num_pages: 489
description: Before becoming one of the most successful filmmakers in Hollywood Judd Apatow was the original comedy nerd. At fifteen he took a job washing dishes in a local comedy clubjust so he could watch endless stand-up for free. At sixteen he was hosting a show for his local high school radio station in Syosset Long Islanda show that consisted of Q&amp;As with his comedy heroes from Garry Shandling to Jerry Seinfeld. They talked about their careers the science of a good joke and their dreams of future glory (turns out Shandling was interested in having his own TV show one day and Steve Allen had already invented everything).Thirty years later Apatow is still that same comedy nerdand hes still interviewing funny people about why they do what they do.Sick in the Head gathers Apatows most memorable and revealing conversations into one hilarious wide-ranging and incredibly candid collection that spans not only his career but his entire adult life. Here are the comedy legends who inspired and shaped him from Mel Brooks to Steve Martin. Here are the contemporaries he grew up with in Hollywood from Spike Jonze to Sarah Silverman. And here finally are the brightest stars in comedy today many of whom Apatow has been fortunate to work with from Seth Rogen to Amy Schumer. And along the way something kind of magical happens: What started as a lifetimes worth of conversations about comedy becomes something else entirely. It becomes an exploration of creativity ambition neediness generosity spirituality and the joy that comes from making people laugh.Loaded with the kind of back-of-the-club stories that comics tell one another when no one else is watching this fascinating personal (and borderline-obsessive) book is Judd Apatows gift to comedy nerds everywhere.Praise for Sick in the HeadI cant stop reading it. . . . I dont want this book to end.Jimmy Fallon An essential for any comedy geek.Entertainment Weekly Fascinating . . . a collection of interviews with many of the great figures of comedy in the latter half of the twentieth century. The Washington Post Open this book anywhere and youre bound to find some interesting nugget from someone who has had you in stitches many many times.Janet Maslin The New York Times An amazing read full of insights and connections both creative and interpersonal.The New Yorker Fascinating and revelatory. Chicago Tribune For fans of stand-up Sick in the Head is a Bible of sorts.NewsweekThese are wonderful expansive interviewsat times brutal at times breathtakingwith artists whose wit intelligence gaze and insights are all sharp enough to draw blood.Michael Chabon Anyone even remotely interested in comedy or humanity should own this book. It is hilarious and informative and it contains insightful interviews with the greatest comics comedians and comediennes of our time. My representatives assure me I will appear in a future edition.Will FerrellFrom the Hardcover edition.
language: None
title: Sick in the Head: Conversations About Life and Comedy
publisher: Random House