If an employee has done great work in the past for a company, there’d be no reason not to keep someone like that around for as long as possible.Universalclearly thought as much when they entered negotiations to keep director/producer Judd Apatow, who is currently producing the LGBTQ+ filmBrosfor Universal, around even longer.
Apatow has inked a new deal withUniversalfilm and television studios. Apatow, whose credits as a director includeThe 40-year-old Virgin,Knocked Up, andFunny Peoplehas clearly developed a good enough resume that Universal trusts him to make more critically-acclaimed projects for them. The terms for how long his deal will last were not revealed, but the most interesting wrinkle was agreeing to work with their television studio, seeing how Apatow is best known for his work in film.
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Apatow was thrilled to ink his new deal with universal, specifically citing his future work in television for Universal. “For 18 years Universal Pictures has been an incredibly creative and supportive partner in my film career,” Apatow said. “It only took me 18 years to realize I should probably try to do that with the television studio, too. I am so excited to get started.” Early on in his career, Apatow developed well-regarded television shows that failed to bring in an audience when they first aired, such asFreaks and GeeksandUndeclared, shows that have now since developed a strong cult following. That more likely than not played a role in why Universal trusts him to make quality television for them.
Universal themselves also vocalized their excitement regarding the new deal. Pearlena Igbokwe, chairman of Universal Studio Group, relayed her trust that Apatow will make good on their agreement based on his reputation. “We are eager to expand Judd’s longtime relationship with NBCUniversal by making his television home here at Universal Studio Group… We, like most audiences, are fans of his unconventional characters and unparalleled brand of comedy. We look forward to giving him a creative environment to do what he does best — make us laugh.”
From his work inFreak and GeekstoTrainwreck, this must have been a pretty easy deal for Universal to make. Apatow’s work in Hollywood has only proven to be consistently quality over the years. Better yet, with films likeBrosthat have LGBTQ+ themes, Apatow is clearly exploring new avenues to expand his abilities as a filmmaker. For all we know, his reputation may improve from here.
However, despite his reputation, this deal won’t be confirmed as a slam dunk until he lives up to his promise for the next few years. Make no mistake, Apatow’s reputation precedes him, but there’s no guarantee that will keep up. Sadly we have seen bigshot Hollywood names lose their fastball over time.M. Night Shyamalan steadily got worseas a filmmaker afterThe Sixth Sensevaulted him into filmmaking superstardom. The Farrelly Brothers were comedy gold until their comedies slowly got worse and worse untilDumb and Dumber Tokilled it altogether. Apatow hasn’t shown any red flags, but Universal has given him a lot of responsibility. Let’s hope he’s not biting off more than he can chew.
