Misplaced Pages

The Cable Guy

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
#93906

138-485: The Cable Guy is a 1996 American satirical black comedy thriller film directed by Ben Stiller , written by Lou Holtz Jr., starring Jim Carrey and Matthew Broderick . It was released in the United States on June 14, 1996. The film's opening credits also list Leslie Mann , George Segal , Diane Baker and Jack Black . The story structure has Carrey as an eccentric cable installer who becomes overly intrusive in

276-576: A music video that featured various footage from Cable Guy in a dark manner typical of Cantrell's style. It also had Jim Carrey's haunting face reaching out of a television screen observing Cantrell. The music video was included as a bonus feature on the 15th-anniversary edition Blu-ray of The Cable Guy in 2011. While the album as a whole was not well received, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic noted that "Leave Me Alone" positively "rocks as hard as any Alice in Chains track". The track " Standing Outside

414-535: A Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand " gained popularity for its appearance in the film and reached No. 1 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart in 1996. Satirical Satire is a genre of the visual , literary , and performing arts , usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction , in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with

552-455: A Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Comedy Movie, a People's Choice Award for Favorite Comedy Movie and was named one of AFI's Movies of the Year. That same year, he produced Girls after seeing Lena Dunham 's 2010 film Tiny Furniture . The series ran from 2012 to 2017 and generating criticism over its depiction of sexual assault, male ejaculate, and Dunham's frequent on-screen nudity. In

690-464: A January 2013 interview in Fast Company , Apatow and Dunham discussed the creative process of working on the show, saying that "this type of show is an auteur's vision. It isn't collaborative in the same way as other shows. We are probably closer to Curb Your Enthusiasm than we are to something like Friends ." Apatow produced Wanderlust (2012), starring Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd as

828-499: A bad friend; Steven forgives him and asks for his real name, which he says is Ricky Ricardo . As he is airlifted away, one of the paramedics addresses him as "buddy"; when he asks if that's true and the paramedic confirms it, the cable guy smiles deviously, thinking he has found a new "friend". First-time screenwriter Lou Holtz Jr. had the idea for The Cable Guy while working as a prosecutor in Los Angeles, declaring that he once saw

966-414: A budget of $ 5 million, it grossed $ 56.4 million worldwide. A New York Times review described the movie as "a joyous, generous-hearted romantic comedy that, even as it veers into difficult terrain, insists that we just need to keep on laughing" while revitalizing "the often moribund romantic comedy subgenre with a true story of love, death and the everyday comedy of being a 21st-century American". In 2018,

1104-495: A cable company employee in the hallway of his mother's apartment building and started thinking, "What's he doing here so late?" The screenplay became the subject of a bidding war, won by Columbia Pictures at a price of $ 750,000, plus a $ 250,000 additional bonus if the movie got made. The role of the Cable Guy was originally sold with Chris Farley attached to star, but he later dropped out due to scheduling difficulties. Adam Sandler

1242-592: A cameo role in The Disaster Artist (2017), which chronicles the making of the film The Room . The New Yorker critic Richard Brody felt the role was a "reminder" that Apatow should play a lead in one of his own films. Along with documentarian Michael Bonfiglio, Apatow co-directed the documentary May It Last: A Portrait Of The Avett Brothers , which chronicles the making of the titular band's album True Sadness . It aired on HBO in January 2018 and later won

1380-487: A charity of Apatow's choosing and past charities have included St. Jude Children's Research Hospital , 826LA and Alzheimer's Association . During his work on the Larry Sanders Show , Apatow was nominated for five Emmys , as well as a Critics' Choice Television Award . In 2007, he was nominated for a Grammy for co-writing the song "Walk Hard" (nominated for Best Song Written for Motion Picture). Apatow's work

1518-576: A consulting producer and staff writer for the animated show The Critic , starring Jon Lovitz . In 1995, Apatow co-wrote (with Steve Brill) the feature film Heavyweights . Around the same time, Apatow was hired to produce and do an uncredited re-write of the script for the movie The Cable Guy , which was released in 1996 to mixed reviews. It was during the pre-production of the film that Apatow met his future wife, actress Leslie Mann . Apatow did uncredited re-writes on two other Jim Carrey films: Liar Liar and Bruce Almighty . His next script

SECTION 10

#1732881402094

1656-417: A far more obviously extreme and unrealistic tale, involving interplanetary exploration, war among alien life forms, and life inside a 200 mile long whale back in the terrestrial ocean, all intended to make obvious the fallacies of books like Indica and The Odyssey . Medieval Arabic poetry included the satiric genre hija . Satire was introduced into Arabic prose literature by the author Al-Jahiz in

1794-438: A festival of un-aired TV pilots produced by Un-Cabaret . In 2004, Apatow produced the feature film comedy Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy , starring Will Ferrell and directed by Adam McKay . The film was a box office success. Apatow co-produced the 2013 sequel, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues . He made his feature directorial debut in 2005 with the comedy The 40-Year-Old Virgin , which he also co-wrote with

1932-710: A few days, riffed a lot of the set pieces that were added to the script, and further explored how Carrey wanted to perform the character. Apatow took the film to the Writers Guild for arbitration to get a writing credit but ultimately Holtz retained sole credit for the script. Apatow expressed frustration at not getting credit but acknowledged that as he was also a producer on the film, the Writers Guild requirements are set very high to protect writers. The final script had elements so disturbing that Columbia heard many complaints regarding certain scenes. In turn, Apatow declared that

2070-465: A gift from Steven. Robin decides to get back together with Steven as a result, but when Steven finds out Chip's hand in reuniting him with Robin, Steven politely ends his friendship with Chip. Devastated, Chip sets out on a series of vengeful acts; he has Steven arrested for possession of stolen property, embarrasses him at a family gathering, and has him fired from his job by transmitting a recorded private conversation in which Steven insults his boss onto

2208-489: A guy and so it leaned guy for a while. But one of the projects I'm most proud of is Freaks and Geeks , which is about a woman in high school struggling to figure out which group she wants to belong to, so for me, it goes back and forth." The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences rejected his first application for membership, even though he was sponsored by Academy Award -winning screenwriters Akiva Goldsman and Stephen Gaghan . Seth Rogen claimed Apatow "just wanted

2346-413: A little even as you chuckle. Laughter is not an essential component of satire; in fact, there are types of satire that are not meant to be "funny" at all. Conversely, not all humour, even on such topics as politics, religion or art is necessarily "satirical", even when it uses the satirical tools of irony, parody, and burlesque . Even light-hearted satire has a serious "after-taste": the organizers of

2484-557: A long hiatus to headline a show in New York City's Carnegie Hall called Judd Apatow and Friends . He announced over Twitter that the show would benefit Everytown for Gun Safety , a non-profit organization founded by Michael Bloomberg which advocates for gun control and against gun violence. In 2016, he created the Netflix television comedy series Love , on which he also serves as a writer and executive producer. The series followed

