Adam McKay addresses creative split from Will Ferrell and leaves door open to reunion
Director Adam McKay has addressed the end of his creative partnership with Will Ferrell in 2019.
After working together on Saturday Night Live, McKay and Ferrell forged a formidable relationship which played a large role in shaping comedies throughout the 2000s and into the 2010s.
Together, they famously teamed up on Anchorman: The Legend of Run Burgundy, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Step Brothers, The Other Guys, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, as well as Get Hard and The Campaign.
However, in 2019, they decided to end their production company, Gary Sanchez Productions, which they formed in 2006, and have not collaborated together since.
Now, in a new interview with Business Insider, McKay has said the dissolution of their production company was the instigator for them parting ways creatively and left the door open for a reunion.
He shared, “I totally have been open to the idea. We always got along great, we were tremendous creative partners. The only thing that caused acrimony between us was when we decided to end our production company, Gary Sanchez.”
However, McKay acknowledged, “And I know it was reported one way or the other, but that was really it.”
The Don’t Look Up director continued, “It’s a shame because we had a great creative partnership. I think both of us underestimated the complications that go with not just having a company, but a very successful company.”
McKay also stated that Ferrell “was never someone who wanted to produce, so he was always half in and half out” and “by the end, he wanted to move on”.
According to McKay, it had “become too much extra work” for Ferrell and “was never his passion”, noting, “A movie star’s life is very different than a writer-director’s life. So we split up.”
Looking ahead to the future, he added, “We had a great run. I certainly have no hard feelings and, who knows, we’ll see what happens.”
On similar lines, Ferrell told The Hollywood Reporter in 2021 on their reasoning for parting ways creatively, “Adam was like, ‘I want to do this, and this, and this’; he wanted growth and a sphere of influence, and I was just like, ‘I don’t know, that sounds like a lot that I have to keep track of’.”
The comedy star also stated that “we just have different amounts of bandwidth,” which is why they chose to go down different routes.
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