How Netflix's 'Between Two Ferns' movie got Keanu Reeves and Brie Larson in the hot seat
In January 2008, without any fanfare, an unassuming video was uploaded to the website Funny or Die in which a then-largely unknown comedian named Zach Galifianakis conducted a painfully awkward interview with actor Michael Cera on a bare-bones set featuring two potted ferns. Galifianakis lobbed disdainful questions at Cera and snored aloud at his answers. He mockingly imitated his voice. He tried to force him to tickle his thigh. And a viral comedy hit was born.
Subsequent episodes of "Between Two Ferns" racked up millions of views and a pair of Emmys, with boldfaced names including Brad Pitt, Jennifer Lawrence, Sean Penn, Charlize Theron, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton lining up for turns in the guest chair.
Eventually, Galifianakis and co-creator Scott Aukerman started toying with the idea of expanding the series, which skewered the typically bland, fatuous back-and-forth of celebrity interviews, into a full-fledged feature film. But that was easier said than done.
"To take a four- or five-minute video and
