Judd Apatow Page 3

Director Judd Apatow, who helmed Trainwreck and The 40-Year-Old Virgin, has hit out at those who’ve criticised the upcoming Ghostbusters reboot. Speaking to Uproxx, the director say that those who bash the female-led reboot are probably the same people who are ‘excited about the Donald Trump candidacy.’

Judd Apatow says Ghostbusters haters are probably Trump supporters.

“I would assume there’s a very large crossover of people who are doubtful Ghostbusters will be great and people excited about the Donald Trump candidacy,” Apatow said. “I would assume they are the exact same people. That movie is made by the great Paul Feig and stars the funniest people on Earth, so I couldn’t be more excited.”

Continue reading: Judd Apatow: 'Haters Of Ghostbusters Reboot Are Probably Trump Supporters'

We know that Lena Dunham is returning to our screens when the fourth season of ‘Girls’ takes its bow on HBO this weekend, but NYC is not the only place she’ll be appearing this year. Entertainment Weekly has revealed that she’ll also be seen in Springfield when she makes a guest appearance on ‘The Simpsons’.

The 28 year old actress and writer won’t be appearing as herself, or her ‘Girls’ character Hannah, however. She’ll be voicing a pharmacist called Candace who becomes romantically linked with Homer when he becomes diagnosed with narcolepsy, which makes him continually fall asleep.

Lena Dunham will be a guest star on 'The Simpsons' later this year

Continue reading: Lena Dunham To Guest Star In 'The Simpsons'

Netflix has ordered two seasons of Judd Apatow's romance-comedy series 'Love', as it ramps up its original programming. The show will make its bow in 2016 and will be licensed globally for 20 episodes in total.

Judd Apatow is heading to Netflix!

It stars Paul Rust (Inglorious Basterds) and Gillian Jacobs (Community, Walk of Shame) as a couple of navigate the exhilaration and humiliations of intimacy and commitment. 

Continue reading: Netflix Bets Big On Judd Apatow's 'Unflinching' Comedy 'Love'

With his new film Neighbors (titled Bad Neighbours internationally), filmmaker Nicholas Stoller is taking on Judd Apatow for the adult-comedy title. He has previous experience in the genre, from Forgetting Sarah Marshall to The Five-year Engagement, but this time he's actually teamed up with Apatow protege Seth Rogen, who stars and produces with his filmmaking partner Evan Goldberg.

Even more notable is the fact that Neighbors is brisk and smart, gleefully rude and also warmly dramatic without ever getting sentimental. Which is a striking contrast to Apatow's more indulgent, overlong style of filmmaking (see This Is 40 or Funny People).

Continue reading: Nicholas Stoller Looks To Take Judd Apatow's Comedy Crown With 'Neighbors'

If there is one thing you don't do, it's ask those involved with Girls about the show's nudity. Apparently.

Lena Dunham at HBO's after-Emmy party

Producers from the show were taking questions on Thursday (January 9) at the Television Critics Association, when a reporter asked a question they found offensive.

Continue reading: 'Girls' Producers Freak Out When Asked Why They Need So Much Nudity

Girls is coming back to HBO in the new year and to celebrate that fact an all-new trailer for the upcoming third season has been released. The new season will pick up where we last left Hannah (Lena Dunham) and her circle of friends - played by Allison Williams, Jemima Kirke, Zosia Mamet, Adam Driver and Alex Karpovsky - when it returns on 12 January, 2014.

The Girls girls have already found success with the series

It actually looks as though things are looking up for Hannah in the third season, having meetings with publishers and potentially making strides in her career at last. In the trailer, Hannah, Marnie (Williams), Shoshana (Mamet) and Jessa (Kirke) are each contemplating just how far they've come -or rather how far they haven't come- in the years since they graduated college. Nevertheless, it does seem as though things are finally starting to look up for the group, Hannah in particular.

Continue reading: 'Girls' Season 3 Trailer Emerges Online As Air Date Draws Closer

Sacha Baron Cohen not only left the Beverly Hilton with the highest honour awarded for comedy by the BAFTA-LA ‘s annual Britannia Awards, but also left with the audience either still in shock or holding on to their sides with laughter following an inspired practical joke. Los Angeles' British alliance was out in force for the Saturday (9 Nov.) night ceremony, and there were even a few non-Brit Hollywood heavyweights doing their best to pretent to be from the other side of the Atlantic for the awards show.

