- Judd Apatow has established himself as a master of American humor since the early 2000s.
- “The King of Staten Island” seems more mature than his previous works.
- He introduced the excellent Pete Davidson, comic star across the Atlantic, to the French public.
Humor is a profession for Judd Apatow. Since 2005 and 40 years old, still a virgin , the director has established himself as a specialist in laughter on the screen with En blister (manual ) (2007), Funny People (2009), Crazy Amy (2015).
The King of Staten Island , which hits French theaters this week, is loosely inspired by the life of actor Pete Davidson, a comedic star in the United States. He plays a teenager making life impossible for those around him because he cannot recover from the death of his firefighter father. Judd Apatow took advantage of the release of this funny and serious comedy to come back to the notion of laughter in cinema and share his ideas on this subject with us.
How do you know an actor is going to be funny?
You get an instinct for this stuff over the years. It's kind of a radar, kind of like hearing a band for the first time and feeling excited without really knowing why. I experienced this when I saw Pete Davidson for the first time, first on video and then on stage.
Why does his story make people laugh?
She has very powerful elements of tragedy, but the empathy you feel for her character makes you laugh with him. For Pete, humor is a defense mechanism. In real life, he lost his father when he was seven in the World Trade Center bombings. It was all the more difficult to mourn because it is a historical event that we constantly talk to him about. He has learned to make a weapon out of his grief.
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The @thekingofstatenisland poster. June 12 on Video on Demand. What does that mean? I am not sure yet.
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Is humor born from pain?
It is not essential to suffer to be funny, but it is certain that the comedians are often tortured people. They take a tragic situation and twist it to get laughter at their expense and that of those around them. There is a background of masochism in the humor, but also a catharsis, perhaps because it is a pain that the comedian can control which gives him a form of relief.
Can humor be the same for everyone?
Humor is universal when it touches our common ground. Someone who rocks an enormity on a first date and makes a fool of himself in front of the desired person amuses us, because it points to a type of discomfort that everyone has more or less felt. When you laugh at such a character, it is also at yourself that you are laughing at, which is really good.
Does humor ripen as we get older?
I'm not so sure when I see my friend Mel Brooks was a teenager in his head over 90 years old. Buddhists say it takes several lifetimes to be fulfilled. I feel that I should reach adulthood around my 72nd life! However, I believe I am more tender in the way I laugh. It may be a form of maturity. That said, at 52, I still laugh so much in front of schoolboy series like Jackass .
Do you think humor has evolved since you started?
Humor has long been focused on provocation. Today, we must be careful not to offend anyone's sensitivity. If I believe that we should have limits, I regret that it is the financiers who are often the decision makers. I would prefer people to be able to express themselves freely and then debate with them whether their jokes offend us or do not please us.
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