Frankly, the true origin of Step Brothers just makes us love the movie even more. Some movie origins, such as Christina Aguilera's Burlesque, happen somewhat organically over time. Others are studio ideas that a filmmaker has to find a way to make authentically to them. But the origin of Step Brothers just seemed to come out of nowhere... And it's totally awesome!
There are many things that people don't know about Will Ferrell as an actor, but as a writer, one thing is pretty clear... Will is open to any sort of inspiration... Including bunk beds... Yes... bunk beds were the real inspiration behind one of his greatest films. Let's take a look...
How Bunk Beds Led To Step Brothers
In the mid-2000s, Will Ferrell was already enjoying a healthy collaborative process with filmmaker Adam McKay, one of the most influential auteurs in the business whom he met at Saturday Night Live. But, according to The Ringer, both Adam and Will were totally burnt out after making their NASCAR movie, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. While they were happy with the movie, the shoot was grueling and this inspired them to do something that mostly took place in one location... Ideally, a house.
"Let’s make sure it’s just in a house and a few locations with a bunch of really funny, great actors and we’ll keep it simple," Adam McKay recalled to The Ringer.
Eventually, Adam and Will ended up with an idea about two fully-grown man-children who had some serious step-mommy and step-daddy issues. The film, which starred Will and John C. Reilly, has gone down as one of Will's best comedies and has an absolutely massive fanbase. But before he had a hit movie on his hands, writer/director Adam McKay had bunkbeds...
"I do remember saying to Will and John, 'I just picture you guys in bunk beds.' And I was like, 'Is there a way to have that?'" Adam said, recalling his completely random idea while they were still making Talladega Nights.
This is something editor Brent White recalled as well: "We’re cutting Talladega and me and Adam are working, and Will comes by, and John comes by, and I remember that they were saying, 'OK, now what are we gonna do next?' There was no script. There was no idea. It was just, 'What would be fun for us to do?' One of them says, 'You know what would be really funny? Bunk beds.' And that’s all they said. And immediately in my head, I go, 'I have to see this movie.'"
Writing One Of Will's Funniest Movies
The idea of Will and John hanging out in bunk beds as adults was ultimately what inspired Adam McKay to start writing Step-Brothers with them.
"The idea of grown-ups who still live at home. The bunk-bed image spread to that," Adam said. "In Europe it’s actually pretty common. Why couldn’t two single parents have older kids who still live at home? That’s when we were like, 'Wait a minute, this is actually a movie.'
Funnily enough, this was something Will Ferrell said he could relate to as he lived at home for three years after he finished college.
"This was an era where studios were just hungry for comedy," Adam continued. "DVDs were selling like crazy. Ferrell got to that place where he was one of those big comedy stars. And then since I directed Talladega and Anchorman, I was now a provable director. Sony, who we were working with and having a good time with, they bought it off the pitch."
As soon as they had to go-ahead and the development funds to start writing, Adam, Will, and John hung out in Will's guest house and wrote the screenplay.
"We would just go up there and write. At first it was Reilly, Ferrell, and I just laughing," Adam explained. "We sat around for three or four days and just wrote scene ideas, images, attitudes, locations. 'I would love to see a movie where bunk beds collapse.' 'I want to see a movie where little kids beat the s*** out of grown men.' I remembered a story from when I grew up where a kid on our block threatened a grown-up. Then the grown-up backed off. I remember being 12 years old, and being like, 'Wow! Our friend Pat just threatened a grown-up and then the grown-up backed off!' We wanted that in there. John C. Reilly had a story of touching his brother’s drum set as a kid."
The three of them ended up having so much fun together while creating the script. This is something that seems to have translated onto the screen for the final product. After all, the energy is palpable as is the authenticity of it all. You can just tell when creators had fun making something. Luckily for them, the script was something that translated to a mainstream audience as well.