BuzzSugar

What's Your Favorite Judd Apatow-Directed Movie?

BuzzSugar — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 16:30:26 -0700

When I saw Funny People last week, I was quick to call it my least favorite of the three movies Judd Apatow has directed. I just didn't have quite the same feeling as I did after seeing 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up when I wanted to watch them again and again. Out of the three, I have a particularly special place in my heart for 40-Year-Old Virgin, but tell me - what's your favorite Judd Apatow movie?

Box Office: Horton Hears a Lot of Ka-Ching

BuzzSugar — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 09:30:41 -0700

After shattering 2008 box office records last week, Horton Hears a Who once again took the top spot over this Easter holiday weekend. Variety reports that Good Friday was the strongest day for Dr. Seuss' Horton which took in $25.1 million over the weekend in addition to the movie's opening weekend earnings of $45 million.

Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns also performed well, coming in second place with a respectable $20 million.

Plagued by poor reviews and a lack of promotion for the film, the Judd Apatow-produced Drillbit Taylor earned a disappointing $10.2 million, putting the movie at No. 4 behind the thriller Shutter. Compared to how Apatow's comedies like Knocked Up performed last year, this kind of opening indicates that Apatow's attachment to a project doesn't guarantee box office gold. The top five was rounded out by 10,000 B.C. which dropped several spots from the No. 2 spot it held last week.

This weekend will bring several openings that will likely shake up the box office including Kevin Spacey's 21 and the war drama Stop-Loss.

Photos courtesy of 20th Century Fox

2007: Year of Apatow

BuzzSugar — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 11:22:47 -0800

I said it back in May, and it's still true as the year winds down: Judd Apatow is everywhere. The man whom the Los Angeles Times named "the mayor of comedy" had two of the Summer movie season's biggest hits, signed on for several more highly anticipated projects, had a New York Times Magazine cover story all about him, and generally became a household name - not bad for a self-described schlub in an unglamorous polo shirt. Want to reminisce about Apatow's big year? Just hit start.

View Slideshow ›

Do You Think Knocked Up Is Sexist?

BuzzSugar — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 16:12:49 -0800

In a recent Vanity Fair interview , Katherine Heigl stated that she didn't really like Knocked Up because she thinks it's sexist. She says, "It paints the women as shrews, as humorless and uptight, and it paints the men as lovable, goofy, fun-loving guys. It exaggerated the characters, and I had a hard time with it, on some days. I'm playing such a b*tch; why is she being such a killjoy? Why is this how you're portraying women?"

While I think her character is underdeveloped in comparison to the other (male) characters (i.e. why does she have absolutely no friends?), I'm not sure what I think about the statement that the depiction of women in Knocked Up is sexist. What do you think?

And speaking of Judd Apatow movies, you can currently check out a clip from his next project Pineapple Express, starring Seth Rogen and James Franco.

Source

What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 10:29:16 -0700

All of the new DVD releases hit stores (and Netflix) on Tuesdays. So each week in What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday, I sort through the best of the batch and tell you what to add to your queue.

Knocked Up
If you somehow missed one of this year's best comedies, now's your chance to laugh and cringe your way through Knocked Up, Judd Apatow's summer success. I absolutely loved this movie all about two unlikely lovers who suddenly find themselves pregnant after a one night stand. There's plenty of raunchy humor and disgusting/hilarious sight gags, but also a lot of warmth and heart.

And there are plenty of extra features, confirming my theory that the more popular the movie, the more extras on the DVD. Some of these include deleted and extended scenes, a gag reel, "Line-O-Rama" (lots of alternate takes) and audio commentary with Judd Apatow, Seth Rogen and Bill Hader, among others. Or, if you're the kind of Knocked Up fan who wants more, there's a 2-disc unrated "collector's edition" which boasts a variety of salacious goodies, like "Judd Apatow's Video Diaries," the raunchier deleted and extended scenes and a featurette of Paul Rudd and Seth Rogen wandering through Las Vegas titled "Stripper Confidential."

