March 14th, 2012
12:45 PM ET
Judd Apatow ventures into female comedy againJudd Apatow knows that women have always been funny. But the filmmaker says that after producing “Bridesmaids," he still hears lots of chatter about this being the age of the funny ladies. The thought seems to amuse him. “It is kind of silly, I thought this was the country of Lucille Ball,” Apatow told CNN at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas. “To me, I’ve never understood why there is any question about are women as funny as men.”
Apatow pointed to what he believes is “a larger issue, which is that in entertainment a lot of men have been bred to be writers, directors and producers, and they tend to lean toward writing what they know about - which is other men." He continued, "I think a lot of studios today are run by women, and we are entering a time when a lot of women have evolved in Second City and Upright Citizens Brigade and wanted to become writers and comedians. So we are seeing that come to fruition.” Apatow, whose career also includes hits like "Superbad" and "The 40 Year Old Virgin," is once again entering the realm of female comedy with the new HBO series “Girls,” which premiered at SXSW. He's producing the show, which follows the lives of four 20-something women trying to make a life for themselves in New York City and the mistakes they make along the way. Apatow said the show’s creator/star/director/executive producer Lena Dunham is “ a very original, unique voice and does speak to young people.” “You know how hard it is to be in your early 20s right now in a tricky economy and a world that’s changing very fast,” Apatow said. “People seem to connect with [Dunham’s character] as the underdog.” Apatow has been keeping busy on the big screen as well with the forthcoming comedy "The Five Year Engagement," starring Jason Segel and Emily Blunt. Apatow knows it's not the film some fans might want to hear him say is being released. "It comes out at the end of April," he said. "We don't have a sequel to 'Bridesmaids' but we have another great wedding-themed movie."
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Excuse me while i add some movies with "a strong female lead" to me netflix queue
You gotta give Apatow some credit. At least he's making an effort to get women more noticeable out in Hollywood in an industry that seems like would rather cast for example Sylvester Stallone than say Lilly Collins (Phil Collins daughter) of The Blind Side and the upcoming Snow White for a role in a major motion picture.
“It is kind of silly, I thought this was the country of Lucille Ball. To me, I’ve never understood why there is any question about are women as funny as men.” You have to realize that kids raised on reality shows have never heard of Lucy, and they would be unable to watch an episode because "waah it's not in color." Everything is new to them, and they've been taught all their lives that it will be disappointing so they are never actually enthusiastic. History is bunk, the past is dead, and Obama has always been president. Start there and you'll be fine.
women are funny because they don't have penis$s but so many of them are huge DI@KS
I'm not into strap-ons myself, but whatever, dude.
Anyone who doesn't think women are funny should watch them try and pick out a pair of shoes... it's hilarious.
Or watch them pass a mirror and check out the size of their own butt (like it got bigger since the last mirror).
Or listen to a frustrated Mom tell her screaming child to be quiet or get a whack (yeah, hitting them will quiet them down).
Or listen to them explain why Gentlemen's Clubs are degrading, but Chippendales dancers are just innocent fun.
Or hear then tell why they CAN check to see if the toilet lid in down, but NOT the toilet seat, in the dark.
Yeah... women are funny
Try brushing your teeth?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CzLCu0Z46I
Apatow uses the same10 actors/actresses for all of his films....just so unoriginal....
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• “Verizon Raped My Family – Cover Letter”
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Hey Justice... It's FUNNY cuz NO ONE CARES ! ! !
Get a lawyer. If you have a case, sue. If not, forget it and stop letting them dominate your life. You lose as long as they are up your nose this far.
Wow, a comedy about a group of 20-somethings trying to make it in New York? But, here is the twist: the protagonists are all women. How original!
I'm sure Mr. Apatow is a great Director but it doesn't matter how good the director is unless you have great writers. They writers either make or break the show. Bridesmaids was funny because the writers wrote something funny.
Your post makes no sense. Apatow is a writer. He wrote the movies he directed and most of his producing consists of helping shape scripts for screenwriters such as Wiig, Rogen, Goldberg, etc...
"He's producing the show, which follows the lives of four 20-something women trying to make a life for themselves in New York City and the mistakes they make along the way."
Soooo, pretty much, s3x in the city?
Yeah, THAT's original.
Chix or broods .. all the same. Lick 'em, stick 'em & brick 'em.
Blow me.
Judd Apatow needs to stop making movies. His movies are terrible. He's no John Hughes.
What does John Hughes have to do with this? Apatow isn't trying to be John Hughes, his style, humor, and pretty much everything else are totally different from Hughes' ways.
Your comparison makes no sense.
Comparing John Hughes to Apatow is Stupid. The movies they have directed are comedies, but besides that, they are very different. Hughes directed mostly high school movies while Apatow's three movies (and the fourth) deal with the "man child" types that don't want to grow up
Hundreds of millions of people like his work. Your feedback on this issue is, well, irrelevant. Go do something that even 100 people think is great and get back us, will you?
Never call chicks, "broads".
B!tches and ho-es then?
Why not, exactly?
Low IQ, mouth breathing, dip-ess guys who are fresh off a BK dinner are funny to listen to on this board. Calling women broads or worse, like that makes them more manly and strong. No lift kit or exhaust package on your truck will make you one iota brighter or more desirable...move along, now, irrelevant ones.
For the fake nbafan posing as me, you're a joke. Not as big a joke as Adele, but you're on the same path.
Adele's the type of joke that just gets larger by the day.
Adele is a classier broad than you'll ever be! Oh wait, since broad is offensive, I mean to say she is one classy chick!
Looks like I'm talking to myself.
Yeah, there are a lot of 8-time Grammy winners out there that are a "joke". Get real, clown.
For you male-chauvinist writers out there, the Second City offers a class on 'Writing Strong Women'. check it out at secondcity.com/tc
There are no female jokes funnier than the broads that post around these blogs.
And there's nothing s3xier than when a man refers to women as a "broads." Oh yeah, that get's me hot!
What are you, like 125 years old?
Was that a typo? Didn't you mean 12 or 15? That would be more appropriate.
Jill sounds like she needs to get laid in a bad way ....poor frustrated doll face
Oh God! Make him stop!