The stepbrothers made a triumphant return and from the looks of it, there didn’t seem to be any lingering hard feelings between the two stars.
On Saturday, longtime friends and colleagues Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly reunited to celebrate Snoop Dogg’s 52nd birthday at the Best Night Of Your Life 2 benefit show.
While the hip-hop legend was on stage, the two actors and comedians came out and surprised him with a giant three-layer birthday cake.
“Yesterday was a very special day. “It was Snoop Dogg’s birthday,” Reilly, 58, told the crowd before Snoop pulled out a joint and lit it with the candles. “That’s exactly what I mean,” Reilly added.
The duo then led the crowd in a sing-along of “Happy Birthday,” followed by Snoop blowing out his candles.
“My brothers surprised me,” Snoop wrote on Instagram while sharing a behind-the-scenes look at the special moment. “Will and John.
The sight of Ferrell and Reilly on stage having fun with Snoop follows the controversy over Jerry Buss’ role in the HBO sports drama series “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.”
The two stars have a long history together, including starring together in “Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby” (2006), “Holmes & Watson” (2018) and in their comedy “Step Brothers” (2008). belong.
But it turns out that Ferrell had been pushing his then-producing partner and best friend Adam McKay to play the Lakers’ larger-than-life owner Jerry Buss since he began developing the show, which is an adaptation of Jeff Pearlman’s book Showtime is : Magic, Kareem, Riley and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty.
But McKay didn’t feel right for the role of the late Buss, who died in 2013, and cast “Boardwalk Empire” star Michael Shannon instead in August 2019.
“And Will was good at it,” McKay said of their different casting choices, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
However, things didn’t go as planned for Shannon, he reportedly didn’t like the show’s fourth format, and left the production just a month later.
A little over a week before filming began, McKay and the casting team began searching for Reilly for the role of Jerry Buss.
Surprise: While Snoop was on stage, Ferrell and Reilly came out and surprised him with a giant three-layer birthday cake, which got a big cheer from the crowd
Sweet treat: It was Ferrell who rolled the giant cake onto the stage
High time: The Gin and Juice rapper had more than one use for the three-layer cake
Yummy: The legendary rapper shared a photo of the huge birthday cake on Instagram
Role Conflict: The sight of Ferrell and Reilly on stage having fun together with Snoop is a result of the controversy over the role of Jerry Buss in the HBO sports drama series Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.
Before Reilly signed on, he decided to call Ferrell, which McKay later admitted should have been him to call the comedian first.
When Ferrell learned of the decision through a call from Reilly, he was so angry that he ended his friendship and professional relationship with McKay.
“It was in this weird moment where Will and I weren’t really hugging, even though there was nothing terrible, and he called Will and said, ‘Hey, McKay just came to me with this,'” the producer said, the pilot director said .
He continued, “And Will was very hurt that I wasn’t the one to call him, and I should have. ‘I’ve had enough.’
Not wanting to jeopardize his friendships with both men, Reilly decided to stay away from anything that could harm either man
“Will is one of my best friends, Adam is one of my best friends, I was happy about the job and that’s all I really have to say,” he said of the rift between them.
Reason for the role conflict: Ferrell’s long-time production partner and friend Adam McKay (pictured) passed on the comedian for the role of Jerry Buss in “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty” and hired Michael Shannon, who had recently left the production the start of the shooting
Tensions: McKay, who also served as producer and director on the HBO series, again passed over Ferrell and hired John C. Reilly to play the late Lakers owner; Reilly is pictured as Jerry Buss alongside Quincy Isaiah as Magic Johnson
Role Conflict: Reilly (center) called Ferrell to make sure he was okay with taking on the role of Jerry Buss in “Winning Times,” which led to the comedian expressing outrage that McKay would have should be the one who called him beforehand
Showtime Laker Run: Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty aired on HBO for two seasons but was ultimately canceled on September 17th
The first season on the Showtime Lakers, consisting of 10 episodes focusing on the 1979-1980 NBA season, premiered in March 2022 and received “generally positive reviews” from critics.
A second season followed last August, consisting of seven episodes covering the years between 1980 and 1984.
But just over a month later, HBO announced that the series would not be renewed for a third season.
In addition to Reilly (Jerry Buss), Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty also stars Quincy Isaiah (Magic Johnson), Solomon Hughes (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), Jason Clarke (Jerry West), Adrien Brody (Pat Riley) and Jason Segel (Paul Westhead), DeVaughn Nixon (Norm Nixon), Sally Field (Jessie Buss) and Gaby Hoffmann (Claire Rothman),
The cast also includes Tracy Letts (Jack McKinney), Hadley Robinson (Jeanine Buss), Julianne Nicholson (Cranny McKinney), Tamera Tomakili (Earletha “Cookie” Kelly), Spencer Garrett (Chick Hearn), Sarah Ramos (Cheryl Pistono) and Molly Among others, Gordon (Linda Zafrani), Delante Desouza (Michael Cooper), Jimel Atkins (Jaamal Wilkes), Austin Aaron (Mark Landsberger), Brett Cullen (Bill Sharman), Stephen Adly Guirgis (Frank Mariani).