Will Ferrell’s new movie features a surprising Oscar contender: Kristen Wiig, for writing an original song.
Will & Harper, the documentary chronicling a road trip shared by Ferrell and his friend Harper Steele, closes with a folksy tune that Wiig, 51, co-wrote with musician Sean Douglas. Netflix will campaign “Harper and Will Go West” in the Oscars’ Original Song category, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Wiig “was way easier to record than most of the pop stars that I work with,” Douglas, 41, told PEOPLE exclusively at the movie’s Thursday, Sept. 19 Los Angeles premiere. “She’s just got a natural thing to her voice,” he added. “She’s got a beautiful voice.”
Will & Harper director Josh Greenbaum invited Douglas (the son of Michael Keaton) to collaborate with the Palm Royale star on the song, he recalled. “We spent a couple of days together writing it and fleshing out the idea and then a separate day to record it,” he said.
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“And it was just a dream because obviously I’m a fan of hers,” added Douglas of Wiig — already an Oscar-nominated writer for her 2011 hit Bridesmaids. Douglas was also, he said, “a fan of everyone involved and Harper’s writing since way back, so it was incredibly fun.”
Steele, 63, who met Ferrell while writing for Saturday Night Live, also co-wrote 2020’s Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga with the actor-comedian. In 2021, Steele informed friends that she was undergoing a gender transition, prompting Ferrell to join her on a cross-country road trip.
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At a Telluride Film Festival screening on Aug. 31, Steele noted that the documentary was not intended to be a representation of the trans experience, but rather a story of how “friends should come together” during “moments of change or crisis.”
“I was just so moved by the movie,” Douglas told PEOPLE. “It’s beautiful. Just to play any small part in it was an honor.”
Among Wiig’s upcoming projects is starring in and producing a remake of the 2016 German film Toni Erdmann. Ferrell, also a producer on that project, will next star in You’re Cordially Invited, in theaters Jan. 30, 2025.
Will & Harper is in theaters now and will have its streaming premiere on Netflix Sept. 27.
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