IndieWire attended the New York City premiere of “Adam Sandler: Love You” on Tuesday, August 20. Following “Adam Sandler: 100% Fresh” from 2018, the actor and comedian returns to Netflix for his latest stand-up special, directed by none other than Josh Safdie.
Reuniting with one of his “Uncut Gems” directors, Sandler told IndieWire that being directed by Safdie for this special was a very, very collaborative experience. “He was very hands on,” Sandler told IndieWire. “Right when he became a part of it, he had thought after thought, and I thought I was just going to do a standard stand up special. I had an act that I’ve been working on and all my stuff [prepped], and then Josh came up with some ideas that were different than that.”
At the end of last year, it was reported that Sandler was set to make his reunion with his 2019 crime thriller directors with a “live baseball” film. The actor was set to star alongside Megan Thee Stallion in the untitled Netflix film co-written by the Safdie Bros. Josh Safdie was set to solo direct the film, set in the world of sports memorabilia. However, amid the SAG-AFTRA strikes, the film was put on hold.
“We kind of missed the opportunity of baseball season because of the strike,” Sandler said last November. “A lot of it was gonna be shot during live baseball. So it’s gonna take a minute. We’re figuring it all out right now. I’m not sure when it’s gonna happen.”
At the premiere for his new comedy special, Sandler is hopeful that the film isn’t dead in the water yet. “It’s something that we talked about today,” Sandler said. “It’s hopefully going to come back. It’s crazy, it’s a cool script, very long. Josh doesn’t stop working hard.”
And the reunion with both Safdie Bros. will soon continue, “And by the way, Benny [Safdie] is in ‘Happy Gilmore 2’ and he’s going to have a juicy part in that. So it’s fun to be [back] with these guys.” The sequel is currently in the works at Netflix.
Christopher McDonald, co-star of the original film, said that he saw a script earlier this year. “I saw Adam [Sandler] about two weeks ago, and he says to me, ‘McDonald, you’re going to love this,’” McDonald said. “I said, ‘What?’ He says, ‘How about that,’ and he shows me the first draft of ‘Happy Gilmore 2.’ Maybe you should cut that out [of this audio] because I don’t want to be a liar, but he did show me that, and I thought, ‘Well, that would be awesome.’ So, it’s in the works. Fans demand it, dammit!”
Sandler just reunited with his “The Meyerowitz Stories” director Noah Baumbach on his upcoming Netflix feature, co-starring George Clooney, Laura Dern, Billy Crudup, and Riley Keough. “We shot that, it’s fantastic,” Sandler said. “I just talked to Noah this morning and he’s cutting it away and very excited.”
“Adam Sandler: Love You” starts streaming Tuesday, August 27 on Netflix. Check out the trailer here.
