Judd Apatow

Paul Reubens Gives Update on Judd Apatow-produced PEE-WEE HERMAN Movie; Says Film Starts Production “Very Soon”

by Christina Radish    Posted: May 13th, 2012 at 9:14 am

At this weekend’s press day for the upcoming Disney XD animated series TRON: Uprising, debuting with a special preview on the Disney Channel on May 18^th, we got to participate in roundtable interviews with the cast, producers and director.  Set in the mythology of the TRON universe, the show takes place after the 1982 feature film and before the events in TRON: Legacy.  Produced in CG animation with a 2D aesthetic, the series follows the heroic journey of a new character named Beck (voiced by Elijah Wood), a young program who becomes the unlikely leader of a revolution inside the computer world of The Grid.

One of the actors who was there to talk about his role was Paul Reubens, who voices Pavel, General Tesler’s (voiced by Lance Henriksen) untrustworthy base commander, who will do whatever it takes to get ahead.  While we’ll post what he had to say about his involvement in the series closer to its June 7^th premiere on Disney XD, the conversation undoubtedly turned to the progress of the next Pee-Wee Herman film that he’s doing with Judd Apatow.  Reubens gave a quick update, including the fact that they just did a rewrite on it and will be meeting this coming week, with a plan to go into production, at any minute.  Check out what he had to say after the jump:

New Poster for Judd Apatow’s THIS IS 40, Starring Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann

by Matt Currie    Posted: May 8th, 2012 at 2:18 pm

On the heels of the film’s first trailer being released, a new poster has popped up for This Is 40, writer-director Judd Apatow’s “sort-of sequel to Knocked Up.” After supporting roles in the first film, Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann step into the spotlight this time around as Apatow explores the comically embattled couple’s aging relationship, and their attempts to escape the domestic hell illustrated on this poster. It features Mann looking on in exhausted disgust as an oblivious Rudd sits on the toilet not ten feet away, snuffing out any shred of mystique that was left in their relationship. A well-constructed visual gag that cannily expresses the film’s relatable premise.

Hit the jump to check it out. This Is 40 also stars Albert Brooks, Megan Fox, Chris O’Dowd, Lena Dunham, Ryan Lee, Charlene Yi, and Wyatt Russell, with appearances by Jason Segel (reprising his role from Knocked Up) and Melissa McCarthy. It opens on December 21.  [Update: We've been informed that the poster was not approved for release and have been asked by the studio to take it down.  We'll have the official poster up once it's released]

HBO Renews VEEP and GIRLS for Second Seasons

by Ethan Anderton    Posted: April 30th, 2012 at 1:13 pm

Let’s hear it for the ladies! HBO’s freshman comedy series Veep, from In the Loop writer and director Armando Iannucci and starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Girls, written, directed by and starring Lena Dunham, have only aired a handful of episodes between them, but EW reports each of the series has just been renewed for a second season. Both hit completely different comedic styles and tones, but they have each found their own audiences and seem to have quality writing, directing and performances among them.

There’s been a lot of buzz round Girls (both good and bad as the female sex tries to figure out whether they love or hate the depiction of their particular demographic) and Veep, while not as divisive, certainly brings the laughs (read my review of the series premiere right here). HBO now has a strong slate for their female audiences again for the first time since Sex and the City, so that’s something to be happy about. Maybe people will stop complaining about all the nudity on Game of Thrones now?

Weekend Box Office – THINK LIKE A MAN Stays On Top with $18 Million as New Releases Underwhelm

by Nicole Pedersen    Posted: April 29th, 2012 at 9:01 am

Thought last weekend, when the comedy Think Like A Man took first place from the heavily-favored The Lucky One, was a surprise? Then check out this weekend’s estimates. Not only has Think Like A Man defied all expectations by holding the top spot for a second week; it did so by beating the heavily-favored rom-com The Five-Year Engagement from super-producer Judd Apatow. Could it be that post-racial America has finally arrived? Or is everyone just saving their money to see The Avengers? You be the judge.

