Will Ferrell And Adam McKay Are Breaking Up, Creatively, After 13 Years

Will Ferrell And Adam McKay Are Breaking Up, Creatively, After 13 Years

Like Detectives Gamble and Hoitz, racers Ricky Bobby and Cal Naughton Jr., newspeople Ron Burgundy and Veronica Corningstone, and stepbrothers Brennan Huff and Dale Doback, Will Ferrell and Adam McKay have been an unstoppable team, finding success in Hollywood for over a decade. But all good things must come to an end, and Will Ferrell and Adam McKay are breaking up, creatively.

The two men have decided to go their separate ways for future creative endeavors, thus ending a creative partnership that has lasted 13 years. Together Will Ferrell and Adam McKay formed the comedy generating production company Gary Sanchez, which spawned a spinoff company, the female-centric Gloria Sanchez. Those Paramount-based production companies will see through development and completion of their existing projects, but will probably be winding down as Will Ferrell and Adam McKay move on to new things.

In a statement released to Deadline, Will Ferrell and Adam McKay confirmed the split while ending things on a thankful and positive note. The statement reads:

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.

Although they may be breaking up from their formal creative partnership, this parting is not an unhappy one, as the two seem to be quite thankful and proud of the time they spent together and projects they worked on. This is not an acrimonious split, but an amicable and mutual decision. While their business relationship is coming to an end, their personal one is not, and Will Ferrell and Adam McKay remain close friends.

This isn’t the end of their work together either. As they say in their statement, they will continue to work together creatively. The two still have a huge slate of shared projects, so although this is the end of one chapter of the Ferrell/McKay partnership, we may still see Adam McKay and Will Ferrell’s name in the credits of future movies (fingers crossed Step Brothers 2 will reunite them one day).

The two have begun to diverge in their creative pursuits, with Adam McKay moving more towards politically charged films, like last year’s Vice, while Will Ferrell continues with the more traditional comedy fare that has made him a household name. As far as the future is concerned, the details are still being worked out, but both Ferrell and McKay will explore new endeavors and projects individually, and they are each expected to form new ventures for their post-Gary Sanchez careers.

So ends a partnership that is probably best measured in the number of laughs delivered. In addition to collaborating as producers on films like Daddy’s Home, Adam McKay directed Will Ferrell in a slew of modern comedy classics, including Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Anchorman and Anchorman 2, The Other Guys and Step Brothers.

Will Ferrell will next be onscreen later this year in James Franco’s long-delayed Zeroville, a star-studded film about Hollywood in 1969, not to be confused with Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which is also a star-studded film about Hollywood in 1969. That should make for an interesting double feature.

After his multiple Oscar nominations for Vice, Adam McKay is next attached to direct Bad Blood, another ripped-from-the-headlines story, this one about biotech entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes. The film is supposed to star Jennifer Lawrence and Will Ferrell is also attached as a producer.

Check out our 2019 release schedule to keep track of all the movies coming to theaters this year, and let us know your favorite Will Ferrell and Adam McKay film in the comments below.

Chris Evans Thanks Avengers: Endgame Fans For Their 'Incredibly Touching' Posts

Chris Evans Thanks Avengers: Endgame Fans For Their 'Incredibly Touching' Posts

Avengers: Endgame is finally out in theaters, and moviegoers have turned out in droves to support Marvel's epic blockbuster. The movie has made an incredible amount of money, but it's also produced a lot of tears streaming down the faces of those who see it. Fans are taking to Twitter to share their appreciation for the film and the characters in it with the hashtag #ThankYouAvengers, and Chris Evans has shared his own appreciation for all the heartwarming messages.

If you are worried about spoilers in this article, don't be. Nothing specific about Endgame will be revealed here and the fact that this message is coming from Chris Evans isn't a clue. Captain America is far from the only character getting a shoutout by fans this weekend.

That being said, I wouldn't recommend searching for #ThankYouAvengers if you haven't seen the movie yet. While no one is really outright spoiling the movie, you'd be able to guess what happens pretty easily based on some tweets.

But you can hardly blame fans for wanting to share their appreciation. Endgame is a massive love letter to those who have followed the MCU since 2008, and it's filled with moments that will make you cheer. The MCU will continue past Endgame, but the movie makes some permanent changes to the universe and it is a finale of sorts.

Chris Evans must be feeling plenty of emotions this weekend. The actor took to social media to share his own thanks to the fans who are posting messages and making Avengers: Endgame the number one movie in the world right now. The movie is breaking almost every record under the sun right now and a lot of that has to do with the deeply loyal fanbase.

Obviously, Chris Evans has been playing Captain America since almost the very beginning of the MCU. The original six Avengers get plenty of time to shine in this film, and I'm curious to see if anymore actors are going to be sharing their own messages over the next few days.

