‘Talladega Nights’ at 20: Director Adam McKay reveals behind-the-scenes secrets and if he’d ever work with Will Ferrell again

**From Business Insider’s Jason Guerrasio:** 
Adam McKay remembers the moment he realized his 2006 comedy “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” would be a hit.

It was the movie’s opening weekend in Los Angeles, and the director and his co-writer and star, Will Ferrell, were driving around the city sneaking into sold-out showings when they encountered comedy royalty in the audience.

“We’re standing in the back, everyone was laughing, and we hear someone go, ‘Hey!’ We look over, and it’s Adam Sandler sitting in the back with one of his kids on his lap, and he gives us a thumbs up,” McKay told Business Insider.

“What other person at that level does that? Opening weekend in a packed theater. Zero competitiveness — truly happy for us. It’s a moment from making that movie that I’ll never forget.”

In the twenty years since its release, “Talladega Nights” has enjoyed a place in the pop-culture pantheon: Several of the movie’s lines have become catchphrases, from “Shake and bake!” to “If you’re not first, you’re last,” and NASCAR drivers have done their own homages to Ricky Bobby. Now, in honor of the movie’s upcoming 20th anniversary, Sony is re-releasing “Talladega Nights” in theaters nationwide on June 28, June 30, and July 1.

Business Insider chatted with McKay about the one thing NASCAR didn’t want in the movie, allowing Sacha Baron Cohen in the edit room, and whether he thinks he’ll ever work with his former creative partner Will Ferrell again.

[Read the full interview here. ](https://www.businessinsider.com/talladega-nights-adam-mckay-famous-quotes-working-with-will-ferrell-2026-6?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=insider-entertainment-sub-post)

Having the first driver die behind the wheel so soon
after Earnhardt’s death would have been a choice. Better that they rewrote that lol.