{"id":253903,"date":"2026-01-23T17:13:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T17:13:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/253903\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T17:13:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T17:13:07","slug":"judd-apatow-talks-mel-brooks-documentary-interviewing-rob-reiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/253903\/","title":{"rendered":"Judd Apatow Talks Mel Brooks Documentary, Interviewing Rob Reiner"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tJudd Apatow<\/a> thought he was an expert on Mel Brooks<\/a> \u2014\u00a0until HBO<\/a> approached him with the idea to make a documentary about the comedy trailblazer. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI watched a bunch of other pieces that had been made about Mel, but I don\u2019t know if I\u00a0ever heard him really speak from the heart,\u201d says Apatow. \u201cHe\u2019s told a lot of funny stories about show business, but not World War II, his marriages, his feelings about his life and what he\u2019d learned. That, I thought, would make for great documentary if Mel was up for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mel was up for it. The result of Apatow\u2019s and co-director Mike Bonfiglio\u2019s work, Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!, is a two-part deep dive with the living legend. The first half debuted Thursday, with the conclusion premiering tonight, Jan. 23. It features a who\u2019s who of comedy notables, including Rob Reiner<\/a>. The filmmaker sat for the documentary before he and his wife Michelle Singer were shockingly murdered in December. Given the fact that\u00a0his father, the late Carl Reiner<\/a>, was one of Brooks\u2019 closest friends, his input proved invaluable. <\/p>\n

\n\tSpeaking during the latest episode episode of\u00a0The Hollywood Reporter\u00a0podcast<\/a>\u00a0I\u2019m Having an Episode\u00a0(Spotify<\/a>,\u00a0Amazon Music<\/a>,\u00a0Apple<\/a>), Apatow discussed Brooks\u2019 place in Hollywood history, the state of the studio comedy and the unlikely film he made that really, really over-performed in South Korea. <\/p>\n

Mel Brooks had been making comedy for decades before you were born. What was your first awareness of him? <\/p>\n

\n\tI was born in 1967, and Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles came out in \u201874. This was right as he exploded \u2014 almost like the Beyonc\u00e9 of that time. It was the biggest thing happening in comedy and entertainment. So, I saw Blazing Saddles in the theater with my parents\u00a0\u2014\u00a0probably at an inappropriate age. I remember it getting the biggest laughs. I don\u2019t remember seeing Young Frankenstein in the theater, but that was the early days of VHS machines. Blazing Saddles, The Producers and Young Frankenstein were the key components of the 16 tapes that we had.<\/p>\n

\n\tThere are no modern comps for the VHS tapes your parents would buy. Those are the films that you memorized whether you liked them or not. <\/p>\n

\n\tWell, it was precious back then! First of all, they were expensive \u2014 like a hundred bucks. I remember our collection because it was limited. It was Blake Edwards\u2019 10, The Godfather parts I and II and Freebie and the Bean, this is James Scott movie. And then we had the Woody Allen movies, the Peter Sellers movies and, in the most sacred place, the Mel Brooks movies. I would watch them over and over again. He was this strange, small Jewish man who was really loud. He was the funniest man in the world.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s funny to try to reconcile \u201cstrange, small Jewish man\u201d with \u201cthe Beyonc\u00e9 of his time.\u201d How did that comparison come to you?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tIt was that era, which lasted a long time, where if you were on the cover of Time Magazine, the whole country actually paid attention. It was a different culture where we all agreed, \u201cThis year\u2019s big thing is Steve Martin or Star Wars.\u201d Mel went on this incredible run of movies. And what was really shocking is that those two movies came out in the same year. I don\u2019t know if this is true, but it seemed to be that part of the reason why he took young Frankenstein was he might\u2019ve been concerned about how Blazing Saddles would do. Maybe it would be smart to have another one in the can to keep the career going, because Blazing Saddles was so daring that I can\u2019t imagine he was sure it was gonna do what it did.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tMel Brooks and Judd Apatow<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMathieu Bitton\/HBO<\/p>\n

\n\tThose two also came on the heels of the original The Producers, which I never realized was a commercial failure.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tI think it divided critics because it was so outrageous with all of the Nazi satire. Their performances were really big. They were the kind of performances you would give in a Broadway show, but in a movie with a camera right up on your face? It was definitely a new style of comedy. He was breaking ground, but now we all realize that it\u2019s clearly in the top 10 funniest movies ever made. And then this strange thing happened where Peter Sellers loved it so much that he placed an ad in the paper telling everyone that this is one of the most brilliant comedies ever. That changed his fortunes a little bit. The most remarkable part is that Mel went on to win the Oscar for best original screenplay and beat Stanley Kubrick for 2001: A Space Odyssey.<\/p>\n