	Title	Weekend	Total
1	Think Like A Man	$18,400,000	$60.8
2	Pirates! Band of Misfits	$11,400,000	$11.4
3	The Lucky One	$11,325,000	$39.9
4	The Hunger Games	$11,250,000	$372.4
5	The Five-Year Engagement	$11,156,800	$11.1
6	Safe	$7,720,000	$7.7
7	The Raven	$7,250,000	$7.2
8	Chimpanzee	$5,460,000	$19.1
9	The Three Stooges	$5,400,000	$37.1
10	Cabin in the Woods	$4,500,000	$34.6

Friday Box Office – THE FIVE-YEAR ENGAGEMENT Can’t Beat Holdovers THINK LIKE A MAN and THE LUCKY ONE on Seriously Slow Friday

by Nicole Pedersen    Posted: April 28th, 2012 at 9:13 am

What a difference 12 months makes. On this weekend in 2011, summer started early when the surprise blockbuster Fast Five sped past $86 million on its debut run. And this year? Out of four new wide releases on Friday, not one could challenge last weekend’s number one comedy Think Like A Man. Hell, none of them could beat last weekend’s number two movie The Lucky One, for that matter. Best effort came from the Judd Apatow-produced The Five-Year Engagement, which debuted with an estimated $3.5 million from 2,936 locations or about half of what was expected. Sony’s animated Pirates! Band of Misfits made it into the top five with $2.8 million (and could climb higher if family audiences turn out on Saturday); but both Lionsgate’s Safe and Relativity’s The Raven had to settle for ‘also-ran’ status with $2.6 and $2.5 million, respectively. Overall, it looks like a pretty lifeless weekend, which only means that we’ll have much more hyperbole to work with when The Avengers – which is already breaking records overseas – hits next Friday.

	Title	Friday	Total
1	Think Like A Man	$5,500,000	$48.4
2	The Lucky One	$3,900,000	$40.1
3	The Five-Year Engagement	$3,500,000	$3.5
4	The Hunger Games	$3,000,000	$372.4
5	Pirates! Band of Misfits	$2,800,000	$2.8

First Trailer for Judd Apatow’s THIS IS 40

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: April 27th, 2012 at 10:20 am

The first trailer for Judd Apatow’s fourth directorial effort, This Is 40, has gone online.  The film is a semi-spinoff of Apatow’s Knocked Up, as it follows the lives of the characters played by Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann.  The 40-Year-Old Virgin is a new classic, I was a big fan of Knocked Up, and while Funny People certainly had its issues, I enjoyed it for the most part.  That said, this trailer for This Is 40 shows huge promise.  We already know that Rudd and Mann have impeccable chemistry, but I love the idea of Apatow tackling the issues of aging and mid-adulthood through his dramedic eye.  We get a look at a couple of the bit parts from Jason Segel and Melissa McCarthy (to great comedic effect) and the end showcases Rudd’s penchant for spot-on delivery.  It’s safe to say that in a very crowded holiday release schedule, This Is 40 just jumped up towards the top of my most anticipated list.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Albert Brooks, Megan Fox, Chris O’Dowd, Lena Dunham, Ryan Lee, Charlene Yi, and Wyatt Russell.  This Is 40 opens on December 21st.

THE FIVE-YEAR ENGAGEMENT Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: April 26th, 2012 at 2:19 pm

The Cult of Judd Apatow needs to learn that sometimes you have to cut a scene even if it’s funny.  The refusal to learn this lesson has resulted in movies where every scene will get some laughs, but the pacing falls into a rut.  The 40-Year-Old Virgin managed to escape this fate, but writer-director Nicholas Stoller has repeatedly fallen prey to the belief that he can sacrifice pacing for a few more jokes.  It happened in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, it happened in Get Him to the Greek, and it happens in his new film, The Five-Year Engagement.  Apatow has produced all of Stoller’s films and never thrown up a stop sign.  The Five-Year Engagement may be Stoller’s biggest offender to date as the wonderful performances and great humor are constantly at war with a narrative that struggles to move forward even when it’s jumping ahead in time.

