Judd Apatow
Encyclopedia
Judd Apatow is an American film producer, director, and screenwriter. He is well known for his work in comedy films, especially for films he has been involved with throughout the latter half of the 2000s. He is the founder of Apatow Productions
, a film production company that also developed the cult television series Freaks and Geeks
and Undeclared
. Most of his work consists of "bromance comedies" that appeal more so to men than the average romantic comedy.
, New York. His father, Maury Apatow, was a real estate developer, and his mother, Tami Shad, worked at a comedy club in Southampton
. Apatow has an older brother, Robert, and a younger sister, Mia; His maternal grandfather was music producer Bob Shad
. When Apatow was twelve years old, his parents divorced. Robert went to live with his maternal grandparents, and Mia went to live with her mother. As a child, Apatow lived mainly with his father, and visited his mother on weekends.
Apatow's sense of humor provided access to friends during his teen years; obsessed with comedy, his childhood hero was Steve Martin
. Apatow got his comic start while attending Syosset High School
, where he hosted a program called Club Comedy on the school's 10-watt radio station WKWZ
. He relied on his mother's contacts at the comedy club to gain access to the comedians; during this time, he managed to interview Steve Allen
, Howard Stern
, Harold Ramis
and John Candy
, along with then-unknowns Jerry Seinfeld
, Steven Wright
and Garry Shandling
.
. While at USC, he organized and hosted a number of on-campus "Comedy Night" events, featuring headliners such as Saturday Night Live performer Kevin Nealon
. Apatow introduced the acts at these events with short standup routines of his own. He also began volunteering at Comic Relief and introducing comedians at the Improv
. Apatow later dropped out of his two year enrollment at USC and moved into an apartment with comedian Adam Sandler
, whom he met at the Improv. He continued performing standup comedy; he has since admitted that although his act was well-written, he was unable to develop his own unique comedic personality.
After finding little success as a performer himself, Apatow began writing jokes for others, including up-and-coming star Roseanne Barr
. He also appeared on HBO's
15th Annual Young Comedians Special in 1992. Also that year, Apatow produced The Ben Stiller Show
for Fox
; Apatow had met Stiller outside of an Elvis Costello
show in 1990, and they became friends. Although the show was critically acclaimed and earned Apatow and the rest of the writing staff an Emmy Award
, Fox canceled the show in 1993. In 1994, Apatow served as consulting producer and staff writer for the animated comedy The Critic
, starring Jon Lovitz
. Apatow's manager, Jimmy Miller, introduced him to comedian Garry Shandling
, who hired Apatow as a writer and producer for The Larry Sanders Show
in 1993. Apatow worked on the show for five years until the show's end in 1998. Apatow credits Shandling as his mentor for influencing him to write comedy that is more character-driven. Apatow earned six Emmy nominations for his work on Larry Sanders.
Apatow was hired to re-write the script for the movie The Cable Guy
, which was released in 1996. He expected the film to be a major success, but it ultimately had a mediocre box office performance and mixed reviews. It was during the shooting of the film, however, that Apatow met his wife, actress Leslie Mann
. His next script was entitled Making Amends, and had Owen Wilson
attached as a man in Alcoholics Anonymous
who decides to apologize to everyone he has ever hurt. However, the film was never made. Apatow did an uncredited rewrite of the 1998 Adam Sandler
comedy film The Wedding Singer
and was featured in four tracks on Sandler's 1996 comedy album "What the Hell Happened to Me?
." From 1999 to 2002, he produced two short-lived television series: Freaks and Geeks
, and Undeclared
. Both shows received critical acclaim but were canceled after a season because of low ratings; USA Today
media critic Susan Wloszczyna called the shows "two of the most acclaimed TV series to ever last only one season". He additionally wrote and produced three television pilots that were never aired: North Hollywood, Sick in the Head, and Life on Parole (with Brent Forrester). Apatow has screened and introduced them at "The Other Network", a festival of un-aired TV pilots produced by Un-Cabaret
.
the hit comedy Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
, starring Will Ferrell
and directed by Adam McKay
, marking his first major comedy hit after a string of critically acclaimed but relatively obscure shows. In 2005, he directed and co-wrote the comedy The 40-Year-Old Virgin
with Steve Carell
, which was nominated for best original screenplay by the Writers Guild of America
. The 40-Year-Old Virgin was a sleeper hit
, grossing $177,378,645 worldwide and making many critics' Top 10 lists for the year. His film Knocked Up
was released in June 2007 to wide critical acclaim. Apatow wrote the initial draft of the film on the set of Talladega Nights
. In addition to being a critical success, the film was also a commercial hit, continuing Apatow's newfound mainstream success.
In August 2007, Apatow produced the film Superbad, which was written by Seth Rogen
and his writing partner Evan Goldberg
. A concept Rogen and Goldberg had created as teens, Apatow convinced Rogen to write the film as a vehicle for himself in 2000. Rogen and Goldberg finished writing the film, but were unable to find a studio interested in producing it. Apatow then enlisted Rogen and Goldberg to write Pineapple Express
, a stoner
action movie that he felt would be more commercial. After the success of Anchorman and The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Apatow was still unable to sell both Superbad and Pineapple Express; it was only after he produced the commercial hit Talladega Nights that Sony Pictures Entertainment
decided to produce both. At this point, Rogen was unable to play the lead for Superbad, as he had grown too old to play the part of Seth. Subsequently, he was cast in a supporting role as a police officer and friend Jonah Hill
took his role as the high school student. Apatow credits Rogen for influencing him to make his work more "outrageously dirty." In August 2007, Superbad opened at #1 in the box office to critical acclaim, taking in $33 million in its opening weekend. Industry insiders claimed Apatow was now a brand unto himself, creating movies geared toward older audiences, who would watch his movies even when the films delved into the teen genre.
Apatow once vowed to include a penis in every one of his movies. He explained his position as, "I like movies that are, you know, uplifting and hopeful...and I like filth!". Apatow has helped to foster the acting careers of Steve Carell
, Paul Rudd
, Seth Rogen
, Jonah Hill
, and Jason Segel
, and also tends to work with his close friends. He has frequently worked with producer Shauna Robertson
, whom he met on the set of Elf
. He reunited with Jason Segel
and Amy Poehler
for the 2001 Fox sitcom pilot, North Hollywood. He tries to keep a low budget on his projects and usually makes his movies about the work itself rather than using big stars. After his success in film, he hired the entire writing staff from Undeclared to write movies for Apatow Productions. He never fires writers and he keeps them on projects through all stages of productions. Apatow is not committed to any specific studio, but his projects are typically set up at Universal
and Sony
.
starring John C. Reilly
, Kristen Wiig
and Jenna Fischer
, which was released in December 2007. While the film received positive reviews, it was a commercial failure, having only made back half of its budget. In 2008, he served as producer for Drillbit Taylor
starring Owen Wilson and his wife Leslie Mann
and written by Seth Rogen, which opened in March and earned negative reviews. For the rest of 2008, Apatow produced the comedy films Forgetting Sarah Marshall
starring Jason Segel
and Kristen Bell
; Step Brothers
, which reunites Talladega Nights co-stars Will Ferrell
and John C. Reilly
; and Pineapple Express
starring Seth Rogen and James Franco
, both of whom originally starred on Freaks and Geeks. In addition, he served as co-writer for the Adam Sandler comedy film You Don't Mess with the Zohan
, which Sandler and Robert Smigel
also co-wrote.
