Public Enemies - What Did You Think?
First Look: Eminem in Judd Apatow’s Funny People
Posted on Thursday, July 2nd, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
Eminem revealed last month that he filmed a cameo in Judd Apatow’s Funny People. Now MTV has confirmed the appearance, publishing the first photo of Marshall Mathers in the movie, chatting with Adam Sandler at a Hollywood restaurant.
Watch Aziz Ansari Do Stand-Up Comedy in Judd Apatow’s Funny People
Posted on Wednesday, July 1st, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
Universal has been launching a bunch of cool viral websites for Judd Apatow’s Funny People. First we had some clips from Jason Schwartman’s character’s pilot television show Yo Teach. A couple weeks ago they launched the official website for comedian/acotr George Simmons (the main character of the film played by Adam Sandler) complete with video clips from some of his filmography. Today they have launched (NSFW) LaughYourDickOff.com, the official website of Randy (played by Aziz Ansari in the film).
Randy is a superstar comic living in Los Angeles. In addition to being a show-stopping comic performer, he’s socially conscious, too. Check out the “Randy in Darfur” section of his website and find out where you can send your cashier checks to help support Randy…er, the cause.
The website includes a bio, tour dates, a soundboard, and more. The best part is a bunch of video clips from Randy’s stand-up comedy shows, which you can watch embedded after the jump. Warning: NSFW, and I apologize for the autoplay, but Universal doesn’t allow any way to disable it.
Judd Apatow’s Funny People: The Films of George Simmons
Posted on Wednesday, June 17th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
In Judd Apatow’s Funny People, Adam Sandler’s character George Simmons is a successful stand-up comic turned comedy star who has appeared in many shitty but successful movies. Apatow was forced to create some of the character’s earlier big screen hits. Some of the films appear as posters or whatnot in the background, while others actually feature prominently on screen.
Click on the poster images above to enlarge. After the jump we have a few clips from some of these films, complete with hilariously bad plot outlines.
Bo Burnham and Judd Apatow’s Anti-High School Musical Wants Your Help
Posted on Thursday, June 11th, 2009 by Brendon Connelly
A couple of weeks back I cried out for more info on Bo Burnham and Judd Apatow’s upcoming feature film collaboration, a high school musical that Burnham has pitched as an answer to… er… High School Musical. Last night, one of you answered my cry when @forceofelroy tweeted me the following:
@boburnham is asking twitter for help with ideas for his judd apatow high school musical.
That’s the stuff. So, after the break, my best attempt at sorting the chaff from the wheat. And there was, of course, a lot of chaff, and much of it revolved around bodily fluids.
What I expect will be a sprawling viral marketing campaign for Judd Apatow’s Funny People has kicked off with a fake website for the just as fake sitcom Yo Teach. Starring Jason Schwartzman as Mark Taylor Jackson as Mr. Bradford (if you know what I mean) the show is very much in the vein of Head of the Class, Hanging With Mr. Cooper or Saved By the Bell and almost precisely as funny. The site contains a scene from the sitcom, a similarly fake EPK video, photos and all manner of other bunkum. Perhaps the best detail is that NBC are hosting the pages in such a way that they look entirely genuine. I’m not sure how funny any of this is, but it’s certainly got me a little creeped out with its authenticity.
Two More Hilarious TV Spots for Judd Apatow’s Funny People
Posted on Tuesday, May 19th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
Yesterday we ran the first television spot from Judd Apatow’s new movie Funny People. As it turns out, television spots usually come in threes (much like everything else in the world). So we’ve returned with two more. The great thing about these advertisements is that they aren’t just “same thing, different edit” but instead feature a bunch of new footage not shown in the trailer.
Also, both of the spots are 1 minute in length and feature footage from Adam Sandler’s character George Simmons’ crappy movie within the movie Redux, which has been described as a “cross between Little Man and 17 Again, except Sandler becomes a six month old baby.” The first spot also features Seth Rogen’s character Ira Wright telling video game jokes to RZA. Watch the new tv spots after the jump.
