The Genius of Judd

by Oli Price

Judd Apatow movies
(moviecarpet.com)

If you were to watch any successful comedy film in the last 5 to 10 years, you might spot that one man seems to be involved in nearly all of them: Judd Apatow. He is not often held up among the Luhrmans or Scorceses; however, you are probably very familiar with his work, with films such as Superbad, Knocked Up and The 40 Year Old Virgin on his résumé.

After leaving college, Apatow tried his hand at stand-up comedy, however found that his real talent was in writing material. He began writing jokes for the likes of Gary Shandling and Adam Sandler. He then went on to produce the critically acclaimed cult series Freaks and Geeks which would star many of his future collaborators such as James Franco and Seth Rogen. However Apatow’s big break came in 2002 when he produced and co-wrote the hit comedy Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. Although the film was critically praised and nominated for best original screenplay by The Writer's Guild of America, it did not achieve such commercial success with a disappointing box office result; however, in the following years it would become a cult classic.

Judd Apatow and his work
(socialhype.com)

Apatow cemented his name in Hollywood in 2008 with Knocked Up, which was a commercial hit and a mainstream success. Following Knocked up’s popularity, Apatow produced hit after hit with Pineapple Express, Step Brothers and Bridesmaids being included in his notable works, with Bridesmaids netting approximately $169,000,000 at the box office. Overall, his films have grossed over $1.8 billion and Apatow himself has been awarded with 5 Emmy nominations and 1 win; he was also nominated for a Golden Globe in 2008. In 2007, he was ranked #1 on Entertainment Weekly’s: “The 50 Smartest People in Hollywood”.

We can safely assume that his next two projects Anchorman 2 and This is Forty (a sequel to Knocked up) will both be met with a popular reception as it seems that everything this man touches turns to cinema gold.