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Judd Apatow
Apatow at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival
Apatow at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival
Born (1967-12-06) December 6, 1967 (age 56)
Flushing, New York, US
OccupationFilm producer
Writer
Director
NationalityAmerican
EducationSyosset High School
University of Southern California
Period1985–present
GenreComedy
Notable worksAnchorman
The 40-Year-Old Virgin
Talladega Nights
Knocked Up
Superbad
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Pineapple Express
Funny People
Bridesmaids
SpouseLeslie Mann (1997–present; 2 daughters)
Website
http://www.twitter.com/juddapatow

Judd Apatow (/[invalid input: 'icon']ˈæpətaʊ/; born December 6, 1967) is an American film producer, director, and screen and comedy writer. 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. In 2007, he was Ranked #1 on Entertainment Weekly's The 50 Smartest People in Hollywood.

Early life and education

Judd Apatow was born in Flushing, New York to a Jewish family,[1][2] and raised in Syosset, New York. His father, Maury Apatow, was a real estate developer, and his mother, Tami (Shad), worked at a comedy club in Southampton.[3][4] Apatow has an older brother, Robert, and a younger sister, Mia;[3] His maternal grandfather was music producer Bob Shad.[5] 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;[3] obsessed with comedy, his childhood hero was Steve Martin.[3] 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.[4] He relied on his mother's contacts at the comedy club to gain access to the comedians;[3] 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.[6]

Career

Early work

Apatow began performing stand-up comedy at age seventeen, during his senior year of high school.[3] 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 California.[3][7] 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.[3] 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.[3] Apatow competed in the Johnnie Walker Comedy Search in 1989. 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.[8]

After finding little success as a performer himself, Apatow began writing jokes for others,[6] including up-and-coming star Roseanne Barr.[8] He also appeared on HBO's 15th Annual Young Comedians Special in 1992.[2] 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.[3] 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.[8] Apatow credits Shandling as his mentor for influencing him to write comedy that is more character-driven.[8] 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.[9] It was during the shooting of the film, however, that Apatow met his wife, actress Leslie Mann.[4] 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.[9] 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?."[9][failed verification] 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".[10] 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.

2004–2007

In 2004, Apatow produced 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.[4] 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.[11] The 40-Year-Old Virgin was a sleeper hit,[9] grossing $177,378,645 worldwide and making many critics' Top 10 lists for the year.[3] 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.[8] 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.[9] 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."[8] In August 2007, Superbad opened at #1 in the box office to critical acclaim, taking in $33 million in its opening weekend.[12] 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.[13]

Apatow once vowed to include a penis in every one of his movies.[14] He explained his position as, "I like movies that are, you know, uplifting and hopeful...and I like filth!".[15] 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.[8] He has frequently worked with producer Shauna Robertson, whom he met on the set of Elf.[9] 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.[8] After his success in film, he hired the entire writing staff from Undeclared to write movies for Apatow Productions.[8] He never fires writers and he keeps them on projects through all stages of productions.[8] Apatow is not committed to any specific studio, but his projects are typically set up at Universal and Sony.[8]

2007–2010

Apatow served as producer and writer for the musician biopic spoof Walk Hard 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.

Apatow (right) with Leslie Mann and Adam Sandler in Berlin (2009)

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.[16] 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."[17] 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?"[18]

Apatow produced Wanderlust (2012), starring Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd as a married couple who leave New York City and live in a hippie commune.[19] He also produced The Five-Year Engagement (2012), featuring Jason Segel and Emily Blunt as a couple who have a rocky five-year engagement.[20]

Upcoming films

Apatow's next directorial effort, the Knocked Up spin-off This Is Forty, has been set by Universal Pictures for a December 21, 2012 release, and also features Graham Parker & The Rumour.[21]

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 Cohen will play Holmes while Will Ferrell is set to play Watson.[22]

It was reported in September 2008 that Judd Apatow will be producing an upcoming musical comedy with internet comedian Bo Burnham.[23]

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.[24] Apatow encouraged Hader to write the screenplay.

