The kids wonder if they've made the right choice hiring Owen Wilson as their bodyguard.
You may not know his face, but you know his funny. Much has been made of writer/producer/comedy savant Judd Apatow, who started a comedy revolution a few years ago with Anchorman and The 40-Year Old Virgin that exploded last year with the ginormous success of Knocked Up and Superbad.
This year, Apatow has no fewer than five releases coming out with his name on them. First up is the family comedy Drillbit Taylor, which returns to the time period Apatow plumbed so well in Superbad and the short-lived TV series Freaks and Geeks--high school. In it, three nerdy freshman get more than they bargained for when they hire a bodyguard (Owen Wilson) to protect them from the school bully. (Watch the trailer.) We talked with the super producer about the film, and what makes great comedy.
Fandango.com: In a nutshell, what’s Drillbit Taylor about?
Judd Apatow: Well, the movie’s about a bunch of slightly nerdy kids who are getting bullied during their first day of high school and they realize they need help. So they hire a bodyguard, Drillbit Taylor, who they think is an Army Ranger, Special Ops, but really he’s a homeless con man who is planning on robbing their parents’ houses.
Fandango.com: Of all things, why a homeless guy?
Apatow: That’s a good question…I don’t remember that specific detail, if it was in the original treatment or not. The homeless part might have been in there but I’m so old, information does not hold in the weak sponge that is my brain. I’m as smart as Patrick from Sponge Bob Squarepants at this point.
Fandango.com: Do you have a school bully in your past?
Apatow: I was very small and I was born in December so I was the little kid. I did everything I could to never be bullied, and becoming funny was a defense mechanism. Even now, the only reason why I work in movies is because of a fear that someone’s going to beat the crap out of me if I don’t.
Fandango.com: Where did you get the idea for Drillbit?
Apatow: It came from a treatment that John Hughes wrote. At some point he gave permission to Paramount to let someone else run with it, so I hired Seth Rogen, who wrote Superbad, and Chris Brown, who wrote for my TV show Undeclared and wrote on Beavis and Butthead.
Fandango.com: Did Hughes give you his blessing?
Apatow: He did. He wasn’t involved in any aspect of the making of the movie, but we tried to make a movie in the tradition of the movies that he made that we love so much.
Fandango.com: Why Owen Wilson?
Apatow: I’ve always loved Owen. There’s just something about his personality where he just feels like the older brother who would give you a hard time, and he’s really likable interacting with kids.
Fandango.com:You always get it right on when it comes to casting dorky kids. What’s your secret?
Apatow: I look at a bazillion kids, kids who aren’t even actors, and then see which kids have interesting chemistry. For this movie we picked three kids who had good chemistry with each other, and then we rewrote the entire movie and tailored it to their personalities.
Fandango.com: A lot of it your movies deal with kids that are underdogs. How do you keep it fresh?
Apatow: The best way is to tap into who the actors really are. If it’s all about how we think kids talk, it’s never as good as when you spend a lot of time with the young actors and see how they communicate with each other. That makes it specific and interesting. I’m always trying to avoid people who are acting too much.
Fandango.com: Yeah, it does seem like you could totally hang out with those guys from Superbad and Knocked Up.
Apatow: Well, they all know they can improvise a little bit and be a little sloppy. When we were doing Freaks and Geeks, some of the funniest stuff would happen when they ran out of dialogue, but we would let the camera run and they would trail out and insult each other or say something really funny.
Fandango.com: What’s the most challenging thing about making comedies? It’s one of those genres that can go terribly wrong.
Apatow: Comedies are about people that you want to root for. You know, being bullied or getting somebody pregnant or losing your virginity, they’re universal experiences. Not that there isn’t a lot of comedy in supernatural stories; I just have no imagination and can’t think of those. I just think of things that have happened to me…trouble losing my virginity, beatings….
Fandango.com: Do you think the raunchy R-rated comedy is here to stay?
Apatow: Well, I think it’s more about being honest than it is trying to be outrageous, capturing how people really talk. It’s honest that [Drillbit]’s a PG-13 movie because when you’re 13, you’re not living in an R-rated world. Almost any adult behavior gives you an R. Me, everything I do is R-rated.
Fandango.com: What’s the last movie that you saw in a theater?
Apatow: The Spiderwick Chronicles, which I thought was fantastic. Seth Rogen was the voice of one of the creatures and he pulled it off.
Fandango.com: Tell us about your movie that’s just been announced starring Adam Sandler.
Apatow: I’m not talking about the story yet, but it’s like my other movies, like Knocked Up. I’m trying to make movies that go deeper every time with subject matter that is relatable and about something important that we all deal with. I’m trying to make hysterical dramas, that’s what I’m going for. And if I make a drama that makes you piss your pants, that’s the goal.
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