Sacha Baron Cohen flanked by his wife Isla Fisher [R] and Salma Hayek [L]

Airing on BBC America on Sunday (10 Nov.) night, host Rob Brydon had the job of handling the more raucous than usual crowd, which had plenty to do with Cohen's stunt. It began when Salma Hayek came on stage with an elderly woman to present the Charlie Chaplin Britannia Award For Excellence In Comedy award. Confined to a wheelchair, she was identified as Grace Collington, an actress she said appeared with Charlie Chaplin in 1931′s City Lights when she was just 5-years-old. She very believably told the audience, “At 87, she’s the oldest surviving actor to have worked with Chaplin in a silent movie,” at which point Cohen climbed to the stage to accept the honour. The elderly woman presented Cohen with one of Chaplin's trademark canes, at which point Cohen pushed her from the stage and began his acceptance speech as 'Collington' lied motionless on the ground.

Continue reading: Sacha Baron Cohen's Hilarious Stunt Steals The Show At BAFTA-LA Britannia Awards

The Anchorman 2 trailer - a new full-length offering - is the talk of the internet and we're gonna go ahead and join the discussion. It seems Adam McKay and Will Ferrell have carved out a nice little angle for the new movie, set in a world where glorified and sexualized round-the-clock news is taking over from traditional, serious forms of journalism.

Paul Rudd [L] and Will Ferrell [R] Smoke Crack, Live On Air

In a bid to pull in the ratings, Ron Burgundy and his team of San Diego anchors Brian Fantana, Brick Tamland and Champ Kid are taking things to the extreme. They're smoking crack live on TV to be precise. The sub-plot here is that Ron is fighting his own battle against his wife and rival Veronica, who is rooted in the traditional accepted forms of journalism.  

Continue reading: Anchorman 2 Trailer: Gays, Vampires And Plenty O' Crack Smoking [Trailer + Pictures]

A documentary addressing the life of famed late poet, J. D. Salinger, entitled Salinger has been released in the US. The feature-length, Shane Salerno-directed piece depicts the author's life through interviews, clips, photographs and his novels and also addresses the reasons why Salinger effectively went into hiding.

Salinger: Dissecting The Life Of The Author You May Know Little About.

Jerome David Salinger, AKA Jerry, found unbridled success with his 1951 story of adolescence, The Catcher In The Rye as well as 1961's Franny and Zooey. However, he chose not to publish any more work after 1965 and led an embattled life as he struggled with the publicity his novels garnered, perpetuated further by his notoriously prickly disposition and dislike of attention.

Continue reading: 'Salinger' Documentary Puts Reclusive Author's Life Under Magnifying Glass [Trailer + Pictures]

With his latest album coming out only weeks ago, Jay Z continued to put his creative streak to use in the following weeks and took-up a six hour slot at the Pace Gallery to stage a special 'performance piece.' The cross-over into the art world was met with criticism from both the art community and the hip hop community who shouted "Judas" at the individuals involved in the performance, but amidst this controversy those of us unconcerned with the fallout have been treated to a look at the project with a host of clips documenting the show.

The performance didn't make any Illuminati references, we think

One video is a preview of the HBO one-off documenting the recent instalment at Pace Gallery in which Jay discusses concept of the show with it's director Mark Romanek. The performance, based on Marina Abramovic's 'The Artist Is Present' exhibit, drew in a star-studded audience including script-writer Judd Apatow, rapper Wale, cast members from the show Girls, including Adam Driver, as well as actor Alan Cumming and more, although it is Abramovic herself who spends the most time with Jay in the one-on-one piece.

Continue reading: Jay Z Hopes To Combine The Worlds Of Hip Hop & Art With 'Picasso Baby' Video [Video]

The multi-million selling rapper Jay-Z aimed to combine and rap and modern art this week, performing his new track 'Picasso Baby' for six consecutive hours at Chelsea's Pace Gallery in New York. Confused? Well, the lengthy 'secret' performance was used both to shoot Hova's new video and to promote his new album 'Magna Carta Holy Grail.'