In 2009, Apatow served as producer for the biblical comedy film Year One, starring Jack Black
and Michael Cera
, and directed by Harold Ramis
, which opened on June 19 and earned negative reviews. He also released his third directorial feature on July 31 that same year, titled Funny People
. He also wrote the film by himself, and starred Adam Sandler
and Seth Rogen
as a pair of standup comedians, one of whom has a terminal illness. Other co-stars included his wife Leslie Mann and Eric Bana
, who was a comedic actor in Australia before appearing in American films. The film contained more dramatic elements than Apatow's previous directorial efforts. In 2010, Apatow served as producer on the Forgetting Sarah Marshall spin-off Get Him to the Greek
with Russell Brand
reprising his role and Jonah Hill
returning from the original film, albeit as a different character.
New York
magazine noted that [former Apatow associate] Mike White ... was "disenchanted" by Apatow's later films, "objecting to the treatment of women and gay men in Apatow's recent movies", saying of Knocked Up, "At some point it starts feeling like comedy of the bullies, rather than the bullied." Apatow has claimed to strive to avoid marginalizing women in his work and to develop authentic female characters. Following many of these accusations, in a highly publicized Vanity Fair
interview, lead actress Katherine Heigl
admitted that though she enjoyed working with Apatow, she had a hard time enjoying Knocked Up itself, calling the movie, "a little sexist," claiming that the film "paints the women as shrews, as humorless and uptight." In response to accusations of sexism, Apatow did not initially deny the validity of such accusations, saying flippantly, "I'm just shocked she [Heigl] used the word 'shrew.' I mean, what is this, the sixteen-hundreds?"
will play Holmes while Will Ferrell
is set to play Watson.
It was reported in September 2008 that Judd Apatow will be producing an upcoming musical comedy with internet comedian Bo Burnham
.
Five Year Engagement is an upcoming comedy starring Jason Segel
and directed by Nicholas Stoller
. It is about a couple and their rocky five year engagement.
Bill Hader
will be writing and starring in an upcoming horror/comedy film that he says it will be a mixture of Halloween
, Home Alone
, The Monster Squad
and Straw Dogs. Apatow encouraged Hader to write the screenplay.
He recently signed a deal with Aziz Ansari
and Jason Woliner
to produce three of their films. The first, tentatively titled Let's Do This, is "a road movie about two guys who work for a motivational speaking company." The second stars Ansari as a disgraced cosmonaut who's forced to return to space. The third apparently came out of Ansari's role in Funny People.
Apatow has also stated the possibility for a sequel to Pineapple Express
.
He is also set to produce Wanderlust
, starring Jennifer Aniston
and Paul Rudd
, in which a married couple decides to leave New York City to live in a hippie commune.
It was recently announced that Apatow is in works to produce another Pee-wee Herman
film.
Apatow's next directorial effort, currently titled This is Forty, has been set by Universal Pictures
for a June 1, 2012 release.
Apatow will be producing and writing the film adaption of John Grisham
's The Last Juror
in 2013.
, Hal Ashby
, Robert Altman
, John Cassavetes
, and John Hughes. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
rejected his first application for membership, even though he was sponsored by Academy Award-winning screenwriters Akiva Goldsman
and Stephen Gaghan
. Apatow became a member in 2008. He married actress Leslie Mann
, whom he met on the set of The Cable Guy and who has appeared in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Drillbit Taylor, and Funny People. The couple have two daughters, Maude and Iris. Both girls appeared in Knocked Up and Funny People as Leslie Mann's character's daughters. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California with his family.
has been involved with 11 of Apatow's projects, as an actor, writer, and/or producer. His wife Leslie Mann
has starred in five, Will Ferrell
has starred in five, Paul Rudd
has starred in seven, Jonah Hill
has starred in seven, and Jason Segel
has starred in four (as well as written one). Adam McKay
has directed and/or written for four of his projects. Saturday Night Live
and Bridesmaids
star Kristen Wiig
has appeared in four Apatow movies and, alongside Leslie Mann
is Apatow's main female collaborator. Apatow is currently writing a Kristen Wiig vehicle which he will also direct. They are due to start filming in 2011.
Interviews
Apatow Productions
Apatow Productions, or simply, The Apatow Company is an American film/television production company founded by Judd Apatow in 1999.- Background and history:...
, a film production company that also developed the cult television series Freaks and Geeks
Freaks and Geeks
Freaks and Geeks is an American teen comedy-drama television series, created by Paul Feig and executive produced by Judd Apatow, that aired on NBC during the 1999–2000 television season...
and Undeclared
Undeclared
Undeclared is an American sitcom that aired on Fox during the 2001–02 season.- Premise :The half-hour comedy was Judd Apatow's follow-up to his earlier television series Freaks and Geeks, which also lasted for one season...
. Most of his work consists of "bromance comedies" that appeal more so to men than the average romantic comedy.
Early life and education
Judd "The Chud" Apatow was born in Flushing, New York to a Jewish family, and raised in SyossetSyosset, New York
Syosset is a hamlet in Nassau County, New York, in the northeastern section of Town of Oyster Bay near the North Shore of Long Island. The population was 18,829 at the 2010 census...
, New York. His father, Maury Apatow, was a real estate developer, and his mother, Tami Shad, worked at a comedy club in Southampton
Southampton (town), New York
The Town of Southampton is located in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, U.S., partly on the South Fork of Long Island. As of the United States 2000 Census, the town had a total population of 54,712...
. Apatow has an older brother, Robert, and a younger sister, Mia; His maternal grandfather was music producer Bob Shad
Bob Shad
Bob Shad was an American music producer and record label owner. He produced the first album by Big Brother and the Holding Company...
. When Apatow was twelve years old, his parents divorced. Robert went to live with his maternal grandparents, and Mia went to live with her mother. As a child, Apatow lived mainly with his father, and visited his mother on weekends.
Apatow's sense of humor provided access to friends during his teen years; obsessed with comedy, his childhood hero was Steve Martin
Steve Martin
Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....
. Apatow got his comic start while attending Syosset High School
Syosset High School
Syosset High School, located on Southwoods Road in Syosset, New York, USA is the only high school for residents of the Syosset Central School District.- Overview :The school was named a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence in 1992–1993...
, where he hosted a program called Club Comedy on the school's 10-watt radio station WKWZ
WKWZ
WKWZ is a radio station broadcasting an Educational format, licensed to Syosset, New York, USA. The station is currently owned by Syosset Central School District...
. He relied on his mother's contacts at the comedy club to gain access to the comedians; during this time, he managed to interview Steve Allen
Steve Allen (comedian)
Stephen Valentine Patrick William "Steve" Allen was an American television personality, musician, composer, actor, comedian, and writer. Though he got his start in radio, Allen is best known for his television career. He first gained national attention as a guest host on Arthur Godfrey's Talent...
, Howard Stern
Howard Stern
Howard Allan Stern is an American radio personality, television host, author, and actor best known for his radio show, which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s where he was labeled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style...
, Harold Ramis
Harold Ramis
Harold Allen Ramis is an American actor, director, and writer, specializing in comedy. His best-known film acting roles are as Egon Spengler in Ghostbusters and Russell Ziskey in Stripes , both of which he also co-wrote...
and John Candy
John Candy
John Franklin Candy was a Canadian actor and comedian. He rose to fame as a member of the Toronto branch of The Second City and its related Second City Television series, and through his appearances in comedy films such as Stripes, Splash, Cool Runnings, The Great Outdoors, Spaceballs, and Uncle...
, along with then-unknowns Jerry Seinfeld
Jerry Seinfeld
Jerome Allen "Jerry" Seinfeld is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and television and film producer, known for playing a semi-fictional version of himself in the situation comedy Seinfeld , which he co-created and co-wrote with Larry David, and, in the show's final two seasons,...
