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He was just trying to make small talk.  Why I had to immediately unearth the inner depths of my geekdom is beyond me, other than my feeble defense that I have fallen so far into the dork forest, I think anyone who watches Will Ferrell movies diligently studies the production credits.

It was office small talk.  Movies are a shared experience, and running into an acquaintance at the mall certainly merits sharing what movies one has seen over the past weekend.  Seems like a non-threatening situation for even the most awkward conversationalist, right?  Wrong. 

“We went and saw Semi-Pro, it was funny.  You should see it.” he said, innocently enough.

“Who wrote it?” was my immediate response.  The poor guy’s face registered shock, he clearly didn’t realize that opening a dialogue with me would involve a pop quiz.

“Uh.  Uh.  Will Ferrell was there.”  He stammered.  I apologized hastily, mumbling something about it being perfectly acceptable to not know this.  I’m fairly certain the only people who pay attention to screenwriters are other screenwriters, and, well, me.

This was a sort of wake-up call to me.  Why doesn’t everyone care who wrote the story you are devoting the next two hours of your life to?  Again, likely because it’s normal to ignore the spells behind film magic.  For most people, Will Ferrell’s presence is the only prerequisite before shelling out ten bucks for a movie.  He’s consistently funny, how could I possibly be disappointed?  I love Will Ferrell, this is not a post negating his inherent comedic brilliance, but I find that in the case of his career (and that of most actors), who is writing and directing make the difference between a harmlessly amusing film, and Top 10 Favorite contender.

Take Blades of Glory, for example.  I enjoyed Blades of Glory, the cast is fantastic, but for some reason I do not feel compelled to watch Blades of Glory two or three times a month.  I do however, have a near constant urge to throw on Anchorman.  The difference?

Adam McKay.

Adam McKay began his awesomeness studying with Del Close at ImprovOlympics in Chicago, where he learned all about the brilliance of long-form improvisation (also known as “The Harold”).  McKay was involved with early versions of the Upright Citizens Brigade, and then worked his way up the ladder at Second City, where he played with Tina Fey, Scott Adsit, and Rachel Dratsch.  This is a guy you want at your dinner parties, and most importantly, writing your movies.  McKay’s specialty is bizarre juxtapositions between characters and their environments (like the street rivalry between affiliate anchors that escalates to gratuitous violence).  He’s also one of the brains behind Funny or Die (again, with Will Ferrell).  I trust Adam McKay because we share a particular sense of humor.  Sure Will Ferrell is funny, but the characters and situations he puts himself in are what I’m looking for.  I trust him to execute outlandish scenarios, but I won’t jump at his every box office appearance.  I do my homework first, and that’s why I still haven’t seen Semi-Pro.