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THERE AREN’T TOO many production
companies in Hollywood who would take
a chance on Casa De Mi Padre (a comedy
made entirely in the Spanish language) or
Tim And Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie
(giving the notoriously anarchic Tim
Heidecker and Eric Wareheim complete
creative freedom) — and almost none
who would have rubberstamped Holmes
And Watson (although that’s probably a
good thing).
Gary Sanchez, the company formed
by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay in the
wake of Anchorman’s success, was all
those things. But it will soon be no more,
and McKay and Ferrell are going their
separate ways. “It was amicable,” says
McKay to Empire. “We both felt it had
got pretty big and it was time to start
up anew. It’s the best time. And all the
producers and people who worked for
us will be able to find jobs. We’re not
leaving anyone in the lurch.”
A glance at McKay’s recent movies
(the less comedic, Oscar-friendly
The Big Short and Vice) and Ferrell’s
more straightforward comedy output
would suggest that the two were simplygrowing apart, creatively. Not so, says
McKay. “The company was always built
to handle two different directions, or
three, or four,” he says. “Ferrell doesn’t
play by traditional career rules. He likes
to pop up in strange places. I’m more
interested in producing. But we both
reached a sane moment where we could
say, ‘Let’s move on and we can still be
best of friends.’”
This is one Hollywood divorce that
isn’t going to end with people screaming.
The duo, who’ve worked together for
over two decades since meeting on
Saturday Night Live (where McKay was
head writer for a spell), also produced
Broadway shows, and even launched
Funnyordie.com together. And we haven’t
seen the last of them. “We have an idea
we’re kicking around right now which
we’d love to do,” says McKay.
“If he and I didn’t work together, that
would be heartbreaking. We’re going
to do everything we can to make sure
that’s not the case.”
‘Step Brothers 2’? ‘The Other Other
Guys’? If so, then Gary Sanchez’ death
will not have been in vain. CHRIS HEWITTAdam McKay speaks for
the first time on ending his
partnership with Will FerrellKIND OF
NO LONGER
A BIG DEAL
Here: Ferrell and
McKay: “It’s time
to start anew.”
Below: The pair
on set for
Anchorman.Crewe he’d emailed to say the script had
made him cry and, if Gurinder was
interested, he would love to be in it.4 __ REAL LIFE ISN’T
ALWAYS ENOUGH
Blinded By The Light is inspired by my
true story, but it is a fictionalised version
of the truth. Early on in the process,
Gurinder said that we needed a love
interest in the film — even though no such
person existed, sadly, in my real teenage
years. Films need conflict, so I wrote
a scene in which Javed (the name I gave my
character) has a huge argument with his
dad. In real life, I would never have had
the courage to speak like that to my dad.
And in real life I never ran through the
streets of Luton singing ‘Born To Run’
at the top of my voice. (Actually... I did.)5 __ DREAMS CAN COME TRUE
When I first imagined a film being made of
my book it felt like an impossible dream.
In the last 10 years I have had Bruce
Springsteen tell me he loved my book and
subsequently give us unprecedented access
to his music; I have been on set in Luton
watching actors say lines I wrote based on
things my actual dad and I used to say; and
I have stood on a stage at Sundance with
Gurinder and Viveik as a packed cinema
gave us a standing ovation. Most
importantly, I got to tell my story. That felt
like an impossible dream, but sometimes
dreams come true.BLINDED BY THE LIGHT IS IN CINEMAS FROM
22 AUGUST. FOLLOW @SARFRAZMANZOOR