The man behind Bridesmaids talks women in comedy and film - and it makes for very interesting reading
From Bridesmaids to Anchorman, the list of Judd Apatow movies that we're fans of, is a lengthy one - and don’t forget he produces Girls, too - but the producer has now come out in praise of women in film... And we're all for it.
Speaking in an interview with Vulture, Judd spoke about how on-demand TV services like Netflix have created loads more opportunities for women’s voices to be heard in film, plus he’s got tonnes of praise for breakout comedians like Amy Schumer and Lena Dunham.
“Now we get to see the work of a lot of brilliant people, because they can't fill all these channels with just white dudes,” Judd said.
“And thank god. Hopefully, as a result of that, there are an enormous amount of women in college right now who realize they can direct movies, write movies, and produce art.
He continued: “Whatever they want to do, they can do, because they have people like Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Lena Dunham, Mindy Kaling, and Amy Schumer and can realise this is possible. I don't think there were as many of those people to look up to in the past.”
He also revealed that he’s always wanted to write about women, which he’s been doing increasingly – despite earlier films being more dominated by men.
“Anyone who's watched my earlier movies knows that the joke was about what idiots the guys were and how they needed to stop being idiots. I couldn't start the movie with mature men — then there's no story and it's not funny.
“I always wanted to write complicated, flawed women,” he added.
And true to his word, Judd’s now behind the much-hyped Trainwreck, which is out on August 14 and is darn amazing. It was written by and stars Amy Schumer and tells the story of a commitment-phobic twenty-something who finally meets a nice guy – but starts down a path of self-sabotage, as she doesn’t quite believe that monogamy is still possible.
From our point of view though, we're delighted to see one of Hollywood's big hitters championing women in comedy and film. Nice one, Judd.
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