Stars Loving It At "Get Smart" Premiere
The beloved 60's TV comedy "Get Smart" gets the big-screen treatment this Friday with Steve Carell starring as bumbling spy Maxwell Smart.
The movie held its world premiere Monday night in Los Angeles with Carell and his co-stars Anne Hathaway and Dwayne Johnson in attendance. And would you believe? CBS News Correspondent Ben Tracy was there - and loving it!
"Well, I'm a huge action star now," Carell told Tracy. "And I look down the row here, and I see Dwayne, who, yes, is more muscular, yes, is taller, yes, is more handsome. But lo and behold, I'm the guy you're watching."
Carell said he worked out a lot for the movie so he could "stand toe-to-toe" with Johnson.
Photos: "Get Smart" Premiere
"He would come to me every morning in my trailer, and say, 'hey, can we do some push ups?'" Johnson said. "And I'm like, 'no, I really don't want to.'"
The television show starring Don Adams and Barbara Feldon ran from
Sept. 18, 1965 to April 12, 1969, Created by comic geniuses Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, the show spoofed popular secret agent movies like the James Bond franchise and television shows like "The Man From U.N.C.L.E."
Maxwell Smart (Adams) and Agent 99 (Feldon) were agents for an outfit known as CONTROL who battled against agents from the evil KAOS. Like James Bond and Napoleon Solo, Maxwell Smart had plenty of gadgets at his disposal including a shoe phone and the infamous Cone of Silence.
The clever - and often gleefully silly - scripts gave birth to a wealth of catchphrases that were instant hits:
- "Sorry about that, Chief"
- "I asked you not to tell me that!"
- "Ah. The old [fill in the blank] trick! That's the [fill in the blank] time I've fallen for it this month!"
- "And loving it!"
- "Would you believe [x]? Well, would you believe [y]? Well, how about [z]?"
Anne Hathaway, who stars as the sexy and savvy Agent 99 said her favorite phrase was Smart's "missed it by that much."
Bernie Kopell, who played the evil yet lovable KAOS agent Seigfried in the original TV show gave his blessing to the new actors.
"The casting of this film could not be better. Steve Carell is the hottest comedic actor in the world right now," he said.
"Get Smart" opens this weekend, as does Mike Myers' comedy "The Love Guru."
But, Carell doesn't see it as a battle a la CONTROL versus KAOS.
"I think it's really positive that people have choices, just go out and laugh," he said.