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Transcript of Funny People Production Notes Approved
Production Notes
Over the past several years, filmmaker JUDD APATOW has proven that when it
comes to comedy, nothing—not even middle-aged virginity or unwanted pregnancy—is
sacred territory. Both his breakthrough 2005 feature, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and 2007
follow-up, Knocked Up, were critical and box-office smashes that allowed audiences to
collectively share in the most painfully funny moments of their lives.
In his third time directing a film, Apatow finds humor in one of the biggest
struggles of a person’s lifetime. He directs ADAM SANDLER (I Now Pronounce You
Chuck & Larry, Anger Management), SETH ROGEN (Knocked Up, Pineapple Express)
and LESLIE MANN (Knocked Up, The 40-Year-Old Virgin) in Funny People, the story
of a famous comedian who has a near-death experience…and what he does with a second
chance. Apatow addresses a question that hasn’t been touched with such trademark
bluntness: If you had the chance to start all over again, would you be the same jerk you
always were?
Joining the cast that reunites Apatow with Rogen, Mann and JONAH HILL
(Superbad, Knocked Up) in their third movie together are a troupe of seasoned and new
comic actors: ERIC BANA (Munich, Star Trek), JASON SCHWARTZMAN (Rushmore,
The Darjeeling Limited), RZA (American Gangster, Derailed), AZIZ ANSARI
(television’s Parks and Recreation, I Love You, Man) and AUBREY PLAZA (Parks and
Recreation).
Produced by Apatow, CLAYTON TOWNSEND (The 40-Year-Old Virgin,
Knocked Up) and BARRY MENDEL (Munich, The Sixth Sense), the comedy’s behind-
the-scenes talent includes a number of returning Apatow film favorites and accomplished
crewpersons new to the team.
Funny People – Production Information
Key crew include two-time Academy Award®-winning cinematographer JANUSZ
KAMINSKI (Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan); costume designers NANCY
STEINER (upcoming The Lovely Bones, Little Miss Sunshine) and BETSY HEIMANN
(Red Dragon, Almost Famous); production designer JEFFERSON SAGE (Year One,
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story); editors BRENT WHITE (Step Brothers, Knocked
Up) and CRAIG ALPERT (Pineapple Express, The 40-Year-Old Virgin); music
supervisor JONATHAN KARP (Knocked Up, The 40-Year-Old Virgin); and composers
MICHAEL ANDREWS (Donnie Darko, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story) and Jason
Schwartzman.
Rogen, EVAN GOLDBERG (Superbad, Knocked Up) and JACK GIARRAPUTO
(Paul Blart: Mall Cop, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry) serve as the film’s
executive producers.
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
Discovering Funny People :
The Comedy Continues
Judd Apatow has had a lifelong fascination with stand-up and the people who
make it their livelihood. One summer, his mother, Tami Shad, worked in a comedy club
in Southampton on Long Island, and as a young teenager, his nights at the club kindled
his obsession. In high school, he created a radio talk show and interviewed comic
performers he admired, from Howard Stern to Steve Allen and Paul Reiser to John
Candy. He asked them how they did it…how they wrote jokes, performed and other
secrets of their trade. Inspired by their guidance, he began performing stand-up by the
end of his senior year.
After dropping out of USC School of Cinema, Apatow worked his way into a full-
time gig at the legendary Improv Comedy Club in Los Angeles. While there, he kept at
what was, by his admission, a “just okay run” as a stand-up…at least compared to the
great performers he saw firsthand.
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Following an appearance on a young comics special for HBO, Apatow started to
realize it was unlikely he’d set the world on fire as a performer; therefore, he began to
transition his focus from the stage to writing jokes for other comedians. It was his
longtime roommate and friend who continued down the spotlit path…a young performer
named Adam Sandler. But it would take several years honing their separate careers
before they would work together on screen.
After the success of The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up, Apatow decided he
wanted his third story to revolve around the people he had grown up alongside in the
comedy world. He was curious to explore the reasons performers were drawn into stand-
up and wondered why they tried so hard to get attention as they plunged into the “terror
of revealing themselves.” Was it a desire to please audiences? Or was it simply
egocentrism mixed with an inability to intimately connect with others unless they were
on stage? “As a person working in comedy I often think, ‘Why do I do this? What’s
wrong with me? What led me here?’” reveals Apatow.
As he began to write Funny People, he drew inspiration from a freak, life-
changing occurrence that happened at his Southern California home in 1994. “When the
Northridge earthquake hit, my chimney fell through the roof of my bedroom,” explains
the director. “The only reason I wasn’t there was because I was painting the house. For
about three days, I really appreciated life…but just for three days. The movie is based on
that idea: If you survive, do you learn anything from it that you keep using in your life?”
There were also more intimate reasons that prompted Apatow to create a
screenplay in which his protagonist realizes he is dying. He offers, “In recent years, I’ve
had people in my life who have been ill. You see how those who know they’re sick
struggle with how to live. They also look at how they feel about the way they lived
before they got sick.”
He found it sobering to see that people weren’t always thrilled with the results of
the self-examination and could easily begin to revert to old habits. “When people get
better, I wondered if they can take that fear, terror and opportunity to understand what’s
important in life and use it. Or are they thrown by the fact that it’s really hard, and a
week later, they’re back on the same treadmill?”
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For the primary comedians in his story, he imagined George Simmons, a superstar
struck with a rare form of leukemia who is forced to reevaluate his life, and Ira Wright,
the up-and-coming comic who idolizes George and whom George reluctantly mentors.
“I’ve had a lot of people who have been kind and mentored me, so I understand that
relationship,” the director says. “They were kind, generous, normal comedians, some of
whom were brilliant. But I thought, ‘What if one of those comedians I knew was not
very nice and had really serious problems?’ George and Ira are a fabricated version of
that scenario.”
When developing the project, Apatow chose to work with frequent collaborator,
producer Clayton Townsend, and another longtime friend, producer Barry Mendel.
Although Apatow and Mendel have known one another for more than 15 years (early in
Apatow’s career, Mendel was his agent), this is the first film that brought them together
professionally. Mendel recalls: “Over the years, Judd has invited me to give feedback on
scripts, sit in on table readings and visit his sets, and he’s helped me out on films I’ve
produced. In February 2008, he invited me to read a very early draft of the script; we had
some conversations about it, and a week later, we decided to work together.”
Mendel was impressed by how the world of comedy writers and performers is so
connected. Judd’s assembled a group of collaborators over the years, and everybody
really enjoys each other and the process. Usually directors with such a clear signature
and stamp like Judd tend to be less collaborative; they fear diluting their ‘vision.’ But
Judd’s process is a unique and incredible collaboration where he takes in a tremendous
amount of input from his inner circle. He’s more willing to accept criticism than anyone
I’ve ever worked with; it’s a very healthfully self-questioning process.”
Townsend returns to produce his third comedy with Apatow. Of their working
relationship, the filmmaker offers: “I know what’s important to Judd and work to provide
that atmosphere. We have a rhythm. There were days we just nodded and smiled and
maybe said three words to one another…but it’s just that nothing needs to be said.”
Once he’d assembled his team, the director took a moment to reflect how this
might become the defining project of his career to date. “My whole life has been about
family and comedy and my friendships and relationships with funny people,” Apatow
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offers. “It’s all in this film, especially when you add into it life-or-death issues and how
people decide to live when they’re dying and when they get better.”
Casting and Directing Comics
Soon after Judd Apatow wrapped Knocked Up, he showed an early cut of the film
to longtime friend Adam Sandler and mentioned he had a project they might do together.
Sandler called Apatow and said whatever the project was, he knew he would be on board.
Recalling the process of shooting Funny People, Sandler laughs, “We decided to do this
whole thing before I even saw a script or knew the full idea. Apatow just told me what it
was about and then I said, ‘All right, I’ll do it.’”
Sandler liked that, at a young age, George faced something we must all deal with:
our mortality. “The film is about a man’s struggle with what he should have learned and
didn’t,” he says. “George isn’t tight with family or any friends. He’s a sad soul who
doesn’t like to cry. You never see him going, ‘Oh my God! Life’s horrible!’ You just
see him being a dick throughout life…but having a fun time being a dick.”
The two friends discussed how George lives an existence that either—or both—of
them could have reached if, “we never got married and we went crazy,” says Apatow.
“At the film’s core is our dark sense of humor…us at our worst.”
About filming Sandler, he adds: “I didn’t talk a lot with Adam about the movie’s
darker aspects. I knew he’s a great actor who is brave and willing to be emotionally
available, and I trusted his instincts. There were moments when I needed to push
something or ask for a little more or less, but his struggle with those emotions is what the
movie’s about.”