Though the performance was kept hush-hush, it didn't take invited guests long to post videos and pictures to Vine, Instagram and Twitter. According to the New York Post's report, Jay-Z was entertaining the likes of, "Judd Apatow, Adam Driver, Cynthia Rowley, George Condo and others" reportedly "serenading Alan Cumming, and dancing around Marina Abramovic, Performa founder RoseLee Goldberg and even a woman on a scooter with her leg in a cast."

The marathon performance, shot by film director Mark Romanek, centred on the rapper's arty track 'Picasso Baby,' which includes the lyrics, "I just want a Picasso, in my casa . . . I wanna Rothko, no I wanna brothel," as well as referencing "Jeff Koons balloons" and "[George] Condos in my condos."

Watch Jay-Z performing 'Picasso Baby':

Continue reading: But Is It Art? Jay-Z Plays 'Picasso Baby' For Six Hours At New York Gallery

Twitter is spreading its wings into the world of comedy and launching its own comedy festival played out in just 140 characters and six-second videos. Twitter is teaming up with Comedy Central for the 'ComedyFest' event, set to debut on April 29, 2013. Comedians will tweet jokes and post videos with the recently launched video app Vine over five days.

The launch of the festival is expected to be officially announced later on Monday (April 22, 2013), with big names such as Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Amy Schumer and director Paul Feig all thought to be taking part. Twitter introduced Vine in January - a video sharing service that lets users post six-second clips that matches the brevity of the social network's word limit.

On the Tuesday of the festival, comedian Steve Agee will host a 'Vine Dining' party, telling stories in six-second videos, while the cast of satirical political comedy 'Veep' will share 'Vines' from the set, as will the cast of ABC's hit show 'Scandal'. 

Continue reading: #Funny: Twitter Launches Comedy Festival Featuring Mel Brooks

Being Valentine's Day week, cinemas are flooded with romantic movies like the new teen franchise-launcher Beautiful Creatures. US audiences can also weep their way through the new Nicholas Sparks drama Safe Haven, while in the UK couples instead can laugh at Judd Apatow's epic rom-com This Is 40 and the clunky British farce Run For Your Wife. And for alternative viewing, there's the ultimate date movie A Good Day to Die Hard, Bruce Willis' fifth instalment in the crashing, exploding franchise.

And this kind of action dominates the week's new selection of trailers, starting with the very explosive-looking Olympus Has Fallen, starring Gerard Butler as a Secret Service agent trying to retake the White House after a terrorist invasion. The muscly cast includes Morgan Freeman, Aaron Eckhart, Angela Bassett and Melissa Leo. It opens in March.

Continue reading: A Week In Movies: Beautiful Creatures Opens, Tom Cruise Visits A Post-apocalyptic Earth And Billy Crystal And John Goodman Reunite In Monsters University

It's box office takings currently stand at over $71 million, and now 'This Is 40' is set to test itself on the UK market, with the film out on general release today (February 14, 2013). The sequel to the film Knocked Up, This Is 40 once again stars Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann, the couple now getting used to hitting the big 40 and dealing with their work and kids, Sadie and Charlotte.

The film's success domestically was despite a hit and miss run of reviews from American critics, and if it's to have an impact on the UK it looks like it's going to have to overcome a similar wave of non-consensus. On the one hand you have The Guardian writing "This is terrifically assured work from Judd Apatow. And most importantly, funny". Then there's Digital Spy, who write "Apatow adopts a leisurely pace, but this is a story about middle-age after all and when characters are this much fun, you won't be watching the time go by."

Yet on the other hand there's a few big hitting negative reviews. "Middle-aged, middle-class and, if we're frank, a little middling and 'medium soft', the uneven This Is 40 indulges its flabby excess of subplots, but is redeemed by some genuine belly laughs" comments Film4. The Daily Telegraph is equally dismissive, writing "Every scene feels like an airbrushed composite of dozens of rambling takes, and 133 minutes is drainingly long for a story this sitcom-slight." So is it going to be a success? If the critics are anything to go by . who knows. 

Continue reading: Over $71 Million At The Box Office So Far, But Will 'This Is 40' Add To Its Total In The UK?

Megan Fox's son made his first public appearance during his mother and father's recent trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Dad Brian Austin Green kindly offered up a glimpse of baby Noah from the balcony of the couple's hotel room, with the 4-month-old tot appearing to bare the same pouty lips as his famous mother.

