Adam McKay and Will Ferrell are killing off their Gary Sanchez production partnership
Adam McKay’s evolution from “that guy who makes movies about flute-playing, trident-hurling, good-haired morons” to “Oscar-nominated political satirist” appears to have finally racked up one serious casualty for itself: Gary Sanchez, the 13-year-production partnership between McKay and his old buddy, Will Ferrell. Deadline reports today that, while Ferrell and McKay remain friends and creative collaborators, the house that Anchorman built will soon be no more.
Mostly known for Ferrell-McKay collaborations like Step Brothers and The Other Guys—or their individual projects, like McKay’s Vice, or Ferrell’s recent high-profile flop Holmes & Watson—the Gary Sanchez brand also extended to a wider variety of TV and movies, including Tim And Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie, Melissa McCarthy’s Tammy, and, for some reason, 2013's Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. (Adam McKay hates witches: Pass it on.) But now, that fictional “Paraguayan entrepreneur and financier” is being put out to pasture for good.
Both McKay and Ferrell have made it extremely clear that the dissolution of Gary Sanchez—which will, along with its also-closing sister company, Gloria Sanchez Productions, fulfill all its existing production commitments—has nothing to do with either their personal or creative relationships. They issued a joint statement to that effect today:
The last 13 years could not have been more enjoyable and satisfying for the two of us at Sanchez Productions. We give massive thanks to our incredible staff and executives and all the writers, directors and actors we worked with through the years. The two of us will always work together creatively and always be friends. And we recognize we are lucky as hell to end this venture as such.