By Rick Duran, Senior Editor
The creative men behind most of the Frat Pack classics were recognized at number 16 in Details' annual power list for 2006. These "Frat Packagers" are Todd Phillips, Adam McKay, and Judd Apatow:
"What the Vegas stage did for the Rat Pack, Apatow, McKay, and Phillips are doing for Will Ferrell, the Wilson brothers, and the rest of the Frat Pack: creating hugely profitable zeitgeist-tapping vehicles for this clique of comedic actors. Apatow and McKay’s latest collaboration, Talladega Nights, yielded the second-biggest opening ever for an original comedy: $47 million. “They came in and said, ‘Will Ferrell. Nascar,’” says Matt Tolmach, copresident of production at Columbia Pictures. “Had they said ‘Will Ferrell. Some other thing,’ we’d have done it, too, because we have huge faith in them.” Apatow’s The 40-Year-Old Virgin grossed $109 million, which helps explain why he has three films due in 2007 alone. On Talladega, as on Anchorman, Apatow produced and let the now-in-demand McKay direct. The pair is planning to do yet another Ferrell flick, Step Brothers. Phillips directed Ferrell in the most literal Frat Pack flick, Old School, and is set to bring out a sequel next year. Meanwhile, he signed a first-look deal with Warner Bros. and has just released School for Scoundrels. “Actors love him,” says Bob Weinstein of the Weinstein Company, which produced Scoundrels. “Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller, Will Ferrell. These guys will come back and do cameos. They don’t for just anybody. They always do for him.” In this pack, that is the essence of fraternity."
After
a long career as a stand-up comic and television writer, Apatow finally landed
a writing, acting, and producing gig on the Emmy-winning, but canceled variety
program, The Ben Stiller Show. Apatow later joined the staff of another
critically acclaimed Emmy-favorite, The Larry Sanders Show. In 1996,
Apatow produced and co-wrote (uncredited) Stiller's directorial effort, Jim
Carrey's dark comedy The Cable Guy, where Apatow met future wife Leslie
Mann. Apatow oversaw the first major piece in Frat Pack history, as the film
also featured rising stars Jack Black (in a supporting role) and Owen Wilson
(in a cameo.) Apatow next became the showrunner for two critically acclaimed
series, Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared, both co-starring
Seth Rogen. Both comedies were cancelled after one season.
Apatow moved on to films, producing the 2004 Frat Pack classic, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. While filming that project, Apatow approached its co-star, Steve Carell, about a starring role. After Anchorman's success, Apatow began his directorial debut, the Carell-starring classic, The 40 Year-Old Virgin. With two major hits to his name, Apatow was given the freedom to cast and direct Virgin scene-stealer Rogen in his own starring-vehicle, Knocked Up, also starring previous collaborators Paul Rudd, Leslie Man and Jonah Hill. In addition to wrapping production on Knocked Up, Apatow produced the Will Ferrell smash hit Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. All of Apatow's directing and producing film projects employ an improvisation-heavy style, often veering away from their scripts' dialouge. Among Apatow's many producing projects coming are Super Bad (giving Jonah Hill his first starring role), Drillbit Taylor (an O. Wilson vehicle) and Step Brothers (with Ferrell and John C. Reilly.)
Breakout Project: Writing and producing the television programs, The Ben Stiller Show and The Larry Sanders Show
Career Highlights: Heavyweights, The Cable Guy, Celtic
Pride, Freaks and Geeks, Undeclared, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,
Kicking and Screaming, The 40 Year-Old Virgin, Fun with Dick and Jane, Talladega
Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Knocked Up, Super Bad, Drillbit Taylor, Step
Brothers.
Having
directed the seminal film where the Frat Pack got its name, Todd Phillips will
always be considered a major Frat Pack player after directing Will Ferrell,
Vince Vaughn and Luke Wilson in Old School. Phillips' first major production
was Hated, a documentary on infamous punk rock singer GG Allin. Phillips
first received national attention for his controversial fraternity hazing documentary,
Frat House. Fraternity humor would later be revisted in Phillips' feature
film debut, Road Trip, and more successfully in the 2003 classic, Old
School. Phillips immediately regrouped Vaughn and Ferrell for 2004's Starsky
& Hutch, starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson. This was the first of
several 2004 films to fully take advantage of the Frat Pack clique, including
Ferrell in a pivotal cameo.
Phillips recently directed the film School For Scoundrels, which he again used his pull with the Frat Pack to get a highly publicized cameo by Stiller. Currently, Phillips and writing partner Scott Armstrong are drafting one of the most anticipated films in Frat Pack history, the sequel Old School Dos. Ferrell, Vaughn or L. Wilson are not attached to the project yet, but will soon be presented with the screenplay.
Breakout Project: The controversial documentary, Frat House
Career Highlights: Hated, Road Trip, Phish: Bittersweet
Motel, Old School, Starsky & Hutch, School for Scoundrels.
As
a writer for Saturday Night Live from 1995-2001 (including a two year stint
as head writer beginning in 1997), McKay began his partnership with Will Ferrell.
After writing and directing many of Ferrell's memorable SNL skits (including
the Glenn Frey fantasy, "The Heat is On," co-starring Ben Stiller)
McKay left to pursue a film career. Once Ferrell's film career ignited with
Old School, Dreamsworks Pictures greenlit McKay's directorial debut,
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, a film they once passed on.
In Anchorman, McKay directed a number of rising stars such as Steve Carell,
Paul Rudd, David Koechner and Seth Rogen. However, McKay's Frat Pack credibility
will be forever sealed with Anchorman's classic News Anchor Rumble, featuring
cameos by Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson and Tim Robbins, in addition
to directing an earlier cameo by Jack Black.
Since then, McKay was called in to rewrite some uncredited dialouge for Ferrell (and possibly Carell) in the Bewitched script. In 2006, McKay directed the second of Ferrell's "Mediocre American Man Trilogy" (the first being Anchorman), Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, which has almost doubled its predecessor's domestic box office total. Up next for McKay and Ferrell is Step Brothers, co-starring Talladega's John C. Reilly. McKay & Ferrell, who recently formed Gary Sanchez Production, also have a live action Land of the Lost adaptation (rumored to costar Jack Black) and a third Mediocre American Man installment slated for the future.
Breakout Project: Head writer for Saturday Night Live, where
he first partnered with future Gary Sanchez Productions co-founder Will Ferrell.
Career Highlights: Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,
Bewitched, Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie, Talladega Nights: The Ballad
of Ricky Bobby, Step Brothers.
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