2622-452: A married couple who leave New York City and live in a hippie commune. He also produced The Five-Year Engagement (2012), featuring Jason Segel and Emily Blunt as a couple who have a rocky five-year engagement. Apatow's fourth directorial effort, the Knocked Up spin-off This Is 40 , was released by Universal Pictures on December 21, 2012, starring Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann as

2760-551: A means of expression and an outlet for common people to express their anger against authoritarian entities. A popular custom in Northern India of "Bura na mano Holi hai" continues, in which comedians on the stage mock local people of importance (who are usually brought in as special guests). Judd Apatow Judd Apatow ( / ˈ æ p ə t aʊ / ; born December 6, 1967) is an American director, producer, screenwriter and comedian, best known for his work in comedy films. He

2898-482: A pilot that featured Jason Segel , Kevin Hart , Seth Rogen , Phil Hendrie , and Judge Reinhold (playing himself). The pilot was not picked up by ABC. In 2002, he co-wrote (with Brent Forrester ) a Fox pilot titled Life on Parole , starring David Herman as a dissatisfied parole officer whose roommate happens to be one of his parolees; it was not picked up. Apatow has screened and introduced them at "The Other Network",

SECTION 20

#1732881402094

3036-637: A platform to continue to perform and speak. In 2017, Apatow was awarded the ACLU Bill of Rights Award, for being "an outspoken and tireless advocate on behalf of women in the arts". Apatow regularly performs stand-up at the Largo at the Coronet , a comedy venue in Los Angeles, as part of his Judd Apatow and Friends series. Guests have included Adam Sandler , Zach Galifianakis , Ryan Adams , Beck , David Spade , Garry Shandling and Jackson Browne . Each show benefits

3174-829: A profit in excess of its $ 47 million production budget. The film was released in the United Kingdom on July 12, 1996, and opened on #2, behind Mission: Impossible . The film was released on VHS on December 3, 1996, DVD on September 15, 1997, and a 15th anniversary Blu-ray release on March 1, 2011. Sony re-issued the latter format as a manufacture-on-demand title on December 17, 2019. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes , The Cable Guy holds an approval rating of 55% based on 80 reviews, with an average rating of 5.7/10. The website's critical consensus states, " The Cable Guy ' s dark flashes of thought-provoking, subversive wit are often—but not always—enough to counter its frustratingly uneven storytelling approach." On Metacritic ,

3312-429: A prominent example from ancient Greece , philosopher Plato , when asked by a friend for a book to understand Athenian society, referred him to the plays of Aristophanes . Historically, satire has satisfied the popular need to debunk and ridicule the leading figures in politics, economy, religion and other prominent realms of power . Satire confronts public discourse and the collective imaginary , playing as

3450-621: A prominent role in Indian and Hindi literature , and is counted as one of the " ras " of literature in ancient books. With the commencement of printing of books in local language in the nineteenth century and especially after India's freedom, this grew. Many of the works of Tulsi Das , Kabir , Munshi Premchand , village minstrels, Hari katha singers, poets, Dalit singers and current day stand up Indian comedians incorporate satire, usually ridiculing authoritarians, fundamentalists and incompetent people in power. In India, it has usually been used as

3588-511: A public opinion counterweight to power (be it political, economic, religious, symbolic, or otherwise), by challenging leaders and authorities. For instance, it forces administrations to clarify, amend or establish their policies. Satire's job is to expose problems and contradictions, and it is not obligated to solve them. Karl Kraus set in the history of satire a prominent example of a satirist role as confronting public discourse. For its nature and social role, satire has enjoyed in many societies

3726-597: A real-estate developer, and Tamara Shad, who ran the music label Mainstream Records founded by her father, Bob Shad , Judd Apatow was born in the Flushing neighborhood of the New York City borough of Queens , and raised in Syosset, New York , on Long Island . His family is Jewish , but nonreligious . Apatow has an older brother, Robert, and a younger sister, Mia. Their mother died in 2008. His maternal grandmother, Molly, co-starred in his film This Is 40 . When Apatow

3864-589: A review for The A.V. Club , Erik Adams wrote "There is a feeling that somewhere, somehow, someone is going to stumble-upon Career Suicide, and it's going to make them feel less alone." Apatow also starred in his first stand-up special, Judd Apatow: The Return , in December 2017. The special was recorded during the Just for Laughs comedy festival in Montreal , Canada the previous July and released through Netflix. Apatow also had

4002-539: A satire of thrillers such as Cape Fear , Unlawful Entry and The Hand That Rocks the Cradle . The dialogue would also fit Carrey's style of comedy. Holtz wrote four additional drafts, each one darker than the previous, before leaving the project and giving Apatow the opportunity to take over the writing. Apatow and Stiller visited Carrey as he was filming Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls in South Carolina , and over

4140-399: A special freedom license to mock prominent individuals and institutions. The satiric impulse, and its ritualized expressions, carry out the function of resolving social tension. Institutions like the ritual clowns , by giving expression to the antisocial tendencies , represent a safety valve which re-establishes equilibrium and health in the collective imaginary , which are jeopardized by

4278-490: A sports doctor ( Bill Hader ), after a string of one-night stands with different men. The Atlantic 's Christopher Orr opined that "this is a film that belongs not to its director but to its star, who, if there is any justice in the world, is about to ascend from cult icon to mass phenomenon." The film received an 85% on Rotten Tomatoes. Produced on a budget of $ 35 million, Trainwreck grossed $ 140.8 million worldwide. In November 2017, Apatow returned to stand-up after

The Cable Guy - Misplaced Pages Continue

4416-458: A strict genre that imposed hexameter form, a narrower genre than what would be later intended as satire . Quintilian famously said that satura, that is a satire in hexameter verses, was a literary genre of wholly Roman origin ( satura tota nostra est ). He was aware of and commented on Greek satire, but at the time did not label it as such, although today the origin of satire is considered to be Aristophanes' Old Comedy . The first critic to use

4554-467: A supporting role as a police officer and friend Jonah Hill took his role as the high school student. Apatow credits Rogen for influencing him to make his work more "outrageously dirty". In August 2007, Superbad opened at No. 1 in the box office to critical acclaim, taking in $ 33 million in its opening weekend. Industry insiders claimed Apatow was now a brand unto himself, creating movies geared toward older audiences, who would watch his movies even when

4692-517: A total $ 60,240,295 in the North American domestic market, and $ 42,585,501 outside the United States , making a total of $ 102,825,796 worldwide gross, but failed to reach domestic projected numbers Jim Carrey brought to his previous movies. Apatow said "people looked at it as a failure because it didn't make even more money." Despite the critical perception that the movie was a disappointment, it made

4830-419: A visit to the city's central satellite dish , Chip confides to Steven about being raised by television when he was young, as his father was absent and his mother used television as a "babysitter". Chip proceeds to intrude more and more on Steven's life, alienating him from his friends, leaving multiple messages on his answering machine and installing an expensive home theater system as a gift. Steven rejects

