No contemporary filmmaker has chronicled the messy human experience with the eye and ear of a comedic cultural anthropologist like JUDD APATOW. Hits as varied as those he’s directed, like Knocked Up and The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and those he’s produced, like Superbad and Bridesmaids, are all unified by their honest, unflinching, comic look at how complicated it is to grow up in the modern world.
Apatow has also built a history of helping break distinctive new comedy voices into the mainstream, from Seth Rogen to Lena Dunham, among many others. Now, in his fifth feature film as a director, Apatow again brings a portrait of an unforgettable character, and a portrayal by a breakout new comedy star, together in a film written by and starring AMY SCHUMER (TV’s Inside Amy Schumer) as a woman who lives her life without apologies, even when maybe she should apologize.
U n d o u b t e d ly, S c h u m e r h a s b e e n s t e a d i ly achieving cultural notoriety of her own. From her brutally honest turns at the mic at awards shows and comedy clubs to the clips of her series that go viral the moment they’re posted online—see such instant classics as “Girl, You Don’t Need Makeup,” “12 Angry Men Inside Amy Schumer” and “Last F**kable Day”—the unapologetic comic channels the relatable frustrations of her professional and romantic experiences and skewers laughable societal hypocrisies. Blending confessional comedy, gender politics and uproarious observation, Schumer has audiences loving the relatable truths she delivers in such a deceptively effortless manner.
Alongside Apatow, Schumer now takes her undeniable talents to the big screen in her feature-film starring debut. Together, they welcome us inside the mind and heart of a Trainwreck.
Since she was a little girl, it’s been drilled into Amy’s (Schumer) head by her rapscallion of a father (COLIN QUINN of HBO’s Girls) that monogamy isn’t realistic. Now a magazine writer, Amy lives by that credo— enjoying what she feels is an uninhibited life free from stifling, boring romantic commitment—but in actuality, she’s kind of in a rut. When she finds herself starting to fall for the subject of the new article she’s writing, a charming and successful sports doctor named Aaron Conners (BILL HADER of The Skeleton Twins), Amy starts to wonder if other grown-ups, including this guy who really seems to like her, might be on to something.
The comedy, from a script written by Trainwreck co- producer Schumer, co-stars BRIE LARSON (21 Jump Street) as Kim, Amy’s younger sister, who just wishes she would settle down; WWE powerhouse JOHN CENA (upcoming Sisters) as Steven, Amy’s well-meaning boyfriend, who is unaware of her wandering eye; VANESSA BAYER (TV’s Saturday Night Live) as Nikki, her best friend in partying and co-worker at S’Nuff magazine; MIKE BIRBIGLIA (The Fault in Our Stars) as Tom, Kim’s patient—and rather boring—husband; EZRA MILLER (The Perks of Being a Wallflower) as Donald, a particularly curious intern at S’Nuff; DAVE ATTELL (TV’s Louie) as Noam, the crack-wise homeless man outside Amy’s apartment; Oscar® winner TILDA SWINTON (Michael Clayton) as Dianna, Amy and Nikki’s take-no-prisoners editor; and NBA superstar LEBRON JAMES as King James himself, Aaron’s best friend and unlikely source of romantic inspiration.
Apatow produces Trainwreck through his Apatow Productions banner alongside BARRY MENDEL (Bridesmaids, This Is 40). They lead a talented behind- the-scenes team that includes cinematographer JODY LEE LIPES (Girls and Martha Marcy May Marlene), production designer KEVIN THOMPSON (Michael Clayton, Stranger Than Fiction), editors WILLIAM KERR (Bridesmaids, Forgetting Sarah Marshall) and PAUL ZUCKER (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, This Is 40), costume designer LEESA EVANS (Bridesmaids, Neighbors) and composer JON BRION (Magnolia, This Is 40).
DAVID HOUSEHOLTER (Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, Bad Teacher) serves as the film’s executive producer.
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