Apatow was surprised by his reaction when filming key scenes for Funny People
with Sandler. “When we shot the scenes where Adam was sick, it was just devastating,”
he relates. “I’m used to doing somewhat light comedy, and we would show up on set and
suddenly we had to think, ‘How do we make this feel like a guy is really going to die?’
Then you realize Adam has to go there. He was performing a scene, and I was at the
monitor trying to stand in a way that no one could see I was crying on the set. At the
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same time, some of the dramatic scenes that were the hardest to shoot had the biggest
laughs because it’s happening to a comedian. His way of coping is by making jokes.”
When creating the part of struggling stand-up Ira, Apatow was inspired by his
days watching Sandler as a young comic. This role would go to the director’s frequent
actor, Seth Rogen, who describes Ira as “a pretty good writer, but not great performer.
He works at a deli and lives with two guys who are arguably funnier and much more
successful. Ira meets George and catches a break when George hires him as his assistant
and joke writer.”
George has grown into someone few want to be around, and he takes his anger
and frustration out on Ira. Rogen rehearsed with Sandler so they could find the comedy
that came from George’s behavior to his new assistant/confidante; they decided how the
two men would argue and, subsequently, bond. The role play gave both men a sense of
how it would develop: George enjoying incessantly bagging on his young protégé as Ira
enjoyed the career break and access to the big time…while slowly gaining a sense of
confidence as a performer and as a young man.
While Rogen—who based much of his performances on an impression of Apatow
—was supposed to be a rookie comic, it would prove difficult to convince audiences who
saw his stand-up to buy that during filming. Apatow explains: “Seth’s character was
written to not do so well when he does stand-up. But he just kept bringing the house
down. He can’t even fake being a bad comedian.”
To play the love of George’s life, Laura, the filmmakers asked another longtime
collaborator in Judd Apatow’s world to serve as the film’s third lead: Apatow’s wife,
actress Leslie Mann. Naturally, Sandler has known Mann for many years, and the two
have a shared history in comedy; they worked opposite each other in the blockbuster Big
Daddy. Mann describes the character: “Laura is George’s ex-girlfriend, now married
with two kids. She’s not happily married, and she’s going through some tough times.”
Considering that this marks their latest collaboration, Mann has grown more
comfortable working with her husband behind the camera. “When you can be more
relaxed as an actor, you’re better,” she shares. “I’m very relaxed with Judd. I can say
anything and not hold back because I’m not worried he’s going to judge me. We have
fun being creative together, so it works out easily.”
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Apatow adds that it was amusing to see his old friend and his wife act as though
they were a couple that broke up 12 years ago. One unexpected reaction from his actors
was how their close friendship affected their performance on camera. Says the director:
“Leslie so adores Adam that pretending he’s sick devastated her the very first time they
rehearsed. She’s so committed and doesn’t always see herself as a comedy person; she
just plays it real. In that first rehearsal, just thinking about Adam dying reduced her to
tears. So, right off the bat, she forced everyone to go to that level.”
Eric Bana, who plays Laura’s philandering husband, Clarke, praises his on-screen
wife’s talents: “I’m in awe of Leslie as an actress; she has that unique ability to be deadly
serious within a very funny moment. She’s bloody hilarious. The first day of shooting I
had with her, I struggled to keep a straight face. It took me so long to get into the rhythm
and not ruin too many takes.”
Non-Aussie audiences mostly know Bana as a serious performer, but he began his
career doing stand-up and sketch comedy on such programs as The Eric Bana Show Live;
he continued for close to 12 years before he started acting in film. Bana welcomed the
opportunity to revisit his roots and play a character that is a comic wild card.
Of his interest in the part, he says: “Barry Mendel, who I worked with on Munich,
called me up and said ‘Judd’s doing a comedy with some serious elements to it, and
there’s a character in there that we think is right for you.’ I read the part and told Barry I
would love to play this character, but I thought he should be Australian. I felt I would
have a lot more ideas if able to play the character as an Aussie, and that ultimately he
may be funnier.”
Bana and Mann developed their roles as a loving couple that has grown apart.
When George contacts Laura and tells her he is going to die, the floodgates of their past
open wide. Producer Mendel explains: “George loves Laura, and she’s not getting along
with her husband. So Clarke, who’s cheating on Laura, has to somehow redeem himself
enough to deserve another chance. It’s fun in that there are a lot of balls in the air here.
As an audience member, who you want the characters to land with keeps shifting, and it
probably ends up different than how you’d expect.”
For the roles of the younger generation of comics, the filmmakers approached
several performers who have all spent time in the stand-up world. The parts of Ira’s
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roommates, Leo and Mark, went to, respectively, actors Jonah Hill and Jason
Schwartzman. The three roommates are good friends, but highly competitive with each
other. Rogen explains that art is imitating life: “That’s the part I have most closely lived.
I have been friends with guys who want the exact same thing I wanted, were up for the
same opportunities I was and were doing better than I was.”
Jonah Hill explains his approach to the very driven stand-up Leo, who goes head-
to-head with Ira: “I decided to play him just like a lot of comedy writers I know. You
don’t become a successful person in comedy unless you’re really driven. Rarely do you
see people who get success by accident. Comics spend so much of their time writing and
performing; the ones who become really successful are insanely hard workers and take it
very seriously.”
Apatow selected Jason Schwartzman to not just play Mark; he had another part to
play on set—the musically talented actor also composed the score for the film.
Schwartzman began his career as the drummer in the band Phantom Planet and has
recently release two critically acclaimed solo records under the banner Coconut Records.
Mendel, who produced Schwartzman’s acting debut, Rushmore, says: “Incorporating
Jason’s music into the film was one of Judd’s great strokes. It gives Funny People its
own sound; it’s not like any film score you’ve heard.”
Of his primary role in Funny People, he explains: “Mark stars on a hit TV sitcom
called Yo Teach...!—a cocktail of Dangerous Minds and Head of the Class. Mark makes
$25,000 a week and flaunts it like a peacock in front of Ira and Leo.” Interestingly
enough, Apatow and Sandler had an old friend who used to do the same thing to them.
For the role of Ira’s love interest, Daisy—a recent East Coast transplant trying to
make a name for herself in the comedy boys’ club—the filmmakers cast newcomer
Aubrey Plaza. It was her innovative approach that landed her the role. Plaza states: “I
submitted an audition tape and went in for a live audition, where I read through a scene
with Seth. After some time, the casting director told me that the filmmakers were
interested in casting a stand-up comedian for the role and suggested that I tape myself
doing a stand-up act. I did a small indie show in Queens—the first real stand-up show
I’ve ever done—and a friend taped it and I put it on YouTube. I sent the link to casting;
two days later, they called me and offered me the part.”
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Plaza’s Parks and Recreation co-star Aziz Ansari was cast as Randy, a comic
other performers love to hate. Ansari describes the hyperkinetic Randy as a “comedian
that audiences love and the other comics hate. He just sinks to the lowest common
denominator—dancing, catchphrases, really dumb sex jokes about receiving fellatio in an
igloo, and sometimes he even has a deejay. ”
Playing Ira’s deadpan friend at the deli, Chuck, is musician-actor RZA. Chuck is
a reality check for Ira, but he allows Ira to try out his comedy routines on him.
Discussing his nonplussed character, RZA says, “Chuck is one of those dudes who is glad
to have his job. He’s an ex-convict who’s happy that somebody will hire him, and his
buddy Ira wants to leave this job to become a star. Chuck is like, ‘Come on, that’s not
reality. This is reality, what we are living every day: free dental.’”
The two youngest comediennes on set were other members of the Apatow family,
Judd and Leslie’s daughters, Maude and Iris. About his girls’ participation, the
filmmaker explains: “I’m fascinated by my wife and my children, and so I decided to
have my kids play Leslie’s kids. In Knocked Up, they had small parts and were really
memorable. In this film, it’s different. Maude’s character, Mable, is very important to
the story. You can feel that she knows there are problems in Clarke and Laura’s marriage
and it’s affecting how she feels.
In one sequence, Laura shows George a tape of Mable singing “Memory” from
Cats. The sequence was made with an actual home video Judd shot of Maude’s theatrical
performance of the musical. The director explains: “At the performance, people were
moved…so I thought it would say a lot if George was not.”
Exposing Themselves:
Stand-Up in Funny People
To get his many players ready for the live stand-up they’d be performing as part
of their time on screen, Apatow put his team through joke-writing drills and multiple
tours that began several months before principal photography. He needed them to work
on their acts at various clubs, because during the movie shoot, he would instruct the
audiences to react naturally to their performances. As the cameras rolled, if a joke
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bombed, it bombed. So beforehand, the director wanted to toughen up his comics and
give them a taste of what life on the open road was really like.
