Despite showing up nearly everywhere else as Ron Burgundy, Will Ferrell dressed up as himself for Anchorman 2's U.S. premiere in New York.
Charles Sykes/Invision/APGary Sanchez Productions, the 7-year-old film and television production company formed by Will Ferrell, Adam McKay and Chris Henchy, has formed a new female-driven division.
Dubbed Gloria Sanchez Productions, the venture will focus on creating female-led film and TV projects and will be headed up by Jessica Elbaum, a longtime production executive at Gary Sanchez.
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The new company will work with established and emerging female voices to develop content.
“When Jessica came to us with this idea, we thought it was fantastic,” Ferrell and McKay said in a statement. “She has worked with some of the great female voices in comedy and has proven herself as a gifted producer who has a keen eye for material.”
Gary Sanchez Productions, named after a fictitious place-kicker invented by Ferrell and McKay, has produced a number of films since forming, including Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, The Campaign, Step Brothers and The Other Guys. The company already has dipped its toe into the female comedy space with the 2012 indie breakout Bachelorette and has a number of such projects in various stages of development and production including the Melissa McCarthy vehicle Tammy at New Line.
Keeping up the Sanchez charade, Ferrell and McKay added: “We called Gary, and he loved the idea as well, and asked that we name it after his favorite step-granddaughter, Gloria Sanchez.”
Elbaum is an Emmy- and Tony-nominated producer who has worked at Gary Sanchez since its inception. In 2008, she played a key role in bringing Ferrell’s one-man show, You’re Welcome America, to Broadway for an exclusive, limited run at the Cort Theatre, where it broke attendance records. Last year, she served as an executive producer on Anchorman 2, which was directed by McKay. She is currently in postproduction on the feature film Welcome to Me, written and directed by Shira Piven and starring Kristen Wiig, Wes Bentley, James Marsden and Tim Robbins.
Email: Tatiana.Siegel@THR.com
Twitter: @TatianaSiegel27
