Sick in the Head

A collection of intimate, hilarious conversations with the biggest names in comedy-including Mel Brooks, Jerry Seinfeld, Jon Stewart, Roseanne, Harold Ramis, Louis CK, Chris Rock, and Lena Dunham.Before becoming one of the most successful filmmakers in Hollywood, Judd Apatow was the original comedy nerd. He took a job washing dishes in a local comedy club-just so he could watch endless stand-up for free. He hosted a show for his local high school radio station in Long Island-a show that consisted of Q&As with his comedy heroes, from Garry Shandling to Jerry Seinfeld. They talked about their careers, the science of a good joke, and their dreams of future glory. Thirty years later, Apatow is still that same comedy nerd-and he's still interviewing funny people about why they do what they do.Sick in the Head gathers Apatow's most memorable and revealing conversations into one hilarious, wide-ranging, and incredibly candid collection that spans not only his career, but his entire adult life. The comedy legends who inspired and shaped him, from Mel Brooks to Steve Martin. The contemporaries he grew up with in from Spike Jonze to Sarah Silverman. And the brightest stars in comedy today from Seth Rogen to Amy Schumer. And along the way, something kind of magical happens: What started as a lifetime's worth of conversations about comedy becomes something else entirely. It becomes an exploration of creativity, ambition, neediness, generosity, spirituality, and the joy that comes from making people laugh.Loaded with the kind of back-of-the-club stories that comics tell one another when no one else is watching, this fascinating, personal, and borderline-obsessive book is Judd Apatow's gift to comedy nerds everywhere.Royalties will be donated by to 826LA, a nonprofit writing and tutoring center in Los Angeles.