Names and faces

Television viewers in Bismarck, N.D., were treated to some real class over the weekend when they heard the news from Ron Burgundy. Actor and comedian Will Ferrell reprised the role for KXMB’s Saturday night news broadcast as the former Saturday Night Live star promotes Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, a sequel to the 2004 film about a fictional news team’s sexist reaction to the arrival of an ambitious female reporter. Dressed in his signature rust-colored three-piece suit and a striped tie, Ferrell read stories off the teleprompter and engaged in witty banter with the Bismarck news team. He also clowned around, popping into co-anchor Amber Schatz’s screen while she read a story and telling her after a commercial break, “Amber, you look lovely tonight,” before asking her whether she was married.When Schatz told him she wasn’t married, Ferrell replied, “Well I am, so don’t get any ideas.” The online video of the 30-minute newscast is part of a widespread marketing campaign for the movie that has included a new Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavor named “Scotchy Scotch Scotch” and an exhibit at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.

Nick Lowe wasn’t exactly filled with the Christmas spirit when his American record company suggested he make his first holiday album. He’s no Scrooge. But for musicians in his native England, holiday albums aren’t the coolest thing to do. “Over the course of the afternoon of that day I started examining my feelings and said, ‘Well, wait a minute,’” the 64-year-old singer-songwriter said. “This could be a great opportunity to do something that, if not standing a chance of being really good, it might at least be able to work on more than one level. So I changed my mind.” The record, Quality Street, features only one song, “Silent Night,” that is a well-known carol, and it is given a Tex-Mex flavor. “We all knew that the hardest part would be gathering material,” he said. “We wanted to try to avoid the 12 tunes that nearly everybody always does.”