Pages tagged “judd apatow”

They say laughter is always the best remedy, no matter the situation. Life is Beautiful, Roberto Benigni's Oscar-winning drama, made light of one of the worst atrocities the world has ever seen. Juno, Paste's 2007 movie of the year, was a smart-as-a-whip comedy about teenage pregnancy, a subject nobody finds particularly funny. And Woody Allen has poked fun at everything from sex with sheep to czarist Russia. Now, Freaks and Geeks alum Seth Rogen will try and convince moviegoers cancer can be funny. Wish him luck.

A crossover between two of Judd Apatow's most recent comedies might seem like it's jumping the gun a little bit, or that it's the product of a hash session between the stars of Pineapple Express. Of course, that doesn't change the fact that it sounds like a totally awesome idea.

Release Date: August 6
Director: David Gordon Green
Writers: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg
Cinematographer: Tim Orr
Starring: Seth Rogen, James Franco, Danny McBride, Gary Cole, Rosie Perez
Studio/Run Time: Columbia Pictures, 111 mins.

Producer Judd Apatow and his comedy factory are making their apologists work overtime to explain which of their films are worth a damn and which were thrown together by stunted man-boys who've figured out how to make a buck off of high-school nostalgia. For a time, it seemed that the involvement of Seth Rogen, either as a writer (Superbad) or actor (Knocked Up), separated the wheat from the chaff. But then Drillbit Taylor, a half-hearted mess thrown together for Owen Wilson, took a chunk out of that section of the rubric. It was co-written by Rogen, who now stars in and co-wrote the team's latest film, Pineapple Express, which complicates matters further. Unlike Drillbit, which didn't seem to know what it was aiming for, Pineapple seems to be exactly the kind of shallow, flimsy movie that Apatow and team set out to make. They aimed for a low target and hit it square in the nuts.

Like every subject he touches these days, Judd Apatow is about to make Huey Lewis relevant again. As had been rumored, the harmonica maestro (with The News in tow) did indeed craft the theme song for Apatow's upcoming stoner, er, pardon, "buddy," flick Pineapple Express. Check it out on the Pineapple Express soundtrack's MySpace page, and try not to laugh too hard when you hear one of the icons of pop-rock utter the word "chronic" and inhale, Dr. Dre-style.

Actor, writer, and former Phantom Planet drummer Jason Schwartzman is taking on sleuthing, cast as the lead role in HBO's comedy pilot Bored to Death.

"When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

And here we thought that House was going to be the best treatment of Sherlock Holmes that we would ever see. If it were somehow possible to harvest the kinetic energy of a Victorian author turning in their grave because their work was being adapted into modern media, then we could stick a conduit into Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's coffin and tell Al Gore to quit campaigning for renewable energy. Columbia Pictures just announced an untitled comedy film starring Sascha Baron-Cohen as Sherlock Holmes and Will Ferrell as Watson, with the ever-present comedy maven Judd Apatow on board for production. At this rate, Sherlock Holmes is going to be to the late 2000s what the killer asteroid was to the late 1990s.

Judd Apatow certainly isn't wasting any time cashing in on the cred that his cinematic success has brought him over the past few years. His latest foray onto the silver screen, tentatively titled Funny People, looks to impress just as much as his recent offerings, with a list of names that overwhelms by sheer starpower alone.

Oscar-nominated actor William H. Macy (Bobby, Thank You For Smoking, Fargo, general badassery) is slated to take part in the 13^th annual Nantucket Film Festival, a celebration of screenwriting.  Macy will speak during the “In Their Shoes…” panel discussion about screenwriting and acting with Time magazine film critic Richard Corliss.

 

David Gordon Green has signed on to direct the Universal Pictures comedy Your Highness, Variety reports.

Announced last week, Get Him to the Greek will be the next movie to receive the Judd Apatow treatment. What is his best project so far? [1339 votes total] Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (27): 2% Kicking & Screaming (10): 1% Superbad (326): 24% Drillbit Taylor (4): 0% Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (55): 4% Forgetting Sarah Marshall (61): 5% Knocked Up (190): 14% The 40-Year-Old Virgin (276): 21% Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgurndy (340): 25% Other (50): 4% Full Results Comments

Forgetting Sarah Marshall was released not even a week ago, but already we have news on yet another Judd Apatow endeavor for Universal. Nick Stoller will return to direct. Jonah Hill and Russell Brand will also reunite on screen, this time to star.

Both Hill and Brand played supporting roles in Forgetting, but the initial idea for developed during one of the table reads for the film.