, Steven Wright
Steven Wright
Steven Alexander Wright is an American comedian, actor and writer. He is known for his distinctly lethargic voice and slow, deadpan delivery of ironic, philosophical and sometimes nonsensical jokes and one-liners with contrived situations.-Early life and career:Wright was born in Mount Auburn...
and Garry Shandling
Garry Shandling
Garry Emmanuel Shandling is an American comedian, actor and writer. He is best known for his work in It's Garry Shandling's Show and The Larry Sanders Show....
.
Early work
Apatow began performing stand-up comedy at age seventeen, during his senior year of high school. In the September 1985 issue of Laugh Factory Magazine, he is listed as an Associate Editor. After graduating from high school in 1985, he moved to Los Angeles and enrolled in the screenwriting program at University of Southern CaliforniaUniversity of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
. While at USC, he organized and hosted a number of on-campus "Comedy Night" events, featuring headliners such as Saturday Night Live performer Kevin Nealon
Kevin Nealon
Kevin Nealon is an American actor and comedian, best known as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1986 to 1995, acting in several of the Happy Madison films, for playing Doug Wilson on the Showtime series Weeds, and providing the voice of the title character, Glenn Martin on Glenn Martin,...
. Apatow introduced the acts at these events with short standup routines of his own. He also began volunteering at Comic Relief and introducing comedians at the Improv
The Improv
The Improv is a comedy club franchise. Originally, it was a single venue founded in 1963 by Budd Friedman and located in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City on West 44th near the SE corner of 9th Ave. A second location was opened in 1974 at 8162 Melrose Avenue in the Fairfax District...
. Apatow later dropped out of his two year enrollment at USC and moved into an apartment with comedian Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and film producer.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office...
, whom he met at the Improv. He continued performing standup comedy; he has since admitted that although his act was well-written, he was unable to develop his own unique comedic personality.
After finding little success as a performer himself, Apatow began writing jokes for others, including up-and-coming star Roseanne Barr
Roseanne Barr
Roseanne Cherrie Barr is an American actress, comedian, writer, television producer and director. Barr began her career in stand-up comedy at clubs before gaining fame for her role in the sitcom Roseanne. The show was a hit and lasted nine seasons, from 1988 to 1997...
. He also appeared on HBO's
Home Box Office
HBO, short for Home Box Office, is an American premium cable television network, owned by Time Warner. , HBO's programming reaches 28.2 million subscribers in the United States, making it the second largest premium network in America . In addition to its U.S...
15th Annual Young Comedians Special in 1992. Also that year, Apatow produced The Ben Stiller Show
The Ben Stiller Show
The Ben Stiller Show was the name of two sketch comedy television shows that aired on MTV from 1990 to 1991, and then on Fox from September 1992 to January 1993. The Fox show starred Ben Stiller, Andy Dick, Janeane Garofalo and Bob Odenkirk. Character actor John F. O'Donohue also appeared in every...
for Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
; Apatow had met Stiller outside of an Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
show in 1990, and they became friends. Although the show was critically acclaimed and earned Apatow and the rest of the writing staff an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
, Fox canceled the show in 1993. In 1994, Apatow served as consulting producer and staff writer for the animated comedy The Critic
The Critic
The Critic is an American prime time animated series revolving around the life of film critic Jay Sherman, voiced by actor Jon Lovitz. It was created by Al Jean and Mike Reiss, both of whom had worked as writers on The Simpsons. The Critic had 23 episodes produced, first broadcast on ABC in 1994,...
, starring Jon Lovitz
Jon Lovitz
Jonathan "Jon" Lovitz is an American comedian, actor, and singer. He is best known as a cast member of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live from 1985 to 1990.-Early life:...
. Apatow's manager, Jimmy Miller, introduced him to comedian Garry Shandling
Garry Shandling
Garry Emmanuel Shandling is an American comedian, actor and writer. He is best known for his work in It's Garry Shandling's Show and The Larry Sanders Show....
, who hired Apatow as a writer and producer for The Larry Sanders Show
The Larry Sanders Show
The Larry Sanders Show is a satirical television sitcom that aired from August 1992 to May 1998 on the HBO cable television network in the United States. It starred stand-up comedian Garry Shandling as vain, neurotic talk show host Larry Sanders, and centered on the running of his TV show, and the...
in 1993. Apatow worked on the show for five years until the show's end in 1998. Apatow credits Shandling as his mentor for influencing him to write comedy that is more character-driven. Apatow earned six Emmy nominations for his work on Larry Sanders.
Apatow was hired to re-write the script for the movie The Cable Guy
The Cable Guy
The Cable Guy is a 1996 black comedy film, directed by Ben Stiller, and starring Jim Carrey and Matthew Broderick. The film also features Leslie Mann, Jack Black, and Owen Wilson...
, which was released in 1996. He expected the film to be a major success, but it ultimately had a mediocre box office performance and mixed reviews. It was during the shooting of the film, however, that Apatow met his wife, actress Leslie Mann
Leslie Mann
Leslie Mann is an American actress best known for her roles in comedic films, many of which are collaborations with her husband, Judd Apatow.-Early life:...
. His next script was entitled Making Amends, and had Owen Wilson
Owen Wilson
Owen Cunningham Wilson is an American actor and writer, known for his roles in the films The Haunting, The Royal Tenenbaums, Zoolander, Meet the Parents, Wedding Crashers, You, Me and Dupree, Bottle Rocket, the Cars series, The Darjeeling Limited, Marley & Me, Midnight in Paris, Shanghai Noon,...
attached as a man in Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
who decides to apologize to everyone he has ever hurt. However, the film was never made. Apatow did an uncredited rewrite of the 1998 Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and film producer.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office...
comedy film The Wedding Singer
The Wedding Singer
The Wedding Singer is a 1998 romantic comedy film written by Tim Herlihy and directed by Frank Coraci. It stars Adam Sandler as a wedding singer in the 1980s and Drew Barrymore as a waitress with whom he falls in love....
and was featured in four tracks on Sandler's 1996 comedy album "What the Hell Happened to Me?
What the Hell Happened to Me?
What the Hell Happened to Me? is a 1996 comedy album by Adam Sandler. It contains the official recording of "The Chanukah Song" , which has become a holiday staple and one of the best-known works by Sandler. The song hit #80 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #25 on the US Modern Rock charts. The album...
." From 1999 to 2002, he produced two short-lived television series: Freaks and Geeks
Freaks and Geeks
Freaks and Geeks is an American teen comedy-drama television series, created by Paul Feig and executive produced by Judd Apatow, that aired on NBC during the 1999–2000 television season...
, and Undeclared
Undeclared
Undeclared is an American sitcom that aired on Fox during the 2001–02 season.- Premise :The half-hour comedy was Judd Apatow's follow-up to his earlier television series Freaks and Geeks, which also lasted for one season...
. Both shows received critical acclaim but were canceled after a season because of low ratings; USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
media critic Susan Wloszczyna called the shows "two of the most acclaimed TV series to ever last only one season". He additionally wrote and produced three television pilots that were never aired: North Hollywood, Sick in the Head, and Life on Parole (with Brent Forrester). Apatow has screened and introduced them at "The Other Network", a festival of un-aired TV pilots produced by Un-Cabaret
Un-Cabaret
Un-Cabaret is a Los Angeles-based alternative comedy organization that produces live, TV and multi-media projects, workshops and events.-History:...
.
