Filmmaker Adam McKay recently revealed that when he was growing up, he attended a Mennonite church for a time.
During his appearance on the March 20 episode of the podcast You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes, the writer-director shared that after his mother became a Christian, they attended a number of different churches.
“She took us to a Mennonite church for a while,” said McKay, whose 2018 film Vice earned him Academy Award nominations for best picture, best director and best original screenplay.
“I remember really liking the Mennonite one, ‘cause they would just play music the whole time, and then the guy would do a sermon, and then we’d go downstairs and eat incredible food,” he added. “And I [thought to myself], this Jesus thing is not bad.”
Later in the podcast, the 50-year-old said that his wife and daughters are Jewish, and that the family goes to temple occasionally.
He added that he believes in God.
“Jesus I don’t think was God… but I do believe he was a holy man,” McKay said.
“I can read the New Testament no problem, I believe in God, I have no problem praying, I am 100 percent down with it, I just don’t believe in organized religion in any way, shape or form,” he said. “But if you told me you were doing a service with, like, 25 friends and it’s not a building that’s owned by any church that’s far away and you’re doing a service, I’d be there in a heartbeat.”
McKay grew up in suburban Pennsylvania. He rose to prominence as the head writer on Saturday Night Live, and then as the writer-director of a string of films starring Will Ferrell, including Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby and Step Brothers.
In 2016, he won the Academy Award for best adapted screenplay for co-writing The Big Short, a film detailing the housing bubble that led to the United States financial crisis of 2007-2008.
Vice, McKay’s most recent film, explores the life of former U.S. vice president Dick Cheney. It divided critics, but earned eight Academy Award nominations and a win for best makeup and hairstyling.
You can listen to McKay’s appearance on You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes here. The (NSFW) discussion about religion starts around the 2:07:00 mark.
Adam McKay is the writer-director of the acclaimed 2018 film 'Vice,' which explores the life of Dick Cheney. (Photo courtesy of Instagram.com/ghostpanther2018)
Add new comment
Canadian Mennonite invites comments and encourages constructive discussion about our content. Actual full names (first and last) are required. Comments are moderated and may be edited. They will not appear online until approved and will be posted during business hours. Some comments may be reproduced in print.