First Promo Poster for Judd Apatow’s THIS IS 40 [Updated]

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: April 21st, 2012 at 4:17 pm

Steve is currently wandering the halls of CinemaCon in Las Vegas, and while the convention doesn’t officially get underway until Monday, he’s snapping pics of all the cool promo posters, banners, and standees that he can find.  CinemaCon is, for the uninitiated, a convention put on for all the major theater owners in order to get a look at what the studios have to offer for the rest of the year; essentially, it’s Comic-Con for theater owners.  Steve managed to find the first promo poster for Judd Apatow’s fourth directorial effort, This is 40.  While it’s very much a simple poster used to make theater owners aware that the movie is on its way, I think the tagline, “The Sort-Of Sequel to Knocked Up” is pretty great.  The film centers on Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann’s characters from Apatow’s unplanned pregnancy-centered 2008 comedy.

Hit the jump to check out the promo poster, and be sure to check back over the next few days for more from CinemaCon 2012.

UPDATE: Found a This is 40 promo standee.  The image has been added after the jump.

Director Nicholas Stoller and Producer Judd Apatow Talk THE FIVE-YEAR ENGAGEMENT

by Christina Radish    Posted: April 21st, 2012 at 8:37 am

The comedy The Five-Year Engagement, from co-writer/director Nicholas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him To The Greek) and producer Judd Apatow takes a look at romance in a very real, funny and often awkward way.  When engaged couple Tom (Jason Segel) and Violet (Emily Blunt) keep postponing their wedding, two people who once dreamed of the perfect day just keep spiraling further apart.  Meanwhile, Tom’s best friend Alex (Chris Pratt) spontaneously marries Violet’s quirky sister, Suzie (Alison Brie), and they have two kids, all before Tom and Violet even set a wedding date and the two begin to wonder if their relationship is even right.  For more on the film, here’s the new red-band trailer, 5 clips, and 24 images.

At the film’s press day, Nicholas Stoller and Judd Apatow talked about how hard it is to make a final cut for a film when you have so much great material, what aspects of their personal life they brought to the relationships in the film, how the Elmo and Cookie Monster fight between Alison Brie and Emily Blunt came about, and maintaining pacing for a two-hour comedy.  Check out what they had to say after the jump:

Red-Band Trailer for THE FIVE-YEAR ENGAGEMENT Starring Jason Segel and Emily Blunt

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: April 20th, 2012 at 1:41 pm

A red-band trailer for The Five-Year Engagement has gone online.  The film follows Jason Segel and Emily Blunt through the ups and downs of their prolonged engagement.  Segel reteams with Forgetting Sarah Marshall director Nicholas Stoller on the film, and I’m a big fan of what we’ve seen thus far.  This red-band trailer focuses on some of the dirtier jokes we were expecting from a Judd Apatow-produced comedy, with a fairly great sex scene between Segel and Blunt thrown in for good measure.  It’s also nice to see The 40-Year Old Virgin scene-stealer Kevin Hart back in an Apatow comedy.  I love the ensemble cast that Stoller has put together and I’m excited to watch everyone play off of one another in the finished film.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer, and don’t forget to check out Steve’s set visit coverage including 20 things to know about the film and bunch of on set interviews.  We also posted 24 images and five clips.  The film also stars Chris Pratt, Alison Brie, Rhys Ifans, David Paymer, Mimi Kennedy, Jacki Weaver, Brian Posehn, and Mindy Kaling. The Five-Year Engagement opens on April 27th.

GIRLS Series Premiere Review

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: April 14th, 2012 at 8:33 am

Comedy television is an incredibly difficult avenue in which to find success.  We’re inundated with a multitude of comedy series every day, ranging from the quirky and offbeat to the rote and mundane.  Writer/director/actress Lena Dunham is trying her hand at the medium with HBO’s Girls, and what she’s created is a funny, touching, and realistic look at life as an ambitious yet ambivalent twentysomething in the big city.  Moreover, Girls fills the need for a smart female-centric series that paints women as strong yet fallible human beings who are entirely relatable and unbelievably funny.  Hit the jump to read my review of the series premiere of Girls.