The culmination of the tour happened at the landmark Orpheum Theatre in
downtown Los Angeles. In addition to doubling as a Northern California theater for a
pivotal scene in Funny People, the venue hosted a benefit for two charities close to
Apatow. Proceeds raised at “A Night of Funny People” benefited the National Multiple
Sclerosis Society and 826LA, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students
with their creative and expository writing skills. In addition to Sandler, Rogen, Hill and
Ansari in character, the all-star line-up included such comics as DAVID SPADE,
SARAH SILVERMAN and PATTON OSWALT.
Joke-Writing Sessions
There have been two different approaches to the company’s joke-writing sessions,
says Apatow. “George is a star, and whenever he’s on stage people are excited to see
him; he knows what he’s doing and is really funny. On the opposite side of that, Ira is
struggling to figure out who he is and how to be funny. Our approach was to let Seth
write the best jokes he could, and then we deconstructed them and screwed them up. A
great joke told without confidence will bomb, and a great joke told by someone you don’t
know who screws up the set up will not get a reaction. Once we had all of Seth’s great
jokes, we found ways for him to ruin them.”
Apatow walks us through the process for the writing sessions. “We wrote the
jokes by getting a few really good comedy writers, like BRIAN POSEHN and Patton
Oswalt and ALLEN COVERT, who writes with Adam a lot. Also, co-producers
ANDREW JAY COHEN and BRENDAN O’BRIEN had a ton of stuff they contributed
to help Seth and Jonah out with their jokes. We had these bull sessions where we wrote
jokes and gave them to the guys; sometimes Seth and Adam were there. At the end of the
day, most of it was written by Seth and Adam. We came up with some great areas, but
they still know what they do better than anybody.”
Rogen elaborates on the collaboration: “Jonah and I wrote jokes with each other,
but ultimately people were in charge of their own sets. Judd actually gave us a lot of
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freedom. He would rarely say, ‘Here’s the joke; say this joke.’ It was more: ‘Here’s an
area; write some jokes about it, and here are some people who are willing to help you.’”
Performing in Clubs
While shooting the scenes in which his actors performed stand-up, the director let
their acts continue uninterrupted. Apatow explains his rationale: “When you see stand-up
in movies, usually all of it’s good. Even if the jokes are bad, they are presented like
they’re good; everything’s getting a big laugh, and it feels very cut down. They cut right
to the heart of the joke, and you don’t get the awkward pauses before and after a joke.
What I went for was to capture what a comedy club actually feels like.”
The only way he could do that was to bring in a crowd and have his performers do
25-minute sets. The director continues: “There are sections of the movie in which you
see Ira get better; he’s more personal and he’s evolving. Those jokes needed to be
different than earlier ones in the movie. It was the same for Adam during his big concert
[at the Orpheum] where he’s trying to show Laura he is more mature; the jokes have to
reflect he is able to have a serious relationship. I also shot their acts in four or five
different comedy clubs. They gave 20 to 30 minutes of material from which we needed
two or three minutes.”
Apatow admits what’s tricky about stand-up is that the jokes have to be both
funny and revealing of the characters’ inner lives. He explains: “George takes the
difficult parts of his life and turns them into silly jokes. You hear him talk about a dark
aspect of his childhood, and then later you see him do a joke that’s clearly inspired by it,
but he’s not telling you the truth. He’s made it into something goofier than that.”
The director feels like the relationship between Ira and George is a bit like the one
he had with Sandler when they were young comics. He was the young guy who wasn’t
very good at stand-up, while Sandler was already quite confident in his skills. For his
part, Sandler admits: “I used to do stand-up and, whoever was in the crowd, I could adapt
a little bit. I had to be a little gross at all times, but I would phrase it a little more gently
if there was an older woman in the audience. I was filthy back then.”
For Rogen, who began doing stand-up at 13, this style of comedy was territory he
hadn’t visited in a while. “I last did stand-up around eight years ago,” the actor says. “I
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did it once I moved to L.A., but I was already on a TV show. The only places I could get
time were the Laugh Factory and the Comedy Store. I stopped because I started writing
screenplays.”
When he signed on for the film, Apatow told Hill that he had to be ready for a
stand-up show in three weeks. The performer had never before done stand-up in front of
a live audience. Hill’s reaction: “I had two or three weeks to write an act. It was at the
UCB [Upright Citizens Brigade], and Judd opened for me and I came out. It’s the best
one I’ll ever do in my life. Then I did the next one, and I tanked so hard. I bailed on
jokes but then talked about why I didn’t want to do them. That got laughs. I had a crash
course in five months on how to pass as a comedian.”
Before shooting, Aziz Ansari had been performing as his character, Randy, at the
UCB. The actor recalls, “What I had in mind for Randy’s stand-up was much different
than my own stand-up. So I decided to do some shows in character as Randy. I would
tell really terrible sex jokes, dance around, have a deejay to hype me up, etc. It all went
over way too well. Unfortunately, I think Randy may be more likeable than Aziz.”
During the shoot, the owner of L.A.’s Improv Comedy Club, Budd Friedman,
allowed the production use of his facilities for filming. It was a welcome reunion for one
of the owner’s former employees. Apatow, who worked as both an emcee and comic at
the club when he was 17, was able to get his old boss to help him stage one of the most
poignant scenes in the production.
It was like coming home as Apatow and Sandler reunited with talent they’d
admired for decades. At the Improv, Apatow shot a scene in which George—when he
believes he is dying—has lunch with a group of famous comedians. The comics included
legends from MONTY HOFFMAN, PAUL REISER and MARK SCHIFF to GEORGE
WALLACE and CAROL LEIFER.
About the scene, Apatow offers: “We wanted to make it feel like the real comedy
world, and we thought ‘Who would be George’s peers?’ So we tried to put many of the
great comics that we look up to in Funny People to make it feel like the right level of
reality. It was also because we look up to these guys; it’s an homage to have them in the
movie.”
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Sandler, who did many stand-up routines at the Improv back in the day, explains
what made that scene so meaningful: “Carol Leifer was one of the first comedians I saw.
I visited my sister on Long Island, and she took me to East Side Comedy Club, where
Judd worked as a dishwasher. I saw Carol destroy for an hour, and that’s when I’d only
been on stage two or three times. I remember thinking ‘I’m not going to be able to come
up with that shit…’”
Many other comics agreed to cameo in the film for key scenes. RAY ROMANO,
Sarah Silverman, NORM MACDONALD, DAVE ATTELL and CHARLES FLEISHER
are just a few of the additional comics who have guest appearances when George
Simmons makes his rounds to stay goodbye to old friends. Notably, a big Apatow fan
agreed to appear in his first film role since Universal’s 8 Mile. Eminem guest stars as
himself…and he is ready for a knock down throw down with unwanted paparazzo Ray
Romano.
Designing the Comedy
Across all departments, there was a mandate to ensure that the story of Funny
People was told with as much honesty as possible. Producer Townsend explains: “We’ve
tried really hard in the production design, costumes, lighting and camera work to create
realism. That’s always been Judd’s thing: to make sure you don’t take the audience out
of something by using a cheesy-looking set. We’ve gone to great lengths to match sets
on stage with exteriors, as well as shooting sets on location to heighten the realism.”
To lead a key department of the production, the filmmakers hired two-time
Academy Award-winning cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, known for his stunning
work on such epochal films as Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan. Producer
Mendel, who worked with Kaminski on Munich, believes: “In terms of photography, this
movie asked for something more ambitious than Judd’s previous films. Janusz’s work
helps you make a pronounced, yet seamless, transition to the next kind of movie that Judd
is making.”
Kaminski looked forward to participating in the project. He shares: “Judd
expressed certain desires about what this movie should look like. He assured me he was
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ready to be a bit more sophisticated with the visual storytelling. He told me the story,
and I was enticed by the idea of making a comedy that’s got a bit of drama interwoven.”
To design the picture, Apatow brought on production designer Jefferson Sage,
who has worked with the director since the series Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared.
About designing the film, Sage explains: “From the beginning of our relationship, we’ve
been very interested in spaces that are utterly real, familiar and convincing. The comedy
Judd’s interested in emerges from the conflicts real people have. All those issues and
people are very familiar, and the spaces they inhabit needed to be the same.”
The filmmakers created different comedy clubs for the film. Sage shares, “The
idea was to show how comedians go around town. They try their act one night at this
club and at another club another night. It was important that the stages feel different…as
if they’re covering the town. One key location was the Improv Comedy Club on
Melrose. Judd was insistent we film there. The other ones were exclusively built on
stages.”
