Adam McKay Quotes & Sayings

You have a guy like Bernie Madoff literally steal $80 billion, you know, AIG steal hundreds of billions, Goldman Sachs. Crime has changed so much, and to really do a movie with, like, drug dealers or drug smugglers is kind of almost quaint at this point. — Adam McKay

The way you really stop Al-Qaeda is by stopping their funding. It's not by carpet-bombing or land invasions or anything. — Adam McKay

When you do comedy, you get impervious to good and bad reviews. — Adam McKay

Sometimes I know a joke I'm going to yell out ahead of time, but most of the time it's stream of conscious. You never really know it until you've got everyone dressed up, the set is built, all the extras are here. — Adam McKay

The living nightmare for a red state NASCAR driver would be a gay French driver. — Adam McKay

I love 'The Wire;' that's my favorite show, so I'll watch that. — Adam McKay

We're always looking for the backbone, the central idea, and once you have that you know everything can circle around it. — Adam McKay

Pete Wilson deregulated energy as a pay out to Enron, and we blamed Gray Davis. — Adam McKay

I guess HBO did a giant 'War in the Pacific' mini-series that cost, like, a fortune, and there was a little moment where they literally had no money. And even though the show had become kind of a cult hit, there was an issue of whether they could actually afford to do it. — Adam McKay

There's nothing the people love more than a Federal Reserve joke. — Adam McKay

Nothing is more enjoyable for me than when I'm watching a movie or a TV show and there's that sense that anything can happen. It is the most fun feeling in the world. — Adam McKay

Voting for Romney after the train wreck of that was the eight years of W. Bush is like losing your pay check playing a rigged game of three-card monte and then playing the same game again a week later 'cause the cards are a different color. — Adam McKay

I hired Tina Fey for 'SNL,' which was certainly a good match. She took off right away there. — Adam McKay

It so happens that America, according to all the polls that are out there, is pretty progressive. So you're not going to see messages that support Ayn Randian individualism at the cost of the whole, because most people don't agree with that. — Adam McKay

The crush of lobbyists on Washington and purchase of the media by corporations has created a big business-run government and a worthless press leaving Americans screwed and ill-informed. — Adam McKay

With the derivatives market larger than ever, we need way more regulation of Wall Street, not less. — Adam McKay

You know how in every heist movie they get past the security cameras that show the hallway leading to the diamonds by jamming the screens with a fake signal of everything looking safe and quiet? Usually a guard coughs so they don't notice the blip from switching to the bogus feed. — Adam McKay

I always say the classier cousin of 'Anchorman' is 'Mad Men,' because when you really look at it, why do people really love Don Draper in 'Mad Men?' He's just a terrible guy. But we know why he's terrible, and I think that's really key to why you can be sympathetic to a character. — Adam McKay

There's nothing more fun to me than new characters and a new world. — Adam McKay

I have no political ax to grind; I just find it absurd that huge billion-dollar corporations can take over elections. I just find it insane that, for instance, we give tax breaks to people like myself making millions of dollars, while there're no tax breaks for working people. That, to me, is not a political issue, that's a life issue. — Adam McKay

'Firewall' seems both scary and protective at the same time. And how often does that happen within one word besides 'military' and 'government?' — Adam McKay

I'm just a giant film fan, so I love action movies out of all kinds of movies. As a film geek, it's amazing to be able to shoot this stuff. — Adam McKay

If you do a Western that's funny, there's no way people don't call it a spoof or a parody, even though it may not be. — Adam McKay

I always thought George Bush was more oblivious than mean, but oblivious can quickly go to mean. — Adam McKay

Tom Brokaw was never young. — Adam McKay

Animals talking are very rarely funny. But animals behaving as animals - always funny. — Adam McKay

Arnold Schwarzenegger cut teacher's salaries and parks and libraries rather than raise taxes for the many California millionaires and billionaires. — Adam McKay

My wife is pretty geeky and will occasionally quote 'Anchorman' at me. — Adam McKay

I'll tell you one thing ... no doubt about it, my favorite kind of comedy is talking head comedy. I mean, if it were up to me, I'd do a whole entire movie that was just around a dinner table. — Adam McKay

When I was at 'SNL,' I would constantly get in arguments, 'Why aren't we more political? We're not going after Bush.' Then look what happened - that Sarah Palin season, they were on fire. It was about something. — Adam McKay

