I love magazines and film critics, so I eat it up. I'm not one of those people who says 'I never read anything.' I generally read all of it.
— Judd Apatow
I think that everything I do tends to root for the underdog.
People like the comedy more when they care about the characters.
It's so difficult to shock America these days.
For me, until I know that the audience really gets what I'm trying to communicate I'm not done.
I think a lot of Hollywood is in retreat right now trying to figure out how to make money and make the safest bets.
My way of dealing with the world has always been to make fun of it and observe it but not take part in it. That's how I became a writer. But when you have kids, suddenly you have to be part of things. It leads almost to a breakdown because your whole defense mechanism is now really destructive.
I'm the guy who gets uncomfortable. That's why I was able to write 'The 40-Year-Old Virgin' and 'Knocked Up.' I believe in those guys.
If you look at who drives the box office numbers at these films, it's men.
I always see other people as predecessors and admire them.
I always felt as a kid that I was underappreciated, invisible or weird, but I've always secretly thought people would one day appreciate what is different about me. I'm always putting that message out there.
I put on a big show when I write something I think is funny.
I wanted to see how funny I could be without making the choice that every 10 minutes something big and visual had to happen.
I've had movies bomb with terrible reviews, I've had movies make a lot of money with terrible reviews, I've had movies get good reviews and make money. And I like it best when the movies do well and the reviewers like them.
The thing that is incredibly helpful is that we screen the movies and we ask the audience if they like it or not and we ask a lot of questions and do testing on the movies. For comedies, at least, it's very helpful. If they're not laughing and they don't say that they loved it, then I have screwed up.
I think a lot of studios today are run by women, and we are entering a time when a lot of women have evolved in Second City and Upright Citizens Brigade and wanted to become writers and comedians.
I'm making a movie about relationships, and I'm surrounded by guys scared of talking to girls.
All of my jokes were about not being able to meet anybody. I didn't have any insight into anything - even my own insecurities.
There was definitely a period when I just felt out of sync with earth.
I still feel like a nerd.
Eventually, the nerds and the geeks will have their day.
The moment you think of a joke is the best moment.
College is the reward for surviving high school. Most people have great fun stories from college and nightmare stories from high school.
Television is much more difficult because at every moment the network can force you to change things based on their belief about what would make it popular. You're in a constant debate with a gun at your head, and the gun is cancellation. So it's hard to win the arguments.
Well, every movie is an experiment. And the only way you can grow at what you're doing is to take chances. You can't try to stick with what worked last time.
To me, I've never understood why there is any question about are women as funny as men.
There's something honorable about holding out for love and not breaking up for the sake of the baby. I see people get divorced, and there is a part of me that thinks, I wonder how hard they tried?
Up until 'Bridesmaids', the general consensus was that women preferred comedy a bit softer.
There are only so many hilarious actors so when they cross-pollinate, people assume it's always the same actors and directors.
I don't know if you can be a born-again virgin.
