Unfortunately, neither popped: Nacho Libre only made $5 million less than Anchorman but had no quotable afterlife, while, more notably, Tenacious D bombed. However, these weren’t roles Black planned for himself that wouldn’t happen until three years later with Nacho Libre (which he produced) and his true passion project, Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny. It would be easy to Monday-morning-quarterback these picks, but they’re not bad choices on paper: Shark Tale was an all-star Dreamworks movie, Stiller was a big star, and Jackson was coming off of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
In the interim, he dabbled in celebrity voice work ( Shark Tale), co-starred with Ben Stiller in a bomb ( Envy), and took a straight role in Peter Jackson’s King Kong. He went on to codify his sensibility with a mini comedy empire that includes and his production company, Gary Sanchez Productions, formed with McKay.Ĭonversely, following School of Rock, Jack Black took several years to make his movie. (He also arranged for his comedy soul mate, Adam McKay, to make his directing debut on the film.) While Anchorman was not the smash that Elf (still Ferrell’s highest grossing film) was, it still made good money ($85 million domestically, with a reported $26 million budget) and had a long tail as a perpetually quoted cult classic, bolstering a fan base dedicated to Ferrell’s loopy style.
JACK BLACK THE FALL GUY MOVIE
In the wake of his Elf success, having established his comedic brand as someone with no vanity who could make dumb jokes with highbrow weirdness, Ferrell immediately used his clout to write and star in a movie that was the purest distillation of his sensibility: Anchorman. Ten years later, Ferrell remains one of the premiere comedy movie stars, while Black told Marc Maron on “WTF” last August that he “ the pinch” of things “ down on the movie front.” Let’s look at two key career strategies they did and didn’t engage in, and which one McCarthy is emulating. Then in 2003 came Elf and School of Rock. Like McCarthy in Bridesmaids, both Ferrell and Black first established their star potential by stealing movies in supporting roles: Ferrell in Old School, Black in High Fidelity.
A case study is in order: To gauge where she’s headed, let’s compare her approach to that of two similarly high-energy comics who both had their big breakouts ten years ago but now find themselves in very different places: Will Ferrell and Jack Black. But how long can it last? She’s at a point where the decisions she makes over the next few years could either position her as a long-term comedy fixture or a flash in the pan. On a weekend when the fourth-place debut of Channing Tatum’s White House Down dampened Hollywood’s hopes that they had a new action star who could ensure surefire hits, McCarthy has emerged as comedy’s new sure thing … at least for now.
This was also the case in Identity Thief, which got middling reviews yet did incredibly well, grossing $135 million domestically on the back of McCarthy’s appeal. But Bullock was the straight woman it was McCarthy who had to bear most of the comedic burden. Sure, some of that had to do with co-lead Sandra Bullock, a genuine movie star. Let’s change that and make all of our voices heard this November! But first, let’s get out there and ROCK!”Ģ7 Kalamazoo State Theatre, Kalamazoo, Michiganġ Wilson Center, Wilmington, North CarolinaĤ Merriweather Post Pavilion, Washington, D.C.The Heat grossed an impressive $40 million this weekend, putting it on track to be Melissa McCarthy’s second hit comedy in the last six months. Four in 10 Americans who were eligible to vote did not do so in 2016.
JACK BLACK THE FALL GUY REGISTRATION
“JB & KG will be hitting swing states across the country, with special stops in NYC and DC, and partnering with 46 for 46 to promote voter registration and overall civic action through music. “The D are very excited to announce The Purple Nurple Tour… twisting hard to the Left!” said the duo at the time of the tour's announcement. Jack will hopefully be hitting the road with his Tenacious D bandmate Kyle Gass later this year for a tour of the U.S.