2004–2007
In 2004, Apatow producedFilm producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
the hit comedy Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, or simply Anchorman, is a 2004 American comedy film, directed by Adam McKay and starring Will Ferrell. The film, which was also written by Ferrell and McKay, is a tongue-in-cheek take on the culture of the 1970s, particularly the then-new Action News format...
, starring Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell
John William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...
and directed by Adam McKay
Adam McKay
Adam McKay is an American screenwriter, director, comedian, and actor. He is most famous for his partnership with comedian Will Ferrell, with whom he co-wrote the films Anchorman, Talladega Nights, and The Other Guys....
, marking his first major comedy hit after a string of critically acclaimed but relatively obscure shows. In 2005, he directed and co-wrote the comedy The 40-Year-Old Virgin
The 40-Year-Old Virgin
The 40-Year-Old Virgin is a 2005 American buddy comedy film about a middle-aged man's journey to finally have sex. The film was written and directed by Judd Apatow and co-written by its lead star, Steve Carell, though the film itself features a great deal of improvised dialogue...
with Steve Carell
Steve Carell
Steven John "Steve" Carell is an American comedian, actor, voice artist, producer, writer, and director. Although Carell is notable for his role on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, he found greater fame in the late 2000s for playing Michael Scott on The Office...
, which was nominated for best original screenplay by the Writers Guild of America
Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....
. The 40-Year-Old Virgin was a sleeper hit
Sleeper hit
A sleeper hit, a.k.a. surprise hit , refers to a film, book, single, album, TV show, or video game that gains unexpected success or recognition...
, grossing $177,378,645 worldwide and making many critics' Top 10 lists for the year. His film Knocked Up
Knocked Up
Knocked Up is a 2007 American romantic comedy drama film co-produced, written, and directed by Judd Apatow. Starring Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd, and Leslie Mann, the film follows the repercussions of a drunken one-night stand between Rogen's slacker character and Heigl's just-promoted...
was released in June 2007 to wide critical acclaim. Apatow wrote the initial draft of the film on the set of Talladega Nights
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is a 2006 American comedy film, directed by Adam McKay and starring Will Ferrell. The film also features John C. Reilly, Michael Clarke Duncan, Leslie Bibb, Amy Adams, Gary Cole, Jane Lynch, and Sacha Baron Cohen. Various Saturday Night Live alumni also...
. In addition to being a critical success, the film was also a commercial hit, continuing Apatow's newfound mainstream success.
In August 2007, Apatow produced the film Superbad, which was written by Seth Rogen
Seth Rogen
Seth Rogen is a Canadian stand-up comedian, actor, producer, screenwriter, and voice artist. Rogen began his career doing stand-up comedy during his teen years, winning the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest in 1998. While still living in his native Vancouver, he landed a small part in Freaks and...
and his writing partner Evan Goldberg
Evan Goldberg
Evan Goldberg is a Canadian film screenwriter and producer. Goldberg attended Point Grey Secondary School and McGill University before joining the staff of Da Ali G Show along with his childhood friend and comedy partner Seth Rogen. Rogen and Goldberg collaborated the films Knocked Up, Superbad,...
. A concept Rogen and Goldberg had created as teens, Apatow convinced Rogen to write the film as a vehicle for himself in 2000. Rogen and Goldberg finished writing the film, but were unable to find a studio interested in producing it. Apatow then enlisted Rogen and Goldberg to write Pineapple Express
Pineapple Express (film)
Pineapple Express is a 2008 American stoner action comedy directed by David Gordon Green, written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and starring Rogen and James Franco. Producer Judd Apatow, who previously worked with Rogen and Goldberg on Knocked Up and Superbad, assisted in developing the story,...
, a stoner
Stoner
-People:* Stoner , bass guitarist* Alyson Stoner , American actress and dancer* Andrew Stoner , Australian politician, member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, and the Leader of the New South Wales National Party...
action movie that he felt would be more commercial. After the success of Anchorman and The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Apatow was still unable to sell both Superbad and Pineapple Express; it was only after he produced the commercial hit Talladega Nights that Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. is the television and film production/distribution unit of Japanese multinational technology and media conglomerate Sony...
decided to produce both. At this point, Rogen was unable to play the lead for Superbad, as he had grown too old to play the part of Seth. Subsequently, he was cast in a supporting role as a police officer and friend Jonah Hill
Jonah Hill
Jonah Hill Feldstein , known professionally as Jonah Hill, is an American actor, producer, screenwriter, and comedian. Hill is best known roles for his roles in Superbad, Knocked Up, and Get Him to the Greek. He made his theatrical debut in I Heart Huckabees, alongside Jason Schwartzman and Dustin...
took his role as the high school student. Apatow credits Rogen for influencing him to make his work more "outrageously dirty." In August 2007, Superbad opened at #1 in the box office to critical acclaim, taking in $33 million in its opening weekend. Industry insiders claimed Apatow was now a brand unto himself, creating movies geared toward older audiences, who would watch his movies even when the films delved into the teen genre.
Apatow once vowed to include a penis in every one of his movies. He explained his position as, "I like movies that are, you know, uplifting and hopeful...and I like filth!". Apatow has helped to foster the acting careers of Steve Carell
Steve Carell
Steven John "Steve" Carell is an American comedian, actor, voice artist, producer, writer, and director. Although Carell is notable for his role on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, he found greater fame in the late 2000s for playing Michael Scott on The Office...
, Paul Rudd
Paul Rudd
Paul Stephen Rudd is an American actor and screenwriter. He has primarily appeared in comedies, and is known for his roles in the films Clueless, Wet Hot American Summer, Anchorman, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Dinner for Schmucks, The Object of My...
, Seth Rogen
Seth Rogen
Seth Rogen is a Canadian stand-up comedian, actor, producer, screenwriter, and voice artist. Rogen began his career doing stand-up comedy during his teen years, winning the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest in 1998. While still living in his native Vancouver, he landed a small part in Freaks and...
, Jonah Hill
Jonah Hill
Jonah Hill Feldstein , known professionally as Jonah Hill, is an American actor, producer, screenwriter, and comedian. Hill is best known roles for his roles in Superbad, Knocked Up, and Get Him to the Greek. He made his theatrical debut in I Heart Huckabees, alongside Jason Schwartzman and Dustin...
, and Jason Segel
Jason Segel
Jason Jordan Segel is an American television and film actor, screenwriter, composer, puppeteer and musician, known for his work with producer Judd Apatow on the short-lived television series Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared, the films Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Knocked Up, I Love You, Man,...
, and also tends to work with his close friends. He has frequently worked with producer Shauna Robertson
Shauna Robertson
Shauna Robertson is a Canadian film producer. She has worked frequently with Judd Apatow, and has produced a number of films for Apatow Productions, including The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad, Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Pineapple Express.-Career:After dropping out of high school at...
, whom he met on the set of Elf
Elf (film)
Elf is a 2003 comedy film directed by Jon Favreau, written by David Berenbaum and starring Will Ferrell, James Caan, and Zooey Deschanel. It was released in the United States on November 7, 2003 and grossed over $220,400,000 worldwide.-Plot:A baby crawls into Santa Claus' sack while he is...
