Ferrell claims that he cries “every single time” he watches the cross-country road trip that their longstanding friends take in the documentary “Will & Harper.”
More information is emerging regarding the friendship-fueled car trip across the country that Will Ferrell and Harper Steele wrote about in Will & Harper.
The two longtime friends, Ferrell, 57, and Steele, 63, who first met on Saturday Night Live in the early 1990s, spoke openly about their moving new documentary, directed by Josh Greenbaum, which follows their first trip together after Steele comes out as transgender. Ferrell and Steele attended the Telluride Film Festival on Saturday, August 31.
During the performance, Steele disclosed that Ferrell’s initial concept for the 16-day excursion was not intended to depict the transgender experience, but rather to tell the story of how “friends should come together” during “moments of change or crisis.”
“I think this isn’t a representation of a trans woman walking through the world in red states in America, or really anywhere else, because they don’t have a camera or Will Ferrell,” the trans lady said.
Steele remarked, “We were very aware of that.” The movie, in my view, is really more about how friends, regardless of gender identity, should help one another during tough times. And I think [the film] does a great job at it.
Ferrell realized, too, that he added a celebrity quality to their journey. He continued to laugh, saying, “Harper would always tell me that I’m a B level actor, that I’ve fallen off of A, and that I’m fighting to stay a B level actor, maybe even dipping my toe into the C level.”
Above all, he asserted that genuine bonds developed naturally “once that kind of melted away” with others they encounter in dive bars and racetracks. “Everyone was wondering what you guys were doing. Then we had a genuine talk and got down to business,” he said.
The two also talked about their impressions of viewing the documentary with the Telluride crowd. Given that she shares the audience in her emotional journey throughout the film, Harper acknowledged that watching it again is “not easy.”
“I cry every single time I see that,” Ferrell went on. The individual said, “I’ve got my Kleenex here,” calling the documentary “one of my favorite things I’ve ever had the opportunity to work on.”
The official synopsis of the movie reads, “After Will Ferrell’s close friend Harper comes out as transgender, they go on a road trip to reconnect and reintroduce Harper to the nation as she truly is.” The movie made its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January, and the following month, Netflix will start streaming it.
