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.
I need to find people who I respect so I can respect them, and they’ll like being respected so they’ll respect me, and that’s like a marriage.
I really think more about being honest and truthful about feelings and how people behave for the movies that I direct, but I also love movies like Zohan and Anchorman, just balls to the wall, how much can you make people laugh in one 90 minute period.
As a kid, I was obsessed with the Who. They were the most important band to me. Songs like “I’m One” helped me get through high school.
I don’t think I’m going to get so mature that I lose touch with the whatever wounded part of myself that feels the need to be funny. I’m already old enough that I realize that’s not going to happen.
Maybe you just get so attached to the music of your youth that you think it’s better than what’s coming out now.
You hear people say: “One day, when I’m in a good position I can make my passion project.” I’ve seen a lot of people get into that position and not make it.
Sometimes you need to get away for a few weeks just to figure out who you are again.
I start casting early in the writing process, so I can tailor the script to the gifts of the actors.
I’m always begging people like James Brooks and Cameron Crowe to come to screenings, to see what they make of it, and they’re always ridiculously helpful. They also keep me brave enough to commit to what I’m trying to do. They can be great cheerleaders for risk-taking.
A lot of times, it’s easy to trim the movie ’cause you just start losing things that you thought would be there just for amusement’s sake that actually are not funny. My favorite part of the process is seeing it with an audience. I do about eight previews to see how things are working.
I love when people work together who know each other very well. Some of my favourite movies are people who are close friends or families.
I didn’t want to be a director for hire. It really just took me a long time to learn how to direct and to feel up to the job.
When I notice that all the beats sound exactly the same, it starts to wear on me.
I definitely learned to embrace the quiet moments onstage from Garry Shandling – relaxing and not fighting with the crowd, not raising your voice, not ever trying to win them over.
I don’t think because a story has humor in it means it’s brief. For some reason, people think anything that’s 30 minutes is a comedy, comedies can be longer or shorter, so can dramas.
It’s funny, now there are so many bands that I can never remember any of their names. Maybe it’s because I’m old.
I had a very specific type of terrible network experience where I was told that people like Seth Rogen and Jason Segel weren’t leads, so it truly drove me mad. So to be trusted is all I value.
I still feel like a weird kid who is about to take a punch in the face. So, I think it’s permanent.
Nowadays, when kids decide they like an artist, they’ll absorb everything that artist has ever done in a single night.
I try to just save a fresh, clear head for whoever I’m working with, so hopefully it’s helpful that there’s someone who doesn’t have to sit in the editing room for 12 hours a day, and who’s blinded by the massive footage and options that they have.