Judd Apatow's Next Film Will Be About Stand-Up Comics

June 1, 2008
Source: MTV
by Alex Billington

Judd Apatow has quickly become a household name in the world of comedies and we're not afraid to always give him and his projects an extra push. We all know Pineapple Express will be hitting theaters this August, but after that Apatow will be back gearing up working on his third directorial effort. First announced in March, Apatow's follow-up to Knocked Up and 40 Year Old Virgin will star Adam Sandler, but a plot wasn't revealed at the time. Through some decisive reporting at MTV and chats recently with both Apatow and Sandler, we've been able to determine that the film will be a dramedy about stand-up comedians, in somewhat of an auto-biographical sense.

Apatow recently revealed to MTV that "[the plot will center on] stand-up comedians." While this could mean we'll get pure comedic stand-up genius for nearly two hours straight, Sandler himself insists otherwise, because as we know, there is much more to the life of a comic than just his jokes. "There is a lot of stuff going on in the move that is pretty heartbreaking." He also adds that, "it's very, very funny. [Me and] my friends who have read the script, all of us were baffled how funny it is." I don't think anyone would have been worried about the comedy, considering Apatow has written two solid scripts - both Knocked Up and 40 Year Old Virgin, among many others like Walk Hard and You Don't Mess With the Zohan.

Although you may not personally know the story, Apatow began doing stand-up while in his senior year of high school, eventually hanging around Adam Sandler, where he realized he was better at writing jokes than telling them. You can read more over on Wikipedia. Even Sandler, who rarely does stand-up nowadays, complained a bit about having to go back to his roots. "I've got to write an act again. It's been a long time. I haven't done stand-up in, like, 10 years. Even more," Sandler said. "That's why I want to kill Judd Apatow right now. I was so much happier doing nothing!"

To wrap up the teaser on his film, Apatow finished with an explanation on the evolution of his films. "It's a comedy, but it has more drama in it. A hilarious drama is what I'm going for," Apatow said. "Every movie, I'm trying to find a way to go deeper, to tell stories about subjects that are important and make them less and less broad while making them equally as funny. [This film is] another step in that progression." Sounds great to me. In fact, I'm pretty much burned out by all the slapstick and physical humor that makes up most big comedies nowadays. Not much these days can stand up to what Apatow creates.

Now that we know more details on Apatow's next film, does it still sound appealing with Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, and Leslie Mann starring? I'm still a Judd Apatow supporter and will always expect nothing but top-notch comedy from him. He has yet to fail and I'm certain Pineapple Express is going to be incedible, too. Apparently the film will start shooting this September and I'm sure we can expect it to hit theaters next summer. Is stand-up comedy a good subject for the next Judd Apatow directed flick?

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