Podbit · New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce
After struggling to get Anchorman made, Will Ferrell and Adam McKay decided to pick the most popular American sport they could think of and just write a movie. NASCAR was the answer. Adam McKay called back in five minutes, they sold the pitch in two seconds, and two guys who knew nothing about motorsports wrote what Ferrell calls 'the seminal NASCAR movie.'
Where this was said
At 16:43 · chapter starts 11:45
Will Ferrell enters to a roar and wastes no time establishing his comedic register, riffing on Speedos ('after 3 minutes you forget you have one on'), Venice Beach sightings, and his LAFC championship before getting into the good stuff. He explains that Talladega Nights was born in a single five-minute phone call with Adam McKay — a deliberately populist pivot after Anchorman was so hard to get made. Two guys who knew nothing about NASCAR, he says, ended up writing 'the seminal NASCAR movie.' Jason shares his own Talladega experience handing gas cans during a race, and Ferrell marvels at the physical demands of pit crews, who are recruited specifically from football for their explosiveness. The fun fact of the segment: Talladega Motor Speedway is the only racetrack in the US with its own on-site jail [1] — Will Ferrell "Talladega Speedway has its own jail: Talladega Motor Speedway is the only racetrack in the country with its own on-site jail, which Will Fe…" 19:47 .
Will Ferrell revealed Talladega Nights was a knee-jerk reaction to how hard it was to get Anchorman made, choosing NASCAR as an obviously popular topic to pitch.
Talladega Motor Speedway is the only racetrack in the country with its own on-site jail, which Will Ferrell noted as a sign of how much fun fans have there.
Robby Hoffman isn't fearless — she's terrified all the time. The difference is she does it anyway, because not doing it feels worse than the fear itself.
John Mulaney texted Robby Hoffman out of nowhere saying he'd been a fan for a while and wanted to make a Netflix special with her. Robby called it 'shocking, horrifying, anxiety-inducing, surreal and thrilling' — and said yes.
Mulaney is buttoned-up, suit-wearing, classy. Robby is gritty, raw, and undefined. Together they made the collab nobody expected. Batman and Robin. Eminem and Dido.
Music had Pope Gregory forcing notation. Comedy has had 'magical thinking' — he's just got funny bones. But jokes work through discoverable, teachable mechanics. Writing down the rules doesn't kill the magic; it gives more people access to it.
Howard Ashman had one insight nobody else had: animated Disney films should be Broadway musicals. The third song of every great musical is the character sitting alone explaining what they want. That's 'Part of Your World.' That structure — combined with Alan Menken's compositions — generated Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King, and turned Disney Animation into the most profitable creative engine in entertainment history.
The Lion King musical has been running for 30 years across Broadway, London's West End, and global touring companies. It has grossed over $11 billion in total revenue — more than Avatar, more than Avengers: Endgame, more than any album, more than any video game. It generates an average of $350 million in revenue every single year. Disney owns it outright.
The anonymous French artist Invader has hidden 1,500 pixelated mosaic artworks across Paris alone, with thousands more scattered across 80+ cities — affixed to the Eiffel Tower, the Hollywood sign, and even sent to the International Space Station. He might be even busier than Banksy.
The Flash Invaders app turns city streets into a treasure hunt, letting players scan Invader's hidden mosaics for points. Players have collectively logged over 47 million flashes. Unlike most mobile games that glue you to a screen, this one forces you to look up and engage with your surroundings.
New York draws thousands of young, talented performers every year chasing Broadway stardom — but the hard truth is that most of them never make it. Zelig Williams was one of the rare exceptions.
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