He recently[when?] 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.[25]

Apatow has also stated[when?] the possibility for a sequel to Pineapple Express.[26]

It was recently[when?] announced that Apatow is in works to produce another Pee-wee Herman film.[27]

Judd Apatow has stated he is open to doing a Bridesmaids sequel if the idea is fantastic.[28]

Personal life

Apatow with his wife, actress Leslie Mann.

He admires filmmakers James L. Brooks, Hal Ashby, Robert Altman, John Cassavetes,[9] and John Hughes.[29] 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.[10] 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.[30] The couple have two daughters, Maude and Iris. Both girls appeared in Knocked Up and Funny People as Leslie Mann's character's daughters.[31] He resides in Los Angeles, California with his family.[3]

Recurring collaborators

Main article: Casting in Judd Apatow films

Apatow frequently collaborates with the same cast and crew in his projects. To date, Seth Rogen 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.

Filmography

Films

Year Film
Director Producer Writer Actor
1992 Crossing the Bridge Yes
1995 Heavyweights Yes Yes Yes
1996 Celtic Pride Yes Yes
The Cable Guy Yes Yes
2004 Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy Yes Yes
Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie Yes Yes
2005 Kicking & Screaming Yes
The 40-Year-Old Virgin Yes Yes Yes
Fun with Dick and Jane Yes Yes
2006 The TV Set Yes
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby Yes
2007 Knocked Up Yes Yes Yes
Superbad Yes
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story Yes Yes
2008 Drillbit Taylor Yes
Forgetting Sarah Marshall Yes
You Don't Mess with the Zohan Yes
Step Brothers Yes
Pineapple Express Yes
2009 Year One Yes
Funny People Yes Yes Yes
2010 Get Him to the Greek Yes
2011 Bridesmaids Yes
Zookeeper Yes
2012 Wanderlust Yes
The Five-Year Engagement Yes
Mansome[32] Yes
This Is Forty Yes Yes Yes
2013 Can a Song Save Your Life?[33] Yes
2013 Anchorman 2[34] Yes

Short Films

Year Film Credited as
Director Producer Writer Actor
2011 I Am Harry Potter [35] Yes Yes Yes
2006 American Storage [36] Yes

Television

Year Title Credited as
Director Producer Writer Actor
1992–1993 The Ben Stiller Show Yes Yes Yes
199? Roseanne [37] Yes
1993–1998 The Larry Sanders Show Yes Yes Yes
1994–1995 The Critic Yes Yes Yes
1995 NewsRadio Yes
1999–2000 Freaks and Geeks Yes Yes Yes
2001–2002 Undeclared Yes Yes Yes
2006 Help Me Help You Yes
2009 Inside the Actors Studio[38] Yes
2010 Funny or Die Presents Yes Yes
2011 America In Primetime[39] Yes
The Green Room [40] Yes
2012 Inside Comedy[41] Yes
Girls Yes Yes

