Director Adam McKay just completed another milestone achievement!
On Thursday, McKay finally got his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The TV producer and director have created many comedies, especially those including Will Ferrell, such as “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,” “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” and “Step Brothers.”
NBC News reported that his star is the 2,713th since the Walk of Fame was completed in 1961 with the first 1,558 stars.
Adam McKay Has A Long Career In Comedy
McKay first began his comedy career as an improv performer in Chicago. From there, he was hired to write for NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” in 1995 and became the head writer for the show in 1996. He wrote for the late-night sketch comedy series until 2001.
The ceremony, held in front of the Hollywood Wax Museum in Hollywood, was attended by actress Sarah Silverman and actor John C. Reilly. Silverman recently appeared in the Netflix climate change parody “Don’t Look Up,” which McKay directed, co-wrote, and producer. The film became the second-most-viewed film in Netflix history and scooped up four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. McKay and writer David Sirota also picked up a nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
Reilly co-starred alongside Ferrell in “Step Brothers” and “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.” He also stars as the late LA Lakers owner Jerry Buss in “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.” McKay is one of the directors and executive producers of the 10-episode series, which will premiere on March 6 on HBO.
Adam McKay Has Received Several Awards & Nominations For His Work
McKay earned a Best Director Academy Award nomination for his 2015 comedy-drama “The Big Short,” which highlighted the 2007 housing market crash. He also shared an Oscar with writer Charles Randolph for Best Adapted Screenplay for their script.
He also received a Best Director and Best Original Screenplay nomination for the 2018 biography of the former United States Vice President Dick Cheney, simply titled “Vice.” He also produced the film which was nominated for Best Picture.
McKay is also one of the executive producers of the HBO satirical comedy-drama “Succession.” The critically acclaimed series picked up an Emmy win for Outstanding Drama Series in 2020.
Adam McKay Knew That Don’t Look Up Wasn’t Going To Please Everybody!
In an interview with BBC Radio 4’s “Today,” McKay admitted that he had anticipated some of the film’s critical reaction prior to the films’ release.
“Comedy is always subjective,” he said. “Certain people are going to think things are too funny or silly or not care for them so that’s built-in.”
McKay admitted that it didn’t matter if he made a “stark drama” or a “dystopic picture.” He knew that, when addressing a controversial topic like the climate crisis, “You’re never going to make a movie to appeal to everyone.”
“The idea behind it was ‘How do we get this urgency out there?’” he added. “The science is telling us that the problem is happening right now and it’s far worse than we thought. I felt like laughter was a good way to go because if you’re laughing then you inherently have some perspective.”
Part of the film’s appeal comes from its star-studded cast of Jennifer Lawrence, Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill, Cate Blanchett, Timothée Chalamet, Chris Evans, and a performance by Ariana Grande.
The film tells the story of two astronomers (Lawrence and DiCaprio) from Michigan State who start on a media tour to warn the public that an approaching comet is about to destroy the planet after the President (Streep) and her son (Hill) tell them to “sit tight” with the information until after the mid-term elections are over.
Leonardo DiCaprio Reveals That He Always Wanted To Make A Climate Change Film
Although the former “Titanic” actor was last to be cast in the comedy, he admitted that he “always wanted to do a film about this subject matter.”
“It is incredibly hard to tackle the subject matter over the climate crises in a two-, three-hour format. It’s something like a slow, deadly roll, as far as ramifications of climate to the environment,” he continued. “I really just felt like Adam cracked the code with this idea of it becoming a comet, and have society and the media and people make it a partisan issue.”
“I was a huge Adam McKay fan and of course, working with that cast was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” he added. “But really at the end of the day, doing a movie about this subject matter at this time, there are very few movies historically like that.”
“Don’t Look Up” is currently available to stream on Netflix.
