by Judd Apatow
First published 2015
Judd Apatow began his comedy obsession at fifteen, washing dishes at a local club just to watch stand-up performances for free. By sixteen, he was hosting a radio show on his high school station in Syosset, Long Island, conducting interviews with his comedy heroes like Garry Shandling and Jerry Seinfeld. Three decades later, the filmmaker behind Knocked Up and producer of Freaks and Geeks has compiled his most revealing conversations into this collection. The book features interviews with comedy legends who shaped Apatow's career, including Mel Brooks and Steve Martin, alongside contemporaries like Spike Jonze and Sarah Silverman, plus current stars such as Seth Rogen and Amy Schumer. What begins as discussions about careers and joke construction evolves into deeper territory, exploring creativity, ambition, and the drive to make people laugh. The conversations reveal the back-of-the-club stories that comics share when audiences aren't listening, offering readers an intimate look at the minds behind the laughter.
Genres: humor, non-fiction, biography-memoir, comedy
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: behind-the-scenes, creative-process, interviews
Setting: Long Island, Syosset
Period: 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s
489 pages · Hardcover · Random House