Details used to make the comedy club sets authentic include torn drapes, half-
empty beer bottles and water stains on the tabletops. Sage’s team scuffed and spotted the
floors so audiences can see where countless comedians and patrons have dropped their
drinks and stained the floors.
Other key locations in Funny People include George’s mansion, Laura’s ranch
house and the apartment where Ira and his friends lived. George’s home was found in
Malibu. “It looked old, but it’s only six to eight years old,” comments Sage. “It felt
removed and lonely, as we wanted a house that George had bought lock, stock and barrel
from a previous owner. He hadn’t gotten around to decorating or changing anything yet.
There are a lot of character things that are out of place for him.”
Laura’s cozy house was one of family and comfort, a counterpoint to George’s.
Sage adds, “Laura’s house is a gentler, more contemporary style of architecture. The
locale is supposed to be Northern California, but we were lucky enough to find it a mile
or two from the other house. This was after a long search through the outer reaches of
Los Angeles and nearby horse country.
“Ira’s apartment is the third point of the triangle,” Sage concludes. “The
apartment needed to be many things that the other spaces were not. These are young
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guys; they’re ambitious, getting into their careers and successful on different levels. The
choice of a modern loft space with high ceilings and walls with pictures of famous
comedians created a nice contrast to the other spaces; it speaks to their youth and point of
view.”
The Beatles to James Taylor:
Music of the Film
For The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Apatow used an eclectic mix of ’80s songs, as well
as music from James Brown and Ashford & Simpson to Missy Elliott and Chaka Khan.
For Knocked Up, he enlisted singer/poet Loudon Wainwright III to create the poetic
soundtrack. In Funny People, the director goes in a different direction. Artist Michael
Andrews has been composing for Apatow since their days together on Freaks and Geeks,
and actor Jason Schwartzman got his first shot at composing for a film. The
collaboration turned out better than anyone could have hoped.
Longtime Apatow collaborator, music supervisor Jonathan Karp, believes the
music in Funny People gives the actors a chance to address their characters and situations
nonverbally. He says, “There’s a moment when Ira and George drive home from San
Francisco, after things go wrong for George, where they’re sitting in silence in the car…
and then we see them in their homes going to bed. You see their faces and they’re clearly
unhappy, and the music conveys all the emotion of that. You don’t need words. The
music also helps illustrate a lot of what George went through with his illness.”
Multihyphenate JON BRION, who scored Sandler’s Punch-Drunk Love, was
brought on to the production to produce George’s music. At one point in the film,
George hires the musician to play at his home when he thinks he’s dying. Fortunately for
all, Sandler is a bit of an accomplished musician himself. Apatow states: “The idea was
that this very rich person pays Jon Brion to jam. It’s a great moment where you see an
emotional montage, and the music is really beautiful and warm. We shot a lot of songs
with just Adam and Jon Brion, and then with Adam, Jon and a band.”
Karp adds, “The jam session became a bigger thing while making the movie. We
ended up doing 8 or 10 different songs that we recorded to see which ones were going to
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work out the best. In the jam session scenes, Adam plays with Jon, and JAMES
GADSON plays the drums. He is an amazing drummer most famous for the years spent
with Bill Withers; and SEBASTIAN STEINBERG plays bass in those sessions.”
When choosing the right music for Sandler and Brion to collaborate on to help tell
the story, Karp admits: “We ended up in Beatlesesque territory. The songs we performed
were ‘Real Love’ by John Lennon, and there’s the Beatles version, of course. We’ve got
a version of ‘Photograph’ by Ringo Starr. Some others were ‘Heart Needs a Home’ by
Richard Thompson and ‘I Saw the Light’ by Todd Rundgren. We found songs that
showed a vulnerable aspect of Adam’s character when he’s performing alone.
Ultimately, we used ‘Real Love.’ Many of the extras songs we recorded will be on our
soundtrack and DVD.”
One of the other big musical days shot for Funny People was when JAMES
TAYLOR and his band played at a MySpace convention where George and Ira perform.
Says Apatow: “James Taylor is super funny. You think about James Taylor like he’s
been around since we were born. There’s no part of our consciousness where we didn’t
hear those songs with our families.”
Rogen believes that his director engineered some scenes simply so he could have
fun. He says, “James Taylor was a funny joke in the movie, but he didn’t need to play for
four and a half hours. That was so Judd could watch James Taylor.”
Actual Footage and Fake Calls
When Judd Apatow was 17, he moved to California to attend USC. Soon after, he
met Sandler. Of their introduction, he explains, “I quickly ran out of money, and I was
doing stand-up at the Improv. I met Adam on the first night he came to L.A. to move
here. We became friends and got an apartment together. He was one of those people that
made you think, ‘This guy’s a superstar; there’s no stopping this.’ You felt the charisma,
and he was hilarious. It was undeniable that this guy was going to be a major force. He
made us laugh all the time; this was somebody who was just spewing funny all day long.”
The budding director put his skills to use by filming his friends. “I have all of
these videotapes of Adam doing phony phone calls,” says Apatow. “I used to videotape
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him because I knew these things he did as a goof were as funny as anything I’d ever seen;
there was value in it, and I didn’t want it to disappear into the ether. I use them in the
movie to show his arc from a young, carefree person who wants to be in the business.”
Apatow works this material—as well as actual footage of Sandler doing stand-up
—to show the change that’s come over George. “When all your dreams come true and
you’re famous and rich, but you’re alone and unmarried and not happy with your
personal situation, that light comes out of your eyes,” he reflects. “Even though you’re
still on the treadmill, the work becomes a drag and you’re not sure what it’s all adding up
to. You’re making these movies, but you know in your core you’re not feeling satisfied
and you’re not evolving as a person.”
As he reminisces, George also watches reels of footage of a beautiful young
woman in a Coke commercial from a dozen years earlier, as well as images of her on
various television dramas such as Birdland, from Scott Frank and Walter Parkes. It’s the
love of his life, Laura, and you can see he still loves her and pines for her. For this part
of the scene, Apatow used footage of Leslie Mann from her earlier movies and
commercials. Of the footage, Mann laughs, “I haven’t watched any of those in years. It
was really fun to see. Back when I was 19 or 20, I was always hard on myself and
thought I wasn’t doing enough. But seeing all these commercials again, I thought, ‘I
should be proud of myself. I worked hard.’”
****
Universal Pictures and Columbia Pictures present, in association with Relativity
Media, an Apatow/Madison 23 production of a Judd Apatow film: Adam Sandler, Seth
Rogen, Leslie Mann in Funny People, starring Eric Bana, Jonah Hill, Jason
Schwartzman. The music is by Jason Schwartzman and Michael Andrews; the music
supervisor is Jonathan Karp. The costume designers are Nancy Steiner and Betsy
Heimann; the film is edited by Brent White and Craig Alpert. The comedy’s production
designer is Jefferson Sage; the director of photography is Janusz Kaminski. Funny
People’s executive producers are Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and Jack Giarraputo. The
comedy is produced by Judd Apatow, Clayton Townsend and Barry Mendel. It is written
and directed by Judd Apatow. ©2009 Universal Studios. www.funnypeoplemovie.com
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ABOUT THE CAST
ADAM SANDLER (George Simmons) has enjoyed phenomenal success as an
actor, writer, producer and musician.
Sandler’s films include the recent box-office smashes Bedtime Stories, for Walt
Disney Studios, Sony Pictures’ You Don’t Mess With the Zohan and Universal Pictures’
comedy I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry.
Sandler is currently in production on Sony Pictures’ Grown Ups for director
Dennis Dugan. The film centers around five good friends who reunite for a Fourth of
July holiday weekend 30 years after their high school graduation, and stars Kevin James,
Salma Hayek, Rob Schneider, Maria Bello, David Spade, Maya Rudolph and Chris Rock.
Previously, Sandler was seen in a starring role, opposite Don Cheadle, in Sony’s
Reign Over Me for director Mike Binder and the box-office hit Click, which starred Kate
Beckinsale. He also starred in The Longest Yard, with Chris Rock and Burt Reynolds;
James L. Brooks’ Spanglish, opposite Téa Leoni; the romantic comedy 50 First Dates,
with Drew Barrymore; Anger Management, with Jack Nicholson; and Paul Thomas
Anderson’s Punch-Drunk Love, for which he received a Golden Globe Award
nomination.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Manchester, New Hampshire,
Sandler’s first brush with comedy came at age 17, when he performed at a Boston
comedy club. From then on he was hooked, performing regularly in comedy clubs
throughout the state, while earning a degree in fine arts from New York University.
