Top 120 Judd Apatow Quotes (2024 Update)
Page 2 of 3

51. “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.”

— Judd Apatow

52. “For me, until I know that the audience really gets what I’m trying to communicate I’m not done.”

— Judd Apatow

53. “I think a lot of studios today are run by women, and we are entering a time when a lot of women have evolved in Second City and Upright Citizens Brigade and wanted to become writers and comedians.”

— Judd Apatow

54. “My first writing jobs were writing Tom Arnold specials for HBO, so I love working there.”

— Judd Apatow

55. “I still feel like a weird kid who is about to take a punch in the face. So, I think it’s permanent.”

— Judd Apatow

56. “I hear Amy Schumer on Howard Stern, and I think, “I wish there was a movie that starred her, because she’s so interesting,” and then at some point I go, “I guess I have to get involved, because it’s not happening right now. Maybe I should help try to make that happen.””

— Judd Apatow

57. “A lot of bands that are great disappear a little bit faster than they used to. They don’t get as much support for the long haul. You have to be pretty tough to hang in there.”

— Judd Apatow

58. “I’m always talking to people. It’s not that complicated. I just find somebody and say, “Do you have any ideas.” If they do, we just start thinking things around.”

— Judd Apatow

59. “I like to make movies the way people made movies in the ’70s, where they lived and died with these stories, and cared about them, and went to war for them, and they all said something they wanted to say.”

— Judd Apatow

60. “When people lose their jobs, they can either get another job or be entrepreneurs. In the music industry, a lot of people have attempted the latter by starting their own labels, but in the age of digital downloads, it’s very difficult to succeed.”

— Judd Apatow

61. “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.”

— Judd Apatow

62. “I think it’s fun to have people see everything at once, and then I think certain shows are very well-suited to being on every week and being spread out over months.”

— Judd Apatow

63. “Harold: Serenity is an illusion, but if anything is possible and I can do anything, then there’s a limitless capacity to do good.”

— Judd Apatow

64. “There was definitely a period when I just felt out of sync with earth.”

— Judd Apatow

65. “I start casting early in the writing process, so I can tailor the script to the gifts of the actors.”

— Judd Apatow

66. “I think there have been so many documentaries about pop stars, made by pop stars. It’s a new phenomenon. People making these movies where they praise themselves and show their own weaknesses. it’s all designed to make you love them even more.”

— Judd Apatow

67. “Jerry: If you always want less, in words as well as things, you’ll do well as a writer.”

— Judd Apatow

68. “I have to make good things so good comedians want to talk to me.”

— Judd Apatow

69. “There are only so many hilarious actors so when they cross-pollinate, people assume it’s always the same actors and directors.”

— Judd Apatow

70. “If you make a bad movie about stand-up, then comedians will mock you for the rest of your life.”

— Judd Apatow

71. “That’s the greatest thing about comedy. If you’ve got talent, it’s unmistakable. No one misses it and you don’t have to wait around for a break. It’s very easy to get a break. It’s very hard to be good enough.”

— Judd Apatow

72. “Up until ‘Bridesmaids,’ the general consensus was that women preferred comedy a bit softer.”

— Judd Apatow

73. “One of my fears is that I’m suddenly not going to be funny, but still think I am. That’s like my nightmare that I can wake up in a cold sweat from.”

— Judd Apatow

74. “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.”

— Judd Apatow

75. “We are at this weird moment where there’s an economic model that supports creativity. People are demanding something new and fresh.”

— Judd Apatow

76. “I’ve come to believe that the simpler the title, the better. Whenever I try to get cute with it, it seems to be a problem but if it’s just The 40-Year-Old Virgin, people seem to know what they’re in for.”

— Judd Apatow

77. “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.”

— Judd Apatow

78. “Television is much more difficult because at every moment the network can force you to change things based on their belief about what would make it popular. You’re in a constant debate with a gun at your head, and the gun is cancellation. So it’s hard to win the arguments.”

— Judd Apatow

79. “There are people who like short movies, and I think they should just watch our movies on DVD because they can pause, go to the bathroom, eat dinner, and come back to it.”

— Judd Apatow

80. “Back then, you seemed like a crazy person when you were trying to push the boundaries of network TV. People looked at you, and they were offended by the fact that you didn’t follow the generic rules of what was expected on network TV.”

— Judd Apatow

81. “When you make a movie, you just send it off into the world. You never actually live it with the crowd.”

— Judd Apatow

82. “I like when people are very passionate about what they want to write about. Even if it’s silly, you can be very passionate about it.”

— Judd Apatow

83. “I always see other people as predecessors and admire them.”

— Judd Apatow

84. “I start thinking about the next movie before it’s a success, so I can never have one moment of happiness or peace. I’m instantly thinking about the next one.”

— Judd Apatow

85. “When I notice that all the beats sound exactly the same, it starts to wear on me.”

— Judd Apatow

86. “I put on a big show when I write something I think is funny.”

— Judd Apatow

87. “To me, I’ve never understood why there is any question about are women as funny as men.”

— Judd Apatow

88. “I still feel like a nerd.”

— Judd Apatow

89. “Nowadays, when kids decide they like an artist, they’ll absorb everything that artist has ever done in a single night.”

— Judd Apatow

90. “Sarah: I can be cynical. But I don’t think of myself, at my core, as cynical. So much of it is location. Like, who is Muslim? Who is a Jew? Who is a Catholic? Who is a Christian? Who’s Buddhist? Ninety-nine-point-nine percent of it is where you happen to be born. So how can one be right and another be wrong? It seems pretty clear to me that it’s a coping mechanism for people who cannot handle the not knowing of things. I am okay knowing I will never be able to comprehend the world.”

— Judd Apatow

91. “It’s so difficult to shock America these days.”

— Judd Apatow

92. “If you develop 10 things, and you can get two or three made, that’s a very high ration.”

— Judd Apatow

93. “You have to write a lot of scripts to get any scripts that are worth making.”

— Judd Apatow

94. “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.”

— Judd Apatow

95. “I’m making a movie about relationships, and I’m surrounded by guys scared of talking to girls.”

— Judd Apatow

96. “Parents don’t realize that when they teach you about the Holocaust too early, it ruins you for life.”

— Judd Apatow

97. “Amy: I still think that all the time. It’s not that I feel like what I’m doing is so amazing, but it’s pretty good compared to what other people are doing.”

— Judd Apatow

98. “I think people like Lena Dunham really opened up the door to what was possible, and they’ve inspired young women to go into filmmaking and writing and directing and acting in a way that maybe they didn’t before, because now there is a path and there are jobs.”

— Judd Apatow

99. “All of my jokes were about not being able to meet anybody. I didn’t have any insight into anything – even my own insecurities.”

— Judd Apatow

100. “Well, every movie is an experiment. And the only way you can grow at what you’re doing is to take chances. You can’t try to stick with what worked last time.”

— Judd Apatow