4968-405: A young couple navigating the thrills and agonies of modern relationships, and ran on Netflix for three seasons. Later that year, HBO picked up Crashing , a semi-autobiographical television series which follows Pete Holmes as he tries to become a stand-up comedian after his wife cheats on him. It's only with the help of other famous comedians (playing fictional versions of themselves) that Pete

5106-577: Is militant ", according to literary critic Northrop Frye — but parody , burlesque , exaggeration , juxtaposition , comparison, analogy, and double entendre are all frequently used in satirical speech and writing. This "militant" irony or sarcasm often professes to approve of (or at least accept as natural) the very things the satirist wishes to question. Satire is found in many artistic forms of expression, including internet memes, literature, plays, commentary, music , film and television shows, and media such as lyrics. The word satire comes from

5244-525: Is able to learn the ropes of the stand-up comedy world. The series was created by and stars comedian Pete Holmes, and executive produced by Apatow. It was first reported in 2010 that Apatow would be producing a new Pee-wee Herman film starring Paul Reubens that would be written by Rebuens and Paul Rust . The film, Pee-wee's Big Holiday , was released by Netflix in March 2016. Apatow made his first documentary piece in 2016, Doc and Darryl , which documents

5382-415: Is an apotropaic rite in which the sin-eater (also called filth-eater), by ingesting the food provided, takes "upon himself the sins of the departed". Satire about death overlaps with black humor and gallows humor . Another classification by topics is the distinction between political satire, religious satire and satire of manners. Political satire is sometimes called topical satire, satire of manners

5520-592: Is an enclave in which satire can be introduced into mass media , challenging mainstream discourse. Comedy roasts , mock festivals, and stand-up comedians in nightclubs and concerts are the modern forms of ancient satiric rituals. One of the earliest examples of what might be called satire, The Satire of the Trades , is in Egyptian writing from the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. The text's apparent readers are students, tired of studying. It argues that their lot as scribes

5658-804: Is no time for grown-ups." In 2010, Apatow served as producer on the Forgetting Sarah Marshall spin-off Get Him to the Greek with Russell Brand reprising his role and Jonah Hill returning from the original film, albeit as a different character. Released by Universal, the film did well at the box office, grossing $ 92 million. In 2011, Apatow produced Bridesmaids which grossed $ 288.4 million worldwide and received Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actress ( Melissa McCarthy ) and Best Original Screenplay ( Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig ), as well as two Golden Globe Award nominations and two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations. Bridesmaids also won

The Cable Guy - Misplaced Pages Continue

5796-417: Is not committed to any specific studio, but his projects are typically set up at Universal and Sony , and in 2009 Variety reported that Universal had signed him to a 3 picture directing deal. Apatow once vowed to include a penis in every one of his movies. He explained his position as, "I like movies that are, you know, uplifting and hopeful...and I like filth!" In 2009, Apatow served as producer for

5934-406: Is not only useful, but far superior to that of the ordinary man. Scholars such as Helck think that the context was meant to be serious. The Papyrus Anastasi I (late 2nd millennium BC) contains a satirical letter which first praises the virtues of its recipient, but then mocks the reader's meagre knowledge and achievements. The Greeks had no word for what later would be called "satire", although

6072-453: Is often pessimistic, characterized by the use of irony, sarcasm, moral indignation and personal invective, with less emphasis on humor. Strongly polarized political satire can often be classified as Juvenalian. A Juvenal satirist's goal is generally to provoke some sort of political or societal change because he sees his opponent or object as evil or harmful. A Juvenal satirist mocks "societal structure, power, and civilization" by exaggerating

6210-460: Is sometimes called satire of everyday life, and religious satire is sometimes called philosophical satire. Comedy of manners , sometimes also called satire of manners, criticizes mode of life of common people; political satire aims at behavior, manners of politicians, and vices of political systems. Historically, comedy of manners, which first appeared in British theater in 1620, has uncritically accepted

6348-552: Is the reactionary side of the comic ; it limits itself to a shallow parody of physical appearance. The side-effect of teasing is that it humanizes and draws sympathy for the powerful individual towards which it is directed. Satire instead uses the comic to go against power and its oppressions, has a subversive character, and a moral dimension which draws judgement against its targets. Fo formulated an operational criterion to tell real satire from sfottò , saying that real satire arouses an outraged and violent reaction, and that

6486-574: Is the first to define this concept of Yuyan. During the Qin and Han dynasty, however, the concept of yuyan mostly died out through their heavy persecution of dissent and literary circles, especially by Qin Shi Huang and Han Wudi . The first Roman to discuss satire critically was Quintilian , who invented the term to describe the writings of Gaius Lucilius . The two most prominent and influential ancient Roman satirists are Horace and Juvenal , who wrote during

6624-558: Is the founder of Apatow Productions , through which he produced and directed the films The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), Knocked Up (2007), Funny People (2009), This Is 40 (2012), Trainwreck (2015), The King of Staten Island (2020), and The Bubble (2022). Through Apatow Productions he produced and developed the television series Freaks and Geeks (1999–2000), Undeclared (2001–2002), Funny or Die Presents (2010–2011), Girls (2012–2017), Love (2016–2018), and Crashing (2017–2019). Apatow also produced

6762-531: The Star Trek episode " Amok Time "—including the use of Vulcan weapons ( lirpa ), the dialogue, and the background music. Director Ben Stiller is an admitted Trekkie . The film grossed $ 19,806,226 on its opening weekend, ranking number one ahead of The Rock . At the time, it had the highest opening weekend for a Ben Stiller film, holding this record until 2000 when Meet the Parents surpassed it. It grossed

6900-612: The Early Middle Ages , examples of satire were the songs by Goliards or vagants now best known as an anthology called Carmina Burana and made famous as texts of a composition by the 20th-century composer Carl Orff . Satirical poetry is believed to have been popular, although little has survived. With the advent of the High Middle Ages and the birth of modern vernacular literature in the 12th century, it began to be used again, most notably by Chaucer . The disrespectful manner

7038-565: The Ig Nobel Prize describe this as "first make people laugh, and then make them think". Satire and irony in some cases have been regarded as the most effective source to understand a society, the oldest form of social study. They provide the keenest insights into a group's collective psyche , reveal its deepest values and tastes, and the society's structures of power. Some authors have regarded satire as superior to non-comic and non-artistic disciplines like history or anthropology . In

SECTION 50

#1732881402094

7176-484: The Latin word satur and the subsequent phrase lanx satura . Satur meant "full", but the juxtaposition with lanx shifted the meaning to "miscellany or medley": the expression lanx satura literally means "a full dish of various kinds of fruits". The use of the word lanx in this phrase, however, is disputed by B.L. Ullman. The word satura as used by Quintilian , however, was used to denote only Roman verse satire,