\n\tHow would you describe Mel as an interview subject?<\/p>\n

\n\tDefinitely, at times, he would be careful. It was something that I had to think about a lot, so that I could knock him off of his anecdote game. Sometimes I would listen to his anecdotes and think, \u201cWell, I have a version of that that he told on the BBC in 1978 that\u2019s really funny. I don\u2019t really need [this.]\u201d He still told a lot of them, which is the most fun thing to hear. Then I would try to gently bring him into, \u201cHow did it feel when your career was going really badly? How did it feel during the depression when your family had no money?\u201d He grew up and his father died when he was two years old. A lot of this really shaped his worldview. That\u2019s what I was trying to get at. What\u2019s beneath all of this?<\/p>\n

\n\tIt is an absolute understatement to say that this is coming out under unforeseen and tragic circumstances. But there\u2019s this beautiful moment in it where both the late Rob Reiner and Mel are recounting their first meeting when Rob was only four years old. I know these things are all made so long in advance, but was that moment always in the final cut?<\/p>\n

\n\tYes, we locked the cut several months ago. It\u2019s just an unspeakable tragedy. Rob and Michelle were the kindest people, amazing artists. They really worked hard to make life better for other people in this country. They walked the walk. They put in the time. There\u2019s no way to exaggerate the effect they\u2019ve had on the country. It\u2019s heartbreaking. And I\u2019m glad that he is in the film as what he was, which is an incredibly warm, hilarious, giving person.<\/p>\n

\n\tHe was also a way to sort of access his late father, Carl Reiner, who was one of Mel\u2019s best friends and closest collaborators. <\/p>\n

I was always interested in why they were so close. These are people who were friends for three quarters of a century. Their bond just seemed like no bond I\u2019d ever heard of. And at one point I asked Rob about it and he said, \u201cCarl\u2019s a father figure to Mel.\u201d I asked Mel about it, he said, \u201cHe\u2019s tall. He\u2019s kind. He\u2019s giving.\u201d Wow. I never would have thought that in a million years, that that\u2019s what it was. Because Mel is so domineering and loud, but he really looked up to Carl. At one point \u2014 not in the documentary, but off camera\u00a0\u2014\u00a0 Mel said to me, \u201cCan you imagine being as funny as me, but you\u2019re such a kind person that you let me get all the laughs?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tPart of being a 99-year-old man is that you are one of the last, if not the last, of your contemporaries. Knowing that, talk to me about why you chose some of the other voices that you felt were essential to this.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tIt was important to find people who were around Mel, which is the hard part. Barry Levinson, who worked Silent Movie and High Anxiety, was a great person to talk to about collaborating with Mel. Max Brooks, Mel\u2019s son, had a lot of insight in addition to all of Mel\u2019s kids who had never spoken in a documentary like this before. And I thought it was important to have people like Dave Chappelle<\/a> and Robert Townsend speak about Blazing Saddles. It is a movie that takes such chances to rail against racism, and people still debate all of those choices. [I wanted] to hear their insights about it. And then there are the people that became comedians because of Mel \u2014\u00a0Ben Stiller, Conan O\u2019Brien, Adam Sandler, Sarah Silverman. There\u2019s all these people that looked at Mel and said, \u201cI would like to do what this guy does.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tYou\u2019re heading to Sundance with a documentary about Maria Bamford, too, aren\u2019t you?<\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019ve been working on this documentary with my friend, Neil Berkeley. We\u2019ve been following Maria around for a few years. She\u2019s always been my favorite comedian. A lot of her stuff is about mental health issues. It\u2019s very bold and imaginative. And I just thought she deserves to be known much more than she is. And her story is incredible. To take her greatest routines and put them in documentary as a way to tell her story was very exciting for me. I hate when there\u2019s great jokes out there that people have forgotten about. Arranging her story through standup was so enjoyable for me, as a comedy nerd. It\u2019s also moving because it\u2019s about someone that has struggles with intrusive thoughts and anxiety and depression and suicidal ideation \u2014\u00a0 and how she has succeeded and turned into this incredible leader in the comedy community.<\/p>\n

\n\tThese adjectives get thrown around a lot, but Maria is a singular talent. How did her rejection of the typical stand-up format inform the way that you made the film??<\/p>\n

