Adam McKay Says "Definitely No" to an 'Anchorman 3'

It seems crazy now to think that it took years, a ton of fan outcry, and some begging by Adam McKay and Will Ferrell for Paramount to green light Anchorman: The Legend Continues. It paid off, obviously, with the sequel nearly doubling Anchorman's box office haul. It should also do gangbusters on Blu-Ray when it hits shelves. But despite all of that, it looks like we've seen the last of Ron Burgundy on the big screen.

While chatting with Empire before the R-Rated, super-sized cut of Anchorman 2 hits theaters tomorrow, McKay made it clear that Burgundy is hanging up his mustache for good....

McKay:  “It’s done. I think that’s it. It was great to do it and it was so fun to work with those guys again, but I think that’s it for Ron Burgundy.”

Although the film performed well, it wasn't exactly a smash so we probably won't see Paramount trying to change McKay's mind. The director seems ready to move on to new projects and new characters, which could also mean a Step Brothers sequel is kaput....

McKay: “No, that’s the last sequel we’re gonna do. There’s nothing more fun to me than new characters and a new world. And now we’re releasing this alt version, we’re totally satisfied. No Anchorman 3.”

And as if that wasn't final enough, McKay put one last nail in the coffin....


McKay: “I’m going to say definitely no. I’ll actually say it in this case!”

This is probably a good idea, anyway. Anchorman 2 was funny at times, but the Burgundy schtick had run dry long ago. It'll be more interesting to see what McKay and Ferrell can cook up with Anchorman clearly in the rear view.

Read More

Adam McKay reveals more 'Anchorman 2' plot details

We still don't know a heck of a lot about what's in store for Anchorman 2, and the bits of information we've heard haven't added up to much. Since most of it has come from director/co-writer Adam McKay, it shows just how early into the process they are. In the beginning we'd heard word of the film being a celebrity musical, but that there hasn't been any word on that since. The first film does give us a glimpse into the 1980s futures of the Action News Team, so could that be where the sequel is headed? Not quite, but it does involve some major cultural shifts for Ron Burgundy and the gang. You know how well they all handle change, right?

Much as the first film dealt with the integration of women into the workplace, this one will deal with ethnic diversity and the evolving nature of the news business in the late 1970s, where it became more of a 24 hour news cycle. McKay tells Empire....

McKay:  "We know these guys never deal well with change," said McKay. "And the good thing is that there's a big blast of change coming, according to the regular timeline. We're going to be throwing a lot of innovation at them, and they're not going to handle it well." 

"It's right when all the news started changing with the 24-hours news cycle in '78 or '79. All of a sudden, local news stations diversified and had Latino anchors and African-American anchors, and any time you're talking about diversity and the Action News team, that's always fun to deal with."

Yeah that sounds great and all, but will we see another gang fight? McKay says he's already had some ideas for it that'll be "total bloody chaos". Sweet. We've still got a long way to go before Anchorman 2 ever hits theaters. The script is at most about 2 percent completed, according to McKay, with more ideas than actual story right now. Filming begins next year, and we may see it either around Christmas or as late as summer 2014. 

Read More

A custody battle? Adam McKay hints at 'Anchorman 2' plot

Is everybody still high on the news that we'll be getting that Anchorman sequel we thought would never happen? Good, because it's time to figure out what the darn thing will be about. When Will Ferrell made the big announcement on Conan O'Brien's show, he neglected to leave out any plot details, which shouldn't really be much of a surprise. There were plans for the film to take the form of a big, star-studded musical, and that may still be the case, but co-writer and director Adam McKay makes no mention of it in a recent conversation with Slate.

In the interview he does drop some hints as to what may be in store, and in keeping with the tone of the first film, they sound kinda wacky...

McKay: "I don’t want to give away too much, but I’ll just give a couple pieces of ideas that we’ve kicked around. Keep in mind we’re still writing the story, but I’ll say one phrase for you: custody battle. I’ll give you that. I’ll give you one other one: bowling for dollars"

So I'm assuming this custody battle will be between Burgundy and Veronica Corningstone(Christina Applegate), which would hint at her coming back along with Paul Rudd, David Koechner, and Steve Carell. Then again, assuming anything in the topsy turvy world of Anchorman could be a huge mistake.

Read More

Ron Burgundy is back! I love...Paramount. I love....'Anchorman' sequel

It truly didn't seem like an Anchorman sequel would ever happen. At first it appeared to be a no-brainer, right? The film wasn't the biggest hit in theaters, but it was absolutely different than any other comedy out there, and became an instant classic that is still quoted about as liberally as any film could ever hope to be. Will Ferrell's Ron Burgundy has been burned into the annals of comedy history. And yet, no sequel. Until now that it, as Deadline broke the news earlier today that Ferrell, Adam McKay, and the rest of the gang will be back for Anchorman 2. Ferrell would then turn up on Conan to make the announcement himself.

