Gobble gobble! Director, writer and gut-busting coconspirator Adam McKay is dishing more details on the Will Ferrell/Mark Wahlberg comedy formerly known as "Turkey Bowl." (The film's tentative title is "Three Mississippi" after it was discovered there's an indie film that already snagged the "Turkey Bowl" title.)
McKay, who runs Gary Sanchez Productions with Ferrell, told Entertainment Weekly about their upcoming collaboration and its newest addition, "30 Rock" funny man Alec Baldwin. Baldwin will play Wahlberg's dad and the guy who kicks off this Hatfield-McCoy rivalry over an increasingly ruthless yearly tackle football game with Ferrell's fam.
In a movie that Jack Donaghy would definitely disapprove of, Baldwin's character starts the tradition after seeing the Kennedys engage in a similar holiday ritual. He passes the torch on to his son to continue their tradition and sock it to the other family once and for all. Ferrell's family is not only whipping them at football but also on the financial side of things; Wahlberg's family is sort of a wacky gang of ne'er-do-wells and miscreants, so it's up to him to rally the troops and fulfill his daddy's dying wish.
McKay says the idea came about because of Wahlberg and Baldwin's chemistry in "The Departed," strangely enough.
"The idea was originally conceived for Mark Wahlberg and Alec Baldwin. Owen Burke, who's a producer at Gary Sanchez, and I were talking about how crazily funny Wahlberg and Baldwin were in 'The Departed' — how, even though it's not a comedy, we could just watch them all day long."
McKay, who says he will probably not direct but "reserve[s] that right," is planning to jam pack the comedy with cameos and characters as per his previous films "Step Brothers" and "Anchorman." Catalina Wine Mixer fan Rob Riggle will play a key member of the Wahlberg clan who was shunned once he came out of the closet but is later needed for his Fresno State footballin' skills. McKay also tossed Jeremy Renner's name out there as part of his ensemble wishlist, hoping to get the "Avenger" on board as "an ex-con."
Although the Ferrell-Wahlberg vehicle "The Other Guys" was an acquired taste for some, there's no doubt that folks will be flocking to theaters to see this crazy holiday family film -- if only to escape their own Hatfield-McCoy situations around the Thanksgiving dinner table!
