Ferrell's previous film credits include Zoolander, Elf, the Woody Allen feature Melinda and Melinda, the comedies Semi-Pro, Bewitched and Old School, and the screen adaptation of The Producers, which earned Ferrell his first Golden Globe nomination in 2006 for Best Supporting Actor. He recently wrapped production on his next feature film, Universal's Land of the Lost which he stars opposite of Danny McBride and produced by Jimmy Miller. The film is set to release in the summer of 2009.
In 2007, Ferrell and McKay founded the video website Funnyordie.com. The comedy video website contains exclusive material from a number of famous contributors such as Judd Apatow and Jack Black, and has its own "Funny or Die Team" ("FOD Team") which creates original material for the site. The site's first video, "The Landlord," has received over 55 million views and features Ferrell confronted by a swearing, beer-drinking two-year-old landlord. In June 2008, the site they announced a partnership with HBO to develop television projects.
Following their website success, Ferrell and McKay teamed together again to open their own production company, Gary Sanchez Productions. So far, they have supported the 2006 Sundance hit The Foot Fist Way starring Danny McBride (Tropic Thunder), who also co-wrote with director Jody Hill. The film was released last May by Paramount Vantage. Currently, Gary Sanchez is in production with a new dark comedy HBO series titled East Bound and Down also starring Danny McBride who, again, will be co-writing with director Hill which is set to debut on the network in 2009.
Raised in Irvine, California, Ferrell attended USC and graduated with a degree in sports information. Upon graduation, he worked as a sportscaster on a weekly show broadcast over a local cable channel. Soon after, he enrolled in acting classes and stand-up comedy workshops at a nearby community college and was eventually asked to join the esteemed comedy/improv group The Groundlings after just one year of training. It was at The Groundlings that Ferrell was discovered for Saturday Night Live.
Adam McKay is a writer, director, and producer who has done the movies Anchorman, Talladega Nights and most recently, Step Brothers, which he co-wrote with Will Ferrell. He is a former head writer of SNL and one of the founding members of the Upright Citizens Brigade. Other past credits include writing for Michael Moore's show "The Awful Truth." Most recently he co-founded the comedy website Funny or Die and just finished producing the movie The Goods: The Don Ready Story. He is currently in production on a comedy show for HBO through his production company with Will Ferrell, Gary Sanchez Productions.
