5 Comedians Who Can Get the Greenlight to Launch Your Career

6. Will Ferrell

With writer-director Adam McKay, the “SNL” alum and star of hits like “Old School” and “Anchorman” is half of Gary Sanchez Productions, which has launched the careers of Danny McBride and Jody Hill with “The Foot Fist Way” and “Eastbound & Down,” brought Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim to big screens with “Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie,” and introduced actor Adam Scott (“Parks and Recreation”) to comedy in “Step Brothers.” Gary Sanchez also guided a TV adaptation of comedian Julie Klausner’s memoir “I Don’t Care About Your Band” at HBO, but the project was not picked up. Now the company is in business with writer Leslye Headland, producing the film adaptation of her play “Bachelorette” and selling her workplace comedy pilot “Assistance,” also based on a play, to NBC this year. And did we forget to mention that Ferrell and McKay founded Funny or Die, the site that has given countless comedians the chance to collaborate and build an audience one funny video at a time?