7314-786: The Marx Brothers . Apatow got his comic start washing dishes at the Long Island East Side Comedy Club, and while attending Syosset High School , he played jazz and hosted a program called Comedy Club on the school's 125-watt radio station WKWZ which he created as a way to meet and learn from comedians he admired. He cold-called comedians during period, managing to interview Steve Allen , Howard Stern , Harold Ramis and John Candy , along with emerging comedians such as Jerry Seinfeld , Steven Wright , and Garry Shandling . Apatow began performing stand-up comedy at age seventeen, during his senior year of high school. In

7452-734: The Renaissance were Giovanni Boccaccio and François Rabelais . Other examples of Renaissance satire include Till Eulenspiegel , Reynard the Fox , Sebastian Brant 's Narrenschiff (1494), Erasmus 's Moriae Encomium (1509), Thomas More 's Utopia (1516), and Carajicomedia (1519). The Elizabethan (i.e. 16th-century English) writers thought of satire as related to the notoriously rude, coarse and sharp satyr play. Elizabethan "satire" (typically in pamphlet form) therefore contains more straightforward abuse than subtle irony. The French Huguenot Isaac Casaubon pointed out in 1605 that satire in

7590-556: The Resaleh-ye Delgosha , as well as Akhlaq al-Ashraf ("Ethics of the Aristocracy") and the famous humorous fable Masnavi Mush-O-Gorbeh (Mouse and Cat), which was a political satire. His non-satirical serious classical verses have also been regarded as very well written, in league with the other great works of Persian literature . Between 1905 and 1911, Bibi Khatoon Astarabadi and other Iranian writers wrote notable satires. In

7728-663: The Sharia " and later Arabic poets in turn using the term "Farazdaq-like" as a form of political satire. The terms " comedy " and "satire" became synonymous after Aristotle 's Poetics was translated into Arabic in the medieval Islamic world , where it was elaborated upon by Islamic philosophers and writers, such as Abu Bischr, his pupil Al-Farabi , Avicenna , and Averroes . Due to cultural differences, they disassociated comedy from Greek dramatic representation and instead identified it with Arabic poetic themes and forms, such as hija (satirical poetry). They viewed comedy as simply

7866-494: The Writers Guild of America and received four MTV Movie Award nominations, including a win for Carell for Best Comedic Performance. In 2005, Apatow co-wrote with Nicholas Stoller the feature film comedy Fun with Dick and Jane starring Jim Carrey and Téa Leoni . The film went on to gross $ 205 million worldwide. His second film, the romantic comedy Knocked Up , was released in June 2007 to wide critical acclaim. Apatow wrote

8004-517: The repressive aspects of society . The state of political satire in a given society reflects the tolerance or intolerance that characterizes it, and the state of civil liberties and human rights . Under totalitarian regimes any criticism of a political system, and especially satire, is suppressed. A typical example is the Soviet Union where the dissidents , such as Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and Andrei Sakharov were under strong pressure from

8142-624: The "art of reprehension", and made no reference to light and cheerful events, or troubled beginnings and happy endings, associated with classical Greek comedy. After the Latin translations of the 12th century , the term "comedy" thus gained a new semantic meaning in Medieval literature . Ubayd Zakani introduced satire in Persian literature during the 14th century. His work is noted for its satire and obscene verses, often political or bawdy, and often cited in debates involving homosexual practices. He wrote

8280-450: The 9th century. While dealing with serious topics in what are now known as anthropology , sociology and psychology , he introduced a satirical approach, "based on the premise that, however serious the subject under review, it could be made more interesting and thus achieve greater effect, if only one leavened the lump of solemnity by the insertion of a few amusing anecdotes or by the throwing out of some witty or paradoxical observations. He

8418-523: The Greek word for "satyr" (satyros) and its derivatives. The odd result is that the English "satire" comes from the Latin satura; but "satirize", "satiric", etc., are of Greek origin. By about the 4th century AD the writer of satires came to be known as satyricus; St. Jerome, for example, was called by one of his enemies 'a satirist in prose' ('satyricus scriptor in prosa'). Subsequent orthographic modifications obscured

SECTION 60

#1732881402094

8556-513: The Head , a multi-camera sitcom pilot starring David Krumholtz as a psychiatrist on his first day on the job, Amy Poehler as a suicidal patient, and Kevin Corrigan as Krumholtz's slacker roommate. The show was not picked up by Fox, which freed up Apatow to serve as an executive producer of the award-winning series Freaks and Geeks , which debuted in 1999. He also wrote and directed several episodes of

8694-653: The Latin origin of the word satire: satura becomes satyra, and in England, by the 16th century, it was written 'satyre.' The word satire derives from satura , and its origin was not influenced by the Greek mythological figure of the satyr . In the 17th century, philologist Isaac Casaubon was the first to dispute the etymology of satire from satyr, contrary to the belief up to that time. The rules of satire are such that it must do more than make you laugh. No matter how amusing it is, it doesn't count unless you find yourself wincing

8832-500: The Producers Guild of America, alongside producing partner Barry Mendel. Earlier that year, Apatow produced Chris Gethard's HBO comedy special Career Suicide, an hour and a half long monologue about Gethard's experience with depression, therapy and search for fulfillment. The program was described as being able to "articulate intense and often ineffable emotion" while still remaining "brazenly candid...and packed with great jokes". In

8970-530: The Rape Treatment Foundation, who later released a statement on Apatow's contributions, describing him as "a powerful voice for the truths about rape and an advocate for respectful treatment of victims". Apatow has positioned himself at the forefront of the #MeToo and #TimesUp online movements, encouraging alleged victims to come forward while also criticizing people accused. Apatow had strong words for people like Bill Cosby and those who gave Cosby

9108-468: The Roman fashion was something altogether more civilised. Casaubon discovered and published Quintilian's writing and presented the original meaning of the term (satira, not satyr), and the sense of wittiness (reflecting the "dishfull of fruits") became more important again. Seventeenth-century English satire once again aimed at the "amendment of vices" ( Dryden ). In the 1590s a new wave of verse satire broke with

9246-436: The Roman satirist Horace (65–8 BCE), playfully criticizes some social vice through gentle, mild, and light-hearted humour. Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) wrote Satires to gently ridicule the dominant opinions and "philosophical beliefs of ancient Rome and Greece". Rather than writing in harsh or accusing tones, he addressed issues with humor and clever mockery. Horatian satire follows this same pattern of "gently [ridiculing]

9384-537: The SXSW Audience Award at the SXSW film festival. Later in 2018, he directed another HBO documentary, The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling , exploring the life and legacy of comedian Garry Shandling , one of Apatow's idols and a close friend. After editing together video packages for Garry Shandling's memorial service, Apatow realized that the material was worthy of a full documentary. NPR 's David Bianculi called

9522-520: The September 1985 issue of Laugh Factory Magazine , he is listed as an associate editor. After graduating from high school in 1985, he moved to Los Angeles and enrolled in the screenwriting program at University of Southern California . While at USC, he organized and hosted a number of on-campus "Comedy Night" events, featuring headliners such as Saturday Night Live performer Kevin Nealon . Apatow introduced

