Best Influence “Award” - Judd Apatow
Best Influence “Award” Winners - These entities are among the best and most important in the movie business. They surround themselves with talented people. They produce talented people. They challenge themselves. They are serious about great moviemaking. Even better, they are influencing others to get serious about great moviemaking…
Apatow - Never mind the fact that the movies he’s produced and/or directed since 2004’s Anchorman have grossed well over 800 million dollars - NOT including DVD sales and rentals or international boxoffice. Never mind that staggering number. What’s important about Apatow is that he clearly is the catalyst for a major comedy renaissance.
Yes, the formulas are still there - but they’re infused with bizarre non-sensical creativity or characters that actually feel real and have real problems. Or those formulas are just plain lampooned. These are smart movies - even if they seem to be the opposite.
The greatest thing about Apatow - besides the fact that he clearly casts a brilliant eye as director, writer, producer (and even actor from time to time) - is that he is urging his friends to create good material (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Superbad). And then suddenly we have a market filled with higher-quality material. And an audience hungry for that quality.
Imagine The Hangover (a movie he had nothing to do with) trying to succeed without Apatow’s influence. Director Todd Phillips’ Old School (and even Road Trip) certainly have their moments - but The Hangover dips into a way superior bowl of funny.
2009 is actually a slow year for Mr. Apatow…only two flicks:
He’s produced his idol Harold Ramis’ Year One - which looks AWESOME.
And he’s directed what is certain to be his best movie yet - Funny People. I saw a loooooooong rough cut of this several months ago and it was brilliant. Apatow’s biggest flaw probably is his love for his material and his unwillingness to cut anything out. But I tell you - if Apatow cuts the right 45 minutes out of this movie….he’s got a full-out masterpiece on his hands.
This is not a Lifetime Channel movie about a dying dude. This movie seriously, darkly, bitterly funny and the story takes strange turns. And Adam Sandler is friggin’ superb. Not three words you expect to see together - Adam, Sandler, Superb.
This is the Apatow influence.
