Interview: Judd Apatow Chats About His Emmy Nomination for ‘Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!’

Yesterday, Judd Apatow received two Emmy nominations for his work directing the documentary Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! (Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program and Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special). Apatow has been nominated and won Emmys before, and he’s made several documentaries already over the years, but this one does feel special. Given the influence that Mel Brooks has had on him, as well as almost everyone in comedy, these citations hit different. Shortly after the nominations were announced, he was kind enough to spend some time on Zoom with me talking about the citations, the doc, and much more. Now, I’m thrilled to share it with you all.

In my rave review of the documentary (here), I said the following about Apatow’s filmmaking, alongside co-director Michael Bonfiglio:

Judd Apatow co-directs here with his prior documentary collaborator Michael Bonfiglio. They’re correct in keeping Brooks the star, giving him more screen time than any of the talking heads. They know not to hide him, even in his golden years. Mixed with the perfectly arranged footage of his bits, work, interviews, and more, it’s a fan’s guide to a legend that newcomers can still easily enjoy, without question.

Below, you can see my chat with Apatow. We discuss his approach to documentary filmmaking, Brooks himself, and lots more. I couldn’t resist showing him a glass that both Brooks and my grandfather had (you can see it in the movie), that I now own, and we have a laugh about that. In fact, we laugh a lot here, which is only befitting a discussion about one of the great legends of comedy in Brooks. Apatow is very easy to talk to, clearly proud of the work here, and thrilled that he could do right by Brooks, now 100 years old. Given how much I love Apatow’s work (my ranking of his flicks can be found here), as well as Brooks’ entire career (he’s the single funniest person in history, in my humble opinion), this was an absolute pleasure. Anyone who has yet to see Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! should rectify that oversight immediately. It’s available to stream right now on HBO Max. What are you waiting for?

Here now is my interview with Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! co-director and Emmy nominee Judd Apatow. Enjoy:

Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! is currently streaming on HBO Max!