. He reunited with Jason Segel
Jason Segel
Jason Jordan Segel is an American television and film actor, screenwriter, composer, puppeteer and musician, known for his work with producer Judd Apatow on the short-lived television series Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared, the films Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Knocked Up, I Love You, Man,...
and Amy Poehler
Amy Poehler
Amy Meredith Poehler is an American comedian, actress and voice actress. She was a cast member on the NBC television entertainment show Saturday Night Live from 2001 to 2008. In 2004, she starred in the film Mean Girls with Tina Fey, with whom she worked again in Baby Mama in 2008. She is...
for the 2001 Fox sitcom pilot, North Hollywood. He tries to keep a low budget on his projects and usually makes his movies about the work itself rather than using big stars. After his success in film, he hired the entire writing staff from Undeclared to write movies for Apatow Productions. He never fires writers and he keeps them on projects through all stages of productions. Apatow is not committed to any specific studio, but his projects are typically set up at Universal
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
and Sony
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. is the television and film production/distribution unit of Japanese multinational technology and media conglomerate Sony...
.
2007–2010
Apatow served as producer and writer for the musician biopic spoof Walk HardWalk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story is a 2007 music comedy film written and produced by Judd Apatow and Jake Kasdan, directed by Kasdan and starring John C. Reilly...
starring John C. Reilly
John C. Reilly
John Christopher Reilly, Jr. is an American film and theater actor, singer, and comedian. Debuting in Casualties of War in 1989, he is one of several actors whose careers were launched by Brian De Palma. To date, he has appeared in more than fifty films, including three separate films in 2002...
, Kristen Wiig
Kristen Wiig
Kristen Carroll Wiig is an American film and television actress who currently appears as a cast member on Saturday Night Live. Wiig was a member of improvisational comedy troupe The Groundlings, and has appeared in several films and television series, including Bridesmaids, MacGruber, Flight of...
and Jenna Fischer
Jenna Fischer
Regina Marie "Jenna" Fischer is an American actress and director. She is most widely known for her Emmy-nominated portrayal of Pam Halpert on the NBC situation comedy and mockumentary The Office, and has also appeared in several films, including Blades of Glory, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story,...
, which was released in December 2007. While the film received positive reviews, it was a commercial failure, having only made back half of its budget. In 2008, he served as producer for Drillbit Taylor
Drillbit Taylor
Drillbit Taylor is a 2008 comedy film starring Owen Wilson as the eponymous character and based on an original idea by John Hughes. It was directed by Steven Brill and the screenplay was written by Kristofor Brown and Seth Rogen. Paramount Pictures released the film on March 21, 2008.Drillbit...
starring Owen Wilson and his wife Leslie Mann
Leslie Mann
Leslie Mann is an American actress best known for her roles in comedic films, many of which are collaborations with her husband, Judd Apatow.-Early life:...
and written by Seth Rogen, which opened in March and earned negative reviews. For the rest of 2008, Apatow produced the comedy films Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Forgetting Sarah Marshall is a 2008 American romantic comedy film directed by Nicholas Stoller and starring Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis and Russell Brand...
starring Jason Segel
Jason Segel
Jason Jordan Segel is an American television and film actor, screenwriter, composer, puppeteer and musician, known for his work with producer Judd Apatow on the short-lived television series Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared, the films Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Knocked Up, I Love You, Man,...
and Kristen Bell
Kristen Bell
Kristen Anne Bell is an American actress. Although her first film role was an uncredited appearance in Polish Wedding, Bell previously acted in stage and musical productions. In 2001, she made her Broadway debut as Becky Thatcher in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer...
; Step Brothers
Step Brothers (film)
Step Brothers is a 2008 American slapstick buddy-comedy film directed by Adam McKay, produced by Judd Apatow and Jimmy Miller, and stars Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly, who originally teamed up in Talladega Nights . The screenplay was written by Ferrell and McKay, from a story written by Ferrell,...
, which reunites Talladega Nights co-stars Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell
John William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...
and John C. Reilly
John C. Reilly
John Christopher Reilly, Jr. is an American film and theater actor, singer, and comedian. Debuting in Casualties of War in 1989, he is one of several actors whose careers were launched by Brian De Palma. To date, he has appeared in more than fifty films, including three separate films in 2002...
; and Pineapple Express
Pineapple Express (film)
Pineapple Express is a 2008 American stoner action comedy directed by David Gordon Green, written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and starring Rogen and James Franco. Producer Judd Apatow, who previously worked with Rogen and Goldberg on Knocked Up and Superbad, assisted in developing the story,...
starring Seth Rogen and James Franco
James Franco
James Edward Franco is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, author, painter, performance artist and instructor at New York University. He left college in order to pursue acting and started off his career by making guest appearances on television series in the 1990s...
, both of whom originally starred on Freaks and Geeks. In addition, he served as co-writer for the Adam Sandler comedy film You Don't Mess with the Zohan
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
You Don't Mess with the Zohan is a 2008 American comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan, written by Carlito Cabardo, and produced by and starring Adam Sandler. This is the fourth film which has starred Sandler and has been directed by Dugan...
, which Sandler and Robert Smigel
Robert Smigel
Robert Smigel is an American actor, humorist, comedian and writer known for his Saturday Night Live "TV Funhouse" cartoon shorts and as the puppeteer and voice behind Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog.-Early life:...
also co-wrote.
In 2009, Apatow served as producer for the biblical comedy film Year One, starring Jack Black
Jack Black
Jack Black , is an American actor and musician, notably of Tenacious D.Jack Black may also refer to:* Jack Black , late 19th - early 20th Century author and hobo* Jack Black , drummer for 1970s UK punk band The Boys...
and Michael Cera
Michael Cera
Michael Austin Cera is a Canadian actor best known for his roles in Arrested Development, Youth in Revolt, Superbad, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and Juno. Cera received the 2008 Canadian Comedy Award for best male performance for his work in Superbad.-Early...
, and directed by Harold Ramis
Harold Ramis
Harold Allen Ramis is an American actor, director, and writer, specializing in comedy. His best-known film acting roles are as Egon Spengler in Ghostbusters and Russell Ziskey in Stripes , both of which he also co-wrote...
, which opened on June 19 and earned negative reviews. He also released his third directorial feature on July 31 that same year, titled Funny People
Funny People
Funny People is a 2009 American comedy-drama film written, co-produced and directed by Judd Apatow, and starring Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, and Leslie Mann. The film was released on 31 July 2009 in North America, and on 28 August 2009 in the United Kingdom. Funny People uses considerably more...
. He also wrote the film by himself, and starred Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and film producer.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office...
and Seth Rogen
Seth Rogen
Seth Rogen is a Canadian stand-up comedian, actor, producer, screenwriter, and voice artist. Rogen began his career doing stand-up comedy during his teen years, winning the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest in 1998. While still living in his native Vancouver, he landed a small part in Freaks and...
as a pair of standup comedians, one of whom has a terminal illness. Other co-stars included his wife Leslie Mann and Eric Bana
Eric Bana
Eric Bana is an Australian film and television actor. He began his career as a comedian in the sketch comedy series Full Frontal before gaining critical recognition in the biopic Chopper...
, who was a comedic actor in Australia before appearing in American films. The film contained more dramatic elements than Apatow's previous directorial efforts. In 2010, Apatow served as producer on the Forgetting Sarah Marshall spin-off Get Him to the Greek
Get Him to the Greek
Get Him to the Greek is a 2010 American comedy film written, produced, and directed by Nicholas Stoller and starring Jonah Hill and Russell Brand. The film was released on June 4, 2010. Get Him to the Greek is a spin-off sequel of Stoller's 2008 film Forgetting Sarah Marshall, reuniting director...
with Russell Brand
Russell Brand
Russell Edward Brand is an English comedian, actor, columnist, singer, author and radio/television presenter.Brand achieved mainstream fame in the UK in 2004 for his role as host of Big Brother spin-off, Big Brother's Big Mouth. His first major film role was in the 2007 film St Trinians...
reprising his role and Jonah Hill
Jonah Hill
Jonah Hill Feldstein , known professionally as Jonah Hill, is an American actor, producer, screenwriter, and comedian. Hill is best known roles for his roles in Superbad, Knocked Up, and Get Him to the Greek. He made his theatrical debut in I Heart Huckabees, alongside Jason Schwartzman and Dustin...
returning from the original film, albeit as a different character.