In another snap from South America, Fox, 26, looked to have lost the entirety of her baby weight, donning a short floral spring dress and red designer heels. The married couple of two and a half years visited a Samba School in Sao Paulo and watched while locals performed a demonstration of the famous "capoeira dance." Fox - who recently appeared in Judd Apatow's This Is 40 - has been pretty open with the media about the transformative effect of first-time motherhood. "The whole thing has been overwhelming because I didn't realize you could love something so much, and I know people always say that but I love him so much it hurts," Fox said in December, according to US Weekly magazine, "and it's an interesting feeling to have because I never felt that before.He's getting to that place where he's smiling and he's almost ready to laugh, and I can't wait for that baby laugh that almost makes you feel like you can fly, like your heart's going to explode."

Fans of the Transformers actress will have to wait patiently for her next movie - she's got a completely free schedule for the year ahead. 

Continue reading: Megan Fox's Son Noah Says Hello From Rio De Janeiro, Brazil!

Brainchild of Lena Dunham, Girls has been acquired by HBO for a third season, and maybe even a fourth, fifth and sixth season, given that Dunham revealed to Alec Baldwin that she had signed a 6 year contract with the mega-network.

Having just won two Golden Globe awards, it's unsurprising that HBO has been clamouring to keep the tidy little money maker on its books. "I'm so excited [for the third season]," she told Baldwin. "You know, it's not clear. I mean HBO contractually has me I think as an actor for six years but as a writer and director -- I should pay more attention to my deals, but I'm just so excited to have my job, I just go, 'Okay, whatever you say.'" Dunham also signed a $3.5m publishing contract last year with Random House for a book of a collection of her essays, titled Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She's Learned.

Judd Appatow will continue to be on board as producer for the third season. He's the guy behind Anchorman, Superbad and Forgetting Sarah Marshall, creating a niche and style of comedy movie for himself. He's also the man Bridesmaids, a comedy about and starring girls, which probably was good experience for producing a show named right after that gender. 

Continue reading: HBO Acquires Girls Season Three, Lena Dunham Has 6 Year Contract

Megan Fox, the American actress and star of the Transformers movies, recently began the process of removing a tattoo of Marilyn Monroe on her arm because she doesn't want to emulate the lifestyle of the iconic blonde bombshell. "I started reading about her and realized that her life was incredibly difficult," she explained to Esquire magazine. "It's like when you visualize something for your future. I didn't want to visualize something so negative."

Fox compared Monroe to Lindsay Lohan, suggesting neither actress was reliable. "She wasn't powerful at the time. She was sort of like Lindsay (Lohan). She was an actress who wasn't reliable, who almost wasn't insurable ... She had all the potential in the world, and it was squandered," she explained. The actress - who recently welcomed her first child with husband Brian Austin Green - has an altogether quieter life planned for her herself. "I can't stand pills," she said, adding, "I don't like drinking. I don't like feeling out of control. You have to understand, there I feel safe. I was raised to believe that you're safe in God's hands. But I don't feel safe with myself." Fox - who recently starred in Judd Apatow's This Is 40 - says she admires a different type of Hollywood icon, The Killers actress Eva Garner. "She had power. She was a broad. She got what she wanted and said what she needed," said Fox.

Fox has no movies projects scheduled for the year ahead, and is expected to spend time with her new-born daughter. 

Continue reading: Megan Fox: I Don't Drink, I Don't Do Pills, I'm Safest In God's Hands

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is riding high in the US box office charts (way higher than its nearest competitor, Rise of the Guardians) this week and it’s unlikely that will change, though there are at least two releases this weekend that have been causing a stir. Tom Cruise stars in Jack Reacher – the adaptation of the Lee Child novel and This Is 40, the new comedy from Judd Apatow; a sequel to the popular comedy Knocked Up.

Some fans of Lee Child’s novels questioned the decision to cast Tom Cruise in the title role of Jack Reacher. He was, after all, originally on board as a producer only but after reading the script, it seems, he decided he’d like to have a go at starring in the movie too. It looks as though the gamble has just about paid off, as long as you enter the movie theatre with the understanding that what you are about to see is very much A Tom Cruise Movie, with Tom Cruise in standard Tom Cruise “cool and calculating” mode, as described by Betsy Sharkey of Los Angeles Times.

