Photos from the Judd Apatow Presents An Evening of Comedy night in mid September, that hosted the warm-up rehearsals for Judd Apatow’s “Funny People” dramedy are online via Slashfilm. We wrote a mini-review earlier this year when we read the script:
We’ve read “Funny People,” and it’s a (mostly) certifiable Apatow classic in the vein of “Knocked-Up,” in that there’s a lot of heart and soul and a lot of comedy.
We will say that Apatow hinted months ago that it’s probably his heaviest film and more dramatic and sad then most and yes, those elements are there, but it’s not like it’s that far removed from the melancholy moments of the aforementioned pregnancy comedy, “Knocked Up.” Maybe just a tad more serious and dramatic. Then again on screen, maybe it’ll be even tougher, but on the page even the serious, heavy moments of infidelity play out pretty funny.
It’s not giving away much at this point to say “Funny People,” stars Adam Sandler as a lonely, friendless comedian that thinks he’s dying and Seth Rogen plays a struggling comedian who inadvertently befriends the famous comic and becomes a friend/errand boy to make ends meet and ostensibly help his non-existent career. Apatow’s wife Leslie Mann plays Sandler’s ex-girlfriend who is now married to douche-y businessman, Eric Bana. Jason Schwartzman and Jonah Hill play Rogen’s friend and roommate, involved in both TV sitcoms and comedy as well.
The one thing that Slash does reveal in their piece on the script that we didn’t already know is that Aubrey Plaza (pictured above) plays Daisy, a comedian who vies for the affections of Seth Rogen’s Ira lead character and Mark (Jason Schwartzman), the jackass, self-involved sitcom star. Don’t worry if this sounds like spoiler, a Universal president blew the lid off the film’s big secret months and months ago. That was the one piece of major casting missing (and it’s still a pretty small role). “Funny People” probably won’t come out until summer 2009 at the very earliest. Oh, and Bruce Springsteen will hopefully make an appearance in the film. There’s a dream sequence cameo in the script where he’s featured for a few odd and funny moments.