New York
New York (magazine)
New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
magazine noted that [former Apatow associate] Mike White ... was "disenchanted" by Apatow's later films, "objecting to the treatment of women and gay men in Apatow's recent movies", saying of Knocked Up, "At some point it starts feeling like comedy of the bullies, rather than the bullied." Apatow has claimed to strive to avoid marginalizing women in his work and to develop authentic female characters. Following many of these accusations, in a highly publicized Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair (magazine)
Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...
interview, lead actress Katherine Heigl
Katherine Heigl
Katherine Marie Heigl is an American actress and producer. She is possibly best known for her role as Dr. Izzie Stevens on ABC's Grey's Anatomy from 2005 to 2010, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Drama Series in 2007...
admitted that though she enjoyed working with Apatow, she had a hard time enjoying Knocked Up itself, calling the movie, "a little sexist," claiming that the film "paints the women as shrews, as humorless and uptight." In response to accusations of sexism, Apatow did not initially deny the validity of such accusations, saying flippantly, "I'm just shocked she [Heigl] used the word 'shrew.' I mean, what is this, the sixteen-hundreds?"
Upcoming films
It was announced in the summer of 2008 that Apatow is producing a yet-untitled comedy based around Sherlock Holmes and his partner Watson, which was written by Etan Cohen. Sacha Baron CohenSacha Baron Cohen
Sacha Noam Baron Cohen is an English stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and voice artist. He is most widely known for his portrayal of three unorthodox fictional characters: Ali G, Borat, and Brüno...
will play Holmes while Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell
John William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...
is set to play Watson.
It was reported in September 2008 that Judd Apatow will be producing an upcoming musical comedy with internet comedian Bo Burnham
Bo Burnham
Robert "Bo" Burnham is an American comedian, singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and Internet celebrity. Writing comedic and satirical songs with a politically incorrect slant, he achieved fame when his YouTube videos took off; they have received more than 70 million views...
.
Five Year Engagement is an upcoming comedy starring Jason Segel
Jason Segel
Jason Jordan Segel is an American television and film actor, screenwriter, composer, puppeteer and musician, known for his work with producer Judd Apatow on the short-lived television series Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared, the films Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Knocked Up, I Love You, Man,...
and directed by Nicholas Stoller
Nicholas Stoller
Nicholas Stoller is an English–American screenwriter and director. He is known mainly for directing the 2008 comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and its 2010 spin-off/sequel, Get Him to the Greek.-Life and career:...
. It is about a couple and their rocky five year engagement.
Bill Hader
Bill Hader
William "Bill" Hader is an American actor, comedian, producer and writer. He is best known for his work as a creative consultant on the hit show South Park and as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and for his supporting roles in comedy films such as Superbad, Hot Rod, Tropic Thunder,...
will be writing and starring in an upcoming horror/comedy film that he says it will be a mixture of Halloween
Halloween (1978 film)
Halloween is a 1978 American independent horror film directed, produced, and scored by John Carpenter, co-written with Debra Hill, and starring Donald Pleasence and Jamie Lee Curtis in her film debut and the first installment in the Halloween franchise. The film is set in the fictional midwestern...
, Home Alone
Home Alone
Home Alone is a 1990 American Christmas comedy film written and produced by John Hughes and directed by Chris Columbus. The film stars Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister, an eight-year-old boy, who is mistakenly left behind when his family flies to Paris for their Christmas vacation...
, The Monster Squad
The Monster Squad
The Monster Squad is a comedy/horror film written by Shane Black and Fred Dekker and directed by Fred Dekker . It was released by Tri-Star Pictures on August 14, 1987. The film features the classic monsters , led by Count Dracula...
and Straw Dogs. Apatow encouraged Hader to write the screenplay.
He recently signed a deal with Aziz Ansari
Aziz Ansari
Aziz Ansari is an American actor, writer, and stand-up comedian. He currently stars as Tom Haverford on the NBC show Parks and Recreation....
and Jason Woliner
Jason Woliner
Jason Woliner is an American comedy director, writer, editor and also a former child actor. He is the non-performing member of the comedy group "Human Giant" and has directed the bulk of their output. The group, which also consists of comedians Aziz Ansari, Rob Huebel, and Paul Scheer, produced an...
to produce three of their films. The first, tentatively titled Let's Do This, is "a road movie about two guys who work for a motivational speaking company." The second stars Ansari as a disgraced cosmonaut who's forced to return to space. The third apparently came out of Ansari's role in Funny People.
Apatow has also stated the possibility for a sequel to Pineapple Express
Pineapple Express (film)
Pineapple Express is a 2008 American stoner action comedy directed by David Gordon Green, written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and starring Rogen and James Franco. Producer Judd Apatow, who previously worked with Rogen and Goldberg on Knocked Up and Superbad, assisted in developing the story,...
.
He is also set to produce Wanderlust
Wanderlust (2011 film)
Wanderlust is a 2012 comedy film directed by David Wain, starring Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd, as a married couple who try to escape modern society by leaving their cushy lives in New York.-Plot:...
, starring Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Joanna Aniston is an American actress, film director, and producer, best known for her role as Rachel Green on the television sitcom Friends, a role which earned her an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.Aniston has also enjoyed a successful film career,...
and Paul Rudd
Paul Rudd
Paul Stephen Rudd is an American actor and screenwriter. He has primarily appeared in comedies, and is known for his roles in the films Clueless, Wet Hot American Summer, Anchorman, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Dinner for Schmucks, The Object of My...
, in which a married couple decides to leave New York City to live in a hippie commune.
It was recently announced that Apatow is in works to produce another Pee-wee Herman
Pee-wee Herman
Pee-wee Herman is a comic fictional character created and portrayed by American comedian Paul Reubens. He is best known for his two television series and film series during the 1980s. The childlike Pee-wee Herman character developed as a stage act that quickly led to an HBO special in 1981...
film.
Apatow's next directorial effort, currently titled This is Forty, has been set by Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
for a June 1, 2012 release.
Apatow will be producing and writing the film adaption of John Grisham
John Grisham
John Ray Grisham, Jr. is an American lawyer and author, best known for his popular legal thrillers.John Grisham graduated from Mississippi State University before attending the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981 and practiced criminal law for about a decade...
's The Last Juror
The Last Juror
The Last Juror is a 2004 legal thriller novel by John Grisham, first published by Doubleday on February 3, 2004.-Plot introduction:The story is set in the fictional town of Clanton, Mississippi from 1970 to 1979. Clanton is also the venue for John Grisham's first novel A Time To Kill which was...
in 2013.
Personal life
He admires filmmakers James L. BrooksJames L. Brooks
James Lawrence Brooks is an American director, producer and screenwriter. Growing up in North Bergen, New Jersey, Brooks endured a fractured family life and passed the time by reading and writing. After dropping out of New York University, he got a job as an usher at CBS, going on to write for the...
, Hal Ashby
Hal Ashby
Hal Ashby was an American film director and film editor.-Birth and early years:Born William Hal Ashby in Ogden, Utah, Ashby grew up in a Mormon household and had a tumultuous childhood as part of a dysfunctional family which included the divorce of his parents, his father's suicide and his...
, Robert Altman
Robert Altman
Robert Bernard Altman was an American film director and screenwriter known for making films that are highly naturalistic, but with a stylized perspective. In 2006, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized his body of work with an Academy Honorary Award.His films MASH , McCabe and...