ANCHORMAN 2 Is a Go with Will Ferrell, Steve Carell and Paul Rudd; Filming Begins February 2013 [Updated with New Video]

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: March 28th, 2012 at 6:10 pm

I genuinely thought this day would never come. After coming thisclose to a greenlight with the original cast and director in tow, Paramount ultimately passed on a sequel to Anchorman, one of the best comedies of the past 25 years. Writer/director Adam McKay revealed that their pitch to the studio was to do an all-out musical, with the entire cast performing for four months on Broadway before going straight into production. Apparently averse to brilliant ideas, Paramount balked at the notion. Now, with great pleasure, I’m happy to say that Anchorman 2 is back on track. Hit the jump for more.

[Update: Backstage video of Ron Burgandy/Will Ferrell's antics has gone online, and we've included it after the jump. Also, McKay confirmed on Twitter that the movie is definitely happening and filming on Anchorman 2 will begin in February 2013. Huzzah!]

Lena Dunham and Producer Judd Apatow Talk HBO Series GIRLS

by Christina Radish    Posted: February 26th, 2012 at 8:55 am

Lena Dunham’s indie feature Tiny Furniture put her on the map, as an actress, writer and director. Now, HBO is adding executive producer (along with Judd Apatow and Jenni Konner) to her resume, for the new comedy series Girls, which premieres on April 15^th. Following the lives of four very different young women in their 20s, in New York City, Hannah (Dunham), Marnie (Allison Williams), Jessa (Jemima Kirke) and Shoshanna (Zosia Mamet) are trying to figure life out. Even with all of the humiliations and triumphs, they’re still not sure what they want, from boys, from each other or from themselves, and things just aren’t getting any clearer.

During the HBO portion of the TCA Press Tour, co-executive producers Lena Dunham and Judd Apatow talked about how close these characters are to real life, what it’s like to produce a show for HBO, balancing this often awkward and embarrassing journey with some hope for the characters, and how, as the series progressing, all of the characters will be equally punished. Apatow also said that they would see if there’s an idea worth doing, before making a decision about Bridesmaids 2. Check out what they had to say after the jump:

First Image and New Details on Judd Apatow’s KNOCKED UP Spinoff, THIS IS FORTY

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 16th, 2012 at 8:39 am

The first image has gone online from Judd Apatow‘s Knocked Up spinoff, This Is Forty.  Apatow’s latest comedy brings us back to Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann) and the comic trials and tribulations of their marriage.  The movie will pick up several years after Knocked Up and show the couple facing new challenges.  Per the LA Times, “Pete’s music label is struggling and Debbie’s vanity business, a dress shop staffed by the comely Desi (Megan Fox) and the awkward Jodi (Charlyne Yi), needs to help cover the household budget.”  Mann and Apatow’s real-life daughters, Maude and Iris Apatow, will be reprising their Knocked Up characters as well.  I wonder if Iris’ character still likes Green Day.

Hit the jump to see the full image and to learn more about the upcoming comedy.  This Is Forty opens December 21st.

Universal May Do BRIDESMAIDS Sequel without Kristen Wiig

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 4th, 2012 at 11:11 am

Kristen Wiig co-wrote her own breakthrough role in last year’s Bridesmaids.  The film is Universal’s highest-grossing romantic comedy ever and naturally the studio would love to have a sequel.  However, Wiig tells THR, “We aren’t working on that.  Annie [Mumolo] and I aren’t planning a sequel. We are writing something else.”  There’s some speculation that Wiig and her co-stars were unhappy with the $100,000 bonus they received for the movie even though it ended up grossing $288 million worldwide.  Universal reportedly offered Wiig and eight-figure payday to return, but she declined the offer and now the studio is looking to hang the sequel on Bridesmaids‘ other breakout star, Melissa McCarthy.

Hit the jump for more.

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