I'm a huge hip hop fan going way back, like, back to '83. I had my Gemini mixer listening to Run-DMC and Kurtis Blow. — Adam McKay

Nowadays, the truth is, I think a lot of the newer generation of action stars usually are pretty self-deprecating and cool. I mean, Dwayne Johnson is a great example. — Adam McKay

Dick Cheney and Bush's rise to power were built on tons of money from corporations and a dulled press. — Adam McKay

I would never call myself cultural elite, but you might be cultural elite. — Adam McKay

My first joke was about a company called Five Star Parking that was all over Philadelphia: 'Who's reviewing parking lots?' — Adam McKay

I have certain beliefs about how people should treat employees and how companies should be run, but I was really surprised though this process to learn that those beliefs are actually good business. — Adam McKay

David O. Russell is probably my favorite filmmaker. He's not only a great director, but he's also a great writer. — Adam McKay

I was a huge fan of comedy in high school. — Adam McKay

The only way that Hollywood ever skews toward liberal is because part of what we make out of Hollywood involves writers, actors, directors, musicians, set designers, and photographers. In general, people like that are going to be more progressive, more open minded, a little more altruistic. — Adam McKay

I don't think arrested-adolescent humor will fade. Maybe the form will change, but I guarantee its replacement will still be based in immature behavior from mature figures. — Adam McKay

The corporate right fires up the religious right against gay marriage and abortion and uses their votes to push their deregulation and tax cuts for the rich. It's an old trick. The House of Saud has the same arrangement with the Mullahs in Saudi Arabia. — Adam McKay

I've gotten like five laughs in movies, just off guy hugs. — Adam McKay

I don't think there's ever been a moment in history where that, as an artistic message, has played very well, because people in their hearts know that's terrible and a lie. — Adam McKay

'The Real World' is the most predictable arc ever. They get on the show, they're all excited, we're gonna be best friends, then people start drinking and get hammered, and say stupid stuff, and that's pretty much it. — Adam McKay

After thousands of hours of news coverage, we have learned that Hillary is a liar and Barack is a terrorist or something. — Adam McKay

Having two kids, I don't get out to see stand up much anymore. — Adam McKay

Anyone in the comedy world knows that Horatio Sanz and Chris Parnell are two of the funniest guys around. — Adam McKay

In general foreign invested companies who come to America to start a company, to open a manufacturing business or whatnot, they actually provide much higher wages than American companies. — Adam McKay

Hollywood has to appeal to the broadest audience, and when it comes to most social and economic issues, America is progressive. Because of that, the messages that are in Hollywood movies tend to be, for instance, pro-environment. — Adam McKay

Every time a congressman or pundit says its 'class warfare' to increase taxes on the wealthy, it's a massive lie. — Adam McKay

If someone busted into your house and robbed you, would you then forgive them if you found out they were a veteran? Of course not. So why are we forgiving McCain for selling out his country by supporting the Bush agenda? — Adam McKay

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. — Adam McKay

Old man with an old phone. That's never not funny. — Adam McKay

The 'Police Academy' stuff was all hyper-slapsticky. — Adam McKay

It's one thing to break stuff and damage people's possessions, but when you start aiming at the ideology of America, that's dangerous comedy. — Adam McKay

For some reason, people with comedy, any time they can detect a pattern, it kind of freaks them out. 'Those guys are always together!' Yeah, they're a comedy team. Anything they can recognize as a pattern they think is a hole. — Adam McKay

Michael Lewis has the amazing ability to take complex formulas and concepts and turn them into page-turners. — Adam McKay

If you're calling yourself a maverick and you're not Dirk Nowitzki, then you are probably not one. In fact, this rule applies to anyone declaring themselves a 'God-fearing Christian' or a 'Man of the people.' — Adam McKay

I gotta say - if I clicked on a movie interview, and the first part was all about Walt Whitman, I'd love that article. — Adam McKay

There's always way less improv than people think. The truth is something like 15 percent. — Adam McKay

Governor Palin leans far closer to 'spokesperson' than representative of the people. — Adam McKay

You could feel America starting to ease up a little bit on racism, against blacks in certain pockets, and then suddenly The Cosby Show bubbled up and it was the right time for it. — Adam McKay

I was completely with the reality TV boom for a while. I really liked a lot of the reality TV, and the one that lost me was the ballroom dancing one they do, 'Dancing with the Stars.' That was the one where I watched it and I was perplexed. I thought it was really boring. — Adam McKay

