For a long time, people wondered who Will Ferrell and Adam McKay’s production company, Gary Sanchez Productions, was named for. Some people thought it was a dog. Then Gary Sanchez became a star catcher for the New York Yankees, which made things confusing.
Now Ferrell and McKay are dissolving Gary Sanchez after 13 years. They didn’t even consider changing the name to Austin Romine Productions. Gary Sanchez Productions gave us the Anchorman and Daddy’s Home movies, and many other Ferrell comedies like “The Other Guys” (which was really good).
But McKay has sort of left the world of comedy for his more socially directed movies like “The Big Short” and “Vice,” each of which produced Oscar nominations. He hasn’t cast Ferrell so far, and probably won’t in his next one, the Jennifer Lawrence starrer about Elizanet Holmes and Theranos.
So they are splitting up. Ferrell hasn’t had a real hit in a while. “Holmes and Watson” was a stink bomb. He just filmed “Downhill” with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, directed by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash. It sounds good on paper, at least. McKay Tweeted a thank you to everyone he’d worked with after Deadline broke the original story today.
Ferrell has remained mum. My guess is, he’s not thrilled. McKay could have cast him as George W. Bush in “Vice,” when you think of it. But Sam Rockwell got the role and the Oscar nomination. Ferrell is very talented. He’s capable of making some smart comedies for time to come. I always loved “Stranger than Fiction.” Stay tuned…