Sandler’s production company, Happy Madison Productions, was co-founded by
Jack Giarraputo and Sandler and has gone on to become an almost self-contained mini-
studio that is involved in all aspects of film production. Happy Madison has produced
Click, The Benchwarmers, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, Dickie Roberts: Former
Child Star and Strange Wilderness, the recent films The House Bunny and Paul Blart:
Mall Cop, and the upcoming The Zookeeper. Sandler has also collaborated with writer
Tim Herlihy on the screenplays for Happy Gilmore, Little Nicky, Billy Madison, Big
Daddy and The Waterboy, and executive produced Grandma’s Boy, The Animal, Joe
Dirt, The Master of Disguise, The Hot Chick and Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo.
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Happy Madison Productions also has a deal with Columbia Tri-Star Domestic
Television to develop shows for the studio, including the current hit show Rules of
Engagement, which stars David Spade and Oliver Hudson, and the upcoming Comedy
Central series The Gong Show with Dave Attell and Gay Robot.
Sandler’s comedy albums on Warner Bros. Records have gone multiplatinum.
Collectively, they have sold more than six million copies to date. Several years ago,
Sandler launched AdamSandler.com. This site is updated weekly with mini-movies
featuring Sandler and the staff of Happy Madison in their daily routines.
The year 2009 has been a busy year for SETH ROGEN (Ira Wright/Executive
Producer). In April, Rogen starred in the dark comedy Observe and Report, opposite
Anna Faris. Taking on the role of the mall security guard Ronnie, the film was directed
by Jody Hill. Up next for Rogen was 3-D animation phenomenon, Monsters vs. Aliens.
Rogen voiced B.O.B. and was joined by Paul Rudd, Reese Witherspoon and Rainn
Wilson. The film was released by DreamWorks Animation and has grossed nearly $370
million at the worldwide box office.
Rogen has emerged leading a new generation of comedic actors, writers and
producers. Nominated for an Emmy Award in 2005 for Outstanding Writing for a
Variety, Music or Comedy for Da Ali G Show, Rogen began his career doing standup
comedy in Vancouver, Canada at 13 years of age. After moving to Los Angeles, Rogen
landed supporting roles in Judd Apatow’s two critically acclaimed network television
comedies, Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared, the latter of which Rogen was also hired as
a staff writer at the age of 18. Shortly after, Rogen was guided by Apatow toward a film
career.
In 2005, Apatow cast Rogen in the hit feature comedy The 40-Year-Old Virgin,
which opened No. 1 at the box office where it remained at the top perch for two
weekends in a row. The film went on to gross more than $175 million worldwide and
helped put Rogen on the map as a future film star. The film was named one of the 10
Most Outstanding Motion Pictures of the Year by AFI and took home Best Comedy
Movie at the 11th annual Critics’ Choice Awards. Rogen was a co-producer on the film
as well.
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In 2007, Rogen headlined the summer comedy Knocked Up with co-stars
Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann; a film that has grossed more than $140
million domestically. Once again pairing Rogen with Apatow, Rogen was also an
executive producer on the project distributed by Universal Pictures.
Later that year Rogen was seen in another summer blockbuster, Superbad (a
semi-autobiographical comedy), that he co-wrote and executive produced with writing
partner Evan Goldberg. The film grossed more than $120 million domestically for Sony
Pictures.
The year 2008 was another busy year for Rogen. He started by lending his voice
as Mantis alongside Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman and Angelina Jolie in the Academy
Award®-nominated Kung Fu Panda, which has earned more than $626 million
worldwide. Rogen immediately followed Kung Fu Panda with another No. 1 box-office
hit in the action-comedy Pineapple Express; a film he co-wrote with Evan Goldberg and
starred opposite of James Franco and Danny McBride. Sony Pictures released the film in
August and it went on to earn more than $100 million worldwide. Rogen was next seen
in Kevin Smith’s Zack and Miri Make a Porno, released by The Weinstein Company in
October, starring opposite Elizabeth Banks.
Other film credits for Rogen include Horton Hears a Who! and Drillbit Taylor.
Up next, Rogen will demonstrate his wide-ranging acting ability by starring in the
action film The Green Hornet (Sony Pictures), to be directed by Michel Gondry. Rogen
will again team up with co-writing partner Evan Goldberg.
Rogen currently resides in Los Angeles.
LESLIE MANN (Laura) was recently seen in Burr Steers’ 17 Again, starring
opposite Zac Efron and Matthew Perry. Mann plays Scarlett, whose husband (Perry)
wakes up to find he is age 17 again, and enrolls in the same school his children attend so
he can get closer to them. The film was released by Warner Bros. on April 17, 2009 and
has grossed more than $85 million worldwide.
This summer, Mann will also star in Robert Rodriguez’s Shorts, opposite James
Spader, Jon Cryer and William H. Macy. The film is set in fictional Black Falls, a suburb
where everyone works for Black Box Unlimited Worldwide Industries Inc., whose
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communication gadget is sweeping the country. When a boy discovers a rainbow-
colored rock that grants wishes to anyone who holds it, it begins to cause havoc
throughout the town. Mann and Cryer will play the boy’s parents. Shorts is slated for
release by Warner Bros. on August 7, 2009.
Mann also stars in Glenn Ficarra and John Requa’s upcoming I Love You Phillip
Morris, opposite Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor. I Love You Phillip Morris is the true
story of Steven Russell (Carrey), who is sent to prison and falls in love with his cellmate
Phillip Morris (McGregor). When Morris is set free, Russell makes several attempts to
escape from prison to be with him. Mann plays Carrey’s wife in the film. The film
premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and is slated for release on February 14,
2010.
Mann will next begin production on What Was I Thinking?, starring opposite
Elizabeth Banks. The story centers on a quartet of girlfriends who take a hedonistic ski
trip after one of them gets dumped. Lynda Obst is producing the film and it will be
released by New Line Cinema.
Mann recently starred in Judd Apatow’s acclaimed film Knocked Up, opposite
Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd. Her performance in the film garnered her rave reviews as
well as a Best Supporting Actress nomination from the Chicago Film Critics
Association. Knocked Up grossed more than $300 million worldwide and won the
People’s Choice Award for Favorite Movie Comedy. It was also nominated for a Critics’
Choice Award for Best Comedy Movie and was named one of AFI’s top-10 films of the
year.
Mann is also well known for roles in Drillbit Taylor, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Big
Daddy and The Cable Guy. Her other film credits include Stealing Harvard, Orange
County, Timecode, George of the Jungle and She’s the One.
ERIC BANA (Clarke) was first introduced to American audiences in the title role
of Mark Brandon “Chopper” Read in the feature film Chopper, which premiered at the
Sundance Film Festival in 2001, and was then released in the U.S. to critical notice after
its Australian success. For his role, Bana earned awards from the Film Critics Circle of
Australia and the Australian Film Institute.
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In 2001, Bana was seen co-starring in Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down as Delta
Sgt. First Class “Hoot” Gibson, one of a group of elite U.S. soldiers, opposite Josh
Hartnett, Ewan McGregor and Tom Sizemore. The war epic, produced by Jerry
Bruckheimer, was based on journalist Mark Bowden’s bestselling account of the 1993
U.S. mission in Mogadishu, Somalia.
Bana also starred as Bruce Banner in Hulk for director Ang Lee, based on the
Marvel Comics character, and as Hector, the prince of Troy, in Troy for director
Wolfgang Petersen. The film was based on Homer’s “The Iliad” and also co-starred Brad
Pitt and Orlando Bloom. He also starred in Steven Spielberg’s Munich, about the
aftermath of the 1972 Olympics.
Bana was most recently seen as the villain Nero in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek, and in
The Other Boleyn Girl, with Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson. He was also seen
in Romulus, My Father, based on Raimond Gaita’s bestselling memoir, which premiered
at the Toronto International Film Festival, and in Curtis Hanson’s Lucky You, in which he
co-starred with Drew Barrymore.
Bana will next be seen in The Time Traveler’s Wife, opposite Rachel McAdams,
based on the bestselling novel by Audrey Niffenegger.
In April of this year, Bana’s first film as a director, the drama documentary Love
the Beast, had its U.S. premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. Starring Bana, Jay Leno,
Jeremy Clarkson (Top Gear) and Dr. Phil, the film explores the meaning of Bana’s 25-
year-long relationship with his first car and the importance of the bonds that form through
a common passion.
Bana currently resides in Australia with his wife and two children.
JONAH HILL (Leo) has quickly become one of today’s most sought-after
actors/writers and undeniable comedic forces, thanks to his starring role opposite Michael
Cera in the acclaimed hit Superbad in 2007. Produced by Judd Apatow, directed by Greg
Mottola and written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, the film grossed nearly $120
million at the U.S. box office.
