NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERFrom the writer and director of Knocked Up and the producer of Freaks and Geeks comes a collection of intimate hilarious conversations with the biggest names in comedy from the past thirty yearsmdashincluding Mel Brooks Jerry Seinfeld Jon Stewart Roseanne Barr Harold Ramis Louis CK Chris Rock and Lena Dunham 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 clubmdashjust 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 Islandmdasha show that consisted of QampAs 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 everythingThirty years later Apatow is still that same comedy nerdmdashand hersquos still interviewing funny people about why they do what they do Sick in the Head gathers Apatowrsquos 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 lifetimersquos 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 laughLoaded 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 Apatowrsquos gift to comedy nerds everywherePraise for Sick in the Head ldquoOpen this book anywhere and yoursquore bound to find some interesting nugget from someone who has had you in stitches many many timesrdquomdashJanet Maslin The New York Times ldquoIncandescent an irresistible ultimate-insiderrsquos comedy-interview extravaganza Apatow never loses his unabashed fanrsquos enthusiasm even as he asks canny questions that yield superbly illuminating conversations rich in shop talk and musings on the lure demands and resonance of comedyrdquomdashBooklist starred review ldquoIf Apatowrsquos gift for comedy is a sickness may he never be curedrdquomdashPlayboy ldquoSprawling and insightful The candidness of the interviews also exposes the peculiar community of comedians with anecdotes and cameos unlikely to be heard elsewhere A delightful and hilarious readrdquomdashKirkus ReviewsldquoThese are wonderful expansive interviewsmdashat times brutal at times breathtakingmdashwith artists whose wit intelligence gaze and insights are all sharp enough to draw bloodrdquomdashMichael Chabon ldquoAnyone 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 editionrdquomdashWill Ferrell.
