Jun 11, 2008 by The MovieWeb Team

Eric Bana, Jason Schwartzman and Jonah Hill Join Judd Apatow's Funny People

Judd Apatow has rounded out the cast and picked a title and start date for his next directing vehicle.

Eric Bana, Jason Schwartzman and Jonah Hill have joined the ensemble of Funny People, which will be co-financed by Universal Pictures and Columbia Pictures, with Universal distributing worldwide next summer.

Apatow set Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen and Leslie Mann in the comedy earlier this year.

The filmmaker, who last wrote and directed Knocked Up, was deliberately vague about subject matter, allowing only that the movie takes place in the world of standup comedy and the focus is on a comedian who has a near-death experience.


Sources: Variety

Do you like this story?

Comments (26)

  1. ...YeahButTheBookWasBetter

    cool i didnt know Bana had done so much comedy work.

    4 years agoby @theboywhocriedsequelFlag

  2. Err

    remain?
    you mean "rename"?

    at any rate i disagree.
    i've seen some old sketch comedy on youtube that eric bana was in and he was funny. he's been typecast as serious here in the usa, but he's a surprisingly funny guy.

    4 years agoby @err2005Flag

  3. Flrep07

    they should remain this movie "funny people... and eric bana"

    4 years agoby @flrep07Flag

  4. Flrep07

    50 first dates
    Mr. Deeds
    Spanglish
    Punch Drunk Love
    Billy Madison

    those are about all the movies i didnt like from Adam Sandler. The rest like Big Daddy, click, chuck and larry, little nicky, they were all very good.
    anger management was more of an average movie, not great, but not completely a waste of time.

    4 years agoby @flrep07Flag

  5. Marcusx

    granted there were some semi-humorous moments in each of these but over all none of them deserve more than a 6/10

    4 years agoby @marcusxFlag

  6. Marcusx

    Mr Deeds
    50 First Dates
    Click
    Anger Management
    Chuck and Larry
    Little Nicky
    and now Zohan

    all these movies were terrible. the longest yard was ok in some respects, but even that prolly made the B list

    4 years agoby @marcusxFlag

  7. onebudwiser

    ERIC BANA IS PROBABLY THE FUNNIEST OUTTA THE BUNCH, IF THERE ARE ANY AUSSIES HERE YOUD REMEMBER "FAST FORWARD" AND "FULL FRONTAL" POITA AND HIS IMPERSONATION OF RAY MARTIN, WAS THE F*CKING BOMB....
    AND "THE CASTLE" AND "CHOPPER" TWO OF AUTRALIAS CLASSICS.....
    AND EVEN STILL WHO CAN FORGET "TWO HANDS" LONG BEFORE HEATH LEDGER BECAME A BUTT F*CKING COWBOY....
    EVEN RUSSELL CROWE AT HIS BEST IN "ROMPER STOMPER"

    4 years agoby @onebudwiserFlag

  8. Rama's SCREEN

    Erica Bana used to be a stand up comic in the land Down Under.
    He even had his own SNL-like show

    4 years agoby @ramasscreen-comFlag

  9. Shadow Of The Day

    Nice.

    4 years agoby @asifFlag

  10. Flrep07

    i think sandler still brings funny movies, except for Mr. Deeds, that one was plain terrible

    4 years agoby @flrep07Flag

  11. Marcusx

    sandler hasnt been funny for years. havent seen zohan, but it looks funny. although i havent heard anything positive about that film. i bet when i see it, i will manage to supply a few mild laughs. but then here in the next year it wil become a cult classic like most of sandlers films before it

    4 years agoby @marcusxFlag

  12. Marcusx

    eric bana?

    4 years agoby @marcusxFlag

  13. Flrep07

    weird set of cast. rogen, sandler, AND bana? rogen and sandler have different comedy styles and bana isnt even funny. wtf is going on around here? i'll still watch it.

    4 years agoby @flrep07Flag

  14. They call me ITCHY BALLS

    He looks gay as sh*t.

    4 years agoby @danbrchFlag

  15. sirmetro

    I didn't know anyone knew "Chopper",what a f*ckin surprise,he did f*ckin ok in the movie.
    Bana in a comedy flick? well,it looks scary,but who the hell knows...it might turn out to be pretty good sh*t.

    4 years agoby @sirmetroFlag

  16. mohair69

    Eric Bana starred in the Australian comedy skit series "Fast Forward" and "Full Frontal". He is very good at characterisation hence the reason why he got the role of chopper and then moved on to Hollywood.

    4 years agoby @mohair69Flag

  17. Nyfresh

    this sh*t is def gonna be funny, great cast, cant wait for this one

    4 years agoby @leo16Flag

  18. killahmovie24

    yea really good cast, this should be piss in ur pants funny

    4 years agoby @killahmovie24Flag

  19. The Kwisatz Haderach

    It sounds good, great cast.

    4 years agoby @the-kwisatz-haderachFlag

  20. Err

    i saw some clips at youtube of bana doing a fake news bit on one of the shows that mohair mentioned, and he was pretty funny.

    this is a good cast, im sure it will be great.

    4 years agoby @err2005Flag

  21. Space101

    Like Spaz says, interesting mix of actors for this one. This should be good! I hope Eric Bana comes out of left field with the jokes...

    4 years agoby @space101Flag

  22. mohair69

    Eric Bana starred in the Australian comedy skit series "Fast Forward" and "Full Frontal". He is very good at characterisation hence the reason why he got the role of chopper and then moved on to Hollywood.

    4 years agoby @mohair69Flag

  23. Spadicus

    An interesting blend of new and familiar faces to Apatow's directing career.

    But Eric Bana? Last I checked, he's never been involved with comedy before. That one came out of left field.

    4 years agoby @spazFlag

  24. AnnoyingFilmCritic

    The Judd Apatow comedy juggernaut keeps grinding away...Great cast.

    4 years agoby @annoyingfilmcriticFlag

  25. Rama's SCREEN

    let's just hope it stays funny.
    I've seen comedy movies with lots of cameos and that's all it relies on.
    The humor gets neglected.

    4 years agoby @ramasscreen-comFlag

  26. DarkTower19

    How much do you want to bet there will be cameos galore in this film?

    4 years agoby @darktower19Flag

(More)Latest News
Halloween II vs. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 Halloween II vs. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1
(More)Recent Activity
(More)Most Commented Stories
(More)Top Rated Stories