There’s no doubt that fans of the film Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) were ready to see their favorite newsman return to the big screen. Will Ferrell, who plays Burgundy, was very aware of that fact. “It’s kind of grown into cult status. Anchors on ESPN SportsCenter refer to the San Diego Chargers as ‘the San-de-AH-go Chargers,’” a reference to the character’s now-classic mispronunciation of his home city’s name. “And we got a photo emailed to us of a troop transport carrier in the middle of Baghdad with a stencil of Ron Burgundy’s face that said, ‘Stay Classy Baghdad,’” paraphrasing Burgundy’s popular sign-off. “It just keeps coming up in pop culture. People in news tell us all the time they know somebody like Burgundy. And the fan base keeps growing.”
At the same time, Ferrell and director/cowriter Adam McKay weren’t quite as convinced. “We weren’t really huge proponents of sequels,” Ferrell says. “It’s a tall order to fill, and, creatively, you ask yourself why do a sequel when you could just write an original movie? But if we were going to do a sequel to any of our projects, this would be the one.” McKay agrees. “The first Anchorman was the first movie I had directed, so it was new. But let’s face it, 70 percent of sequels aren’t as good as the first one — a lot because the element of surprise is gone, people know what’s coming.”
It took some searching, and a lot of discarded concepts, but finally, as the two were discussing the introduction of cable TV and the media explosion that began to happen in 1980, they realized they’d found a hook for a new storyline. “If you do any research,” Ferrell says, “you realize that [1980] was a crucial year. Prior to that, there were just three or four channels in most cities, but then this explosion happened. Once you pass that point, it becomes modern television — and modern news — as we know it.” It was a perfect fit to overwhelm the pompous Burgundy, McKay says. “We kept talking about it, and we realized, ‘That’s what Ron Burgundy should deal with.’ That’s when the first trash news stories appeared, like the Pee-wee Herman story and, in the early 90s, OJ. News no longer served any kind of function. So we thought that was a great thing, having a moral conundrum: Do you chase ratings or do you do what you’re supposed to do? That’s perfect for Burgundy. Because right away, he’s gonna fail the moral test.”
And just like that, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues was born.
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues is available beginning April 1 on Video On Demand. Check your cable system for availability