Judd Apatow has opened up about using his own family as inspiration for the new movie This Is 40.
The director cast his wife Leslie Mann and daughters Maude and Iris along with Paul Rudd in his film about a middle-age couple coming to terms with turning 40.
While speaking to USA Today, Apatow discussed how much of This Is 40 is based on his family.
"A third of the film is inspired by things that happened. A third is inspired by our friends, but mainly Paul. And a third we make up to make it funny," he revealed.
The filmmaker continued: "It's more an imagining of what could happen and how badly it could go. I started thinking about writing about this time in life."
His wife Mann added that it was really "fun" to be able to have her daughters on the This Is 40 set each day.
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"They've grown up with all these people. They can enjoy themselves. It seemed like Maude discovered how to act this time," Mann said.
"In that scene when she screams at us at the table, she knew what she wanted to do and she knew she wanted to get emotional and she was nervous about it. She figured out how to put that into her acting.
"It was really fun watching her do that. It was amazing. I cried."
Apatow previously acknowledged a child murder joke which was written into This Is 40 two years before the Newtown, CT shooting, but said that he will not remove the dialogue from the finished movie.
> This Is 40 Leslie Mann: 'I'm freaked out by ageing'
This Is 40 is now playing in the US and opens February 14 in the UK. Watch a trailer below:
Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.