It also helps that Endgame is a great film. Critics posted positive reviews, we here at CinemaBlend loved it, and audiences gave it an A+ ranking on CinemaScore. It looks like the movie is destined to go down as one of the all-time great superhero movies.

If you haven't seen it already (or you just want to get in a second viewing), Avengers: Endgame is in theaters right now. For more movie news and updates, be sure to check back in with CinemaBlend and we'll keep you updated on all the latest information. To learn what else Marvel has coming down the pipeline for the near future, be sure to check out our Marvel movie release guide. While you're at it, visit our 2019 movie release guide.

Robert Pattinson’s Casting As Batman Was Reportedly Super Quick

Robert Pattinson’s Casting As Batman Was Reportedly Super Quick

The DC live-action universe has had a fascinating tenure in theaters, and continues to surprise the generations of fans out there. While Warner Bros.' shared universe has hit its stride with blockbusters like Aquaman and Shazam!, there's been some interesting developments when it comes to the handling of the Caped Crusader.

Ben Affleck has officially retired from playing Bruce Wayne/ Batman, and Twilight alum Robert Pattinson recently landed the role for Matt Reeves' The Batman. It's a casting decision that has resulted in the full gamut of emotions from DC fans, but it appears that the casting process was actually quite quick-- especially for such an iconic superhero role.

According to THR, who has an insider on production for The Batman, Robert Pattinson's audition and eventual landing of the role was much quicker than usual. This makes a great deal of sense, as there's a ton of pressure in casting superheroes for the big screen. Marvel Studios famously saw tons of actors for Spider-Man, before landing on Tom Holland as the iconic web crawler.

Since Batman is perhaps the most popular DC character in history, one would expect Warner Bros. and The Batman's Matt Reeves to take their time finding the right actor to don the cape and cowl. But rumors about Robert Pattinson were followed quickly with an official confirmation by the director, so it seems like a pretty brief process from the outside. And this new report confirms that Gotham's Knight was found quickly.

Conversation about who might replace Ben Affleck as Batman in the DCEU began before he even dropped out of the role. After he backed away from both directing and starring in The Batman, it was clear that Matt Reeves was going to need to find new talent to make the developing blockbuster a reality. And Robert Pattinson reportedly wasn't the only actor considered for the role.

Related: Why Now Is The Best Time For Robert Pattinson's Batman

After the first rumors about Robert Pattinson's possible tenure as Batman hit the internet, it was also reported that X-Men actor Nicholas Hoult was Pattinson's main competition. They both reportedly tested for the role, with the Twilight alum winning out, and officially replacing Ben Affleck as the next live-action Bruce Wayne.

This breakneck pace might be in an attempt to get The Batman out in theaters at its current release date. The movie has been developing for quite some time, and it's set to arrive in theaters on June 25th, 2021. Matt Reeves will need to start assembling the cast and crew in order to make this a reality, as the script has been the main focus of the film's long gestation period.

With Robert Pattinson officially attached as Batman, it should be interesting to see what other actors join him. Quite a few performers have been campaigning to play some of Batman's rogues, including Josh Gad and Vanessa Hudgens. We'll just have to see if the movie ends up being the villain-heavy ensemble project that was rumored months sago.

The Batman will arrive in theaters on June 25th, 2021. The next installment in the DCEU is Birds of Prey on February 7th 2020. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Dennis Quaid Wanted To Make His Intruder Villain A ‘Classic’

Dennis Quaid Wanted To Make His Intruder Villain A ‘Classic’

Looking at his career, Dennis Quaid is well known for playing heroes, from Annie and Hallie’s dad in Parent Trap to an inspiring baseball coach in The Rookie to an astronaut in The Right Stuff. It’s about time the 65-year-old actor try his hand at the bad guy, and in his newest role in The Intruder, he plays a menacing threat to one couple’s new life in Napa Valley.

The upcoming thriller helmed by Deon Taylor, the director behind Traffik and Meet the Blacks, has Quaid playing an older man who sells Scott and Annie (Michael Ealy and Meagan Good) his home, but doesn’t know how to let go of his beloved property. During a recent press day for The Intruder, I spoke to Taylor about his time working with the legendary actor and he was floored with the eagerness he had with crafting a seriously creepy new villain. In his words:

When he came to this movie and looked me in my eyes, he was like ‘hey, I want to make this guy crazy’ and he was really turned on by the idea of working and creating, growing and building the character… He was like ‘Let’s figure out how we can make Charlie Peck historically a classic’ and I was like ‘Alright! What do we gotta do?’ He was willing to bend the character and make this guy come to life and wow, he’s great.