9660-561: The Zohan , which Sandler and Robert Smigel also co-wrote and went on to gross $ 204 million at the worldwide box office. He tries to keep a low budget on his projects and usually makes his movies about the work itself rather than using big stars. After his success in film, he hired the entire writing staff from Undeclared to write movies for Apatow Productions . He never fires writers and he keeps them on projects through all stages of productions, known colloquially as "the comedy wheel". Apatow

9798-433: The absurdities and follies of human beings". It directs wit, exaggeration, and self-deprecating humour toward what it identifies as folly, rather than evil. Horatian satire's sympathetic tone is common in modern society. A Horatian satirist's goal is to heal the situation with smiles, rather than by anger. Horatian satire is a gentle reminder to take life less seriously and evokes a wry smile. Juvenalian satire, named for

9936-692: The acts at these events with short standup routines of his own. He also began volunteering at (and later producing) benefit concerts for HBO's Comic Relief and performing and seeing standup at the Improv in Hollywood. He dropped out of college during his second year and later moved into an apartment with comedian Adam Sandler , whom he met at the Improv. He competed in the Johnnie Walker Comedy Search in 1989 directed by Saturday Night Live short film producer Neal Marshad . Shortly thereafter, Apatow

10074-450: The aim of humanizing his image. Types of satire can also be classified according to the topics it deals with. From the earliest times, at least since the plays of Aristophanes , the primary topics of literary satire have been politics , religion and sex . This is partly because these are the most pressing problems that affect anybody living in a society, and partly because these topics are usually taboo . Among these, politics in

10212-643: The biblical comedy film Year One ; the film was not well received. He also released his third directorial feature on July 31 that same year, titled Funny People . Apatow wrote the film, which starred Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen as a pair of standup comedians, one of whom has a terminal illness. Other co-stars included his wife Leslie Mann and Eric Bana , who was a comedic actor in Australia before appearing in American films. The film contained more dramatic elements than Apatow's previous directorial efforts. Although

10350-405: The book I Found This Funny published by McSweeneys to benefit 826LA. Additionally, Apatow's book, "Sick in the Head", in which he interviews comedy icons such as Jerry Seinfeld and Jay Leno, benefitted the 826LA organization. Apatow has also received several high-profile awards for his advocacy and support of women in Hollywood, as well as victims of sexual assault. In 2015, he was honored by

10488-416: The broader sense is considered the pre-eminent topic of satire. Satire which targets the clergy is a type of political satire , while religious satire is that which targets religious beliefs . Satire on sex may overlap with blue comedy , off-color humor and dick jokes . Scatology has a long literary association with satire, as it is a classical mode of the grotesque , the grotesque body and

10626-405: The cable guy has taken her: the central satellite dish. Arriving at the satellite dish first, Steven rescues Robin from the cable guy, who, as the police arrive, climbs to the top of the dish proclaiming that he must "kill the babysitter" to prevent others from becoming like him. He falls into the dish and cuts the television signal to the entire city, but survives. He apologizes to Steven for being

10764-519: The career and relationship of New York Mets players Dwight "Doc" Gooden and Darryl Strawberry . It aired as part of ESPN 's series of sports documentaries 30 for 30 in July 2016. In 2017, he produced the romantic comedy The Big Sick . The film stars Kumail Nanjiani as himself, a stand-up comedian who comes from a Muslim Pakistani background and falls in love with an American woman, based on Nanjiani's real-life wife Emily V. Gordon . Produced on

10902-442: The change. The film was on J. Hoberman 's Top 10 best of the year. Roger Ebert included The Cable Guy in his worst of the year list for 1996, though colleague Gene Siskel disagreed, calling it "a very good film. [Carrey's] best since The Mask ". Ebert found Carrey's "bizarre" and "creepy" performance undermined the entire story, and felt the movie was more of a dark comedy than was necessary. In spite of its mixed reception,

11040-537: The characters Pete and Debbie (reprising their roles from Knocked Up ) and had original music by Graham Parker and The Rumour (who play themselves). The film received mostly positive reactions from critics, with The New Yorker ' s Richard Brody writing that This Is 40 is "the stuff of life, and it flows like life, and, like life, it would be good for it to last longer." In 2012, Entertainment Weekly reported that 22 years after writing an episode of The Simpsons , Apatow's script (" Bart's New Friend ")

11178-403: The company's computers. He also reveals that his name is Larry Tate . Rick investigates the name and finds that he was fired from the cable company for using fake names and stalking customers. Steven receives a phone call from the cable guy, who tells him he is paying Robin a visit, making Steven rush to Robin's apartment. Finding it empty, Steven calls the police and tells them to hurry to where

11316-420: The documentary, "a deeply affecting TV show about the meaning of life – right up there with the final TV interviews by mythologist Joseph Campbell and British TV writer Dennis Potter . In his comedy, Garry Shandling always was in pursuit of the truth and contemplating real life. With this two-part HBO special, he and Judd Apatow achieved that very beautifully one last time." In September 2018, Apatow took home

11454-516: The early days of the Roman Empire . Other important satirists in ancient Latin are Gaius Lucilius and Persius . Satire in their work is much wider than in the modern sense of the word, including fantastic and highly coloured humorous writing with little or no real mocking intent. When Horace criticized Augustus , he used veiled ironic terms. In contrast, Pliny reports that the 6th-century-BC poet Hipponax wrote satirae that were so cruel that

11592-483: The early modern period. The dutch translation Van den vos Reynaerde is considered a major medieval dutch literary work. In the dutch version De Vries argues that the animal characters represent barons who conspired against the Count of Flanders. Direct social commentary via satire returned in the 16th century, when texts such as the works of François Rabelais tackled more serious issues. Two major satirists of Europe in

11730-510: The fashion was brought to an abrupt stop by censorship. Another satiric genre to emerge around this time was the satirical almanac , with François Rabelais 's work Pantagrueline Prognostication (1532), which mocked astrological predictions. The strategies François utilized within this work were employed by later satirical almanacs, such as the Poor Robin series that spanned the 17th to 19th centuries. Satire ( Kataksh or Vyang ) has played

11868-465: The film has achieved a cult following , and has been attributed to helping Carrey pursue more serious roles such as The Truman Show and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind . Carrey named the movie one of his favorites that he worked on: I have odd favorites that may not be for kids, but The Cable Guy is one of my favorite movies. I think Ben Stiller did an amazing job, and it's populated with

12006-470: The film in 2010 to Apatow, who produced the film alongside Tobin Armbrust and Anthony Bregman whose production company Exclusive Media financed the film's US$ 8 million budget. Apatow's fifth directorial feature was the 2015 romantic comedy entitled Trainwreck . Amy Schumer wrote and starred in the film as "a basket case who tries to rebuild her life" by attempting to commit to a serious relationship with