Friends give me a hard time about the pants I'm wearing, which are made in China. Well, how do you find the right clothes? Or the right movie studio? The right people giving you checks? Good luck doing the right thing all the time. — Adam McKay

The stuff that's going on is just so over-the-top, with the banking crisis and destroying the Gulf of Mexico, and the outrage hasn't quite caught up with the people yet. But when it does, I think you're going to see really virulent anti-authoritarian kind of comedy coming out. — Adam McKay

I have no tax breaks or corporate interests to be supported by Barack Obama. — Adam McKay

There's nothing more fun than mean-spirited characters. — Adam McKay

In general, the final filter of Hollywood is for-profit. Nothing goes through unless it can make money. — Adam McKay

You have to be able to fail with the improv. You have to not care. — Adam McKay

There are so many shoot-'em-up, action, jingoistic TV shows and movies that are made every year. I think the final line is that Hollywood is populist. — Adam McKay

I'm sure when they partied when Rome was burning, that was a really great party. — Adam McKay

'Blazing Saddles' is one of the funniest movies ever made. — Adam McKay

All we have is our vote. But it's powerful. — Adam McKay

For a documentary it's so important to find the characters and to find people who will give you access to film — Adam McKay

Matt Braunger really makes me laugh; I like that guy a lot. — Adam McKay

If you aim for parody right off the bat and it misses, no offense to the filmmakers, but it is Meet the Spartans. — Adam McKay

I can't exactly say why there's not much protest music to speak off. And I know there are acts out there still putting a message in their music. — Adam McKay

A lot of shorts spend too much time setting up the idea; sometimes they meander. — Adam McKay

There's nothing more fun than making fun of what's sacred. — Adam McKay

The key is a good story. If you have a good story, you have enough emotional beats that you can hit. — Adam McKay

George W. Bush was a silver spoon dolt with no record to speak of other than bankruptcy and selling tropical plants, and we let him sail into the White House, but Barack talks about religious fundamentalism and guns being prevalent in poor areas, and we roast him for weeks? — Adam McKay

'Step Brothers 2' would have been fun, there's no doubt about it. Maybe someday. Does that idea age? I don't know. It all depends on how the movie ages. — Adam McKay

Everyone is sort of in their own little area counting lines and no one talks when film's not rolling. There's constantly actors coming to me back behind the monitor screaming at me, "Why did my line count drop?" It's a nasty tense environment. — Adam McKay

There's nothing more American than movies. — Adam McKay

A dry stretch of commentary in the middle of an 'Anchorman' movie would have been a terrible thing. — Adam McKay

I always give myself a little part in every movie. — Adam McKay

I think there's a tendency to think geeks and nerds are just sweet guys that were picked on, but that hasn't been my experience. I'm certainly not like that, in a lot of ways. — Adam McKay

Blanket cynicism toward government has always existed. — Adam McKay

As far as how much you listen to the audience, you listen to them when they really hate something. — Adam McKay

Bush already gave obscene tax breaks to people like me and Warren Buffet, and we are saying it's not fair. — Adam McKay

I am actually talking about possibly adapting 'The Boys,' by Garth Ennis, which would not be a comedy, but an action movie with comedy elements to it. — Adam McKay

I think American culture had just become so disengaged from the process of government, and we'd been so fuzzed out by our pop culture around us, that I don't think people really saw this guy for what he was. — Adam McKay

All you can really do as director is sort of set a tone. — Adam McKay

Obama is the new kid with the weird name who people just sense is a little classier than his surroundings. He moved from a private school where he was class president and is now at the giant public high school with the metal detectors and the smoking lounge. — Adam McKay

You need the audience to go on the ride with you. You can't just isolate them. — Adam McKay

I think everyone knows the news has become ridiculous. It's entertainment driven. — Adam McKay

Sony is the coolest studio. They are really amazing. I think part of it comes from they're not an American corporation. They don't work by quite the same rules. And their studio heads have a lot of autonomy. — Adam McKay

As far as what makes a viral video, then it's gotta be something that you've either never seen before, a fresh piece of comedy, or something that relates to something topical. — Adam McKay

Truth is like poetry.
And most people fucking hate poetry. — Adam McKay

The idea of 24-hour news, if you really step back, is pretty insane. Just even saying '24-hour news' almost has satire laced in it. — Adam McKay