Synopsis:

Anchorman like you’ve never seen it before. This fanedit takes the primary story elements of the direct-to-DVD release of Wake Up Ron Burgundy and re-integrates them into the narrative of Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. In effect, this fanedit approximates the original version of the film that was rejected by preview audiences.

Intentions:

Before release, the original version of Anchorman was shown to, and rejected by a preview audience. This original version of the film featured a subplot about a gang of misfit revolutionaries called the Alarm Clock. Based on that feedback Dreamworks ordered a massive re-write and re-shoot which eliminated the Alarm Clock, replaced it with the pregnant panda, and resulted in the film we all know and love like as much as Brick loves lamp. Looking to cash in on the unexpected success of the film, they assembled a quasi sequel using alternate takes of various news broadcast scenes, deleted elements of scenes that did make it into the final movie, and the entire deleted Alarm Clock subplot and supporting story elements. To cover the narrative holes caused by critical footage already used in the theatrical release, they used narration to set up the film and bridge the plot holes. In essence, Wake Up Ron Burgundy is an outline of the original film, stripped of the details used to tell the full story. While Wake Up is humorous particularly knowing the characters based on the theatrical release, it is disjointed and uneven, only allowing you to glimpse the story they originally filmed. This is more a fanedit of Wake Up than it is of The Legend of Ron Burgundy. It does not seek to improve the theatrical film, but rather restore Wake Up Ron Burgundy to something that approximates the original.

Change List:

- Used Wake Up (WU) opening narration in place of the theatrical, but cut back to theatrical as the helicopter touches down. - Swapped out much of the initial news broadcast with alternate takes used in WU including different at-home reactions such as the old-folks home. - Cut out Ron meeting Veronica at the party – integrated WU party into the end of the party scene followed by introduction of the Alarm Clock gang robbing a bank. - Trimmed the morning meeting as needed in order to swap out the Panda discussion for a discussion on the Alarm Clock robbery from previous scene. - Moved Ron coming home and talking to Baxter about Veronica to after meeting in Harkin’s office (this is now the first time Ron meets Veronica) - Cut out confrontation with Wes Mantooth in Sea Port Village. - Inserted Alarm Clock gang going over haul from their robbery and questioning Paul about the Manifesto - Followed by WU newscast that covers the robbery and segues into "I'm Ron Burgundy?" - this replaces the Brian Fantana report from the zoo. (Also of note, in the theatrical version the teleprompter that has "I'm Ron Burgundy?" is preceded by text from the WU newscast rather than the theatrical version) - Inserted the "Broadcasting with the Gods" portion of their date from WU into the normal date sequence - Inserted the WU portions of Tino's into the date - Inserted WU discussion in Ron's office about Veronica going on her first assignment, followed by WU version of Veronica's coverage. - After Ron apologizes to Veronica over Fondu, insert Brian, Champ and Brick driving by themselves. - Followed by WU meeting of Veronica in Harkin's office asking to follow-up on Alarm Clock lead - After Veronica anchors the news, insert cafeteria scene where Ron and team hatch plan to force Veronica out. - Use alternate versions of Ron and Champ crank calling Veronica. - Insert second robbery by the Alarm Clock from WU, followed by Veronica looking for tape to confirm her suspicion about Paul (which leads to confrontation with Ron in the Bullpen) - Insert WU scene of Veronica watching video after she wins fight with Ron. - Insert WU scene of Ron and Harkin talking about Ron doing his own investigative stories (in which Ron is disheveled from fight with Veronica and crying from mace spray) - Followed by Rip the Lid Off It sequence - Abridged the I don't fucking say fuck of the unrated cut. - Swapped out theatrical version of Veronica doing news solo and Ron watching with WU version where she covers the Alarm Clock story (instead of the Panda) - Inserted WU scene of Veronica under pressure on the job and feeling bad about Ron Followed by WU scene of Jess Moondragon (shortened sequence) - From this point on the rest of the footage is pretty much from Wake Up. I created a hybrid of the News Team Assemble! versions and made pacing trims throughout the climax. - Added Wilhelm Scream to fight sequence because... duh...

Additional Notes:

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Other Sources:

Sources: Anchorman: Wake Up Ron Burgundy R1 DVD Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy R1 DVD While Wake Up is essentially comprised of alternate takes, deleted scenes and the abandoned Alarm Clock sub-plot, between the two DVD's there are literally hours upon hours of extra footage; deleted scenes, extended sequences, and even more alternate takes and endings. I originally incorporated a few of these, but unfortunately unlike Wake Up, the rest of the footage is pretty poor and stands out when intercut with either film so I elected to stick to only footage between the two main features. The primary approach was to remove all of the Panda scenes (including news references and discussions) and swap out with the Alarm Clock scenes. For the most part this was fairly simple because they used the same wardrobe and sets. Occasionally some liberty and/or guesswork was required in order to make the narrative flow in a natural manner and avoid major continuity or logic issues. Additionally wherever possible I used alternate takes or re-inserted elements that were deleted but not specific to either version of the story. This was to help the overall film have a more different feel than the theatrical version.

Special Thanks:

Dwight Fry, NJVC and Neglify all provided fantastic feedback, observations and suggestions based on the workprint and I am indebted to them for their assistance.