So we (thankfully) live in a world in which all the deals are in place to make Anchorman 2, and that’s a good world to be in. But there was a time when Anchorman 2 had little chance to be made as a movie, so star/co-writer Will Ferrell and director/co-writer Adam McKay started to explore other options. One of those options was doing an Anchorman sequel as a Broadway musical featuring the original cast, and after a brief run filming the musical as the official sequel. Of course, coordinating the schedules of all the stars to devote so much time to a show in New York seemed farfetched, but McKay and Ferrell were willing to try just about anything to get an Anchorman sequel in motion.
However, now that the Anchorman 2 movie has finally been greenlit it doesn’t mean that we won’t get to hear some of those songs intended for the musical. In an interview with Indiewire, McKay reveals that he’s always been a fan of musical sequences in his movies and he plans on using the songs in Anchorman 2 with the cast singing live like the upcoming Les Miserables. He says:
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,” McKay said. “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 also hints at the sequel’s storyline:
Even thought it’s going to be a big silly movie, it’s all about the rise of the new media and 24 hour news cycle, and there’s a lot of interesting points to make about that while being silly… 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.”
Lastly, McKay mentions that like the original he hopes to include many cameos, adding, “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, which features all of the original’s principal cast, is set to start shooting in March for a late 2013 release.
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