By the time Anchorman 2 finally hits theaters it will have been more than a decade since the original cult favorite debuted. How old do you feel right now? To say the sequel has had a bumpy road would be an understatement, but Adam McKay and Will Ferrell are getting everything together in time for what's expected to be a March start date.
You might recall that one of the earliest rumors about Anchorman 2 was that it would be a musical, and while doing press for the indie comedy Fully Loaded, McKay was asked by ThePlaylist about just that...
McKay: “We were going to do ‘Anchorman 2′ as a Broadway musical first, for like six months and then go shoot the movie. That was our initial idea.”
McKay has a long history of throwing musical sequences in his flicks, and it sounds like we can expect to see even more this time...
McKay: “Whole song sequences, absolutely. The music sequences we have done — we did ‘Afternoon Delight’ [in 'Anchorman'], Adam Scott and his family singing ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ [in 'Step Brothers'], we did a whole song for ‘Talladega Nights‘ that got cut out, a big, big musical number — we always do it live on the set. And my thing is, if the actors get freaked out, don’t sweat it, we can always re-record it later. And every time we’ve done it, we end up using the live track from the recording. We’ll probably do it the same way in this. This one might have a little more movement in it, and the only problem with that is the actors get winded.”
McKay then goes on to elaborate on another plot point we'd heard about, that the film would largely revolve around the start of the 24 hour news cycle, and how Ron Burgundy copes with the changing landscape. Will he have his "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" moment?
McKay: “It’s been discussed, there’s a little wisp of [talk]. We’d never do it straight ahead, we gotta fuck with it in some way. Because Ron Burgundy isn’t quite Jimmy Stewart in character, so if he does, he’s not going to do it well. But there’s a little bit of that going on. I mean what is this 24 hours news, and this wall of white noise information, has it really been good for our country? The great thing when you find a point of view like that is that it doesn’t have to be preachy or didactic, it’s also funny. It’s just funny that Americans have to contend with 2000 channels, and 60 different specific news sources, and the confusion that it creates, and the junk that we get to see is hilarious. That’s what we’re always kinda looking for, what’s the point of view that’s got life to it and plays.”
Ok, that all sounds great, but what about the cameos? Can we expect the same level of talent to show up this time? Maybe even for another gigantic brawl? What do you think? OF COURSE!!!
McKay: “We’re talking about for ‘Anchorman 2′ creating a murderer’s row of the best day players ever. Like having every single one line or three line role, just be someone we just love. Someone like Ian Roberts or Rob Huebel or Paula Killen — just making sure every day player is a homerun.”
Anchorman 2 doesn't have a release date yet, but expect that to change the closer we get to the start of production.
