Collect Sick In The Head: Conversations About Life And Comedy Formulated By Judd Apatow Visible In Softcover
isn't a funny book, this is a book about funny,
Apatow has put together a veritable treasure trove of comedic interviews! Jerry Seinfeld, Albert Brooks, Steve Martin, Chris Rock, Amy Schumer, Mel Brooks, Sarah Silverman, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Roseanne, Louis CK, Jay LenoJudd interviews 'em all over a span ofyears!
Since Apatow he has been immersed in the comedy world for so long whether as a lonely child transcribing SNL
skits, a teenager conning his way into interviewing Jerry Seinfeld, a standup comedian, a TV writer, or as a creator of some of the greatest comedic movies of alltime, he is able to connect with each comedian personally, and contextuliaze their work in a way a regular journalist couldn't.
If you're someone who loves WTF with Marc Maron, you will really enjoy these interviewsin the sense that the interviews aren't necessarily funny, it's more about how to be funny and what life is like for funny people.
But Apatow is pretty emotionally detached, so these interviews aren't nearly as raw as Marc Maron's can be though Apatow does have some heartfelt moments.
There's something about comedians that even if they don't like each other, they share a weird bond,
I'm not a standup or anything, but I'm a bit of a comedy nerd who grew up idolizing Chris Rock, Adam Sandler and Louis CK.
These are the kinds of people who make sense to me, but they're kind of damaged, and that often shines through in the interviews the Roseanne one was very rough.
Don't read this book if you want to laugh, read this book if you are fascinated by comedy.
Judd Apatow is best known as the producer of films like Knocked Up and This is, But he has been a selfdescribed obsessive comedy nerd since his teens, when he first began interviewing standup comics for his highschool radio station in effort to learn as much as possible about the form.
In the intervening years, his curiosity about comedy has not diminished, and this book is a collection of those early interviews combined with more current discussions with the many famous performers he has become friends with along the way.
For those with an interest in comedy, there is a lot of fascinating material in his conversations, His lifechanging original interview with preSeinfeld Jerry is continued in a second talk from, in which the changing and unchanging views of both success stories are rich with insight.
Other highlights among theinterviews included discussions with current comedy rock Louis C, K. , Lena Dunham, John Stewart, Key and Peele, and Marc Maron, as well as classics including Harold Ramis, Garry Shandling and Mike Nichols.
Reading this book is a significant education in the history of comedy Apatow's obsessive study of it makes him uniquely qualified to draw out the stories behind the creation of some of the most groundbreaking work that is now so much a part of our culture many of us don't recognize how radical it was at its time.
As a fan who follows both comedy and discussions of comedy, there was some material in here that was redundant for me.
Seinfeld covers similar ground in his web series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, so there were several interviews that were mostly echos of stories heard elsewhere.
I also skimmed past maybeof the interviews with people whose work I wasn't familiar enough with to be drawn into the conversation.
An unexpected benefit of reading the book came from the particularly fascinating oral history of Apatow's first TV series, Freaks and Geeks, where Apatow, James Franco, Seth Rogan and Jason Segal began their lifelong working collaboration.
Their attempt to create an intelligent show about the less pretty people in high school was cancelled after not even a full season, but the story was so interesting we promptly binge watched it on Netflix and really enjoyed it.
Though Apatow is interviewing others in this book, he reveals quite a lot about his rather neurotic self in the process.
This, including a joint interview done with his wife Leslie Mann, discussions about the use of his own daughters in his films, and talks how family changes comedy with other parent comics is one I found particularly interesting as it is less well covered territory.
At a time when thoughtful personal revelation has become more and more a part of entertainment, this book is a great read not just for the comedy itself but also as an education for those aspiring to it.
This book about comedy has gotten me through some difficult times, My mother has cancer, and this book kept me company at doctor's offices, in hospital waiting rooms, and at the end of long days, even if I only had enough energy to read a few pages before falling asleep.
Judd Apatow loves comedy, and so do I, But Judd Apatow loved it enough to go interview his favorite comedians and performers, asking them about their career, their process and their lives.
It's an interesting and delightful read, and the pieces are organized alphabetically, so it's easy to jump around and read about your favorite people first.
