SUBMITTED BY Timbo

November 7, 2003 — CNN takes a look at the making of "Elf", maple-syrup-drenched spaghetti and all.

[Jon] Favreau is generally associated with independent films, including his script for -- and star turn in -- the cult favorite "Swingers." He tried to stay close to his low-budget roots for "Elf," a big-budget studio production. That meant little use of computer-driven special effects to help build the movie's warm tone.

"I wanted to use only the old-school techniques in the beginning. I didn't want digital compositing. I wanted to use stop-motion animation [and] forced perspective like they would have in the old days so that the movie felt old," he says.

For example, Favreau shot Ferrell in the foreground and Newhart in the background, which allowed cinematographers to convey the dramatic size difference between the characters.

But it also meant that Ferrell and Newhart couldn't make eye contact during filming.

"At the end of the movie I gave Bob Newhart a headshot of mine with tape over the eyes. So that he'd remember, and be fond of the tape," jokes Ferrell.

Read the rest at the link below.