Last year, Hill lent his voice as Tommy in 20th Century Fox’s animated film
Horton Hears a Who!, based on the children’s book written by Dr. Seuss and directed by
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Jimmy Hayward (Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc.). He was joined by Jim Carrey and
Steve Carell, helping to launch the film as an international success with earnings of more
than $295 million worldwide. He also had a memorable cameo role in the Apatow
comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall alongside Jason Segel, Russell Brand and Kristen
Bell. Produced by Judd Apatow and directed by Nicholas Stoller, the film went on to
make more than $100 million worldwide. Hill was last seen in an unbilled cameo role in
the hit film Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, opposite Ben Stiller.
Hill began his career performing one-scene plays that he wrote and performed at
the gritty Black & White bar in New York City. After landing a role in David O.
Russell’s I Heart Huckabees with Dustin Hoffman and Jude Law, Hill was next seen in
Judd Apatow’s 2005 summer hit comedy The 40-Year-Old Virgin with Steve Carell.
The 25-year-old continues to confirm his place among a new generation of
comedic actors/writers. Hill recently wrapped production on The Invention of Lying,
starring Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner and Tina Fey, set to be released in September by
Warner Bros. He also has lent his voice as Snotlout in the upcoming DreamWorks
Animation film How to Train Your Dragon, opposite of Gerard Butler (300) and America
Ferrera (Ugly Betty), set for release in March 2010. Hill also recently wrapped
production on the untitled Duplass brothers film, also starring Marisa Tomei and John C.
Reilly.
Upcoming projects for Hill include The Adventurer’s Handbook, which Hill is set
to star in, write and executive produce. Also attached to the project are Jason
Schwartzman and Jason Segel. Currently, Hill is filming Get Him to the Greek, the
upcoming spin-off of the comedy hit Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Hill will star opposite
Russell Brand, who is reprising his role as Aldous Snow for the film.
Other film credits for Hill include Knocked Up, Click, Evan Almighty and
Accepted.
Hill currently resides in Los Angeles.
JASON SCHWARTZMAN (Mark/Music by) made his motion picture acting
debut in 1999 as Max Fischer, an eccentric high-school sophomore in the acclaimed
comedy Rushmore, opposite Bill Murray, for director Wes Anderson (The Royal
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Tenenbaums). That year, his performance garnered a nomination for Most Promising
Actor from the Chicago Film Critics Association. He has since completed work on
several feature films. Schwartzman left his position as lead drummer for the Los
Angeles-based band Phantom Planet in 2003. Their second studio album (“The Guest”),
written in part by Schwartzman, was released by Epic Records in February 2002. Shortly
after, the band embarked on a 14-month tour with Incubus.
In 2004, Schwartzman starred in David O. Russell’s I Heart Huckabees with
Dustin Hoffman, Naomi Watts and Jude Law.
In 2005, he starred opposite Steve Martin and Claire Danes in Shopgirl, the film
adaptation of Steve Martin’s best-selling novel. The International Press Academy
nominated him for a Satellite Award for Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role,
Comedy or Musical, for his portrayal of Jeremy, the struggling musician who falls in love
with a disenchanted salesgirl played by Danes.
In September 2007, he made his writing debut with The Darjeeling Limited,
which he co-wrote with Roman Coppola and Wes Anderson. He also starred in the film
as Jack, alongside Owen Wilson and Adrien Brody. His other acting credits include
Spun, Slackers, S1m0ne, Marie Antoinette and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.
In 2006, Schwartzman was back in the music scene, creating an indie-rock solo
project with Coconut Records. The debut album, titled “Nighttiming,” was released on
Schwartzman’s Young Baby Records in 2007. The album is the product of
Schwartzman, who wrote all of the songs and performs the majority of the instruments.
The song “Summer Day” was featured on the Spider-Man 3 soundtrack. The song “West
Coast” can be heard in an episode of The O.C. and the movie Cloverfield.
Schwartzman will next be seen in HBO’s new television series Bored to Death,
set to premiere September 20. He also is slated to lend his voice in the upcoming
animated film Fantastic Mr. Fox. The film is comprised of an all-star cast, including
George Clooney, Meryl Streep and Bill Murray, and reunites Schwartzman with director
Wes Anderson. It is set for release in November 2009 through Fox Searchlight.
Schwartzman is currently in production with Michael Cera in the film Scott
Pilgrim vs. the World. The film is being directed by Edgar Wright and is set to be
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released by Universal Pictures in 2010. Schwartzman is also attached to star opposite
Jonah Hill in the film The Adventurer’s Handbook.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Schwartzman continues to reside there.
Actor, writer and comedian AUBREY PLAZA (Daisy) is quickly becoming one
of her generation’s brightest young talents.
Plaza currently stars in the NBC comedy series Parks and Recreation as
uninspired intern April Ludgate. The new series, from the creators of The Office, is a
half-hour mockumentary that looks at the world of local government. Co-starring Amy
Poehler and Rashida Jones, the series will return for a second season in fall 2009.
In addition, she is currently filming Edgar Wright’s action-comedy Scott Pilgrim
vs. the World, with Michael Cera, Jason Schwartzman and Chris Evans. The film is an
adaptation of the critically acclaimed, award-winning series of graphic novels by
Canadian cartoonist Bryan Lee O’Malley. Scott Pilgrim (Cera) is a wannabe rock star
who must defeat his new girlfriend’s seven evil ex-boyfriends in order to win her heart.
Plaza stars as Julie Powers, an obnoxious antagonist to Scott. Universal Pictures is
scheduled to release the film in 2010.
Plaza will also be seen in the upcoming dark comedy Mystery Team. The film
premiered to rave reviews at the Sundance Film Festival and revolves around a group of
high-school detectives committed to solving child-sized mysteries in their small town.
When a neighborhood girl asks them to find out who killed her parents, the team must
take on a violent cartel of drug lords and strippers, the likes of which their small town of
Oakdale has never seen. Roadside Attractions is scheduled to release the film in fall
2009.
Plaza’s additional credits include the hit online series The Jeannie Tate Show,
ESPN’s original Web series Mayne Street and a guest appearance on 30 Rock. Since
2004, Plaza has performed improv and sketch comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade
Theatre. She recently began performing stand-up comedy and has appeared at the Laugh
Factory and the Improv.
Originally from Wilmington, Delaware, Plaza is a graduate of New York
University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She currently resides in Los Angeles.
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Robert Diggs, aka the RZA (Chuck), is a man of many aliases and even more
talents. He is the heart, soul and brains behind rap’s only true multiplatinum super group,
the Wu-Tang Clan. RZA is a man who appreciates the creation of music and the success
he has had within the music industry, and he thrives on the process of creation, which he
has carried over into his acting and scoring career. For as long as he can remember, RZA
wanted to be a part of the moviemaking process and was inspired while watching one of
his favorite kung fu flicks.
In 1999, RZA got the first taste of living his dream. Director Jim Jarmusch asked
RZA to score Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, a modern samurai film, and offered
him a cameo in the film, which helped bring him to where he is today. As an actor, RZA
has shown real range from his hilarious stints on Chappelle’s Show to the Jarmusch film
Coffee and Cigarettes. RZA next starred in the drama Derailed, alongside Clive Owen,
and, most recently, Ridley Scott’s American Gangster, for which the cast garnered a
Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a
Motion Picture.
This year, he will be seen in the independent features Life Is Hot in Cracktown
and Gospel Hill. Next year, he will be seen in Universal Pictures’ Repossession Mambo,
starring Jude Law and Forest Whitaker.
In 2003, RZA scored Kill Bill Vol. 1 for Quentin Tarantino, for which he
received a BAFTA nomination. In 2004, he contributed music to Barbershop 2: Back in
Business, Soul Plane, Kill Bill Vol. 2 and Blade: Trinity. In 2007, RZA scored the
critically acclaimed Spike TV animated series Afro Samurai and, in 2008, Afro Samurai:
Resurrection, which starred Samuel Jackson. That same year, he also contributed to the
score of the 20th Century Fox film Babylon A.D., which starred Vin Diesel.
RZA continues to make strides within an industry that captured his attention as a
youth.
AZIZ ANSARI (Randy) is having a breakout year with a new television series, a
trio of films and a comedy tour, which he recently headlined. Entertainment Weekly
recently named him one of the top-12 future stars of comedy and LA Weekly recently put
him on the cover of its annual “People Issue.” Ansari currently co-stars opposite
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Saturday Night Live’s Amy Poehler and Rashida Jones in the NBC comedy series Parks
and Recreation, from the producers and creators of The Office. Ansari plays Tom
Haverford, the sarcastic and occasionally sleazy government employee who is trying to
weasel his way to the top of the local parks and recreation department in Pawnee,
Indiana.
Ansari can also be seen in a handful of feature films. He recently had roles in the
hit comedies I Love You, Man, with Paul Rudd, and opposite Seth Rogen and Anna Faris
in Observe and Report.