12144-653: The film itself "a little sexist " and felt it "paints the women as shrews, as humorless and uptight, and it paints the men as lovable, goofy, fun-loving guys." Apatow responded, "I'm just shocked she used the word shrew . I mean, what is this, the 1600s?" Apatow said the characters in the film "are sexist at times... but it's really about immature people who are afraid of women and relationships and learn to grow up." In 2012, Alyssa Rosenberg of ThinkProgress quoted Apatow as saying, "I got bored of penises. I said, 'enough of that.' No, I just like immaturity, I like to show people struggle and try to figure out who they are. I'm

12282-457: The film received a weighted average score of 56 based 28 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "C+" on scale of A to F. The Cable Guy has been regarded as having a darker tone than most of Carrey's previous work. While the character may seem goofy at first, similar to previous Carrey roles, he later turns more sinister and scary. Audiences and film critics had mixed reactions to

12420-659: The film was nominated for an Academy Award in the category of best Original Screenplay. Additionally it won Best Comedy at the Critics' Choice Awards and received an AFI Movies of the Year Award from the American Film Institute. The film also received two Screen Actors Guild nominations and an NAACP Image Award nomination. Apatow was nominated for the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures award by

12558-439: The film was not financially successful (grossing $ 54 million domestically), the critical reception was primarily positive, with David Denby of The New Yorker magazine including the film on his top ten films of 2009, calling Funny People "a serious comedy about a funny man's brush with death" and stating that the film "is Apatow's richest, most complicated movie yet—a summing up of his feelings about comedy and its relation to

12696-442: The film's star, Steve Carell , for Universal Pictures . The film opened at number one at the box office and grossed more than $ 175 million globally. The comedy garnered numerous awards and nominations, including being named one of AFI 's Top Movies of the Year, as well as taking home Best Comedy Movie at the 11th annual Critics' Choice Awards. The 40-Year-Old Virgin also earned Apatow a nomination for Best Original Screenplay from

12834-727: The films The Cable Guy (1996), Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004), Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006), Superbad (2007), Pineapple Express (2008), Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008), Get Him to the Greek (2010), Bridesmaids (2011), Begin Again (2013), Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013), and The Big Sick (2017). Throughout his career, Apatow has received nominations for 11 Primetime Emmy Awards (three wins), five Writers Guild of America Awards (one win), two Producers Guild of America Awards , one Golden Globe Award , and one Grammy Award . The middle of three children of Maury Apatow,

12972-503: The films delved into the teen genre. Apatow served as producer and co-writer along with director Jake Kasdan for the biopic spoof Walk Hard starring John C. Reilly , Kristen Wiig and Jenna Fischer , which was released in December 2007. While the film received positive reviews, it did poorly commercially. In 2008, he served as producer for Drillbit Taylor starring Owen Wilson and Leslie Mann and written by Seth Rogen , which opened in March and earned negative reviews. For

13110-521: The first major studio rom-com with an all LGBTQ cast. The film stars Billy Eichner , Luke Macfarlane , Ts Madison , Monica Raymund , Guillermo Díaz , Guy Branum , and Amanda Bearse . Apatow memorialized the friendship of comics Bob Newhart and Don Rickles in Bob & Don: A Love Story —a 2023 short documentary film featuring interviews with and home movies of both families. In 2007, New York magazine noted that former Apatow associate Mike White

13248-642: The free DVDs". He became a member in 2008. Apatow met actress Leslie Mann on the set of the 1996 comedy film The Cable Guy , where he served as producer and she was cast as the girlfriend of Matthew Broderick 's character. They were married on June 9, 1997, in Los Angeles, and have two daughters, Maude and Iris . Mann has appeared in Freaks and Geeks , The 40-Year-Old Virgin , Knocked Up , Drillbit Taylor , Funny People , and This Is 40 . Both daughters appeared in Knocked Up, Funny People, and This Is 40 , as Leslie Mann's character's daughters, and Maude

13386-418: The gift but agrees to let Chip use his apartment to host a party for all of his preferred customers, where Steven has sex with a young woman whom Chip later reveals was a prostitute he hired for Steven. Upon this revelation, Steven angrily ejects Chip from his apartment. To make amends, Chip tracks down Robin, who is dating another man who he beats up and tells to stay away, and upgrades her cable, ostensibly as

13524-596: The government. While satire of everyday life in the USSR was allowed, the most prominent satirist being Arkady Raikin , political satire existed in the form of anecdotes that made fun of Soviet political leaders, especially Brezhnev , famous for his narrow-mindedness and love for awards and decorations. Satire is a diverse genre which is complex to classify and define, with a wide range of satiric "modes". Satirical literature can commonly be categorized as either Horatian, Juvenalian, or Menippean . Horatian satire, named for

13662-594: The greatest comedy actors of our day when they were just coming into their power. I love that character. That character is all of us: we were all raised by the TV. The Cable Guy: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released on May 21, 1996, via Work Group . It consists of previously unreleased songs, largely of alternative rock and heavy metal bands, and includes the first solo recording by Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains fame. The soundtrack includes Jim Carrey's version of Jefferson Airplane 's " Somebody to Love " which

13800-400: The initial draft of the film on the set of Talladega Nights . The story concerns a slacker and a media personality (Rogen and Heigl, respectively) whose one-night stand results in an unintended pregnancy. In addition to being a critical success, the film was also a commercial hit, continuing Apatow's newfound mainstream success. In August 2007, Apatow produced the film Superbad , which

13938-402: The intent of exposing or shaming the perceived flaws of individuals, corporations, government, or society itself into improvement. Although satire is usually meant to be humorous, its greater purpose is often constructive social criticism , using wit to draw attention to both particular and wider issues in society. A prominent feature of satire is strong irony or sarcasm —"in satire, irony

14076-598: The larger community the self identifies with. The audience's understanding of the context of reflexive humour is important for its receptivity and success. Satire is found not only in written literary forms. In preliterate cultures it manifests itself in ritual and folk forms, as well as in trickster tales and oral poetry . It appears also in graphic arts, music, sculpture, dance, cartoon strips , and graffiti . Examples are Dada sculptures, Pop Art works, music of Gilbert and Sullivan and Erik Satie , punk and rock music . In modern media culture , stand-up comedy

14214-696: The life of a customer, played by Broderick. The film was a box office success, though not to the extent of many of Carrey's previous films. It received mixed reception from critics, but has since attained a cult following . Architect Steven Kovacs moves into an apartment after a failed marriage proposal to his girlfriend Robin Harris. When the cable installer, Ernie "Chip" Douglas, arrives, Steven acts on advice from his friend Rick and bribes him to get him free movie channels. Chip makes Steven one of his preferred customers and, in return for his services, asks if he can see Steven socially, which Steven begrudgingly agrees to. On

