Judd Apatow

Producer
Born: 6 December 1967

Judd Apatow is considered one of the most sought-after comedy minds in the business and has been closely associated with many of the biggest comedy films in recent years. He is currently producing movies from directors Nicholas Stoller (Five-Year Engagement), Lena Dunham (Girls) and David Wain (Wanderlust) and has begun work on an untitled Pee-Wee Herman project. Born in Syosset, New York, Apatow aspired to become a professional comedian at an early age. 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, which 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 later served as a co-executive producer and director of an episode during the show’s final season.

Apatow 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. His other television credits include consulting producer of the animated series The Critic and executive producer and creator of the series Undeclared.

Apatow made his feature directorial debut in 2005 with the comedy hit The 40- Year-Old Virgin, which he also co-wrote with the film’s star, Steve Carell, for Universal. The film opened at No. 1 and grossed more than $175 million globally. The comedy garnered numerous awards and nominations, including being named one of AFI’s Movies of the Year, and it took home Best Comedy Movie at the 11th annual Critics’ Choice Awards. The 40-Year-Old Virgin 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 2007, Apatow released Universal’s Knocked Up, his directorial follow-up to The 40-Year-Old Virgin, which he also wrote and produced. Knocked Up grossed more than $200 million internationally, and it was named one of AFI’s Movies of the Year and nominated for Best Original Screenplay by the Writers Guild of America. Immediately following, Apatow produced the hit comedy Superbad, starring Jonah Hill and Michael Cera, for Sony Pictures.

Three major successes followed in 2008, beginning with Universal’s Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which Apatow produced with Shauna Robertson. Directed by Nicholas Stoller and written by Jason Segel, the romantic disaster comedy starred Segel, Jonah Hill, Mila Kunis and Russell Brand. Apatow followed by producing Sony’s actioncomedy 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, opened at No. 1 at the box office. Other Apatow projects released in 2008 were the comedy smash You Don’t Mess With the Zohan, which Apatow co-wrote with Sandler and Robert Smigel.

In 2009, he wrote, directed and produced Universal’s Funny People, a film that starred Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen and Leslie Mann. In 2010, Apatow produced Universal’s hit comedy Get Him to the Greek, starring Russell Brand and Jonah Hill. Other film credits for Apatow include producing The Cable Guy, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and Year One; 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: for Best Original Song Motion Picture and Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (for John C. Reilly).

Filmography Judd Apatow

Bridesmaids by Paul Feig – 2011

Judd Apatow, 3.0 out of 5 based on 1 rating