Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams star as Eurovision hopefuls in Netflix’s new movie Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.
While we may have missed out on the real thing this year, a trip to a fictional Eurovision might be just what fans need to lift their spirits.
Ferrell and McAdams play an Icelandic singing duo who head to the famed Song Contest in 1972 with an opportunity to prove themselves with their original song, Volcano Man.
While Ferrell’s Eurovision movie isn’t a true story, being far from an accurate depiction of the already bizarre event, there’s plenty of familiar elements in the film, including our very own Graham Norton.
You can check out a full list of the Eurovision cast and cameos here, or read on for everything we know about Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga…
When is the Eurovision movie released?
Slightly delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga has now arrived on Netflix.
The film is now set to be released on Netflix on June 26, 2020.
First announced in June 2018, the Eurovision movie was shot throughout 2019. Will Ferrell attended the final of the 2018 Contest as research, and he and co-star Rachel McAdams were also spotted at the dress rehearsals of the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Israel.
Speaking to ENews about her research for the film, McAdams said: “[Eurovision] got on my radar the year that Conchita Wurst won a few years back for Germany and then I didn’t come across it again until the film came up and then I was off to Tel Aviv to do research at the actual Eurovision and it was a steep learning curve from there.”
“I am really glad that I actually went because you can’t get a feel for that from a YouTube video or doing research from home. Just the pride that each country has in their representing group and how patriotic everyone is and the enthusiasm and how much the performers really go for it.”
What is Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga about?
The story revolves around Icelandic musicians Lars Erickssong (Will Ferrell) and Sigrit Ericksdottir (Rachel McAdams), childhood friends who are given the chance to represent their country in the Eurovision Song Contest with their pop group Fire Saga.
Although hated in their country, Fire Saga somehow become Iceland’s representing group for Eurovision and strive to prove their neighbours, and Lars’s disappointed father Erick (Pierce Brosnan), wrong.
Set in 1972 (which was actually 16 years before Iceland first competed in the competition), it’s a comedy written by Andrew Steele and Will Ferrell, who has only previously written five of the films he has starred in.
The spoof film is directed by David Dobkin, who directed both Ferrell and McAdams in 2005 comedy Wedding Crashers.
Is there a trailer?
Netflix released a teaser for Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga back in May – the same night the cancelled Eurovision 2020 Grand Final was supposed to be held – in the form of a music video.
The track ‘Volcano Man’, performed by Ferrell and McAdams’s characters, feels so authentically Eurovision that it’s hard to believe it’s not a genuine Euro-pop classic from the 1970s.
An official trailer for the film was released in June, revealing Sigrid and Lars as the unpopular Icelandic duo Fire Saga who have dreamed of winning the Eurovision Song Contest since they were children.
The three minute clip gives us a better look at Fire Saga’s musical competition, including Dan Stevens as Russia’s entry “sex player” Alexander Lemtov.
With just a few days to go before the film lands on Netflix, Ferrell and McAdams have teased fans even more with a mockumentary rock profile of the Icelandic pop duo Fire Saga.
The short clip, which shows an interview with Sigrid and Lars, reveals that Volcano Man isn’t actually the duo’s Eurovision song. A quick shot reveals the song they’ll be performing is called Double Trouble and features Will Ferrell being lowered onto the stage in a hamster wheel.
Who is in the Eurovision movie?
The Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga cast is packed with big names including Will Ferrell (Lars Erickssong) and Rachel McAdams (Sigrit Ericksdottir), playing Iceland’s loved-up entry in the song contest.
McAdams told ET Online that she watched “a lot of Bjork” to nail the Icelandic accent for the film.
They’re joined by Pierce Brosnan, who plays Lars’s father Erick – “possibly the most handsome man in Iceland”, Brosnan told RTE’s The Late Late Show.
Dan Stevens also appears in the film as Russian singer Alexander Lemtov, Fire Saga’s competitor and Sigrit’s admirer, while singer Demi Lovato stars as Katiana – her first film role since 2010’s Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam.
From the trailer, we also know that Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (Murder Mystery) and Mikael Persbrandt (Sex Education) also feature in the film.
Eurovision’s UK commentator Graham Norton, who hosted the Eurovision 2020 replacement show, also makes a cameo in the film as himself.
What will the film look like?
On 19th May, Netflix released several teaser shots from the film, which show off Lars and Sigrit’s various flamboyant 70’s costumes.
In the sneak peek photos, we can see Will Ferrell sporting long locks to play his Icelandic character, complete with metallic jacket, while Rachel McAdams dons a floaty blue number that wouldn’t go amiss on the real-life Eurovision stage.
The first look also teases a performance by a shirtless Dan Stevens, who we see wearing a long ostentatious jacket whilst surrounded by semi-naked dancers in tight golden leggings. Clearly, a very different role to his stint on Downton Abbey.
Are Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams actually singing in the film?
In Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, both Sigrit and Lars sing a variety of songs as they perform in the competition, but do we hear Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams’ actual vocals?
Few will be surprised to learn that Ferrell is actually singing in his role, with his hilarious tones undoubtedly recognisable and his previous experience singing in Step Brothers.
However, according to Pop Sugar, Rachel McAdams does not provide the vocals for her character Sigrid. Instead, her singing voice is borrowed from Swedish singer Molly Sandén, who is credited as My Marianne in the film. Sandén has actual Eurovision experience, having placed third in the children’s version of the contest in 2006.
Where was the Eurovision movie filmed?
Rachel McAdams confirmed in an interview with ET Online that Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga was filmed in both Iceland and Edinburgh.
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