14352-725: The more they try to stop you, the better is the job you are doing. Fo contends that, historically, people in positions of power have welcomed and encouraged good-humoured buffoonery, while modern day people in positions of power have tried to censor, ostracize and repress satire. Teasing ( sfottò ) is an ancient form of simple buffoonery , a form of comedy without satire's subversive edge. Teasing includes light and affectionate parody, good-humoured mockery, simple one-dimensional poking fun, and benign spoofs. Teasing typically consists of an impersonation of someone monkeying around with his exterior attributes, tics , physical blemishes, voice and mannerisms, quirks, way of dressing and walking, and/or

14490-410: The offended hanged themselves. In the 2nd century AD, Lucian wrote True History , a book satirizing the clearly unrealistic travelogues/adventures written by Ctesias , Iambulus , and Homer . He states that he was surprised they expected people to believe their lies, and stating that he, like them, has no actual knowledge or experience, but shall now tell lies as if he did. He goes on to describe

14628-410: The other. Max Eastman defined the spectrum of satire in terms of "degrees of biting", as ranging from satire proper at the hot-end, and "kidding" at the violet-end; Eastman adopted the term kidding to denote what is just satirical in form, but is not really firing at the target. Nobel laureate satirical playwright Dario Fo pointed out the difference between satire and teasing ( sfottò ). Teasing

14766-569: The outstanding documentary or nonfiction special award at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards for his work on the documentary. In June 2020, Apatow's seventh directorial film, The King of Staten Island , co-written with and starring Pete Davidson , was to be released in theatres but due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic it was instead released to video on demand on the 12th of June to positive reviews from critics. In 2022, Apatow, Joshua Church, and Nicholas Stoller co-produced Bros ,

14904-477: The phrases he typically repeats. By contrast, teasing never touches on the core issue, never makes a serious criticism judging the target with irony ; it never harms the target's conduct, ideology and position of power; it never undermines the perception of his morality and cultural dimension. Sfottò directed towards a powerful individual makes him appear more human and draws sympathy towards him. Hermann Göring propagated jests and jokes against himself, with

15042-543: The publication of Hall 's Virgidemiarum , six books of verse satires targeting everything from literary fads to corrupt noblemen. Although Donne had already circulated satires in manuscript, Hall's was the first real attempt in English at verse satire on the Juvenalian model. The success of his work combined with a national mood of disillusion in the last years of Elizabeth's reign triggered an avalanche of satire—much of it less conscious of classical models than Hall's — until

15180-490: The rest of 2008, Apatow produced the comedy films Forgetting Sarah Marshall starring Jason Segel and Kristen Bell ; Step Brothers , which reunites Talladega Nights co-stars Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly ; and Pineapple Express starring Seth Rogen and James Franco , both of whom originally starred on Freaks and Geeks . In addition, he served as co-writer for the Adam Sandler comedy film You Don't Mess with

15318-405: The rest of existence." New York Times critic A.O. Scott , reflecting on summer films of 2009, opined that Funny People was "a movie about growing up, feeling sad, facing death—a long, serious film whose subject is the challenge of maturity. Which may be why, in the face of a softish opening weekend, various interpreters of box office data were quick to declare Funny People a flop. The summer

15456-532: The rest of the writing staff, Fox canceled the show in 1993. Apatow went on to join HBO's The Larry Sanders Show in 1993 as a writer and consulting producer, and he later served as a co-executive producer and director of an episode during the show's final season in 1998. He credits Shandling as his mentor for influencing him to write comedy that is more character-driven. Apatow earned six Emmy nominations for his work on Larry Sanders. During this same time, he worked as

15594-492: The satiric grotesque. Shit plays a fundamental role in satire because it symbolizes death , the turd being "the ultimate dead object". The satirical comparison of individuals or institutions with human excrement , exposes their "inherent inertness, corruption and dead-likeness". The ritual clowns of clown societies , like among the Pueblo Indians , have ceremonies with filth-eating . In other cultures, sin-eating

15732-434: The series. After its cancellation, Apatow was the executive producer and creator of the series Undeclared , which reused Seth Rogen in the main cast and other Freaks and Geeks cast members in recurring roles. Although both shows were quickly canceled, USA Today media critic Susan Wloszczyna called the shows "two of the most acclaimed TV series to ever last only one season". In 2001, Apatow created North Hollywood ,

15870-489: The social code of the upper classes. Comedy in general accepts the rules of the social game, while satire subverts them. Another analysis of satire is the spectrum of his possible tones : wit , ridicule , irony , sarcasm , cynicism , the sardonic and invective . The type of humour that deals with creating laughter at the expense of the person telling the joke is called reflexive humour. Reflexive humour can take place at dual levels of directing humour at self or at

16008-411: The studio did not specifically order removals, "but we took [the scenes] out as part of the natural evolution of our creative process". Stiller stated that he shot every scene with "a dark version and a light version", and that he was surprised that the studio did not object to the violent ending. The fight sequence at Medieval Times between Chip (Jim Carrey) and Steven (Matthew Broderick) is an homage to

16146-406: The success of Anchorman and The 40-Year-Old Virgin , Apatow was still unable to sell both Superbad and Pineapple Express ; it was only after he produced the commercial hit Talladega Nights that Sony Pictures Entertainment decided to produce both. At this point, Rogen was unable to play the lead for Superbad , as he had grown too old to play the part of Seth. Subsequently, he was cast in

16284-439: The term satire in the modern broader sense was Apuleius . To Quintilian, the satire was a strict literary form, but the term soon escaped from the original narrow definition. Robert Elliott writes: As soon as a noun enters the domain of metaphor, as one modern scholar has pointed out, it clamours for extension; and satura (which had had no verbal, adverbial, or adjectival forms) was immediately broadened by appropriation from

16422-510: The terms cynicism and parody were used. Modern critics call the Greek playwright Aristophanes one of the best known early satirists: his plays are known for their critical political and societal commentary , particularly for the political satire by which he criticized the powerful Cleon (as in The Knights ). He is also notable for the persecution he underwent. Aristophanes' plays turned upon images of filth and disease. His bawdy style

16560-534: The way it is called in Chinese, goes back at least to Confucius , being mentioned in the Book of Odes (Shijing 詩經). It meant "to criticize by means of an ode". In the pre-Qin era it was also common for schools of thought to clarify their views through the use of short explanatory anecdotes, also called yuyan (寓言), translated as "entrusted words". These yuyan usually were brimming with satirical content. The Daoist text Zhuangzi

16698-461: The words or position of his opponent in order to jeopardize their opponent's reputation and/or power. Jonathan Swift has been established as an author who "borrowed heavily from Juvenal's techniques in [his critique] of contemporary English society". In the history of theatre there has always been a conflict between engagement and disengagement on politics and relevant issue, between satire and grotesque on one side, and jest with teasing on

16836-406: The work Reynard the Fox , written by Willem die Madoc maecte, and its translations were a popular work that satirized the class system at the time. Representing the various classes as certain anthropomorphic animals. As example, the lion in the story represents the nobility, which is portrayed as being weak and without character, but very greedy. Versions of Reynard the Fox were also popular well into

