Will Ferrell & Adam McKay End Longtime Producing Partnership

Actor Will Ferrell and writer-director Adam McKay have produced some huge television and movie hits together through their company, Gary Sanchez Productions. But now the two entertainment bigwigs are separating so they can concentrate their efforts on separate projects.

“The last 13 years could not have been more enjoyable and satisfying for the two of us,” said Ferrell and McKay in a joint statement, according to Deadline.

“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.”

Deadline reported that the former duo will see existing projects through to the end, and “will continue to support each other both personally and professionally.”

The two funny men reportedly first formed a bond after they were hired by Saturday Night Live on the same day in 1995 — Ferrell as a cast member and McKay as a writer. The now 51-year-old actor quickly became one of the sketch comedy show’s breakout performers, and the now 50-year-old scribe rose the ranks to head writer during his last two seasons with the series.

Together, they teamed up on major blockbusters starring Ferrell that McKay wrote and directed, including Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Step Brothers, and The Other Guys.

They also produced projects that neither man worked for such as the films Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters and Tammy, and fan-favorite TV series such as HBO’s Eastbound & Down and Comedy Central’s Drunk History.

In 2007, McKay and Ferrell also co-founded the comedy website Funny or Die, which features original content that usually winds up going viral online. The site’s first video, “The Landlord,” featuring McKay’s then 2-year-old daughter, Pearl, swearing at Ferrell while asking for the rent, became an overnight sensation. Funny or Die is also known for Zach Galifianakis’ hilarious Between Two Ferns interview show, among other videos.

Currently, in production under the Gary Sanchez banner, according to The Hollywood Reporter, is Jennifer Lopez’s film about strippers, Hustlers, and the Netflix movie Eurovision, in which Ferrell is slated to star in.

There is no word yet about the new projects each plans to pursue since the split is a brand-new decision.

McKay has been interested in political-based movies in recent years. For 2015’s The Big Short, he directed the film and co-wrote the screenplay, which won him an Oscar for best-adapted screenplay. He also directed and wrote the screenplay for the 2018 movie Vice, which won several major trophies this past awards season. As an individual, McKay scored awards for writing and/or directing the film from the Detroit Film Critics Society, the Los Angeles Online Film Critics Society, and the St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association.

“Thank you to everyone who collaborated with us for 13 years. Proud of the stuff we got to work on and most of all, the amazing people we worked with. Also excited for new stuff to come…,” McKay wrote on Twitter.

In addition to the aforementioned Eurovision, which is a fictional comedy about the long-running international TV music competition series Eurovision Song Contest, Ferrell will soon be seen in the movie Downhill, which is a remake of a 2014 Swedish film, Force Majeure, about a family on a ski trip.