Judd Apatow on why The Big Sick is serious comedy

The runaway sleeper hit of the summer in America (though the plot makes it seem unlikely) is The Big Sick, produced by Judd Apatow, a romantic, culture clash comedy about Kumail, whose on-off girlfriend slips into a coma. He has to deal with her anxious parents, who he has never met, while keeping it all secret from his traditional Pakistani parents, obsessed with arranging his marriage. Sounds hysterical, right?

But it really is. Starring Kumail Nanjiani, who wrote the script with his wife Emily V. Gordon, and based on the true story of what actually happened in their early dating days, the film has equal measures of humour and heart, which has been the hallmark of Apatow’s biggest hits. Involved in pretty much every successful comedy film this century including Anchorman, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Bridesmaids, Apatow always keeps comedy and tragedy very close companions.

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The Big Sick marries them together as never before and besides its unusual premise, the mostly unknown Pakistani lead and interracial romance means its success at the box office (it holds the record for the highest per-theatre gross so far this year) has taken everyone by surprise. Everyone except, it turns out, Judd Apatow.

The Big Issue: Did you know the film would be a success from the first – not very funny sounding – pitch?

Judd Apatow: Oddly I did. I love awkward situations and there seems nothing more awkward than being at a hospital with your ex girlfriend’s parents waiting and hoping that their daughter would wake up from a coma. There were a lot of challenges in the writing, because you have to get the tone exactly right. They worked on the script for three years.

When working on something for so long, do the funny parts stop being funny? How do you keep it fresh?

I have to say that is one of the things I do best. I don’t get bored of the good jokes. I know people who after six months start to question everything but I don’t seem to lose touch with it. The weird part about making movies is you don’t really know what the movie is until you cast it – then it really comes together. The second you put Zoe Kazan, Ray Romano and Holly Hunter into it then it comes to life.

I’m always looking for the smallest possible idea then I try to go as deep as I can go

Why do you think The Big Sick has been so popular?

It’s a hilarious, beautiful movie. Making a movie is like starting a rock band. You never know if you have the right people involved, you never know what the sound is going to be until they start rehearsing, and once in a while something magical happens and it all works. We’ve just got the right story, the right people and the right chemistry. It is a love story. It’s about people finding each other, having the courage to fight for a relationship and see the potential of a relationship. It’s also about the relationship we have with our families and the pressure a lot of people feel to live by their parents’ rules and their cultures and how difficult it is to break away and make their own decisions.

At what point do you know The Big Sick rock band sounded good?

I thought it was working when we did a table read of the script with the cast. Everyone had figured out exactly how they were going to push their characters.

Behind the scenes on The Big Sick, Judd Apatow second from right

Do you feel a responsibility to spot and nurture new talent?

I just like interesting people with new stories. If you walk up to somebody who’s been in 35 movies they tend to have already got to their personal story. I like trying to crack the code of how to present a new movie star, or a new comedy star. It’s fun to think, why would an audience like this person? You’re helping to create their filmic identity. I don’t think people need to be super famous to be the star of films. I enjoy movies where I don’t know who the lead is. It helps me disappear into the story more when it isn’t someone I’ve read about in the tabloids every week for 10 years.

Kumail pitched you other ideas besides the story that became this film, what were they?

I don’t remember at all – they were so forgettable. I was looking for something personal. When I started kicking around ideas with Seth Rogan, he too was pitching me more imaginative movie ideas, but I’m never attracted to those. I like watching them but I don’t know how to make them. I’m not good at science fiction or anything like that. I’m always looking for the smallest possible idea then I try to go as deep as I can go.

How can smaller budget films exist in a season dominated by massive franchises?

You’re constantly rolling the dice. Can I get someone to pay for this movie? Now, can I get someone who thinks it’s good enough to put into theatres? We shot it with independent financing and we had no distribution. The film could have gone straight to a streaming service if people thought it didn’t have commercial appeal.

When commercial appeal is a concern wouldn’t pressure come from the producer (you in this case) to make it more appealing? For example, a script allowing someone like Brad Pitt to star, toning down the interracial romance, which must be some kind of Hollywood taboo given the complete lack of mixed race couples in leading roles…

I thought it was already a great story. Clearly Kumail was the right person to play the part. I don’t know if I was naïve but I didn’t really think about it being difficult to get made with him in the lead, a story about a Pakistani immigrant in the United States. Audiences don’t care if a person is famous, if they’re from a slice of society that isn’t represented in film – they’ll go if it’s a good movie.

How does the current socio-political climate in America change things?

Luckily we made this before Donald Trump was on the horizon as someone running for president. The conversation about immigration wasn’t as present or divisive when we started shooting the movie. I don’t know if it would have affected our choices or not. I’m glad it didn’t. Usually the culture makes an adjustment based on what’s happening politically, it’s hard to know what that is as of now. I know in the ’70s there were lots of paranoid thrillers after Watergate. We’ll see what happens here.

The conversation about immigration wasn’t as present or divisive when we started shooting the movie

At one point in the film Kumail is told to, “Go back to Isis!” by an oafish dimwit, but these ignorant people will be part of your audience too. How do you choose to engage, or not, with those attitudes?

I don’t think there are people who would be that cruel to Kumail in the audience, I think it’s mainly people who haven’t thought much about people like Kumail. There is terrorism from a tiny percentage of Muslim people and you have a billion people getting hassled who are peace loving and have nothing to do with any of it. When you hear the stories directly from people like Kumail about the type of racism they face it’s really tragic and the movie discusses it, while still being funny, in a way that lets you know that it’s very real.

The Big Sick is not a film about immigration, it’s a romantic comedy featuring a guy who happens to be an immigrant.

In the US there’s discussion about a travel ban. For most people it doesn’t touch their lives but if you take a moment to consider what it’s like for a family that’s been split up and the wreckage it can create you might think differently about the subject. It’s easy to make people faceless and not consider their pain and their struggles. It’s important we understand the complexity of what’s happening.

The Big Sick is out in cinemas on July 28