Funny People
Directed by Judd Apatow
Starring Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, Eric Bana, Jonah Hill
Rated R
Release Date: July 31, 2009

“The whole place seemed to have been stricken with a kind of creeping paralysis – out of beat with the rest of the world, crumbling apart in slow motion.”
— Joe Gillis from Sunset Blvd.

“You’re my best friend, and I don’t even like you.”
— George Simmons from Funny People

Funny People: Bringing The Nasty Pain

Los Angeles, the bitch of desire, takes no prisoners. Hollywood may be her enchanted vagina, but the rest of her is a ferocious dominatrix ready to force everyone to fall under her demented spell. It is a city with an infinite supply of Sammy Glick’s ready to pleasure the bitch at whatever cost.

Judd Apatow‘s third film, Funny People, is a departure for him; it is supposed to show him as a more mature filmmaker. It certainly has many of the raunchy elements that made The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up so memorable. Judd Apatow is trying to move beyond the myth of adulthood in this film. Adulthood seems to be the Holy Grail that his characters can never quite find in his films or even the films of Wes Anderson. Adulthood is out of reach for the so-called adults as well as the younger generations who are stuck in eternal adolescent purgatory. Funny People certainly fits this vital characteristic of what makes a Judd Apatow film, but he has gone further with this film in that he deals with the show business angle — the world of stand-up comedians.

Universal Pictures has released a new red band trailer for Funny People, the new movie from comedy king Judd Apatow that stars Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen.

Apatow himself refers to the movie as a serious one that he has attempted to make even funnier than his not-so-serious comedies. It tells the tale of George Simmons (fittingly played by Sandler), a stand-up comedian who has moved on to super stardom via mainstream family movies. One day the star discovers that he has a rare disease and will likely die. In his last days, he realizes he doesn’t have much and befriends a young and up-and-coming comedian who helps him write jokes.

The movie carries a great supporting cast as well, including: Leslie Mann, Eric Bana, Jonah Hill, Jason Schwartzman, and others. Funny People will be released on July 31, 2009.

Click on over to the other side to check out the new trailer. As always, this is a RED BAND trailer and is NSFW.

Not too long ago, we shared a preview of what to look for in 2009 (see A Taste Of What The ’09 Movie Slate Has In Store). Although we are now a good little chunk into the big 2009, that doesn’t mean that it’s too late for more preview goodness, so when the opportunity presented itself we couldn’t help but do it again. Now the LA Times has their own collection of 2009 preview images, so naturally, we’ve found the newer and more exciting ones to share with you.

Because we used it in the first preview, I’ve included the brand new Where the Wild Things Are image as our main image, so be sure to check that one out as well!