parents' house because I basically just dropped out of college to be an actor—and I remember sitting at my parents' house reading that script and laughing out loud. Since then, I've seen that that's a good sign." Deschanel said.
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Does Will Ferrell improvise in Elf?

“Elf” (2003) One funny improvised moment comes earlier on with the elf's reaction to Santa's impending arrival, but this chaotic storyline serves up even more hilarious unscripted bits afterwards.
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Who turned down the role of Buddy the Elf?

Jim Carrey was originally considered for the role of Buddy the Elf, but Will Ferrell ultimately brought the iconic character to life. The original script for Elf was much darker, but director Jon Favreau rewrote it to make it more family-friendly and PG-rated.
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Who was originally meant to play Elf?

The first script for Elf was written way back in 1993 with Jim Carrey in mind to play Buddy. However, as the project took years to get off the ground, The Mask star never ended up taking on the role.
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What does Will Ferrell think of Elf?

Elf Was a Game Changer for Will Ferrell

Ferrell said in an interview on Off Camera with Sam Jones: “I had no idea. The first time we tested the movie we did two screenings. We did one that was more of a family focused audience, and it worked great with them.
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How much did James Caan make in Elf?

Celebrity Net Worth noted that court documents showed Caan earning $1 million in royalties in 2015, with $140,000 annually from the Christmas classic “Elf.”
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How old was Will Ferrell in Elf was filmed?

This actually makes Buddy a fair amount younger than Will Ferrell himself, who was 35 years old at the time of Elf's filming, and 36 when the movie was released to theaters.
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How old was James Caan during Elf?

James Caan stars in Elf with Will Ferrell in 2003

The legendary actor was 82-years-old and had enjoyed an incredible 60-year career. During his time on the big screen he starred in some iconic pictures such as The Godfather, Dick Tracy and The Rain People to name but a few.
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Why did they use gimbels in Elf?

Instead, Buddy winds up working at Gimbels, a once popular competitor of Macy's that closed back in the '80s. The popular Christmas movie came out in 2003. So why not Macy's? "Macy's was willing to let us shoot there, use their Santaland, even incorporate us into the parade," director Jon Favreau told Rolling Stone.
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Why is Buddy so childish in Elf?

Born December 18th, Buddy was adopted by elves and Santa Claus as a baby, so he never got to discover how exactly to be human. He developed certain skills like quickly decorating a large space, creating toys in short amounts of time and generally being a good person.
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Why didn't Jim Carrey play Buddy the Elf?

Because screenwriter David Berenbaum had been developing the script since 1993, Will Ferrell's wasn't the first actor to be up for the role of Buddy. Jim Carrey came closest, but turned it down to make Ace Ventura, the movie that would make his name.
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