When “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” opened in theaters in 2006, the movie became an instant classic thanks to its memorable one-liners like “Baby Jesus” and “Shake and Bake,” along with introducing the world to the comedy duo we never knew we craved: Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly.
With a lifetime box office of over $160 million and countless more dollars earned off DVD and Blu-ray sales (back when that was a thing), surely the studio that released it, Sony, wanted a sequel about the antics of NASCAR’s bad boy racer, Ricky Bobby (played by Ferrell).
It did. And writer-director Adam McKay did kick the tires for a potential part two, taking the original’s flag-waving subtext and turning it on its head.
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“It was that Ricky Bobby was going to hook up with an F1 team, and he was going to race in Denmark or the Netherlands and feel like he’s in a communist country because they have nationalized healthcare,” McKay told Business Insider for an interview celebrating the movie’s 20th anniversary. “So, along with struggling with how fast those F1 cars go, he would have clashed with far-left-leaning Europe compared to America.”
What stopped McKay from going forward was the effort they would have to put into it.
“It’s a lot of work to shoot race car stuff,” McKay said. “The reason we went and did ‘Step Brothers’ next was we felt like, can we just go do comedy in a house?”
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Though McKay said making “Talladega Nights” was one of the most enjoyable experiences he had making a movie, the production did have its challenges, including filming major stunt sequences and, thanks to NASCAR’s support, shooting on location during active races.
“Whenever there was a caution flag, and the race was stopped, NASCAR gave us a spot in the pits, so we would all rush on the track, and those are the actors improvising during a live race,” he said.
So once the movie wrapped, McKay said, “We were tired.”
That’s what opened the door for Ferrell and Reilly to create their most memorable collaboration in McKay’s next movie, 2008’s “Step Brothers,” in which the stars play immature adult step brothers.
It turned out to be the right decision. “Step Brothers,” like “Talladega Nights,” has gone on to be regarded as one of the funniest movies in Will Ferrell’s filmography.