Previously, Ansari was known for his role on MTV’s hit sketch-comedy series
Human Giant. The series is based on comedy sketches performed by Ansari along with
Rob Huebel and Paul Scheer. Many of their sketches have become Internet sensations
and have popularized the trio with young people all across the U.S. Last year, Ansari had
a very memorable guest-starring role on HBO’s The Flight of the Conchords, in which he
portrayed a racist fruit vendor. This year, he was seen in a multi-episode arc on Scrubs.
Ansari recently completed his Glow in the Dark stand-up comedy tour, for which
he crisscrossed the country, performing his buzzed-about stand-up act. He continues to
do shows in L.A. and New York whenever he has time, often introducing to his audiences
the character Randy, which is based upon his profane character in Funny People. In
2005, Rolling Stone named him its choice for “Hot Stand-Up” on their annual “Hot List,”
and he was also awarded the Jury Award for Best Stand-Up at the U.S. Comedy Arts
Festival in Aspen in 2006. In addition, the Los Angeles Times recently listed him as one
of the top-25 people to follow on Twitter.
Ansari currently resides in Los Angeles.
IRIS and MAUDE APATOW (Ingrid and Mable) were excited about working
on their second film with their writer/producer/director father, Judd Apatow. In the film,
they play Ingrid and Mable, the daughters of Clarke (played by Eric Bana) and Laura
(played by their real mother, Leslie Mann).
The sisters made their on-screen debut playing Pete and Debbie’s children,
Charlotte and Sadie, in the hit comedy Knocked Up. When not in school, Iris likes to
draw and swim on hot days. Maude likes musical theater and playing tennis.
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ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
JUDD APATOW (Written and Directed by/Produced by) is considered one of
the most sought-after comedy minds in the business. He has been closely associated
with many of the biggest comedy films in recent years.
Last year was very busy for Apatow with three major successes, starting with
Universal Pictures’ Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which he produced with Shauna
Robertson, and was directed by Nicholas Stoller and written by Jason Segel. The film,
starring Segel, Jonah Hill, Mila Kunis and Russell Brand, went on to make more than
$100 million worldwide. Next up, he produced Sony Pictures’ Step Brothers, which was
released in July and earned more than $100 million domestically. The film starred
dynamic duo Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly, with Adam McKay as writer/director.
Ferrell co-wrote the film, and Reilly shared a “story by” credit.
Apatow immediately followed Step Brothers by producing the action-comedy
Pineapple Express, a film written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, from a story by
Apatow. The film, starring Rogen, James Franco and Danny McBride, centers on two
buddies who get mixed up with a drug gang. Sony Pictures released the film in August
and it opened No. 1 at the box office, nearly reaching $100 million worldwide. Other
Apatow projects released last year were You Don’t Mess With the Zohan, (which Apatow
co-wrote with Sandler and Robert Smigel and which made more than $200 million
worldwide), as well as the Apatow-produced Drillbit Taylor, starring Owen Wilson.
Born in Syosset, New York, Apatow aspired to become a professional comedian
at an early age. While still in high school, he created a radio show and began
interviewing comedy personalities he admired, including Steve Allen, Howard Stern and
John Candy. Some of his interviewees also included such then-unknowns as Jay Leno,
Jerry Seinfeld and Garry Shandling. Thus inspired, he began performing his own stand-
up routines by the end of his senior year.
Following an appearance on HBO’s Young Comedians Special, Apatow
eventually stopped performing in favor of writing. He wrote for the Grammy Awards, as
well as cable specials for Roseanne and Jim Carrey, before going on to co-create and
executive produce The Ben Stiller Show. Although the critically acclaimed show was
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canceled after only 12 episodes, it brought Apatow an Emmy Award for Outstanding
Individual Achievement in Writing in a Variety or Music Program. Fresh from his
Emmy win, Apatow joined The Larry Sanders Show in 1993 as a writer and consulting
producer, and he would later serve as a co-executive producer and director of an episode
during the show’s final season.
Apatow is perhaps best recognized for his work as a producer and a writer on
some of the most acclaimed television shows. He served as an executive producer of the
critically praised, award-winning series Freaks and Geeks, which debuted in the 1999 -
2000 season. He also wrote and directed several episodes of the series, which, while no
longer on the air, still maintains a following through DVD sales.
Other television credits include consulting producer of the animated series The
Critic and executive producer and creator of the series Undeclared.
Wanting to head to the big screen, Apatow made his feature film directorial debut
on the 2005 hit comedy The 40-Year-Old Virgin, which he also co-wrote with the film’s
star, Steve Carell, for Universal Pictures. The film opened No. 1 and spent two weeks in
the top perch before proceeding to gross more than $175 million globally.
The film garnered numerous awards and nominations including being named one
of AFI’s 10 Most Outstanding Motion Pictures of the Year, and it took home Best
Comedy Movie at the 11th annual Critics’ Choice Awards. The film also earned Apatow
a nomination for Best Original Screenplay from the Writers Guild of America and
received four MTV Movie Award nominations, including a win for Carell for Best
Comedic Performance.
In 2006, teaming with Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, Apatow produced the hit
feature comedy Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, which earned close to
$150 million domestically and co-stars Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly and Sacha Baron
Cohen.
Not one to relax, in 2007, Apatow released Universal Pictures’ Knocked Up, his
directorial follow-up to The 40-Year-Old Virgin, which Apatow also wrote and produced.
Knocked Up grossed more than $200 million internationally and was named one of AFI’s
10 Most Outstanding Pictures of the Year and nominated for Best Original Screenplay by
the Writers Guild of America.
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Next, Apatow produced Superbad, starring Jonah Hill and Michael Cera: a story
centering around two co-dependent high-school seniors (Hill and Cera) who are forced to
deal with separation anxiety after their plan to stage a booze-soaked party goes awry. The
film grossed more than $120 million domestically for Sony Pictures.
Other film credits for Apatow include producing The Cable Guy, Anchorman: The
Legend of Ron Burgundy, executive producing Kicking & Screaming, co-writing Fun
With Dick and Jane and producing and co-writing Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story,
which was nominated for two Golden Globes: Best Original Song – Motion Picture and
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy (John C. Reilly).
CLAYTON TOWNSEND (Produced by) has enjoyed a successful association
with director/producer/writer Judd Apatow, having produced the hit comedies Knocked
Up and The 40-Year-Old Virgin with the filmmaker. He also worked alongside Apatow
on Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story and Year One.
As a much-in-demand producer, he shared a longtime association with acclaimed
director Oliver Stone that spanned nearly 12 years. He produced Stone’s Any Given
Sunday, Nixon, Natural Born Killers and U Turn, co-produced JFK and Heaven & Earth
and associate produced The Doors, Talk Radio and Born on the Fourth of July.
Townsend began his career in many film production capacities, including location
manager (Alan Parker’s Angel Heart) and production manager (Three Men and a Baby,
Jacob’s Ladder), before becoming a producer on such films as The Blackout and Where’s
Marlowe?
He also executive produced the films The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, The
Skeleton Key, Bad Company and Heartbreakers.
BARRY MENDEL (Produced by) is a two-time Oscar®-nominated producer.
The first film he produced was Rushmore, directed by Wes Anderson. This was followed
by The Sixth Sense, directed by M. Night Shyamalan, which was nominated for six
Academy Awards® including Best Picture. Subsequently, he produced its follow-up,
Unbreakable, then went back to work with Wes Anderson on the The Royal Tenenbaums,
which was nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Original Screenplay. This
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collaboration continued on The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, which was followed by
Joss Whedon’s directorial debut, Serenity.
Mendel next produced Munich, directed by Steven Spielberg, which was
nominated for five Academy Awards® including Best Picture. He then went back to
work with Shyamalan, producing the box-office hit The Happening.
Most recently, Mendel produced Michael Lander’s debut film Peacock and Whip
It, Drew Barrymore’s debut as a feature director, both currently in postproduction.
Mendel lives in Pasadena, California.
EVAN GOLDBERG (Executive Producer) grew up with his longtime writing
partner Seth Rogen on the open plains of the Canadian tundra, where they wrote their
first screenplay when they were 13. After moving to Los Angeles, Goldberg became a
writer on the final season of Sacha Baron Cohen’s cult hit Da Ali G Show.
Under the direction of Judd Apatow, Goldberg executive produced Knocked Up,
alongside Rogen. Goldberg and Rogen executive produced their first screenplay,
Superbad, and recently released Pineapple Express, in which Rogen also starred. The
duo is currently working on their next feature, The Green Hornet.
