In the aughts, no one ruled comedy quite like Judd Apatow. His reach influenced the comedic landscape, from producing “Superbad, “Pineapple Express” and “Bridesmaids” to HBO’s landmark series, “Girls.” He was untouchable.
Apatow even turned out to be a more-than-decent director, helming these smartly clever, adult-oriented gut-busters, such as “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up.”
However, this current decade, Apatow has not had the kind of reach and influence he once did. His brand of male-dominated, bro-ish, comedy style hasn’t aged well in the #MeToo era. The result is that his last few directorial efforts, very safe and mundane works, haven’t been that stellar, and it all came crashing down with 2022’s misbegotten “The Bubble.”
Daniel Richtman is now reporting that Apatow will be attempting a comeback. He’s signed on to helm a “time travel romance” for Universal. The film is said to be about a couple going through a divorce who travel back in time to their Hawaiian wedding to convince their younger selves not to get married.
This is very good news for Apatow, especially coming off the recent Puck report which tackled Apatow’s difficulties in getting some of his passion projects greenlit by any of the major studios. Apatow’s last scripted feature was the aforementioned $50 million Netflix bust, “The Bubble.” He’s done some documentary work on the side, but what he’s really itching for is a return in the directing game.
Last fall, Apatow was shopping around an R-rated comedy script that he planned to direct. Zach Galafanakis was set to star as a “quasi-canceled” comedian. The pitch failed, nobody wanted to bite, and that led to Galafanakis leaving the project and Apatow shelving the entire thing.
Studios also passed on another R-rated Apatow comedy; this one was going to star stand-up legend Katt Williams. It was set up as Williams’ breakthrough movie role as an aging comedian. Last year, Apatow told The Playlist that he had written a new script, was shopping it around, and wanted it to be his next directing feature, that is, in his own words, “if they would allow me to make it.”
Apatow is said to have a multi-year deal with Universal. He recently produced the 2022 comedy “Bros” for them; it bombed at the box-office. Meanwhile, he’s also backing Keith and Kenneth Lucas’ semi-autobiographical comedy, which is still in development at the studio.
