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‘The Campaign’ premiere: Who’d vote for Ferrell or Galifianakis?

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The stretch of Hollywood Boulevard in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard was decked to the nines Thursday in red, white and blue stars and stripes fit for an all-American political campaign. But the crowd wasn’t waiting for Barack Obama or Mitt Romney -- this was all about Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis and”The Campaign.”

If anyone from the movie’s cast had to vote for congressional candidates Cam Brady or Marty Huggins, played by Ferrell and Galifianakis, respectively, they would pick neither, they said. Everyone would spend most of the time laughing.

“I wouldn’t be caught dead voting for either of them,” said a laughing John Lithgow, who plays Glenn Motch in the movie that premiered Thursday evening and opens Aug. 10. But his costars were great, he said. “There was lots of clowning around, but when we worked we took it very seriously.”

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In “The Campaign,” a major public gaffe by long-term congressman Brady sparks a plot by a pair of ultra-wealthy CEOs to put up a rival candidate for the upcoming election and gain influence over their North Carolina district. Their man: naive Huggins, director of the local tourism center.

The shoot “got pretty raunchy,” said Katherine LaNasa, who plays Ferrell’s on-screen wife, Rose Brady. She was accompanied by her fiance, Grant Show of the original “Melrose Place.”

“I would so vote for Huggins, but I think Will could win in a fight,” she added.

An arch of red, white and blue balloons on the red carpet had Ferrell in the spirit of things. “And I’ve got gum at the bottom of my shoe,” he said somewhat randomly.

For the former “Saturday Night Live” cast member, the most memorable aspect of the movie was the delicious food that Galifianakis made for everyone in his trailer. “We had pot roast Thursday every week,” he said.

Though Ferrell, 45, has his own political beliefs, he said — he co-chaired an Obama fund-raiser in February — the movie makes fun of both Democrats and Republicans.

In recent years, it’s been harder to make comedies a soaring business in Hollywood, but there is always a lot of competition. Does Ferrell think his newest flick has what it takes to succeed? “We’ll see ... but people are excited to watch ‘The Campaign,’” he chimed in.

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Galifianakis said the best part about being a comedy actor is being able to get people’s endorphins going. “It’s kind of corny, but it’s nice,” he said. “It’s a typical reaction when you make people laugh, their endorphins get released. If you can make that happen then it’s a nice thing.”

So who would Galafianakis vote for, for real? Obama, he said.

“I feel super lucky to have worked with the most hilarious people on the planet,” said director Jay Roach (“Austin Powers,” “Meet the Parents”), who just received an Emmy nomination for the HBO political drama “Game Change.

One cast member who said that on the set he was giggling like a kid was Dylan McDermott, who plays political consultant Tim Wattley. “It’s a fun movie with politics in the background,” he said.

So who was his favorite candidate? “Neither of them. They’re terrible.”

Sarah Baker, who plays Mitzi Huggins, disagreed -- at least about the actors, if not not the characters.

“They’re the funniest and nicest guys,” Baker said. “You can’t lose with them.”

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