James Caan reveals the friction between Will Ferrell and Jon Favreau as he opens up about the real reason why the plan for 'Elf' second movie has been scrapped.
- Sep 20, 2020
AceShowbiz - Actor James Caan has opened up on why holiday favourite movie "Elf" never received a sequel.
The flick centres on Will Ferrell's character Buddy, who was raised by elves and is shocked to find out he's actually a human who stowed away in Santa's sack.
He goes in search of his real father in New York City, hoping to start a relationship with him and make him believe in the magic of Christmas again.
Since its 2003 release, the film has been hailed as a Christmas classic by fans, and Caan, who appears as Walter Hobbs, a children's book publisher and Buddy's biological father, in the flick, reflected on its legacy during a chat with Cleveland's 92.3 The Fan's Bull & Fox show.
According to the star, there were plans to "do (a sequel) and I thought, 'Oh my god, I finally got a franchise movie, I could make some money, let my kids do what the hell they want to do.' "
However, it didn't come to fruition because "the director and Will didn't get along very well… So, Will wanted to do it, he didn't want the director, and he had it in his contract, it was one of those things."
"Elf" also stars Zooey Deschanel, Mary Steenburgen, Ed Asner, and Bob Newhart.
Directed by Jon Favreau, the holiday movie grossed $220 million worldwide against a $33 million budget and inspired a Broadway musical. Favreau had made public his desire to do a sequel, but Ferrell squashed it every time.