The Intruder lead actors also gushed about Dennis Quaid’s performance in the horror flick, with Michael Ealy expressing how fun it was to watch him switch things up. Here’s what Ealy told CinemaBlend about his time working with Quaid:

Nothing like what I expected. I think we have all seen Dennis play these heroic characters. To watch him kind of break bad, it was dope.

Meagan Good explained that being on set with Quaid was freeing for them as well because he was given that space to shape his character. In her words:

Yeah, he was excited to do it, like he couldn’t wait to jump in and try stuff. That was kind of the thing that happened. Nothing was too planned. We were living with it and experiencing and whatever magic came out of that, came out of that. It was fun watching him work and for all of us to play.

Check out the actors and director Deon Taylor explain what it was like working with Dennis Quaid as he approached the frightening Charlie Peck in the movie in our interview:

As Deon Taylor notes, he didn’t know Dennis Quaid before this movie and decided to write him a letter about his interest in casting him in The Intruder. When the actor signed on, he was ready to go all in and do something “classic” with him. Did the actor succeed? You can decide for yourself when The Intruder hits theaters this weekend along with Long Shot and Ugly Dolls.

Emilia Clarke Passed On Fifty Shades Of Grey Over Nudity Concerns

Emilia Clarke Passed On Fifty Shades Of Grey Over Nudity Concerns

After portraying Daenerys Targaryen for almost a decade, Emilia Clarke is entering a new era. Although her Game of Thrones character will continue to be iconic for years to come, her upcoming roles in films such as Last Christmas and Above Suspicion will certainly seek to brush off the Mother of Dragons.

Years ago, the actress was famously considered for another huge adaptation of a series of novels. Before Dakota Johnson took on Anastasia Steele in Fifty Shades of Grey, Emilia Clarke had been in talks to join the franchise. As she moves forward in her career, the actress has got candid about why Fifty Shades wasn’t the right move for her at the time. In her words:

The last time that I was naked on camera on [Game of Thrones] was a long time ago, and yet it is the only question that I ever get asked because I am a woman. And it’s annoying as hell and I’m sick and tired of it because I did it for the character — I didn’t do it so some guy could check out my tits, for God’s sake.

The downside of playing a character as loved as Daenerys is it’s going to be tough for her to shake her off. It hasn’t helped that the Game of Thrones character is quite well known for her nude scenes early on in the series. Emilia Clarke agreed to bare it all in service of Dany and the show, but it seems like it backfired a bit when it constantly became the center of conversation.

Her beautiful blues are up here! After Game of Thrones Season 3, the Mother of Dragons eased up on showing skin, but when another role revolved around nudity and sex presented itself, Clarke didn’t want much of anything do with it. She continued to The Hollywood Reporter with this:

I did a minimal amount and I'm pigeonholed for life, so me saying yes to that, where the entire thing is about sensuality and sex and being naked and all of that stuff, I was just like, ‘No way am I going to voluntarily walk into that situation and then never be able to look someone in the eye and be like, 'No, you can't keep asking me this question.'

It wasn’t only this that led Emilia Clarke to pass on Fifty Shade of Grey though. With the longevity of her Game of Thrones character, the actress is simply uninterested in doing movies with sequels attached for a while. She had previously said that she didn’t think she’d be able to take the “enormity” of the E.L. James’ series in her lap, though she was impressed by Sam-Taylor Johnson’s vision. Even after the movies’ success, the actress has no regrets about not taking it on.

Emilia Clarke wasn’t the only star to skip out on Fifty Shades of Grey and be content about it. Charlie Hunnam was also close contender for Christian Grey, but he cited his decision against it to him being a germaphobe and having scheduling conflicts, even though the actor knows full well he missed out on a fortune by turning down the role.

In the end, it was meant to be for Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson. The pair came out on the other side of the franchise thankful and with exciting careers ahead of them.

Why Watching Detective Pikachu Makes Ryan Reynolds ‘Sea Sick'

Why Watching Detective Pikachu Makes Ryan Reynolds ‘Sea Sick'

It's no secret that Ryan Reynolds' career as at an all-time high. His work on the Deadpool franchise broke new ground for the superhero genre, proving that an R-rating isn't a death sentence at the box office. But before Deadpool 3 or X-Force arrives in theaters, Reynolds is lending his signature voice and comedic chops to another iconic property: Pokemon.

Ryan Reynolds is playing the title character of Detective Pikachu, which is getting some serious buzz ahead of its official release. Reynolds is finally giving the beloved mascot a voice, and the trailers are inducing nostalgia among the generations of Poke-fans. But it turns out that seeing footage elicits a more negative experience for the actor. As he recently explained:

When I see Pikachu, I see all my micro facial expressions and the most subtle facial expressions they’ve learned how to map on to this so I have this… weird seasick feeling sometimes when I stare at Pikachu, because I’m seeing me, but not me.