Two more new releases if you read more

Bug
This horror/thriller from Exorcist director William Friedkin finds Ashley Judd playing Agnes, a lonely woman whose new man (Michael Shannon) becomes convinced that the government has injected live bugs into his blood. The play on which the movie is based is terrifying, so I can only imagine what Friedkin did with the film version.

"My Name Is Earl" - Season Two
For all you "Earl" fans, here's another 4-disc DVD set for your collection. The discs include all the episodes from Season Two and a handful of extras, like a blooper reel, deleted scenes and audio commentary from various actors including Jason Lee, Giovanni Ribisi, Jaime Pressly and Amy Sedaris. According to TV Squad, who reviewed the DVD set, the commentaries provide little tidbits like "Paul the sleepwalking guy is played by an assistant director," and "Beau Bridges was bitten by a gerbil on the set." In addition, there is apparently a mock trailer for a telenovela version of the show called "Las Passiones De Catalina."

James Franco Gets Fake-Fired from Knocked Up

BuzzSugar — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 11:27:22 -0700

In case there was any doubt that Knocked Up must have had the most fun movie set in recent history, here's more proof: yet another fake on-set fight video. This time, it's not Michael Cera who's been cast in (and fired from) the Seth Rogen role - it's James Franco. He's supposed to whisk Katherine Heigl's character off for a romantic lunch, but instead he launches into a dull story about a dog, leading to a screaming fight between him and director Judd Apatow that covers the demise of "Freaks and Geeks" and pits Apatow against Spider-Man director Sam Raimi. To watch the video, read more

James Franco gets fired as lead role in Knocked Up

Source

Ocean's Thirteen Swindles Pirates Out of No. 1 Spot

BuzzSugar — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 05:30:00 -0700

Ocean and his cohorts robbed the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie out of their No. 1 spot at the box office. Ocean's Thirteen took in an impressive $37 million its opening weekend while Pirates followed behind in second place with $21 million. Knocked Up showed a strong second weekend coming in just barely behind Pirates with $20 million.

Animated family flicks Surf's Up and Shrek the Third took 4th and 5th places, while the gory torture-fest that is Hostel: Part II straggled after them, bringing in just $8.7 million. Well, sure, I'd rather see a surfing penguin than torture-tainment any day. This weekend the Fantastic Four will try their hand at taking the top slot from Ocean's Thirteen.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

What's Your Favorite Summer Movie So Far?

BuzzSugar — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 04:30:00 -0700

This week Ocean's Thirteen comes out so we'll have even more options when it comes to summer movies. But so far, between the super-spiders, pirates, ogres and surprise pregnancies, which is your favorite summer movie so far?

If you haven't seen these movies, which are you most excited to see?

Would You Get With Seth Rogen?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 05:29:00 -0700

One of my (very few!) beefs with Knocked Up was that it didn't seem like Allison (Katherine Heigl) and Ben (Seth Rogen) were really all that into each other.

Cinematical (by way of Hollywood Elsewhere) has put things a little more bluntly: Would someone who looks like Allison actually get with someone who looks like Ben? Allison's character is not shallow or judgmental, but what she actually likes about Ben is unclear. And if we're going on looks alone, well, her sexiness factor is simply higher than his.

So, what about you?

Box Office: Pirates Still Over Getting Knocked Up

BuzzSugar — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 00:03:43 -0700

Though suffering a huge dip in sales (earning $43 million this weekend, down from $139 million the previous weekend), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End easily took the No. 1 spot at the box office this weekend, though Judd Apatow's latest baby Knocked Up came in second place with a respectable $29 million. The budget for Knocked Up, by the way, was approximately $30 million, so I'd say they're off to a great start.

Shrek the Third held steady at No. 3, bringing in nearly as much as Knocked Up did. Curiously, Spider-Man 3 took the 5th place spot after the Kevin Costner thriller Mr. Brooks, so it looks like ol' Spidey is losing some steam. This Friday we'll see whether thirteen Vegas rollers can swindle Captain Jack Sparrow out of his box office place of honor.