JACK GIARRAPUTO (Executive Producer) is one of Hollywood’s most
successful producers. His films have grossed more than $2 billion domestically and
nearly $3 billion worldwide, with 11 films topping the $100-million mark domestically,
including Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Bedtime Stories, You Don’t Mess With the Zohan, I Now
Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, Click, The Longest Yard, 50 First Dates, Anger
Management, Mr. Deeds, Big Daddy and The Waterboy.
JANUSZ KAMINSKI (Director of Photography), a two-time Academy Award®
winner, took home his first Oscar® for his black-and-white cinematography on Steven
Spielberg’s Schindler’s List. For his work on that film, Kaminski was also honored with
a BAFTA and numerous critics’ awards, including the Los Angeles Film Critics
Association and New York Film Critics Circle awards for Best Cinematography. He won
his second Academy Award® for his work on Spielberg’s World War II drama Saving
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Private Ryan. In addition, Kaminski received his third Best Cinematography Oscar®
nomination for Spielberg’s Amistad and a fourth in 2007 for Julian Schnabel’s The
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, for which he won the Technical Grand Prize at the 2007
Cannes International Film Festival, as well as Film Independent’s Spirit Award for Best
Cinematography in 2008.
Most recently, Kaminski collaborated with Spielberg on the action-adventure
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the ’60s-era dramatic comedy Catch
Me If You Can, the futuristic thriller Minority Report, The Terminal and the politically
charged Munich. He also served as the director of photography on the Spielberg-directed
films A.I.: Artificial Intelligence and The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Kaminski’s other
film credits as director of photography include The Adventures of Huck Finn, How to
Make an American Quilt, Cameron Crowe’s Jerry Maguire and Kathryn Bigelow’s
Mission Zero.
A native of Poland, Kaminski came to the United States in 1981. He studied
cinematography at Columbia College in Chicago, receiving his BA in 1987. After
graduating, he relocated to Los Angeles to become a cinematography fellow at the
prestigious American Film Institute and began his professional career on the feature
Fallen Angel. Kaminski also lensed two television projects: the Amblin Entertainment
production Class of ’61 and the acclaimed cable movie Wildflower, directed by Diane
Keaton. In 2000, Kaminski made his feature-film directorial debut with the thriller Lost
Souls, which starred Winona Ryder, Ben Chaplin and John Hurt. He has since also
directed the Polish drama Hania, about a young married couple who invite a young boy
from an orphanage into their home for the Christmas holiday.
JEFFERSON SAGE’s (Production Designer) previous credits include Jake
Kasdan’s films Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story and The TV Set, and Harold Ramis’
comedy Year One. In addition, Sage designed Judd Apatow’s hit comedy Knocked Up.
For television, Sage was the production designer on Apatow’s two series’ Freaks
and Geeks and Undeclared, and, more recently, on Larry Wilmore’s The Bernie Mac
Show.
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As art director, Sage’s credits include Analyze This, Donnie Brasco, Mississippi
Masala, Blink, One True Thing and Roommates.
Sage has a degree in theater arts from the College of William & Mary and
continued his studies at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, earning an
MFA degree in set and lighting design for the stage. Sage started his career as a designer
and assistant designer in stage, opera, ballet, commercials and industrials, before moving
into television and feature film work.
He currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife and daughter.
BRENT WHITE (Edited by) recently worked with writer/director/producer Judd
Apatow on Step Brothers, Knocked Up, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Anchorman: The
Legend of Ron Burgundy and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, as well as on
the television productions Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared.
White began his career as an editor for the Sundance Institute’s summer lab
program and has assisted on such films as The Milagro Beanfield War, Glory, Fluke and
Home for the Holidays. His other film credits as editor include A River Runs Through It,
And the Band Played On, Matilda, Wildflowers, Panic, The Slaughter Rule and the
television series Desperate Housewives.
White received an Emmy Award nomination for his work as part of the editing
team for the 2002 Academy Awards®. His other television credits as an editor include
such long-form projects as Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years, Dean
Koontz’s Mr. Murder, The Patron Saint of Liars and Critical Choices.
CRAIG ALPERT (Edited by) previously worked with Judd Apatow on the hit
films Knocked Up, Pineapple Express and The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Alpert also edited
Yes Man, which starred Jim Carrey, and Borat, which starred Sacha Baron Cohen. He
served as an additional editor on Jay Roach’s Meet the Fockers.
Alpert got his start as an assistant editor on such films as Toy Story 2, The Matrix
Reloaded and Austin Powers in Goldmember. In 2007, Alpert was selected by The
Hollywood Reporter as one of three film editors spotlighted in its “Next Generation:
Crafts” special issue.
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NANCY STEINER (Costume Designer) has worked extensively in film, music
videos, commercials and print.
Her film credits include Little Miss Sunshine, The Virgin Suicides, Lost in
Translation, Elizabethtown, Shopgirl, The Good Girl, Year of the Dog, Human Nature,
The Million Dollar Hotel, Safe and The Winner. Most recently, Steiner worked on
director Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones and director Miguel Arteta’s Youth in Revolt.
In 2005, Premiere magazine honored Steiner for her illustrious film career and she was
also nominated for the Excellence in Contemporary Film award by the Costume
Designers Guild Awards in both 2005 and 2006.
Steiner began her styling career in the world of music videos. Throughout the
years, she has worked closely with many of the industry’s top artists such as Nirvana,
Stone Temple Pilots, No Doubt, David Bowie, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Rolling
Stones, Sheryl Crow, R.E.M., Björk, Air, The Smashing Pumpkins, Fatboy Slim and Foo
Fighters.
In 2004, Steiner garnered the award for Excellence in Commercial Costume
Design at the Costume Designers Guild Awards for her work on the “Bacardi & Cola”
campaign. Her work in commercial advertising includes Levi Strauss & Co., Gap, Nike,
Volkswagen, HSBC, T-Mobile, MasterCard, Sprint, Intel, EarthLink, Dell, Volvo,
Bacardi, Puma, Lincoln, Pepsi and MillerCoors, to name just a few.
Steiner’s work has also been featured in such notable magazines as Vanity Fair,
Marie Claire, Interview, Allure, Us, The Face and Rolling Stone. She has collaborated
with celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Cameron Diaz, Milla Jovovich, Sheryl Crow,
Sandra Bullock, Sade, Tom Hanks, R.E.M. and No Doubt.
BETSY HEIMANN (Costume Designer) has worked on some of the most
acclaimed films of the past decade, including Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction and
Reservoir Dogs and Cameron Crowe’s Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous and Vanilla Sky.
The Chicago native is also a favorite of Brett Ratner, having collaborated with him on
Red Dragon and The Family Man.
Heimann also designed the wardrobes for Steven Soderbergh’s Out of Sight,
which starred George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez, as well as the television series Karen
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Sisco, which was produced by Danny DeVito and starred Carla Gugino. Most recently,
Heimann designed the wardrobe for Terry Zwigoff’s Art School Confidential, which
starred John Malkovich, and Uma Thurman’s costumes in Be Cool.
JONATHAN KARP (Music Supervisor) has been working in film music for 15
years. As a long-time music editor, he decided that combining the field of music
supervision along with music editing would allow an even more immersive and creative
experience on each project.
Karp first worked with Judd Apatow in 1999 on the television series Freaks and
Geeks and worked on Apatow’s directing debut The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Other Apatow
productions include Knocked Up, Superbad, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Pineapple
Express and the upcoming Get Him to the Greek.
Some of the other projects that he has recently been involved with are Yes Man,
Step Brothers, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, The Break-
Up, The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, I Heart Huckabees, Starsky & Hutch, Punch-
Drunk Love, Old School, Magnolia and Zoolander.
In addition to his roles as music supervisor and music editor, Karp produced the
soundtracks to Yes Man, Pineapple Express, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Superbad and
co-produced the I Heart Huckabees soundtrack with composer Jon Brion. Recently,
Karp restored and mixed the final recordings of Marc Bolan for “The Final Cuts,” which
was released in the U.K. and Europe.
MICHAEL ANDREWS (Music by) first worked with Judd Apatow when he
scored the Freaks and Geeks television series in 2000. Since then, he has continued
working in the Apatow creative family; most recently, writing, performing and producing
all the music for director Jake Kasdan’s Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. Andrews’
gift for striking the delicate balance between humor and drama can also be heard on the
soundtracks for Donnie Darko, Me and You and Everyone We Know and the upcoming
untitled Duplass brothers film, starring John C. Reilly and Marisa Tomei.
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Andrews’ talents have also been employed as a producer for the music of Inara
George, Metric, Gary Jules and many others. He received rave reviews for his own 2006
solo album “Hand on String.”
Andrews continues to record and perform in The Greyboy Allstars under his
pseudonym Elgin Park.
—funny people—
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