, John Cassavetes
John Cassavetes
John Nicholas Cassavetes was an American actor, screenwriter and filmmaker. He acted in many Hollywood films, notably Rosemary's Baby and The Dirty Dozen...
, and John Hughes. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures...
rejected his first application for membership, even though he was sponsored by Academy Award-winning screenwriters Akiva Goldsman
Akiva Goldsman
Akiva J. Goldsman from Walker Valley, New York is an American screenwriter and film producer. He received an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for the 2001 film, A Beautiful Mind, which also won the Oscar for Best Picture....
and Stephen Gaghan
Stephen Gaghan
Stephen Gaghan is an American screenwriter and director. He is noted for writing the screenplay for Steven Soderbergh's film Traffic, based on a Channel 4 series, for which he won the Academy Award, as well as Syriana which he wrote and directed.-Childhood and education:Born in either Louisville,...
. Apatow became a member in 2008. He married actress Leslie Mann
Leslie Mann
Leslie Mann is an American actress best known for her roles in comedic films, many of which are collaborations with her husband, Judd Apatow.-Early life:...
, whom he met on the set of The Cable Guy and who has appeared in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Drillbit Taylor, and Funny People. The couple have two daughters, Maude and Iris. Both girls appeared in Knocked Up and Funny People as Leslie Mann's character's daughters. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California with his family.
Recurring collaborators
Apatow frequently collaborates with the same cast and crew in his projects. To date, Seth RogenSeth Rogen
Seth Rogen is a Canadian stand-up comedian, actor, producer, screenwriter, and voice artist. Rogen began his career doing stand-up comedy during his teen years, winning the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest in 1998. While still living in his native Vancouver, he landed a small part in Freaks and...
has been involved with 11 of Apatow's projects, as an actor, writer, and/or producer. His wife Leslie Mann
Leslie Mann
Leslie Mann is an American actress best known for her roles in comedic films, many of which are collaborations with her husband, Judd Apatow.-Early life:...
has starred in five, Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell
John William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...
has starred in five, Paul Rudd
Paul Rudd
Paul Stephen Rudd is an American actor and screenwriter. He has primarily appeared in comedies, and is known for his roles in the films Clueless, Wet Hot American Summer, Anchorman, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Dinner for Schmucks, The Object of My...
has starred in seven, Jonah Hill
Jonah Hill
Jonah Hill Feldstein , known professionally as Jonah Hill, is an American actor, producer, screenwriter, and comedian. Hill is best known roles for his roles in Superbad, Knocked Up, and Get Him to the Greek. He made his theatrical debut in I Heart Huckabees, alongside Jason Schwartzman and Dustin...
has starred in seven, and Jason Segel
Jason Segel
Jason Jordan Segel is an American television and film actor, screenwriter, composer, puppeteer and musician, known for his work with producer Judd Apatow on the short-lived television series Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared, the films Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Knocked Up, I Love You, Man,...
has starred in four (as well as written one). Adam McKay
Adam McKay
Adam McKay is an American screenwriter, director, comedian, and actor. He is most famous for his partnership with comedian Will Ferrell, with whom he co-wrote the films Anchorman, Talladega Nights, and The Other Guys....
has directed and/or written for four of his projects. Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
and Bridesmaids
Bridesmaids (2011 film)
Bridesmaids is a 2011 American romantic comedy film written by Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, directed by Paul Feig and produced by Judd Apatow, Barry Mendel, and Clayton Townsend. The plot centers on Annie ....
star Kristen Wiig
Kristen Wiig
Kristen Carroll Wiig is an American film and television actress who currently appears as a cast member on Saturday Night Live. Wiig was a member of improvisational comedy troupe The Groundlings, and has appeared in several films and television series, including Bridesmaids, MacGruber, Flight of...
has appeared in four Apatow movies and, alongside Leslie Mann
Leslie Mann
Leslie Mann is an American actress best known for her roles in comedic films, many of which are collaborations with her husband, Judd Apatow.-Early life:...
is Apatow's main female collaborator. Apatow is currently writing a Kristen Wiig vehicle which he will also direct. They are due to start filming in 2011.
Films
| Year | Film | Credited as | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Producer | Writer | Actor | |||
| 1992 | Crossing the Bridge Crossing the Bridge Crossing the Bridge is an American film starring Josh Charles, Stephen Baldwin and Jason Gedrick.Characters Mort Golden , Tim Reese and Danny Morgan are friends who embark on a dangerous drug-smuggling venture.The film was created by Mike Binder and loosely based on Binders' friends during the... |
|||||
| 1995 | Heavyweights Heavyweights Heavyweights is a 1995 comedy-drama film, directed by Steven Brill and co-written by Brill with Judd Apatow. Heavyweights is about a fat camp for kids that is taken over by a fitness guru named Tony Perkis .-Plot:... |
|||||
| 1996 | Celtic Pride Celtic Pride Celtic Pride is a comedy film written by Judd Apatow and Colin Quinn and directed by Tom DeCerchio. It features Daniel Stern and Dan Aykroyd as Mike O'Hara and Jimmy Flaherty, two passionate Boston Celtics fans and Damon Wayans as Lewis Scott, the Utah Jazz's All-Star shooting guard.-Plot:Best... |
|||||
| The Cable Guy The Cable Guy The Cable Guy is a 1996 black comedy film, directed by Ben Stiller, and starring Jim Carrey and Matthew Broderick. The film also features Leslie Mann, Jack Black, and Owen Wilson... |
||||||
| 2004 | Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, or simply Anchorman, is a 2004 American comedy film, directed by Adam McKay and starring Will Ferrell. The film, which was also written by Ferrell and McKay, is a tongue-in-cheek take on the culture of the 1970s, particularly the then-new Action News format... |
|||||
| Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie is an American comedy film assembled from abandoned subplots and unused alternate takes from the film Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy... |
||||||
| 2005 | Kicking & Screaming | |||||
| The 40-Year-Old Virgin The 40-Year-Old Virgin The 40-Year-Old Virgin is a 2005 American buddy comedy film about a middle-aged man's journey to finally have sex. The film was written and directed by Judd Apatow and co-written by its lead star, Steve Carell, though the film itself features a great deal of improvised dialogue... |
||||||
| Fun with Dick and Jane Fun with Dick and Jane (2005 film) Fun with Dick and Jane is a 2005 remake of the 1977 American comedy film of the same name, directed by Dean Parisot and written by Judd Apatow and Nicholas Stoller. It stars Jim Carrey and Téa Leoni as Dick and Jane Harper, an upper-middle-class couple who resort to robbery after the company for... |
||||||
| 2006 | The TV Set The TV Set The TV Set is a 2006 comedy about an idealistic writer attempting to bring his vision for a TV show to fruition on the small screen.-Plot:... |
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| Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is a 2006 American comedy film, directed by Adam McKay and starring Will Ferrell. The film also features John C. Reilly, Michael Clarke Duncan, Leslie Bibb, Amy Adams, Gary Cole, Jane Lynch, and Sacha Baron Cohen. Various Saturday Night Live alumni also... |
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| 2007 | Knocked Up Knocked Up Knocked Up is a 2007 American romantic comedy drama film co-produced, written, and directed by Judd Apatow. Starring Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd, and Leslie Mann, the film follows the repercussions of a drunken one-night stand between Rogen's slacker character and Heigl's just-promoted... |
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| Superbad | ||||||
| Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story is a 2007 music comedy film written and produced by Judd Apatow and Jake Kasdan, directed by Kasdan and starring John C. Reilly... |
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| 2008 | Drillbit Taylor Drillbit Taylor Drillbit Taylor is a 2008 comedy film starring Owen Wilson as the eponymous character and based on an original idea by John Hughes. It was directed by Steven Brill and the screenplay was written by Kristofor Brown and Seth Rogen. Paramount Pictures released the film on March 21, 2008.Drillbit... |