Well, I didn't expect this to be his reaction. But it looks like watching the motion capture of Detective Pikachu can be a bit jarring for Ryan Reynolds. Because he's on screen, but not. Looks like Pikachu got hit with confusion attack

Ryan Reynolds' comments to Extra make a great deal of sense, because motion capture technology is really reaching the peak of its possibilities. This opens up filmmaking possibilities, especially when it comes to genre work. Avengers: Infinity War brought Josh Brolin's massive Thanos to life, while Detective Pikachu will focus on a distinctly smaller CGI protagonist.

Related: Ryan Reynolds Has A Colorful Way Of Describing His Detective Pikachu Character

The Detective Pikachu footage may give Ryan Reynolds a feeling of seasickness, but it's delighting moviegoers who are anxiously awaiting the ambitious movie's arrival in theaters. The trailers are essentially a 90's kid dream, as the pocket monsters that became a pop culture phenomenon are brought to life, and added to the real world. There's already been a ton of Pokemon shown from various generations of the games, and the world-building has been one of the aspects of Detective Pikachu that has been most celebrated from its early screenings.

On top of feeling seasick, Ryan Reynolds might not be able to fully enjoy the nostalgic appeal of Detective Pikachu. In the same interview with Extra, he revealed the film helped introduced him to the property, saying:

Then I was first approached by them, I admittedly didn’t know much about Pokémon… they sent me a fully rendered Pikachu paired to my voice — they used some dialogue from Deadpool 1 — That sold me, I said yes. I read the script. It was amazing, it was this great mystery wrapped in kind of the universal themes of love and loss and home and family.

Indeed, it looks like Ryan Reynolds is bringing the same wise cracking energy from Deadpool, and applying to his role in Detective Pikachu. Reynolds' comedic chops have been on display for his entire career, and it should be interesting to see him reel things back and keep Detective Pikachu family friendly. But he managed to make Deadpool 2 PG-13 through Once Upon A Deadpool, so just about anything is possible.

Detective Pikachu will arrive in theaters on May 10, 2019. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Watch Chris Evans And The Avengers Cast Turn Infinity War Into A Cute Children’s Story

Watch Chris Evans And The Avengers Cast Turn Infinity War Into A Cute Children’s Story

Avengers: Infinity War may have been a movie full of comic book superheroes that kids love, but that doesn't mean it was a film suitable for all ages. Jimmy Kimmel apparently felt that small children needed a version of the story they could handle, and so a Jimmy Kimmel Live children's storybook has been created, and the Avengers themselves took time to read it to your little ones last night. Check it out in the video below.

The story of Avengers: Infinity War and the extermination of half the universe certainly sounds less terrible when it's spoken of in rhyming verse and accompanied by colorful pictures. Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth, and Don Cheadle are all on hand to tell parts of the story. It still ends the same way, which is probably going to make some children sad, but it leaves hope at the end teasing that Avengers: Endgame is coming to finish the story very soon.

There are some truly hilarious parts of the video. Everybody giving Thor a hard time for not going for Thanos' head is great, and something that Chris Hemsworth has certainly heard before. Hemsworth, for his part, has a pretty decent rebuttal, that at least Thor actually did some damage to Thanos and came close to succeeding, which none of the rest of the team really did.

Of course, Hemsworth himself has plenty of blame to throw around. He calls out Star-Lord for ruining the plan to get the Infinity Gauntlet off Thanos' arm, which we've certainly also heard before.

The highlight of storytime, however, may be when every reader stops reading and calls out whoever wrote the verse of the book for trying to rhyme Groot with soot. Needless to say, it doesn't scan. Most of the team ends up mispronouncing soot to rhyme with Groot, but nobody is happy about it. There were plenty of other characters whose names could have been used if you can't find a suitable rhyme for Groot.

Jimmy Kimmel is certainly right in his introduction to the piece that it's no fun to see Spider-Man die. The end of Avengers: Infinity War, while being somewhat predictable for fans who were familiar with the source material, was no less shocking, even to them. The fact that a major Marvel Cinematic Universe movie ended with half of our favorite heroes turning to dust was still the sort of moment that blew people away.

What comes next, we're all still only guessing about. While we fully expect our heroes to win in the end, exactly how that will happen, or who will still be standing when it does, is fueling endless speculation. There's certainly no guarantee that if Avengers: Endgame becomes its own children's' book, that it will have any happier an ending.

We'll find out when Avengers: Endgame hits theaters April 26.