Judd Apatow

I actually was convinced that Kreger was going to botch this, not because he's not a good director, but because I think the subject, the material, the IP, the intellectual property has been done to death.

I mean, I thought of this as the equivalent of Judd Apatow saying, all right, after making an Academy Award winning film or a critically acclaimed comedy, I'm going to make a Police Academy sequel.

Not a reboot, just going to make a Police Academy film, right? I mean, you would listen to that and go, are you sure? Are you sure that that's what you should be doing? There's no other scripts that you want to work with? There's no other subjects you want to dig into? Really, a Police Academy sequel.

Okay, it's your career.

For

instance, Judd Apatow and Sylvester Stallone, they both had their social security numbers leaked.

No way.

Yeah.

Four celebs who hate their partner's kissing scenes.

Number four, Judd Apatow.

He actually casts guys to make out with his wife, which is crazy.

The director puts Leslie Mann in his movies, yet watching her kiss co-stars remains excruciating.

David picks it up.

Judd Apatow.

The Coen brothers make a serious man, which is basically a feature-length meditation on the type.

And Steven Mintz makes the argument that this wasn't just ethnic comedy.

And in the process, share what it takes to bring across a moment in time in a way that delights, informs, and otherwise engages a present day audience.

What it took, as Nick tells in this case, was the buy-in and enthusiasm of Martin Short and Judd Apatow, who signed on as executive producer and spirit guide.

And Nick will share with us how those connections came about once we get going here.

Nick comes by his storytelling roots honestly.

So we had to find her.

You had some heavy hitters helping you here on this, Nick.

Judd Apatow was one of your executive producers.

I mean, it looks like at every stop along the way, I don't know anything about the animation company you enlisted to help you visualize this story.

Exactly.

Judd Apatow.

Exactly.

But isn't

I always assumed he just rolled out of a frat house and onto a stage.

He did, and he was even roommates with a young Judd Apatow while he was grinding out sets at comedy clubs.

His big break came in 1990 when Saturday Night Live hired him as a writer, and within a few years, he was a full-blown cast member.

That was the bad boys of SNL era, right? Him, Chris Farley, David Spade, the guys who basically broke all the rules.

A couple other ones.

Many of the names of the kids' jerseys are those of the crew members, such as Apatow.

Oh.

So Judd Apatow and Mia Apatow and Watson, assistant director Jonathan Watson.

They were names of some of the crew members.

Oh, okay.