16974-891: The writings of the Roman satirist Juvenal (late first century – early second century AD), is more contemptuous and abrasive than the Horatian. Juvenal disagreed with the opinions of the public figures and institutions of the Republic and actively attacked them through his literature. "He utilized the satirical tools of exaggeration and parody to make his targets appear monstrous and incompetent". Juvenal's satire follows this same pattern of abrasively ridiculing societal structures. Juvenal also, unlike Horace, attacked public officials and governmental organizations through his satires, regarding their opinions as not just wrong, but evil. Following in this tradition, Juvenalian satire addresses perceived social evil through scorn, outrage, and savage ridicule. This form

17112-604: Was "disenchanted" by Apatow's later films, "objecting to the treatment of women and gay men in Apatow's recent movies", with White quoted as saying of Knocked Up : "At some point it starts feeling like comedy of the bullies, rather than the bullied." In Apatow's comedies, characters had frequently used demeaning words against the LGBTQ community , words such as " tranny ", and " faggot ". Actress Katherine Heigl said in 2007 that though she enjoyed working with Apatow on Knocked Up , she found

17250-450: Was 12 years old, his parents divorced. Robert went to live with his maternal grandparents, and Mia went to live with her mother. As a child, Apatow lived mainly with his father, and visited his mother on weekends. Apatow's mother spent a summer working at a comedy club, which is where Judd was first exposed to live stand-up comedy . Apatow's deep interest in comedy dates back to his childhood; his heroes were Steve Martin , Bill Cosby and

17388-561: Was adopted by Greek dramatist-comedian Menander . His early play Drunkenness contains an attack on the politician Callimedon . The oldest form of satire still in use is the Menippean satire by Menippus of Gadara . His own writings are lost. Examples from his admirers and imitators mix seriousness and mockery in dialogues and present parodies before a background of diatribe . As in the case of Aristophanes plays, menippean satire turned upon images of filth and disease. Satire, or fengci (諷刺)

17526-488: Was also considered for the role of the Cable Guy. Jim Carrey joined the production, receiving a then record $ 20 million to star. Following Carrey's signing, Columbia Pictures hired Judd Apatow to produce. Columbia rebuffed Apatow's interest in directing, but accepted his suggestion to invite Ben Stiller on whose Ben Stiller Show Apatow had worked. Stiller was considered to play the Steven Kovacs character before it

17664-657: Was also nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series at the 2012 and 2013 Primetime Emmys for Girls and was also nominated at the Critics' Choice Television Awards for Girls . In 2012, Apatow received the Hollywood Comedy Award at the 16th annual Hollywood Film Awards presented by the Hollywood Film Festival . Additionally in 2012, Apatow was presented with the Herb Sargent Award for Comedy Excellence from

17802-605: Was an Arabian Nights tale called "Ali with the Large Member". In the 10th century, the writer Tha'alibi recorded satirical poetry written by the Arabic poets As-Salami and Abu Dulaf, with As-Salami praising Abu Dulaf's wide breadth of knowledge and then mocking his ability in all these subjects, and with Abu Dulaf responding back and satirizing As-Salami in return. An example of Arabic political satire included another 10th-century poet Jarir satirizing Farazdaq as "a transgressor of

17940-605: Was being developed into an episode that would air in 2015. Apatow co-produced Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues , which was released December 18, 2013, with the plot focusing on "Ron Burgundy's struggle to find his place in the rise of new media and the 24-hour news cycle". Apatow produced Begin Again (2013), starring Keira Knightley who plays a singer-songwriter who is discovered by a struggling record label executive (played by Mark Ruffalo ) and collaborates with him to produce an album recorded in public locations all over New York City. Writer-director John Carney first pitched

18078-453: Was considered "unchristian" and ignored, except for the moral satire , which mocked misbehaviour in Christian terms. Examples are Livre des Manières by Étienne de Fougères  [ fr ] (~1178), and some of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales . Sometimes epic poetry (epos) was mocked, and even feudal society, but there was hardly a general interest in the genre. In the High Middle Ages

18216-601: Was introduced by manager Jimmy Miller to Garry Shandling which resulted in Apatow being hired as a writer for the 1991 Grammy Awards that year, which Shandling hosted. He went on to co-produce comedy specials by Roseanne Arnold , Tom Arnold , and Jim Carrey . In 1992, Apatow appeared on HBO's 15th Annual Young Comedians Special and shortly afterwards went on to co-create and executive produce The Ben Stiller Show for Fox . Apatow had met Stiller outside of an Elvis Costello concert in 1990, and they became friends. Despite critical acclaim and an Emmy Award for Apatow and

18354-548: Was nominated at the 34th Young Artist Awards for Best Performance in a Feature Film – Supporting Young Actress for This Is 40 . Apatow and his family live in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles . Apatow's philanthropic work includes supporting the literacy organization 826LA , the Bogart Pediatric Cancer Research Program, and Children's Cancer Research Center at Children's hospital. He edited

18492-480: Was offered to Matthew Broderick . The original screenplay by Lou Holtz Jr. was a lighter comedy, described by Apatow as "a What About Bob? annoying friend movie" where the Cable Guy was a likeable loser who intrudes upon the cable subscriber's life, but never in a physically threatening way. Carrey, Apatow and Stiller liked the setup of "somebody who is really smart with technology invading somebody's life", and opted to add slapstick and darker tones, changing into

18630-466: Was performed by him in the film. It also includes a song from $ 10,000 Gold Chain, a side project of Pearl Jam lead guitarist Mike McCready . White Zombie 's " More Human than Human " is featured in a dramatic scene of the film but was not included on the soundtrack release. Cantrell's " Leave Me Alone " served as the soundtrack's promotional vehicle and was released as a single, peaking at No. 14 on Billboard 's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. It had

18768-554: Was titled Making Amends , which had Owen Wilson attached to star as a man in Alcoholics Anonymous who decides to apologize to everyone he has ever hurt. However, the film was never made. Apatow did uncredited rewrites of the Adam Sandler films Happy Gilmore and The Wedding Singer . He was also featured in four tracks on Sandler's 1996 comedy album " What the Hell Happened to Me? " In 1999, Apatow created Sick in

18906-443: Was well aware that, in treating of new themes in his prose works, he would have to employ a vocabulary of a nature more familiar in hija , satirical poetry." For example, in one of his zoological works, he satirized the preference for longer human penis size , writing: "If the length of the penis were a sign of honor, then the mule would belong to the (honorable tribe of) Quraysh ". Another satirical story based on this preference

19044-442: Was written by Seth Rogen and his writing partner Evan Goldberg . A concept Rogen and Goldberg had created as teens, Apatow convinced Rogen to write the film as a vehicle for himself in 2000. Rogen and Goldberg finished writing the film, but were unable to find a studio interested in producing it. Apatow then enlisted Rogen and Goldberg to write Pineapple Express , a stoner action movie that he felt would be more commercial. After

#93906