Holiday Encore: Rejecting Elf

About this episode

The episode revisits the story of the film 'Elf' and its journey from rejection to becoming a holiday classic.

We regret to inform you, this week marks the final episode of our 2025 season. So, we thought we'd bring you one of our most-loved episodes. Certainly our most loved holiday episode – Rejecting Elf. Elf is a beloved and timeless Christmas classic. Starring Will Ferrell, the film brought in over $200M at the box office, and 20 years later remains a holiday tradition for many. But back in the year 2000, the script was rejected by production companies, studios, directors and actors, championed only by two producers with no producing experience. Then when it finally did land a studio, executives nearly left Elf on a shelf. Join us, won’t you, as we pass through the seven levels of the Candy Cane forest, through the sea of swirly twirly gum drops, then through the Lincoln Tunnel for Rejecting Elf.  Thank you for joining us this season. We'll meet you back here in a couple short months for Season 7 – and in the meantime, we have some fun Minis coming your way. From all of us at Apostrophe, Merry Christmas. Have a safe and happy holiday. We don’t regret to inform you – you can now listen ad-free! Plus bonus episodes, chats with Sidney and Terry, & more. Subscribe…

People in this episode

Host: Apostrophe Podcast Network

Topics covered

• holiday movies
• film history
• rejection stories
• Christmas traditions
• Elf movie

Keywords

• Elf
• Will Ferrell
• Christmas
• rejection
• holiday movies
• film history
• Apostrophe Podcast Network

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Elf

Places: Lincoln Tunnel

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• Minisode: TikTok Fail · April 16, 2026 · 8 min
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