Judd Apatow’s new movie Funny People hits theaters on July 31st, and Universal Pictures has begun airing television spots for the film. There is a lot of new footage to be seen, giving us a good taste of the comedy/drama tightrope act Apatow is attempting to walk with this film. I like how they even made a joke about Rogen’s recent weight loss, and it’s also worth noting some of the clever t-shirts worn throughout.
I’m very excited to see this film. I’ve heard very good things from people who have seen test screenings. The only minor quibble some people have had is the film’s run time, which in some screenings stretched over 2 and a half hours. I’ve heard that the final cut is tighter, more closer to the 2 hour and 15 minute mark. Watch the new television spot after the jump.
In Funny People, Adam Sandler’s character George Simmons is a successful stand-up comic turned comedy star who has appeared in many shitty but successful movies. Judd Apatow was forced to create some of the character’s earlier big screen hits. Some of the films are just mentioned or hinted at, others appear as posters or whatnot in the background of Sandler’s house. And you might even see some footage from some of these faux movies.
Lets face it, Judd Apatow likes to keep it in the family. His films feature many of the same familiar faces — a comedy troupe he has collected, whom often star in the films that he directs and produces. But not only that, his wife Leslie Mann has appeared in every one of the films he’s directed thus far. In fact, the couple met on the set of The Cable Guy, which Apatow produced. Apatow and Mann have two daughters named Iris and Maude. The kids made their big screen debut in Knocked Up, playing the kids of Mann’s character in the film.
Apatow’s next film, Funny People, gets even more personal.
Interview: Martin Starr On His Amazing New Show Party Down, a Freaks and Geeks Reunion, and Having an “Iconic Cock”
Posted on Friday, May 1st, 2009 by Hunter Stephenson
Over the last decade, Martin Starr has brought a unique ruckus to comedy on TV and in the movies. As an actor, he portrays characters that have settled into their aloof, awkward skins by way of deep thought, nerdy diversion, and hilarious observation. Poofs of weed smoke often chip in. While plagued with girl problems, his characters typically win over audiences until they are subtly recognized as the coolest, smartest dudes on screen.
It was under the guidance of Paul Feig and Judd Apatow—as the lanky, bespectacled and beloved teenager Bill Haverchuck on Freaks and Geeks—that Starr set this precocious M.O. in motion. And it’s a personal belief that had Freaks not been brutally axed in ‘00 during its lone season, Haverchuck would have gone on to land a bevy of moist females. Of course, Freaks is now forever renown for launching a bevy of careers, including those of Starr, Seth Rogen and James Franco. And for being one of the best fucking things ever. Starr has notably followed up with memorable roles in Knocked Up—beard fail—and in the recent, terrific Adventureland, an ’80s time-capsule that stays with you like the killer kiss on a Ferris Wheel that didn’t happen and will not.
Would life be better if the real world was more like the world that Judd Apatow has created on the big screen? College Humor’s Streeter Seidell and Sarah Schneider have created a music video titled “In An Apatow World“, an optimistic anthem for the normal schlub.
“This is a song about fat homely losers who always land hot cool independent girls despite their gross eating habits, bad taste in fashion and crude language.”
Check it out after the jump.
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Yesterday we reported that the producer Judd Apatow and director/co-writer Harold Ramis had lost their appeal hearing for the biblical comedy Year One, which had been slapped with an R-Rating by the MPAA. I doubted at the time that Columbia Pictures would release the $75+ million comedy with an R-Rating, especially considering the fairly weak online buzz the film has garnered since the debut of the movie’s superbowl commercial.
The filmmakers re-cut the film, resubmitted to the MPAA, and the new cut was given a PG-13 rating “for crude and sexual content throughout, brief strong language and comic violence.” I’m sure the R-Rated cut, or an expanded unrated cut, will eventually end up on DVD/Blu-ray.
I have no inside information about the screenings, but many times with the MPAA, it all comes down to a specific shot/line, or even a few frames of film (as it did with Kevin Smith’s Zack and Miri). So I doubt the R-Rated cut and the PG-13 cut are THAT much different. It’s likely the difference of a few seconds of film.
source: THR