“Even though they are such different actors with different styles, I thought there could be a great buddy comedy there,” Stoller told Variety. The idea grew into a film about an insurance agent who has the sole responsibility of making sure an unruly rock band makes it to the Greek Theater in L.A. for their performance.

The film, which is supposedly a “dirty take on Almost Famous,” is slated for release following Apatow’s Drillbit Taylor, Pineapple Express, Step Brothers, The Year One and Five Year Engagement, as well as Stoller’s Muppet Movie and, well, you get it. Basically, much more comedy will ensue in the future.

Related links:
Judd Apatow on MySpace
ForgettingSarahMarshall.com
Feature: Catching Up With... Jake Kasdan and John C. Reilly

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With their upcoming collaboration, Don’t Mess With The Zohan, not even in theaters until June 6, Adam Sandler and Judd Apatow have wasted no time in tag-teaming again. Variety reports that the comedy duo will be reunited again in yet another Apatow-directed film.

Although details regarding the project are scant, it can be confirmed that Sandler will be starring alongside Knocked Up alumni Seth Rogen and Leslie Mann. Barely past the stage of conception, the Sandler/Apatow comedic creation has yet to be named but will most likely begin shooting in late summer or early fall of this year.

In the meantime, Apatow is keeping up his busy-bee image, working on films like Year One and Five-Year Engagement.

Related links:
Judd Apatow on MySpace
AdamSandler.com
Don't Mess With The Zohan official site

Got news tips for Paste? E-mail news@pastemagazine.com.

Judd Apatow doesn’t slow down. Keeping a breakneck pace seems to come naturally to this comedian turned filmmaker, who in the last year has produced (deep breath) Knocked Up, Superbad, Walk Hard: the Dewey Cox Story, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Drillbit Taylor, Pineapple Express, Step Brothers and is currently filming The Year One.

Apatow will soon begin production on a comedy called Five-Year Engagement for Universal. Shauna Robertson will return to produce, as will writers Nick Stoller and Jason Segel. Stoller will direct the film and Segel returns to the starring role.

“It's definitely an extension of our desire to explore the depth of human misery,” Stoller told Variety. “If Sarah Marshall (played by Kristen Bell) and Jason's character had stayed together, this might be the sequel.”

As one might glean from the title, this couples’ comedy follows the plight of a man in a five-year engagement.

The Stoller-Apatow team penned Jim Carrey’s Fun with Dick and Jane. Segel also goes way back with Apatow; the two worked together on NBC’s Freaks and Greeks.

Related links:
Judd Apatow on MySpace
Nick Stoller on NYtimes.com
Jason Segel on IMDb

Got news tips for Paste? E-mail news@pastemagazine.com.

Judd Apatow is a busy, busy man. Not that this wasn't already apparent, but while viewers prepare for his third film this year (Walk Hard), news is already emerging about what may be his fifth film next year, assuming none of them get delayed. The guy is a machine.

Year One will reunite Apatow with Michael Cera, who will co-star with Jack Black in what's said to be a biblical comedy. Rounding out the cast currently is David Cross, Oliver Platt and the return of Christopher Mintz-Plasse (AKA: McLovin in Superbad). While not much is known about the film's storyline, Platt will reportedly play a "platform-shoe-wearing high priest." Considering Apatow's track record so far, this bizarre character description simply provokes a "Sure, why not?" shrug.

Harold Ramis (Groundhog Day, Caddyshack) is directing the feature, who, mixed with Apatow, sounds like a pretty delicious recipe for success. Filming begins in January.

Related links:
Paste: Superbad
Paste: Pineapple Express clip hits the web
Judd Apatow on IMDB

Got news tips for Paste? Email news@pastemagazine.com.

Director: Greg Mottola
Writers: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg
Cinematographer: Russ T. Alsobrook
Starring: Michael Cera, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Bill Hader
Studio/Running Time: Sony Pictures Entertainment, 114 min.

After the box office success and critical approbation lauded upon Knocked Up, anticipation for the next Judd Apatow/Seth Rogen collaboration was tangible. Hell, it was practically edible. That studios finally green lit a script Rogen and his writing partner Evan Goldberg had been sitting on for years felt like turning the tables, finally some justice after years of Apatow and his cohorts being screwed over repeatedly in the pursuit of their comedic dreams.