So far, the reviews are just about erring on the side of positive, with an aggregate of 63% on Rotten Tomatoes. Let’s face it, Tom Cruise’s rep has hardly had an easy ride this year and this is hardly challenging new ground for the Mission Impossible star, who has frequented many a steely action thriller of late. However, many reviewers have surmised that really, it’s Cruise that makes this movie. “This is Cruise’s show. And he nails it,” says Peter Travers of Rolling Stone. One for the Cruise fans, then. Wherever you are.

Continue reading: Hot Tickets! US Movie Releases: Will Tom Cruise Make Or Break 'Jack Reacher'? Is 'This Is 40' As Good As 'Knocked Up'?

It's official, this time next year the sequel to 2004's Anchorman will be in cinemas! It's kind of a big deal.

Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, David Koechner and the rest of the Chanel Four News Team will be reunited once again for the sequel to the much-loved comedy, with writer Adam McKay delighting fans with the news that "It's official. Anchorman 2 has a release date: December 20, 2013," on his Twitter today (Dec 20).

Producer Judd Apatow, who produced the original film and is also signed on to produced the upcoming sequel, further cemented the news into just about everybody's conscious, writing on his Twitter, "One year from tomorrow Anchorman 2 will be in theaters!! It is kind of a big deal."

Continue reading: Great Odin's Raven! Anchorman 2 Release Details Announced!

Judd Apatow returns with his new movie This Is 40 this week, a comedy about the trials of marriage, parenthood and being middle aged and is billed as a 'sort of sequel' to 2007's Knocked Up. The director - who once again teams up with Paul Rudd - discussed the origins of the film with the Los Angeles Times.

"I wasn't thinking about making a sequel," Apatow explained, "I just wanted to do a movie about this age and this time of life, so I started making notes about it. And I was thinking about different actors and actresses who could be in it. And then in the middle of the night I just thought, 'I think I'm writing the sequel to Knocked Up, and it should be Pete and Debbie, and Maude and Iris.' Suddenly it made sense." Knocked Up was a runaway hit, scoring both critical acclaim and commercial success. Though it focused mainly on the relationship between Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl's characters, Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann were perhaps the most believable characters. "When I'm writing and when we rehearse, Paul and I will sit with Leslie and [Paul's] wife, Julie, and we'll have the 'What is annoying you about each other?" Apatow said of writing the new film, "and a lot of that makes its way into the movie. So I see it more as a bizarre Frankenstein monster of my worst traits and Paul's worst traits, and then Leslie has to deal with that."

'This Is 40' hits theaters in the U.S. on Friday (December 21, 2012).  

Continue reading: Is 'This Is 40' Really A Sequel To 'Knocked Up'?

The name 'Judd Appatow' probably rings a bell, but without clear recognition of who he is. We guarrantee that he's partly responsible for one of your favourite contemporary comedy movies, having been involved as either a director, writer or producer for The Cable Guy, Anchor Man, Knocked Up, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Superbad, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Pineapple Express, Don't Mess With the Zohan and Bridesmaids. To name but a few. It's safe to say, this man knows comedy. Which is why it is actually news worthy for him to say that Jim Carrey is the funniest man on the earth, because it kind of means that we have to consider whether Jim Carrey might actually be the funniest man on earth... 

For the latest edition of Vanity Fair, Appatow teamed up with the editorial team for their special comedy issue and wrote: "When I was a stand-up comedian in the late 80s, I used to open for Jim Carrey on the road. I would do my lame act and then he would come on and do the most energetic, inventive, uproarious set I had ever witnessed. I retired from performing as a result. He was and is the funniest man on earth. This is something we can all agree on. We can debate number two forever but Jim will always be the king." 

High praise indeed! And he certainly sounds convincing, but to be honest, we don't actually agree with him. While Appatow is currently working on the Anchor Man sequel and something called 'Can a Song Save Your Life?', Carrey has been working hard on the set for another sequel- Kick Ass 2. As Yahoo reported, he took the cast of the film on a private boat tour of the Thames in England, giving them a hilarious fictional history of England as they travelled- apparently it kept Chloe Moretz, Nicolas Cage and Aaron Taylor-Johnson in stitches.