Funny People - Seth Rogen and Aubrey Plaza Interviews
Funny guy Seth Rogen reunites with Judd Apatow for 'Funny People,' a comedy about a comedian who undergoes a life-changing experience. Joining Rogen on the red carpet for the film's premiere was Aubrey Plaza, a newcomer to the Apatow pack.
Related Articles
Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg Interviews - Superbad Movie Video - About.comFunny People Cast - Funny People Movie Credits Starring Adam Sandler and Seth RogenBobby Cannavale Interview - The Station Agent MovieSeth Rogen on Funny People and Ghostbusters 3 RumorsJames Garner Interview-Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood Movie
Transcript: Funny People - Seth Rogen and Aubrey Plaza Interviews
Rebecca Murray from About.com Hollywood Movies at the premiere of Funny People.
Seth Rogen - 'Ira' in Funny People
So, you have to play someone who is not necessarily the funniest guy. How tough is that to be?
Seth Rogen: "It was, you know, like Charlize Theron played that serial killer - it was that kind of transformation."
An Oscar-worthy role.
Seth Rogen: "It was really hard for me. It took ages, prosthetic make-up."
Just to get into.
Seth Rogen: "No, it's easy. As you can see right now, it's quite simple. Almost second nature."
You're cracking me up.
Seth Rogen: "I appreciate that."
How easy is it now for you and Judd to work together. This has got to be like a piece of cake for you, right?
Seth Rogen: "Yeah, but I've got to say every time we do it we know that people probably think that the fact that it's the same people involved that they might expect something similar, and it almost makes it more difficult in a way because we have to make it that much different. You know, we have to expand our repertoire that much more because we have the same people involved."
How easy was it for you to come up with these jokes?
Seth Rogen: "The jokes are, I've got to say, not the hardest part about making a comedy. It's the emotional side of the story to me that takes the most work."
How do you know when you've got the right emotional side going on?
Seth Rogen: "You know, when you test the movie and audiences like it."
Aubrey Plaza - 'Daisy' in Funny People
So you are like the newcomer in this. These guys have worked together, most of them, or known each other forever. How was that?
Aubrey Plaza: "It was crazy. I don't really know how I ended up here, honestly. I tried out - I tried really hard. I don't know. I've never done a movie like this before so I don't... It's really crazy. But it completely changed my life."
I hear that this was like the most fun set to be on, so if you're going to start off in a big film, this is the one to be in, right?
Aubrey Plaza: "Yeah, completely. I mean hanging out with Seth and Jonah and Adam and Judd and Jason, all those guys, it was like just hanging out with all my comedian friends in New York. I was so intimidated and scared and I was like, 'I'm a nobody. I don't know what these people are going to be like.' And hanging out with them was just like hanging out with my friends. They're all like just so down to earth and totally fun."
Did these guys ever go off the script?
Aubrey Plaza: "Yeah, sure. The script was totally in the forefront but we all... That's the thing about Judd. He's so open to ideas and it's a really collaborative process so we all had a lot of playtime - I'm going to coin that term. We were allowed to play and rewrite on our feet and give ideas to Judd, and he would shout ideas to us. It was so much fun."
Did you ever totally lose it during any take?
Aubrey Plaza: "No. Well, you know, we had a whole period of time before we started shooting where we were doing stand-up shows as a cast and I lost it almost every night then. Totally. Stand-up is terrifying. Backstage I was having complete meltdowns. I would be like, 'Seth, Jonah, someone tell me what to do. I don't know what I'm doing.' And Judd would just have that very like cool, calm demeanor and he'd just go, 'I don't know. Have fun,' you know? Because that's how he is. Everything is totally low-key for him."
Was "have fun" good advice for you?
Aubrey Plaza: "Yeah, totally, completely. Have fun. Judd is like a dad shooting a movie in slippers. It's like he's just kind of hanging out, eating ice cream, and yeah."