Part of why Superbad moved into production, though, may be because beyond its surface the film doesn’t feel that much like an Apatow picture. Superbad tells the story of graduating high school students Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera), names and possibly more taken directly from Superbad’s screenwriters, and their attempts to obtain alcohol for a party after they get the idea in their heads that this will offer them a chance with the girls of their dreams. The pair enlist a friend with a fake I.D., Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), to help them out and, after he is apprehended by pair of bungling police officers, the rest of the movie is largely taken up with reuniting the characters, alcohol and partying. Shadowing the main plot’s storyline is that Seth and Evan are heading to different colleges after graduation, which tinges all of their actions with the anxiety that their time as best friends may be running short.

Unlike either the late, lamented Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared, or the more recent 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up, Superbad is not an ensemble piece. While Apatow’s best work explores the interactions within communities, the friends in Superbad are even more isolated and disgraceful than their earlier counterparts, the geeks, and so instead the story is a focused piece about two friends groping with the changes caused by aging. These friends also occasionally interact with a wacky duo of side characters, one of whom is played by the film’s writer. If this sounds familiar, it’s probably because this describes nearly every film Kevin Smith has made, and the similarities show—right down to the Star Wars references and dick jokes.

Not to imply that there’s anything wrong with this. The film does justice to both comedic traditions it derives from, with a plethora of deeply funny moments and at times startlingly realistic characters. Seth and Evan are so well conceived that their interactions seem derived less from a script than from personal experience, and while sadly more than a few moments seemed ripped from my own life, the universal specifics the story is told in make this the case for its entire audience. The flip side of this, though, is that it makes them somewhat generic stereotypes, though highly nuanced ones. Although the film never gets as far beneath the surface of its characters as Freaks or Chasing Amy, it’s because Superbad would rather spend its time enjoying another satisfying laugh about the misuse of police powers or, yeah, a few more dick jokes.

So no, Superbad isn’t as good as Knocked Up, but that’s ok since neither are most modern-day comedies. It’s still hilarious, and even if Superbad’s not much more than a teen comedy, it’s the best teen comedy to come out in at least a decade. There’s no shame in that.

Information about Superbad's soundtrack has been released in anticipation of the movie's premier (August 17). As the film’s title suggests, this is not just another collection of mopey indie rock troubadours telling you how much they like to feel. Instead it’s a collection of mostly original funk pieces—and it’s surprising how funky it really is. Then again, with Bootsy Collins on bass it would have a hard time not sounding fresh. Other band members include Phelps “Catfish” Collins, John Starks, Clyde Stubblefield and Bernie Worrell. Along with original compositions played by this band, it also includes tracks by the Roots, Rick James, the Bar-kays and more. For the most part it sounds far better, and far more like an actual album, than the average soundtrack release.

Superbad is being produced by Judd Apatow and is the first film written by Seth Rogen and his writing partner Evan Goldberg. It stars Jonah Hill and Michael Cera as two high school students attempting to, as kids these days like to put it, get laid. The album’s press release says that the producer and director, “Loved the juxtaposition of these two white high school kids and this funky music; it just worked on a myriad of levels,” though what levels these might be besides that it’s a juxtaposition of white high school kids and funky music we're still unsure about.

Samples of the film’s soundtrack and its tracklist can be found here at its myspace page.

Related links:
Superbad's website
Superbad on IMDB
Paste's review of Knocked Up

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Director: Judd Apatow
Writer: Judd Apatow
Cinematographer: Eric Alan Edwards
Starring: Katherine Heigl, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, Martin Starr
Studio/Running Time: Universal Pictures, 129 mins.

“She don’t care what her mama said, no
She’s gonna have my baby
I’m taking all I have to take
This taking’s gonna shake me”
-Kings of Leon “Knocked Up”

In 2005, The 40 Year-Old Virgin helped turn Steve Carell into a 40-year-old box office star. Bringing much of the same cast, sans Carell, writer/director Judd Apatow is back with the fresh and hilarious Knocked Up.

Ben Stone (Seth Rogen) and his three slacker housemates have some lofty goals: Get high, get laid and get an adult website started, though getting a real job is not a priority. When Ben has a one-night-stand with the beautiful and ambitious Alison (Katherine Heigl), who is out celebrating her promotion on E! Entertainment Television, it becomes obvious at the morning-after breakfast that alcohol makes for strange bedfellows. The couple is reunited a few weeks later when Alison realizes she’s pregnant and wants to have the child. Ben decides to support her and an out-of-necessity romance begins.

Although the story is mostly a vehicle for some great site gags and rollicking dialogue, Ben’s struggle to make the transition from childhood to manhood - despite the fact that he’s already an adult - will resonate with a lot of guys. With sparkling performances from Rogen and Heigl, Apatow once again shows his sharp eye for talent and continuing knack for hits.