Will Ferrell and much of the cast of his 2003 Christmas class “Elf” are gathering virtually Sunday, Dec. 13 at 4 p.m. to support the Democratic Party of Georgia. They will do a live reading of the film.
This is not the first time the “Old School” actor and “Saturday Night Live” vet has inserted himself into Georgia politics. Ferrell, who plays Buddy the Elf in the movie, flew to Atlanta in 2018 to campaign for Stacey Abrams and spoke with the morning shows on Q100 and V-103.
This upcoming fundraiser, produced by Hovercast, will be available for any donation amount, or viewers can sign up for a volunteer shift to drum up voters. All proceeds will go toward electing Democratic Senate candidates Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock and flipping the U.S. Senate. You can sign up here.
“I’m excited to bring Buddy back to the small screen to benefit the critical Senate runoff elections in Georgia,” Ferrell said in a press release. “We need new leadership in the U.S. Senate, and I’m hoping that Buddy and the rest of the Elf cast, can play a small role in delivering that change.”
Credit: Andy Kropa
Credit: Andy Kropa
Zooey Deschanel, who played Elf’s love interest Jovie in the movie, posted on Twitter: “If I were any more excited to be in the #ElfForGeorgia reunion, I might explode into a burst of snowflakes.”
The fundraiser will feature many other actors from “Elf,” including Bob Newhart (Papa Elf), Ed Asner (Santa), Mary Steenburgen (Emily), Amy Sedaris (Deb), Andy Richter (Morris) and Kyle Gass (Eugene). Danny Woodburn (”Seinfeld”) will cover for Peter Dinklage’s character Miles Finch.
Jon Favreau, who directed “Elf,” is not included in the press release as taking part in the reading, but Jon Favreau of the podcast “Pod Saves America” is.
James Caan, who played Walter, Elf’s actual dad, is not taking part. John Lithgow will take his place. (Lithgow played Ferrell’s character’s dad in the comedy film “Daddy’s Home” and its sequel.)
Others taking part include Busy Phillips, Matt Walsh, and Westminster Schools graduate and “Office” alum Ed Helms.
Comedian Ashley Nicole Black, who previously was a correspondent on TBS’s “Full Frontal With Samantha Bee,” will host the event.
Black noted in the press release that she “did a piece on ‘Full Frontal’ about voter suppression in Georgia. The voter suppression Georgians, particularly Georgians of color, deal with is truly next level. But despite all the challenges, they turned their state blue this year! Now they’re poised to help Democrats take back the Senate, and what better way to help them get out the vote than by doing something I wanted to do anyway: Watching the cast of one of my favorite movies read the movie on Zoom and also see what a little corner of their house looks like. Truly doesn’t get any better than this.”
This is part of a string of celebrity-infused virtual events in the past couple of weeks that have featured everyone from Pearl Jam and Justin Timberlake to Kerry Washington and Eva Longoria.
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