Prior to meeting up with Apatow at the Los Angeles Premiere of "Fun with Dick and Jane," I had spoken to him a couple of weeks before in a phone interview in support of the DVD release of "The 40 Year Old Virgin." Apatow's a great interviewee, and I'm not just saying that because he said he read my interview and complimented me on it. No... I'm saying it because he actually still seems to be having fun doing what he's doing - even when he's suffering through being asked the same questions over and over and over again.
Judd Apatow Says Nothing About the Original "Fun with Dick and Jane" was Sacred: Apatow was never told he had to include any particular scene in the remake. "They let us play with everything, but I think that we all thought it was funny that they rolled up the lawn. That they lost their money and their lawn was repossessed. And then they had an idea that they would steal big hunks of lawn from everyone in the neighborhood and create this like Frankenstein lawn, just to keep their dignity. I thought that’s a pretty funny idea."
Judd Apatow on Writing "Fun with Dick and Jane" with Jim Carrey in Mind: "When you know that it’s Jim, first of all you can write thinking about him. And I’ve worked with him before so that’s always fun, and you also know that he will execute it better than you wrote it. He’s also going to have a lot of ideas of his own so it becomes a real collaboration with him."
Judd Apatow on Why 2005 was the Right Time to Remake "Fun with Dick and Jane:" "Well I think people thought that due to the Enron scandal and all these corporate scandals, that it’s a good time to do a revenge fantasy about what you wish you could do to all these evil corporate leaders."
Judd Apatow on "The 40 Year Old Virgin" and Top 10 Lists: Being that awards season is in full swing and critics groups are announcing their picks for the best of the year, I asked Apatow what he thinks of "The 40 Year Old Virgin" making it onto Best of the Year lists. Apatow said, "You know, I think it’s about time. It’s about time that a movie where a man urinates in his own face is on the same top 10 list as 'Munich' and 'Syriana.' It’s nice to know that some of the people who vote for these things smoke marijuana (laughing)."
Comedies don't usually stand a chance against heavy, dramatic films. "It’s a very funny, ridiculous idea that it’s easier to cry than it is to make people laugh. I mean, what Steve Carell does in that movie is so difficult to do and is so much harder than most of the work that is considered is very serious and important, but for some reason people don’t give comedians credit for their amazing abilities," explained Apatow.
According to the writer/director, that's not likely to change in the near future. "Nothing will make that change. Every once in a while they throw us a bone."
Judd Apatow Interview Video from the Los Angeles Premiere of "Fun with Dick and Jane" - Play the Video
