Judd Apatow ‘Always Wanted’ to Make ‘Superbad 2,’ Disagrees With Cast’s Reason for Turning It Down

EXCLUSIVE: CAA has signed actor-producer Katherine Heigl (Firefly Lane) for representation.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. MasterClass, the popular e-learning platform that taps celebrities and newsmakers to teach online classes, has unveiled a new deal in an effort to shore up subscriptions throughout the summer.The latest MasterClass deal gets college students three months of courses for only $1. The “Summer of Learning” promotion  launched today and will only be available for 24 hours.

Ray Liotta after it was reported the actor died suddenly on Thursday (26 May). He was 67.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorHenry Muñoz III is the first to admit that he was a surprise bidder for Funny or Die when the digital comedy brand was put up for sale last year.“It was kind of a surprise to me too,” Muñoz jokes on the latest episode of Variety podcast “Strictly Business.”The entrepreneur and activist sees Funny or Die as a vehicle for expanding his work that is focused on creating greater access to opportunities and greater equality for Latinx communities in his native Texas and around the country. Muñoz, who was most recently a co-founder of the Somos Community Care chain of health care providers, acquired the company with his own resources, without any partners or bank loans.Funny or Die was an early Hollywood foray into short-form digital media.

No one would accuse Judd Apatow of being a concise writer or director. When he is at his best — “Knocked Up,” “Funny People” — his runtimes allow characters to develop and breathe, creating lived-in worlds.

Pete Davidson is expected to announce he is leaving Saturday Night Live, according to a Variety report that cites “a person familiar with the matter”. The 28-year-old comedian was one of the youngest performers ever to be featured in SNL’s five decade history when he joined the cast in 2014. More recently, Davidson has become a tabloid mainstay as the boyfriend of Kim Kardashian, who he started dating after she hosted the sketch comedy series in October 2021.

Pete Davidson is leaving “Saturday Night Live,” the show is losing one of its buzziest stars ever. Starting his tenure on the show as an unassuming, slouchy young comedian in 2014, Davidson quickly became one of the biggest standups in the world, a tabloid fixture and a movie star, toplining a Judd Apatow vehicle and a forthcoming semi-autobiographical TV show.

Apatow refers is co-producer Michael Bonfiglio, the acclaimed documentarian (“30 for 30: Bo Jackson”) with whom he collaborated on the 2018 HBO documentary “The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling.”Their study of the trailblazing Carlin, who died in 2008 at the age of 71, unfolds in much the same vein as “The Zen Diaries” and includes interviews with Carlin’s daughter, Kelly Carlin, and a gaggle of fellow comics including Paul Reiser, W. Kamau Bell, Steven Wright, Judy Gold, Robert Klein and Patton Oswalt.Viewers familiar with only the bare-bones arc of Carlin’s life will take a deep dive into his professional and personal trajectory — from the clean-cut, suit-wearing ’60s-era stand-up comedian who grudgingly embraced “establishment” television mores (including a 1966 guest-starring role on the ABC sitcom “That Girl”) — to embracing his inner voice and morphing into the bearded, pony-tailed comic voice known for his cutting-edge record albums and standup act (The “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television”) that launched him into household-name stardom — and plunged him into an abyss of drug abuse.Apatow and Bonfiglio also shine a light on Carlin’s personal life, including his childhood growing up on West 121st Street, and his nearly-forty-year marriage to wife Brenda, who died in 1997 from liver cancer.“What’s interesting is that he changed [performing] styles five times.

Bros, the first gay rom-com released through a major studio – watch it below.Eichner, known for game show Billy On The Street and for voicing Timone in 2019’s The Lion King, will co-write and star in the film which will be released via Universal Pictures.Directed by Nicholas Stoller and produced by Judd Apatow, Bros follows two gay men, Bobby Leiber (Eichner) and Aaron (Luke Macfarlane), who are, according to a description, “maybe, possibly, probably stumbling towards love. Maybe.

Addie Morfoot ContributorGeorge Carlin’s enduring comedic legacy inspired Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio to make HBO’s upcoming documentary about the counterculture icon, whose observations remain eerily topical nearly 14 years after his death.Carlin, who appeared on “The Tonight Show” more than 130 times during his lengthy career, riffed about abortion, the planet, police brutality and organized religion in his stand-up sets and also appeared in movies such as “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure.” His legendary 1972 routine “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television” is still regularly invoked in media circles.“We were always so surprised that anytime something happened in the news, George would start trending,” says Apatow, who co-directed “George Carlin’s American Dream” with Bonfiglio, a frequent collaborator. “Most comedians’ material ages really badly, but his work was so deep — and he also liked to talk about the big picture — that it just gets better with age.

Zack Sharf A man being bludgeoned to death by a fire extinguisher. Two children being murdered by a sniper.

Stephen Colbert is back.

McLovin the risk of messing up the classic’s legacy. “Everyone was like, ‘Nah, we don’t want to screw up “Superbad” by accidentally making a crappy second one,’” Apatow said on the “Inside of You With Michael Rosenbaum” podcast. “And I would always say the same thing: ‘Well, that’s like saying don’t make the second episode of the “The Sopranos.” Like, so why do you think we would screw up the second one?’“I always wanted them to do a sequel to ‘Superbad,’” Apatow said earlier in the interview.

Superbad sequel, despite hesitations from the rest of the team.The filmmaker, who produced the beloved 2007 comedy, recently said he wants to follow the high school characters as they make their way through college.“I always wanted them to do a sequel to Superbad,” Apatow said on the Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum podcast. Jonah Hill, who plays the lead, had said he would only make another one if the characters are in “an old folks’ home”.“I know that Jonah said, ‘Oh it’ll be funny to do it when we’re 70 or 80,’ but I really wanted them to do a Superbad in college where Jonah flunks out of college and just shows up and visits Michael Cera at college,” Apatow continued.“But everyone was like ‘Nah we don’t want to screw up Superbad by accidentally making a crappy second one,’ and I would always say the same thing, ‘Well that’s like saying don’t make the second episode of the The Sopranos.

Party time! Adam Sandler celebrated 13-year-old daughter Sunny’s Bat Mitzvah with the help of his celebrity pals, including Jennifer Aniston and Taylor Lautner.

Jason Woliner, director of Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, has scored a straight-to-series order for a mystery project in the vein of the Sacha Baron Cohen film from Peacock.

Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne are hard at work on their new Apple TV+ series!

London Thor (Shameless) has joined the cast of Prime Video’s upcoming spinoff of The Boys as a lead, replacing Reina Hardesty weeks after the actress’ exit, which Deadline exclusively revealed.