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| Forgetting Sarah Marshall Forgetting Sarah Marshall Forgetting Sarah Marshall is a 2008 American romantic comedy film directed by Nicholas Stoller and starring Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis and Russell Brand... |
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| You Don't Mess with the Zohan You Don't Mess with the Zohan You Don't Mess with the Zohan is a 2008 American comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan, written by Carlito Cabardo, and produced by and starring Adam Sandler. This is the fourth film which has starred Sandler and has been directed by Dugan... |
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| Step Brothers Step Brothers (film) Step Brothers is a 2008 American slapstick buddy-comedy film directed by Adam McKay, produced by Judd Apatow and Jimmy Miller, and stars Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly, who originally teamed up in Talladega Nights . The screenplay was written by Ferrell and McKay, from a story written by Ferrell,... |
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| Pineapple Express Pineapple Express (film) Pineapple Express is a 2008 American stoner action comedy directed by David Gordon Green, written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and starring Rogen and James Franco. Producer Judd Apatow, who previously worked with Rogen and Goldberg on Knocked Up and Superbad, assisted in developing the story,... |
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| 2009 | Year One | |||||
| Funny People Funny People Funny People is a 2009 American comedy-drama film written, co-produced and directed by Judd Apatow, and starring Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, and Leslie Mann. The film was released on 31 July 2009 in North America, and on 28 August 2009 in the United Kingdom. Funny People uses considerably more... |
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| 2010 | Get Him to the Greek Get Him to the Greek Get Him to the Greek is a 2010 American comedy film written, produced, and directed by Nicholas Stoller and starring Jonah Hill and Russell Brand. The film was released on June 4, 2010. Get Him to the Greek is a spin-off sequel of Stoller's 2008 film Forgetting Sarah Marshall, reuniting director... |
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| 2011 | Bridesmaids Bridesmaids (2011 film) Bridesmaids is a 2011 American romantic comedy film written by Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, directed by Paul Feig and produced by Judd Apatow, Barry Mendel, and Clayton Townsend. The plot centers on Annie .... |
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| Zookeeper Zookeeper (film) Zookeeper is a 2011 comedy film starring Kevin James, and featuring the voices of Adam Sandler, Sylvester Stallone, Nick Nolte, Don Rickles, Judd Apatow, Jon Favreau, Cher and Faizon Love. The film contains computer animation, is produced by Sandler's production company, Happy Madison, and is... |
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| Wanderlust Wanderlust (2011 film) Wanderlust is a 2012 comedy film directed by David Wain, starring Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd, as a married couple who try to escape modern society by leaving their cushy lives in New York.-Plot:... |
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| Untitled Pee-Wee Herman Pic | ||||||
| Business Trip | ||||||
| 2012 | Five-Year Engagement | |||||
| This Is Forty | ||||||
| Stainless Steel | ||||||
| 2013 | The Last Juror | |||||
Short Films
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 2010 in film The year 2010 saw many new films released worldwide. 2010 saw a dramatic increase and prominence in the use of 3D-technology in filmmaking and film releases after the success of Avatar in the format, with releases such as Alice in Wonderland, Clash of the Titans, Jackass 3D, all animated films and... |
I Am Harry Potter | Producer | |
| 2006 2006 in film - Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2006... |
American Storage | Executive Producer | |
Television
| Year | Title | Credited as | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Producer | Writer | Actor | ||
| 1992–1993 | The Ben Stiller Show The Ben Stiller Show The Ben Stiller Show was the name of two sketch comedy television shows that aired on MTV from 1990 to 1991, and then on Fox from September 1992 to January 1993. The Fox show starred Ben Stiller, Andy Dick, Janeane Garofalo and Bob Odenkirk. Character actor John F. O'Donohue also appeared in every... |
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| 199? | Roseanne Roseanne (TV series) Roseanne is an American sitcom broadcast on ABC from October 18, 1988 to May 20, 1997. Starring Roseanne Barr, the show revolved around the Conners, an Illinois working class family... |
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| 1993–1998 | The Larry Sanders Show The Larry Sanders Show The Larry Sanders Show is a satirical television sitcom that aired from August 1992 to May 1998 on the HBO cable television network in the United States. It starred stand-up comedian Garry Shandling as vain, neurotic talk show host Larry Sanders, and centered on the running of his TV show, and the... |
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| 1994–1995 | The Critic The Critic The Critic is an American prime time animated series revolving around the life of film critic Jay Sherman, voiced by actor Jon Lovitz. It was created by Al Jean and Mike Reiss, both of whom had worked as writers on The Simpsons. The Critic had 23 episodes produced, first broadcast on ABC in 1994,... |
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| 1995 | NewsRadio NewsRadio NewsRadio is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from 1995 to 1999. The series was created by executive producer Paul Simms, and was filmed in front of a studio audience at CBS Studio Center and Sunset Gower Studios... |
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| 1999–2000 | Freaks and Geeks Freaks and Geeks Freaks and Geeks is an American teen comedy-drama television series, created by Paul Feig and executive produced by Judd Apatow, that aired on NBC during the 1999–2000 television season... |
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| 2001–2002 | Undeclared Undeclared Undeclared is an American sitcom that aired on Fox during the 2001–02 season.- Premise :The half-hour comedy was Judd Apatow's follow-up to his earlier television series Freaks and Geeks, which also lasted for one season... |
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| 2006 | Help Me Help You Help Me Help You Help Me Help You is an American television situation comedy that aired from September 26, 2006 to December 12, 2006. It was first broadcast at 9:30pm Tuesdays on ABC in the United States and on Global in Canada... |
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| 2009 | Inside the Actors Studio Inside the Actors Studio Inside the Actors Studio is a series on the Bravo cable television channel, hosted by James Lipton. It is produced and directed by Jeff Wurtz; the executive producer is James Lipton. The program, which premiered in 1994, is distributed internationally by CABLEready and is broadcast in 125 countries... |
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| 2010 | Funny or Die Presents Funny or Die Presents Funny or Die Presents is a half-hour sketch comedy show that spawned from the Will Ferrell & Adam McKay created comedy website Funny or Die. It premiered on HBO on February 19, 2010... |
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| 2011 | Girls | ||||
| America In Primetime | |||||
| The Green Room The Green Room with Paul Provenza The Green Room with Paul Provenza is a talk show on Showtime, hosted by Paul Provenza. It features a panel of guests, discussing various topics about comedy.-Synopsis:... |
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| 2012 | Laughing Stock | ||||
| Inside Comedy | |||||
External links
- E-mail exchange with Mark Brazill — published in Harper's
- The Other Network
Interviews
- Bullz-Eye.com Interview — 6 August 2005
- NPR: Morning Edition Sunday audio interview — 21 August 2005
- LA Times Article — 15 May 2007
- Knocked Up press junket interview (transcript and audio) — 18 May 2007
- NPR Fresh Air Interview w/ Seth Rogen — 31 May 2007
- Wired Magazine Story — May 2007
- Elvis Mitchell The Treatment Interview — 6 June 2007
- Rolling Stone Interview — 7 June 2007
- LA Weekly Story — 5 June 2007
- Peter Bart Essay In Variety — 31 August 2007
- A.V. Club – 30 July 2009