Funnyman Judd Apatow is a champion for women in comedy, writes Leena Tailor.
For Judd Apatow, there's no greater joy than the moment a talent he's crusading for gets their turn in the spotlight.
It happened with Kristen Wiig in Bridesmaids and Lena Dunham in Girls and now it's Amy Schumer, the 34-year-old comedian-turned-actress, who has just racked up an Emmy nomination for her series Inside Amy Schumer and this month makes her film debut in romantic comedy Trainwreck.
Though Schumer has been making people laugh since she was 3 and is well-established in the stand-up world, it was during a radio interview about her father's battle with multiple sclerosis and the effect on her love life that Apatow tuned in and realised her film potential.
"I thought, 'These are movies,'" recalls the director/producer/screenwriter. "She was funny and brutally honest and also very loving. I haven't had that before where I've listened to someone talk and thought, 'Wow, these are difficult tales and what she's doing is something that almost no one can do'."
Apatow, 47, convinced Schumer to write a film about her experiences and the resulting flick nabbed US$30.2 million ($45.7 million) in its US opening weekend.
But though Schumer's sudden ascent to comedy royalty has snatched the attention of Hollywood, Apatow - who brought us Knocked Up, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Girls and Freaks and Geeks - says the rise is long overdue. "We've always needed her. People like her were preceded by Roseanne Barr and Joan Rivers. We should always have a tonne of comedians who are personally and politically minded.
Judd Apatow. Photo / Supplied
"Women should talk about all the issues of what it means to be a woman in this era and it's great that she viciously attacks all the bull**** they have to deal with in a way that's funny. She is picking her targets well and tapping into anger, resentment and aspects of female life that no one has gone at this hard before.
"And women make up more than half the earth so there's no reason half the stuff shouldn't be driven by women. Right now we have stunning talents like Lena Dunham, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler - we need more writers, directors and producers.
"Lena Dunham has inspired women to go to film school and write/direct and we're beginning to see the results of that. I think Amy will inspire people in the same way."
Dunham and Schumer have already inspired his and actress wife Leslie Mann's two "funny and genuinely witty" daughters. Apatow notes that being surrounded by females at home has doubtlessly influenced his role as a campaigner for women in comedy.
Watch: Trailer for Trainwreck
"I'm sure it's all inspired by living in a world that's only women."
His comedian grandmother Molly first lit "my comedy fuse" by taking 10-year-old Apatow to her friend Totie Fields' show. The late comedian was overweight, suffered diabetes and had her leg amputated, and a young Apatow was struck by how a less-than-perfect person could garner standing ovations. "I felt like her. I thought, 'That seems like a great life if you can feel strange, be heard, be applauded, have fun and make people laugh."
His parents' divorce also triggered a need for humour and at 15 Apatow started a school radio show, chasing the likes of Jerry Seinfeld for interviews. But when he started writing jokes for Barr he realised he could make a career out of comedy.
That drive has spawned some of the biggest films of recent years. "He has perfected the balance of heartfelt in comedy," says Schumer.
Adds Trainwreck co-star Bill Hader: "A lot of Judd's films [feature] people on the fringes, who you don't usually see, as the lead. You've seen those archetypes in your life, but he goes, 'What if that person had their own movie?' It's refreshing."
Championing new faces remains the most rewarding part of Apatow's work.
Amy Schumer and Bill Hader in a scene from Trainwreck. Photo / Supplied
"To me it's the fun part. I enjoy the moment when people are trying to figure out who they are in movies or television. It's more fun to sit with Amy trying to figure out how she would work as the lead in a movie, than to work with someone on their 50th movie.
"There's so much more joy when it succeeds. I love that wide-eyed moment when you're given the opportunity to make something and I've had that with Lena, Seth [Rogen] and in a way with Steve Carell on The 40-Year-Old Virgin.
"There's nothing more fun than helping people break in."
His upcoming projects may help further break two New Zealanders into the US market - Apatow is "kicking around ideas" with friends Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi.
He is also working on a Netflix series Love and has released a book, Sick in the Head, featuring old and new interviews with comedians such as Jay Leno and Steve Martin.
Amy Schumer as Amy, and Brie Larson as Kim, in Trainwreck. Photo / Supplied
Although producing comedy in today's PC world may frequently stir controversy and social media backlash, Apatow plans to continue as long as he can, unfazed if a few people are offended along the way.
"Any joke is okay if your heart is in the right place. Our job as comedians it to challenge the status quo, mock convention and mock power.
"We're the ones who are supposed to talk about these things. Some people do it fearlessly, like Joan Rivers. She never said sorry for anything she did.
"It's all about the intention behind your jokes. People know when you do it with love and the intention of making people happy, and they know when there are negative reasons. The people I work with are in this to spread joy and sometimes you spread joy by giving all sorts of people a hard time. That's what we do."