The road getting here has been a bumpy one, with word on the film starting to heat up back in 2010. At the time, McKay and Ferrell had wanted to do some sort of large scale musical, that they were thinking about test driving on stage first. However, Paramount started to balk at the budget, and McKay trimmed down the costs in hopes of securing a green light. That didn't happen, and eventually he gave it a final kiss off. All hope seemed to be lost before today, and this is definitely a happy surprise.

Judd Apatow will produce, alongside Ferrell and McKay's Gary Sanchez Productions. McKay will return to write and direct, with Ferrell helping out on the script. Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, and David Koechner are all expected back, and it's likely the musical plot is still in effect although some additional ideas are being considered.

If you want to see Ron Burgundy break the news in his own hilarious way, check out the below vid...

Read More

McKay says says goodbye to Anchorman 2

Back in April, director Adam McKay expressed some hope that he would be able to get the band back together for an Anchorman sequel, assuming Paramount gave it the thumbs up to be greenlit. Then two days later all that crumbled as Paramount passed on the film, with budgetary concerns being the major issue. Still, that didn't mean it was completely dead, right? Wrong. McKay drives the final nail into the coffin in an interview with CinemaBlend...

McKay: It’s not happening, for sure, one-hundred percent. I’ll put it to bed. The only way it could come back [would be] in two years, three years, but to line everyone’s schedule up and to get everything done, and when it fell apart, to put that back together again your still talking about waiting. If I go do The Boys, that’s another two years, year and a half. You don’t know what people are doing when I get done with that. It’s a lot of work to line it up…But, oh well. Maybe it’s for the best. You don’t need sequels for everything. It was such a great experience doing that, but let it stand.

That pretty much does, right? It's one thing when the studio doesn't want to do it. Creators can always try shopping it elsewhere or even financing it themselves. In this case, it sounds like McKay has resigned himself to the fact that it isn't ever going to happen. I was no big fan of Anchorman, that's no secret, but that cast deserves every shot at being funny that it can get. McKay says the sequel would've been a musical. Seriously? A musical comedy set in the 1970s? I can see why Paramount passed.

Read More

Remember that ANCHORMAN 2 Thing? Forget it...

It was just two days ago that Adam McKay expressed some level of confidence that a sequel Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy would be getting underway sooner rather than later. They were just waiting on Paramount to pony up the loot, which seemed like a no-brainer considering the film's popularity. Well, I guess we're all gonna get fitted for frontal lobotomies today as the director confirmed  via his Twitter feed that Paramount has driven a stake through it's heart, officially passing on the sequel.

This comes as a huge shock. Apparently Paramount didn't see any profit potential in the follow-up, which is surprising since most sequels tend to do better than their predecessors, especially on cult favorite films like Anchorman. The cast has only become more popular...ok, except for maybe Will Ferrell, in the time since the film's release back in 2004. 

Read More

ANCHORMAN 2 On the Way?

Surprisingly, Anchorman 2 hasn't already happened yet. You'd think that with the Adam McKay helmed comedy becoming such a cult favorite that it'd be a sure thing. Will Ferrell has said he'd be up for it, and so has most of the principle cast. So what's been the big hold up?  Money, apparently. In an interview with MTV, McKay let loose a few details on what's been holding production back. Here's the important part...

It’s a tricky movie because everyone went and did really well after it, so everyone’s prices went up and everyone’s time got a little more valuable. But at the same time, graciously, Steve and Paul and everyone agreed to cut their price to come and do [the sequel], which you don’t see very often in Hollywood — and cut their price substantially. But even with that, it’s just a budgetary thing with Paramount in terms of how much they’ll give us to make it. We had an idea and we contacted Steve and Paul and [David] Koechner and Christina [Applegate] and checked in with everyone and they were all game for it. The stage we’re at now is talking to Paramount and trying to get the money to do it.

Just last month, Ferrell told Zoo Magazine that the chances of a sequel were unlikely. McKay's comments make it seem a little more likely that we will see Ron Burgundy and his porn 'stache again in the not too distant future.He went on to say that the plan is to have the story take place in the 1980s, which brings with it all sorts of new issues for the time locked newsman. While the script is not yet finished, the hope is to have one completed in order to begin shooting in February 2011.

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy was a modest hit back in 2004, taking in an estimated $90M on a roughly $20M budget. 

Read More