There's quite a bit of buzz brewing about
Judd Apatow's newest film,
Funny People.
It looks like it's going to be a bit of a departure for the producer who made mega bucks with straight-up comedies like
Cable Guy, Anchorman and
Knocked-Up.
His new film is being billed as a "dramucomedy" which tells the story of seasoned comedian George Simmons (
Adam Sandler), who has a terminal inoperable health condition. When he learns of his condition, his desire to form a genuine friendship cause him to take a relatively green performer (
Seth Rogen) under his wing as his opening act.
The film also stars
Leslie Mann (Apatow's wife who also appeared in
Knocked-Up),
Eric Bana,
Jonah Hill and
Jason Schwartzman - who also happens to be writing the music for the film. (According to
The Playlist, Schwartzman already moonlights with music in his one-man indie-pop side project, Coconut Records. His 2007 debut album,
Nighttiming, featured singing guest vocal appearances by Zooey Deschanel and
Twilight star Kirsten Stewart.)
Funny People will also feature cameos from comedians Sarah Silverman and Andy Dick.
It will be interesting to see Apatow handles a more dramatic piece. Predictably, many movie blogs are going apeshit over the prospect of Apatow dabbling in a new genre.
Some are ever throwing around Oscar predictions.
Hopefully the film will live up to the heady expectations. As Apatow himself says, "I'm trying to make a very serious movie that is twice as funny as my other movies. Wish me luck!"
It's scheduled for release in Australian cinemas on July 30.
In the meantime, do yourself a favour and view the new Funny People trailer here on TheVine.** As a bit of shit trivia, you'll notice that the kids in the film are the same two kids that appeared in
Knocked-Up. They're the kids of Apatow and his wife Leslie Mann
.