"Jew-Tang Clan"--The Ever-Expanding Apatowpia

For those of you joining the program late, "Apatowpia" is the category dedicated to the work of writer/filmmaker Judd Apatow (Freaks& Geeks, Undeclared, Superbad, Knocked Up, etc) and his repertory group of non-traditionally appealing actors/characters, many of whom are Jewish and all of whom are reinventing the classical definition of male movie star.

Yes, Seth Rogen. We've been over that. (Not over him, heaven forfend--we've just covered it, and still believe he should go on a Birthright Israel trip.) And even before seeing the preview screening of "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," which I caught with a friend last week, you only had to see Jason Segel's Freaks and Geeks character (see the "Lady L" clip below, co-starring Rogen) or even his portrayal of married friend Marshall (yes, a strange coincidence...or not...) on "How I Met Your Mother" to know that this guy deserves to be a huge star. (Even if only literally--dude is 6'7 or something.)

In this article in the Jewish Journal, we meet director Nicholas Stoller, whose first directing effort ("Marshall") will rocket Segel to Rogen-stardom. Stoller also talks about his Jewish identity, and reveals that a future Stoller/Segel writing project features an interfaith wedding:

"The Jewish character is an atheist, but he suddenly becomes very religious when someone suggests a priest officiate at the wedding,"Stoller said.

Needless to say, I can't wait.

Comments

[harry]

I am sure this doesn't surprise you one bit but I sing "Lady L" all the time at home. Man, I miss Freaks and Geeks.

[dee]

"whom are Jewish and all of whom are reinventing the classical definition of male movie star"

Don't like the sounds of that. Broncho Billy Anderson, a Jew, invented the cowboy archetype. Kirk Douglas, a Jew, invented the uber-muscular action star archetype. Now THAT's something to write about.