While last month saw typically dramatic actor/writer/director Viggo Mortensen share his TCM picks in honor of the release of his western romance film “The Dead Don’t Hurt,” the beloved channel has recruited a filmmaker with a more comedic voice to spearhead its July slate. Having produced for film and television since the early ’90s, Judd Apatow made his directorial debut in 2005 with the critical and cultural smash hit, “The 40-Year-Old Virgin.” He’s helped build the careers of Seth Rogen, Ben Stiller, Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Kristen Wiig, and many others, while also honoring the careers of those who’ve passed with HBO documentaries “The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling” and “George Carlin’s American Dream.”
Apatow’s first picks for the month harken back to his youth, with George Lucas’ coming-of-age hang-out flick “American Grafitti” (1973) airing on July 4 at 3:45am ET and Richard Brooks’ adaptation of Judith Rossner’s best-selling crime novel “Looking for Mr. Goodbar” (1977), starring Diane Keaton and Tuesday Weld, airing on July 5 at 11pm ET.
Perhaps inspiring some of his own comedies, Apatow selected Martin Brest’s classic road movie/buddy comedy co-starring Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin, “Midnight Run” (1988), airing on July 13 at 1:30am ET, as well as Hal Ashby’s dark, yet whimsical romance “Harold and Maude” (1971), airing July 19 at 11:45pm ET.
For his last pick, Apatow shouts out the masters Stanley Kubrick and Sidney Lumet with WWI film “Paths of Glory” (1957) airing July 24 at 9:30pm ET and crime drama “Dog Day Afternoon” (1975) airing July 26 at 3:45am ET.
These recently outsourced TCM picks are a result of the partnership started by Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Paul Thomas Anderson last year, which came after TCM was threatened with possible cuts.
Watch Apatow share his thoughts on his picks below.
