Which Will Ferrell flick is tops in the Carolinas? Well, it’s not what you think.
What? You mean you didn’t know that Will Ferrell is turning 51 years old this month?!
Yes, the comic actor will mark five decades plus one year on this orb on July 16. And while 51 isn’t usually a milestone that inspires much in the way of commemoration, CableTV.com is marking the occasion by crunching data to determine each state’s favorite Will Ferrell film.
Well, OK, I guess? Seems like a strange undertaking, but why not?
For methodology, analysts with the website combined Google Trends data with listicles run in Rolling Stone and the Internet Movie Database. And it yielded up a somewhat surprising result for the Southeastern U.S.
The expected choice for this part of the world would be 2006’s “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.” It’s set in the world of car-racing, which is akin to religion around here, and it was also filmed in the NASCAR capital of Charlotte.
Instead, the most popular Ferrell film across most of the South — from North and South Carolina down to Florida, plus Mississippi and Louisiana to the West — is “Old School,” a 2003 gone-to-college caper in which he is actually second-billed to Luke Wilson.
Some film buffs might have considered some regional love for “Blades of Glory”. It was co-written by John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky, both graduates of UNC-Chapel Hill who are part of “Ant-Man and the Wasp” director Peyton Reed’s Hollywood Tar Heel expatriate circle. But the 2007 ice-skating comedy is the top pick in just two faraway states: Idaho and Vermont.
Elsewhere, it seems like there would be more widespread love for 2004’s “Anchorman,” given how many Ron Burgundy memes you see online. And yet it’s the top pick in just three states — Minnesota, South Dakota and Alaska.
Perhaps one that does make sense is New York, which is a fan of “Zoolander,” the satire about fashion and models.
If all this Ferrell-mania is catching, be advised that the “Elf” musical (based on the 2003 Ferrell movie) will be coming to Durham Performing Arts Center Dec. 4-9. The “Friends of DPAC” runs through Friday, July 13.
CableTV.com provides information about the country’s cable TV providers.