\n\tI wanted it to be pure the way Maria is pure. She\u2019s not adjusting anything for anybody. So one of the main inspirations from her was that I self-financed it. I didn\u2019t want to have to deal with any entities. I just wanted to get as close to the bone to Maria as possible. I didn\u2019t want it to be made by committee in any form. And I think that really paid off. Because it\u2019s a very unique documentary. There\u2019s no score. Every time we\u2019d put music in it, it seemed like it was trying to tell you what to feel. So I just thought, let\u2019s go old school and just be with her.<\/p>\n

\n\tSpeaking to a point you made during your recent appearance at the Golden Globes<\/a>, American democracy is on life support. There\u2019s virtually no good news to be found when we wake up in the morning. It seems like this is an opportunity for Hollywood to invest in comedy as counterprogramming, but it\u2019s still\u2026 slow going. What\u2019s your take on that?<\/p>\n

\n\tIt goes back to the demise of DVDs. A lot of the movie comedy business was based on the fact that half the income on a movie would come from the theater and half from DVDs. So when the DVDs disappeared, streaming didn\u2019t fully replace that money. You remove that, then the bet becomes different. People go, \u201cWell, we can make a horror movie for seven [million dollars] and it might do really well in Bosnia.\u201d They don\u2019t think the comedies play overseas as well. They just started making bets on something that seemed safer. Then it becomes a doom loop. If you don\u2019t make the movies, you don\u2019t break new talent. You don\u2019t find new Adam Sandler and Kristen Wiig. Then people just start thinking, \u201cWell, I\u2019ll just watch TikTok for 11 straight hours and see people get kicked in the nuts.\u201d They get their comedy somewhere. I mean, there\u2019s all sorts of amazing comedy. South Park. But it\u2019s not in the theater in the way it was before, but that could change in a minute. If somebody made The Hangover and it made a billion dollars, the next year you\u2019d see 20 of them.<\/p>\n

\n\tSpeaking of Bosnia, which of your features exported the best?<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen we worked on Bridesmaids, the discussion was that we weren\u2019t going to release it in many foreign countries because the concept of bridesmaids wasn\u2019t in a lot of cultures. When it was so successful in the United States, it did really well around the world. That was a wonderful surprise. There was a movie I produced called Begin Again. John Carney directed it with Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo. It was a small, beautiful movie about music and love \u2014\u00a0and it made a lot of money in South Korea. I don\u2019t know why, but like $20 million* in South Korea. Those things happen every once in while.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat can you tell me about this feature that you\u2019re producing with your daughters\u2019 former babysitter, Nikki Glaser?<\/p>\n

\n\tThere\u2019s really nothing to say now other than Nikki Glaser is an incredibly funny person that babysat my kids a few times early in her stand-up career. We made sure to stop that as soon as we understood that we didn\u2019t trust her. We\u2019ve got to be honest about that. You can\u2019t give your kids to everybody. You could love Nikki Glaser but not want her to be like watching your two-year-old \u2014\u00a0just for pure safety. I\u2019ve known her forever. She has an amazing idea for a comedy film. So we\u2019re doing the thing we always do, which is grind on the script for a really long time. When it\u2019s perfect, we\u2019ll go make something. I\u2019m sure it\u2019s going to be fabulous when we get to that stage.<\/p>\n

\n\tBefore I let you go, what are you recommending these days? Can be a movie, a book, anything you want to evangelize.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat am I evangelizing to people? Fight ICE. Get off your phone and find a way to get involved. Now\u2019s the time. Don\u2019t worry about your streaming shows. Maybe check in a little bit to the reality around us that it\u2019s so easy to hyper-normalize. That\u2019s my recommendation. Don\u2019t watch TV. Get in the streets.<\/p>\n

*Begin Again actually made $21.5 million in South Korea, a third of its global gross and $5 million more than its U.S. haul.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Judd Apatow thought he was an expert on Mel Brooks \u2014\u00a0until HBO approached him with the idea to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":253904,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[134940,36203,146,4302,85,46,63525,63527,133687,397,107659],"class_list":{"0":"post-253903","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-carl-reiner","9":"tag-dave-chappelle","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-hbo","12":"tag-il","13":"tag-israel","14":"tag-judd-apatow","15":"tag-mel-brooks","16":"tag-mel-brooks-the-99-year-old-man","17":"tag-movies","18":"tag-rob-reiner"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253903"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253903\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}