References

  1. ^ Bloom, Nate (2008-04-18). "Celebrities". Jweekly. Retrieved 2010-02-13.
  2. ^ a b Michaels, Chad (2007-05-23). "Judd Apatow Interview". Wild About Movies. Retrieved 2007-06-04.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Stephen, Rodrick (2007-05-27). "Judd Apatow's Family Values". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-06-04.
  4. ^ a b c d Stated in interview on Inside the Actors Studio, 2009.
  5. ^ "'I'm not as funny as Richard Pryor'". The Irish Times. 2009-08-29. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
  6. ^ a b Maher, Ken (May 31, 2007). "Gross-out for grown-ups". Times Online. London. Retrieved 2007-06-04.
  7. ^ "Sampling of Notable USC Alumni Working in Cinema/Television/Interactive". USC School of Cinematic Arts. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Abramowitz, Rachel (2007-05-13). "The king of Geeks". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2007-06-04.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g Thompson, Anne (2007-05-11). "Hot Apatow new king of comedy". Variety. Retrieved 2007-06-04.
  10. ^ a b Wloszczyna, Susan (2007-05-06). "For Apatow, opportunity knocks". USA Today. Retrieved 2007-06-04.
  11. ^ Buckalew, Brett (2006-08-18). "No Longer a Feature Film Virgin". Filmstew.com. Retrieved 2007-06-04.
  12. ^ Coyle, Jake (August 21, 2007). "How Did `Superbad' Top the Box Office?". Breitbart. Associated Press.
  13. ^ Dergarabedian, Paul (2007-08-20). "Paul Dergarabedian Watch: Paul D. Explains the Judd Apatow Phenomenon". New York. New York Media. Retrieved 2007-08-26.
  14. ^ Branney, John (2008-08-26). "Is Hollywood A No-Members Club". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2009-04-23. In an attempt to rid America of its phallophobia, Judd Apatow once vowed to include a penis in every one of his movies.
  15. ^ Walker, Tim (2009-08-19). "King of bromance: Judd Apatow". The Independent. London. Retrieved 2010-11-14. Says Apatow: "I like movies that are, you know, up-lifting and hopeful ... and I like filth."
  16. ^ Adler, Shawn (2008-05-31). "Adam Sandler To Star In Judd Apatow Movie About Stand-Up Comics". MTV. Retrieved 2008-09-18.
  17. ^ "Mike White Calls Out Judd Apatow". New York. 2007-05-07. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
  18. ^ "Marketing Genius Judd Apatow Turns Katherine Heigl's 'Knocked Up' Slam Into a Sales Pitch". New York. 2007-12-06. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
  19. ^ Hall, Peter (2010-08-26). "Jennifer Aniston Goes Topless, Smokes Pot and Has Orgies in New Apatow Film". Cinematical.com. Retrieved 2010-08-26.
  20. ^ Siegel, Tatiana (2008-02-28). "Apatow sets 'Five-Year Engagement'". Variety. Retrieved 2010-02-13.
  21. ^ Davis, Edward (2010-10-28). "Judd Apatow's Next Comedy Directorial Effort Slotted For June 1, 2012". The Playlist. Indiewire. Retrieved 2010-10-30.
  22. ^ Fleming, Michael (2008-07-01). "Holmes pic nabs Baron Cohen, Ferrell". Variety. Retrieved 2008-09-18.
  23. ^ Dwyer, Sean (2008-09-26). "Judd Apatow Recruits YouTube Star Bo Burnham for Musical Comedy". Filmjunk.com. Retrieved 2010-02-13.
  24. ^ Connelly, Brendon (2009-01-21). "Bill Hader and Judd Apatow Turning Next to The Horror Genre?". Slashfilm.com. Retrieved 2010-02-13.
  25. ^ Hardawar, Devindra (2009-11-24). "Judd Apatow Bringing Us Three Movies From Aziz Ansari and Jason Woliner | /Film". Slashfilm.com. Retrieved 2010-02-13.
  26. ^ Reed, Adam (2009-11-23). "Judd Apatow talks possible PINEAPPLE EXPRESS sequel". GordonandtheWhale.com. Retrieved 2010-02-13.
  27. ^ Stanhope, Kate (2010-06-30). "Pee-Wee Herman's Comeback Continues — Judd Apatow to Produce New Film". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
  28. ^ "Judd Apatow Open To Doing 'Bridesmaids' Sequel If 'The Idea Is Fantastic'". Access Hollywood. Access Hollywood. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  29. ^ Goldstein, Patrick (2009-08-06). "R.I.P. John Hughes: The Tolstoy of American teenagers is gone but not forgotten". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-08-06.
  30. ^ Koltnow, Barry (2007-06-01). "A couple that films together ..." The Orange County Register. Retrieved 2007-06-04.
  31. ^ Coyle, Jake (2007-06-07). "Judd Apatow emerges as behind-the-scenes maestro in thriving comedy era". The Monitor. Associated Press. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
  32. ^ Mansome at IMDb
  33. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1980929/
  34. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1229340/
  35. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1810644/
  36. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0486158/
  37. ^ Apatow, Judd; Brazill, Mark (March 2002). "Don't have a cow, man". Harper's Magazine. Retrieved 2010-02-13.
  38. ^ Inside the Actors Studio at IMDb
  39. ^ America in Primetime at IMDb
  40. ^ Episode #2.1 at IMDb
  41. ^ Inside Comedy at IMDb
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