277 Quotes by Judd Apatow

Judd: I like to be here until people really want to leave. But that’s kind of how I am as a person. That’s why my movies are too long. That’s why I eat too much.

I don’t want to be ordinary. I’m willing to do the work. I’m willing to suffer the indignities of comedy because I want to be great. I don’t want to just be good. I want to be great.

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

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

There are people that entertainment is something they do at the end of a long hard day at work, and they want to be entertained and have it over quickly. They’re like, “Entertain me fast!”

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.

Marc: Why are we so afraid of joy? Judd: That’s the question. And I’ve thought about it a lot, and I think it’s because we think right behind joy is a knife that will cut our throat if we really feel it. It’s almost like a laugh – your chin goes up and your throat is exposed. If I laugh too loud, someone will slit my throat. That’s the terror of joy.

I’m just trying to be truthful and collaborate with people who have interesting things to say.

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.