Sick in the Head: Conversations about Life and Comedy | Summary
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About this ebook
Judd Apatow, the comedic mastermind behind films like Knocked Up, Funny People, and most recently Trainwreck, starts his book of interviews by telling us why his obsession over comedy never faltered during the course of his life. He grew up watching comedic greats like Steve Martin and George Carlin, and their talent inspired a love affair for comedy that only grew as time went on. The 1970s especially stuck with Apatow, and performances from Richard Pryor and the Monty Python gang, as well as the classic show Saturday Night Live, cemented Judd's loyalty to comedy and enabled him to decide early on what he wanted to do with his life—he wanted to make people laugh.
Negative experiences in his early life also prompted Judd to seek comfort in comedy. He notes quite openly that he was a somewhat angry kid who did not understand life or the world around him very much. His parents divorced and he was a loner in school. In fact, he explains that he truly was picked last for gym class—all the time. He was small and quiet, and this further distanced him from those around him. However, instead of letting this ruin him, he decided he was the “cool” one and everyone else had the problem. He concentrated on comedy more and more and he knew, without a doubt, that it filled a void in his life while also making him feel less weird and less alone. In the world of comedy, the funny guys were in charge and Apatow wanted to immerse himself in the comedic circuit permanently.
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Sick in the Head - Summary Station
Introduction: Why Comedy?
Judd Apatow, the comedic mastermind behind films like Knocked Up, Funny People, and most recently Trainwreck, starts his book of interviews by telling us why his obsession over comedy never faltered during the course of his life. He grew up watching comedic greats like Steve Martin and George Carlin, and their talent inspired a love affair for comedy that only grew as time went on. The 1970s especially stuck with Apatow, and performances from Richard Pryor and the Monty Python gang, as well as the classic show Saturday Night Live, cemented Judd's loyalty to comedy and enabled him to decide early on what he wanted to do with his life—he wanted to make people laugh.
Negative experiences in his early life also prompted Judd to seek comfort in comedy. He notes quite openly that he was a somewhat angry kid who did not understand life or the world around him very much. His parents divorced and he was a loner in school. In fact, he explains that he truly was picked last for gym class—all the time. He was small and quiet, and this further distanced him from those around him. However, instead of letting this ruin him, he decided he was the cool
one and everyone else had the problem. He concentrated on comedy more and more and he knew, without a doubt, that it filled a void in his life while also making him feel less weird and less alone. In the world of comedy, the funny guys were in charge and Apatow wanted to immerse himself in the comedic circuit permanently.
Apatow also credits his hardships with his strong work ethic and his promise to never give up. Even though his parent’s divorce especially left him with plenty of baggage, he knows now that it drove him to his success. He made the best out of feeling lost and confused for much of his life. It led him to explore answers that he himself had been looking for all his life, but always in a funny and comforting way. Life can be hard, but to Apatow, that was all the more reason to find the good and laugh about it all.
As he grew older, Judd worked at his high school's radio station and the film teacher and radio supervisor named Jack DeMasi helped nurture Apatow's love of comedy. He let him go out and interview comedians and never stopped encouraging Apatow's dreams. Amazingly, after some time, Judd interviewed numerous comedians (some huge comedians of the time, as well) and found that the vast majority of the people he interviewed were nice, patient, and friendly. Apatow notes that it was at this time that he, finally knew people like him.
In 1985,