This is either the awesomest idea in movie history or the dumbest. Or both. It could be both. So the process for making an Anchorman movie sounds really awesome – you just get Will Ferrell and a bunch of other hilarious people on set, get them in character and let them go buckwild. The first movie had so many outtakes and deleted scenes that they actually made an entire second movie out of it – Wake Up, Ron Burgundy. And it was just as funny!
For Anchorman 2, director Adam McKay wants to go one further and release an entirely different theatrical cut of the movie with every joke replaced. In an interview with Empire, McKay says that the sequel – which is clocking in at nearly two hours long, epic for a comedy – has so many deleted scenes and improvs that you could re-build the entire move with new jokes and it would play just as well.
And, in fact, that’s what he’s doing – his editor is putting together an alternate cut of the film that McKay hopes to give a theatrical release, possibly for midnight screenings. Apparently the material is all just as good as the stuff that made the studio cut, and after seeing Wake Up, Ron Burgundy I’m inclined to believe it. Usually these deleted scenes just limp off into the sunset as DVD extras, but they deserve better. Making a whole ‘nother movie, though, is some next level stuff.
What do you think? Would you see both versions of Anchorman 2 in theaters? Find out on December 20th when Anchorman: The Legend Continues premieres.