Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues is finally happening, and director Adam McKay has been discussing what we can expect from the film, including the return of the ludicrously silly musical number.
“There will be some music in Anchorman 2 for sure,” says McKay. “We have some songs already written. We were going to do Anchorman 2 as a Broadway musical first, for like six months and then go shoot the movie. That was our initial idea.
“We always do it live on the set,” McKay said of previous musical numbers, such as Afternoon Delight . “And my thing is, if the actors get freaked out, don’t sweat it, we can always re-record it later. And every time we’ve done it, we end up using the live track from the recording. We’ll probably do it the same way in this.”
Not that it will be all singing and dancing, with McKay keen to explore the impact of 24 hour news on American culture.
“Even thought it’s going to be a big silly movie,” he says, “it’s all about the rise of the new media and 24 hour news cycle, and there’s a lot of interesting points to make about that while being silly.
“It’s just funny that Americans have to contend with 2000 channels, and 60 different specific news sources, and the confusion that it creates, and the junk that we get to see is hilarious. That’s what we’re always kinda looking for, what’s the point of view that’s got life to it and plays.”
Anchorman 2 opens in the UK in 2013.