Hollywood’s full of very funny people, and if you’re Judd Apatow, most of them are just a phone call away. For the writer/director/producer’s latest gig Funny People, about a comedian facing terminal illness, he called upon his old roommate Adam Sandler, his mentee Seth Rogen and his wife Leslie Mann to get the job done.
We met up with Apatow on Hollywood’s Runyon Canyon hiking trail to check out the action and chat with Rogen and his co-stars about the summer flick opening in July.
What’s so funny about terminal illness?
Nothing! But, Funny People is all about the world of comedy so there’s enough humor to balance out the sentimental moments. The film tells the story of big-time comedian George Simmons (Sandler) who finds out he’s suffering from a life-threatening disease. Unsure of his future, George returns to his stand-up roots, befriends a young comic (Rogen) and reconnects with his long-lost love, Laura (Mann). By the time George learns he’s beaten the illness, he’s already seeing the world from a new perspective.
George meets Ira (Rogen) at a comedy club and asks him to write a few jokes for his next show. Soon, a bromance blossoms and Ira’s roommates Leo (Jonah Hill) and Mark (Jason Schwartzman) grow jealous. Not only is their new friendship taking up Ira’s time, but Leo and Mark are also struggling comedians looking for a leg up.
“I wanted to do a life or death story about somebody dealing with a serious illness and the challenges of being sick and the challenges of getting better, but what would make it different is if it takes place in the world of all these strange comedians,” Apatow explained. “So it just seemed odder than your normal tale of struggle and disease. The movie’s a lot about ego and egomania and why do people want people to like them so much.”
Old school meets new school?
“I always wanted to do a mentor movie because a lot of comedians were really good to me when I was starting out but nothing interesting ever happened because everyone was just nice,” Apatow told us. Then it clicked, a mentor in a meltdown! Who could be better than Apatow’s old roomie Sandler. Heck, he even pulled old footage of his pal from back in the day.
Hill remembers listening to Sandler’s comedy albums when he was just 12 years old. “[His records] were hugely inspirational to us when we were young,” he explained. “I’m 24 years old, so when I was like 12 — when I was forming my sense of humor and what I wanted to do — I was listening to those records. Now young kids who are 12 are watching some of our friends’ movies and kind of being into that like we were with Sandler.”
When it comes to mentors, Rogen’s quick to credit Apatow for his showbiz upbringing. The two first met on the set of the television series Freaks and Geeks back in 1999. Since then, the two have collaborated on projects like 40-Year-Old Virgin, Superbad and Knocked Up. “He wasn’t in the same position he is now, by any stretch of the imagination [back when we first met], but in the television world at the time, it was comparable, and he gave me a job and took the time to teach me how to do the job properly.”
KEEP READING: Getting cock-blocked by a terminally ill guy …
[PAGEBREAK] Could this be a case of art imitating life?
Like his character Ira, Rogen knows what it’s like having friends in showbiz. “Me and Martin [Starr] and Jason and all these guys, Jay [Baruchel] and Jonah — we’ve all been friends for years, and we’ve been in direct competition with each other for roles in movies, so I heavily relate to that aspect of it and the desperation of a comic and a person who is trying to find their comedic voice.” Not all friendships can weather the storm he confessed. “There are literally people that I don’t talk to anymore over work-related issues. Not my choice by any means — it happens. When you all have jobs that are really personal … there is no separation of professional life, and your personal life and those things can really effect friendships. The movie gets into all that stuff heavily with me and Jonah’s character in particular.”
The tension in the movie starts with Mark who is by far the most successful of the three friends with his own television show Yo Teach. “That fits in somewhere between Dangerous Minds and The Cable Guy,” Schwartzman said. “I’m a teacher. I teach some kids that have been written off by society, but my heart is too big to let that happen. I want to make sure they’re loved and treated like humans and get an education along the way.” Hill on the other hand is still making his way up the stand-up comedy food chain. “I’m slightly better than Ira. [Ira’s] kind of realizing that he’s getting this writing opportunity and he’s going more in that direction. He’s feeling low because I’m the better comedian, and [Mark] is finding more success with his show so he’s kind of feeling the lowest out of his group of friends. Then he meets George — Adam Sandler’s character.”
The cast takes a hike.
We were on hand to watch the three roommates hiking along Runyon Canyon (a popular trail in Hollywood). Schwartzman went over the scene with us saying, “We’re finding out for the first time that something might be wrong with one of our main characters — Sandler’s character. [Ira] said he wouldn’t tell anybodym then it cuts to him telling us.” First, we watched the guys hike up the hill bantering back and forth (Ira: “He slept with a girl, and then he slept with my girl also.” Mark: “You got cock-blocked by a terminally ill guy?”), then it was time for the guys to move on to a pivotal scene, according to Schwartzman, “We’re smoking some pot and talking about life and death. It kinda puts the whammy on us. [It] makes us feel paranoid and like maybe we shouldn’t be talking about life and death stuff while on drugs.”
MORE: Seth Rogen talks up Observe and Report and Green Hornet
