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| Apatow and Mann |
Last night, as part of the Telefilm Canada Feature Comedy
Exchange, the Canadian Film Centre hosted a master class with Judd Apatow and
Leslie Mann, the successful husband and wife comedy team behind the upcoming
comedy This is 40. The two funny
people, best known for their film work in The
40 Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up,
shared stories about their creative process so that up-and-coming filmmakers
could gain some insight at what makes their comedy such a success. The point
was underscored by Eugene Levy, who introduced the comedic duo to the audience
at the TIFF Bell Lightbox and noted that he was proud to present two artists
whose work “is actually funny.”
Mann fielded the first question from Crouse and told the
audience about how she and Apatow met. Their stories differ, but Mann said that
they met during an audition for a part in The
Cable Guy, which Apatow produced, and one made an impression on the other,
although it took some canned spaghetti and Wonder Bread to charm the second
party. (It seems that cooking isn’t among Apatow’s many talents.)
The anecdote about the couple’s relationship provided a good
segue for illuminating how they create material that is riotously funny yet
true to life. The first tip, Apatow explained, is not to remain conscious about
whether something will be funny or not. Mann added that it’s all in the timing
and delivery, noting that she doesn’t even consider herself a “comedic actress”
even though her roles often go beyond the typical straight-man part that’s
conventionally been reserved for women in comedy.
Using one clip from The
40 Year-Old Virgin, in which Mann drives drunk and then barfs on Steve Carell,
the team shared how their creative process is ongoing, with the dialogue of the
scene remaining roughly the same as it was when scripted but the ensuing turn
of the scene altering during filming and editing. Flexibility is one other key
that Apatow and Mann noted, since some things seem much funnier on the page
than they do in the editing room. Post-production also allows for some
additional improvisation, such as a few inflections of obnoxious intoxication
into re-recorded dialogue. (“Frrrrrench toast!”)
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| This is 40 |
The conversation gradually built towards This is 40 with Apatow and Mann sharing
with Crouse and the audience how one can inflect scenes with a variety of tonal
shifts, or by adding more substance and depth of character by infusing material
with snippets of one’s own life. This is
40 is arguably the most personal film that Apatow and Mann have made
together so far: not only does the married couple in the film (played by Mann
and Paul Rudd) draw shades from Mann and Apatow’s own marriage, but the two
daughters in the film are played by the
couple’s daughters in real life. Scenes from the couple’s family life even
seeped into the evening’s conversation when their daughter Maude called Apatow
in the midst of an answer and he inconspicuously put her on speakerphone. (So,
if you think that your dad embarrasses you in public, just imagine what happens
when he is a professional comic!) Adding their daughters is simply a new
element of adaptability that the couple has brought to their work, and they
seemed to have made it even more maturely humorous than it was before. It seems
that comedy is always a work in progress!
This is Forty opens in theatres on December 21.
For more information
on the Canadian Film Centre, please visit www.cfccreates.com
