There are plenty of movies out there about dudes who love football, but far, far fewer about women who love the sport just as much. It may take a few decades - if not centuries - for this to balance out, but Judd Apatow and Laura Dern are prepared to do their part to even the scales. The producer and actress have united to work on a new movie together, and it sounds surprisingly original.
The Hollywood Reporter has the news about the new partnership, and while the project doesn't have a title yet, it is described as being a "female-driven ensemble comedy set in the world of obsessive female football fans." It was Laura Dern who first concieved the idea, and she brought it to Apatow to move forward. Both are set to produce the movie at Universal Pictures, though at this point it's unclear if Dern plans to star and/or if Apatow plans to direct.
While the idea of Judd Apatow and Laura Dern working together sounds great - as both are very talented individuals - what ups my anticipation for this project is that they've hired Pam Brady to write the screenplay. While not exactly a household name, she has spent years working under the radar along with South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Not only was she part of that long-running series for its first decade of existence, she also co-wrote both South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut as well as Team America: World Police. It's pretty clear that she has a great sense of humor, and hopefully she'll have a great opportunity to infuse that into this new football comedy.
Apatow's work as a director has gotten a bit of a divisive response in recent years, this is a great continuation of his work to push forward more female-driven projects fore-fronted by incredibly talented women. In addition to this new project with Laura Dern, he also produced Bridesmaids back in 2011; is giving comedienne Amy Schumer her big screen break with his next directorial effort, Trainwreck; and also serves as an executive producer on the HBO series Girls. He knows that there are a ton of funny actresses in Hollywood, and he wants to make sure mainstream audiences know as well.
Trainwreck, which is based on a screenplay by Amy Schumer and co-stars Tilda Swinton, Bree Larson, Marisa Tomei and Bill Hader, is currently in post-production and will be coming to a theater near you on July 24, 2015. Dern, meanwhile, was in the box office hit The Fault In Our Stars earlier this year, and in the coming weeks will be seen with Reese Witherspoon in Wild and with Andrew Garfield and Michael Shannon in the indie drama 99 Homes.