The first interview I read and the reason I ended up buying my own copy of the book was with Jerry Seinfeld.
I started reading the piece while browsing in a bookstore, and it was so thoughtful that I couldn't wait to tell my friends how awesome it was.
There are so many great quotes in it that I had trouble picking a passage to post here, but this is a favorite:
Judd: For me, I wanted to be a comedian and I wanted to work from a very early age because I was afraid of being broke.
What was your core motivation
Jerry: To never have to do anything else, I learned very young in this business that you bust your ass or you get thrown out of the kingdom.
My motivation was not wanting to leave the kingdom, Plus, I just love the life of it, I love my independence and the joy of hearing laughs and making jokes, It's as simple as that,
Judd: Does the TV show seem like this weird little dream that happened in the middle of your standup career
Jerry: That's a very good description of it.
Judd: Like this odd distraction for eight or nine years and then back to real life
Jerry: Obviously, after the show, I saw there were many other avenues available for me.
I missed the solitude. I missed the grimness and the simplicity of the life, I remember working it out with a friend of mine, James Spader, I said, "What do I do with my life now" And he said, "Well, what has been the best experience that you've had so far" And I said, "For me, it has been performing for live audiences.
" You kind of get to do that on TV, but TV is so much work and the pipeline is just too long.
In standup, you get addicted to that intensity: You have an idea for something, and then you're onstage that night and people are reacting to it.
That's very intense. "
There are also great interviews with Albert Brooks, Amy Schumer, Chris Rock, Garry Shandling, Jay Leno, Jimmy Fallon, Jon Stewart, Key amp Peele, Louis C.
K. , Marc Maron, Mel Brooks, Sarah Silverman, Stephen Colbert, and Steve Martin, and that doesn't even cover everyone, If you're interested in comedians and comedy, this is a marvelous and enjoyable book, I highly recommend it. This collection is amazing. I have so much that I could, that I want to say about it but don't want to ramble, What I will say is this: this was the book I talked about while reading it, . . to my husband, to my coworkers, to my friends, "I'm reading Judd Apatow's book it's SO good he says Jimmy Fallon is EXACTLY who you think he is!" This book is a dream come true for a pop culture loving person.
Very Enjoyable.
Favorite chapters were interviews withLeslie Mann,Amy Schumer,Sarah Silverman,Lena Dunham andMiranda July, Listed in no particular order, except forLeslie Mann, I especially liked her chapter most of all,
The major takeaway from this book is: success as measured by society fame and fortune doesn't necessarily bring you happiness.
I could give you the astoundingly long list of featured folks in the book who are surprisingly miserable, but will let you read it for yourself.
To be honest, I gave up on this book aboutpages in, If you are interested in pursuing a career as a comedian, then this is a perfect book for you, If you are in search of a humorous read as I was, this is not for you, stars
Literary purists might have a tough time with the interview format of Sick in the Head, which is stuffed to the gills with transcriptions of conversations with many of the greatest minds of the comedy, television and filmmaking worlds.
It occasionally feels overstuffed as Judd Apatow's been interviewing folks in the comedy world since he was a bepimpled high school student, long before embarking upon his stellar career in the comedy biz.
The book itself is not precisely a riproaring trove of laffs, but it quite fascinating to see how Apatow's path has intersected with many of these incredibly talented people.
Close todifferent folks are interviewed the best ones by far are those that Apatow's had a working relationship with the obvious: Seth Rogen, Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller but it becomes increasingly clear as the book progresses just how full Apatow's life has been.
He's been associated with or has admired damn near everyone, Some great surprises for me in here: interviews with authot/filmmaker Miranda July and, skr boiturnedfilmauteur Spike Jonze, My fave of the the bunch: "Curb Your Enthusiasm"'s Jeff Garlin reminiscing their early standup comedy days together, Biggest surprises: I had no clue Apatow was a joke writer for Roseanne Barr's series, or the producer of Lena Dunham's HBO series "Girls".
No there's not much writing on display here, but I didn't care, If you're at all interested in the comedy world past or present or Judd Apatow's career arc, chances are you'll be enchanted by this book, too.
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