Superbad (film)

Superbad is a 2007 American comedy film directed by Greg Mottola and starring Jonah Hill and Michael Cera. The film was written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, who began working on the script when they were both 13 years old; they completed a draft by the time they were 15. The film's main characters have the same given names as Rogen and Goldberg. It was also one of a string of hit films produced by Judd Apatow.

Plot

Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera) are two high school seniors who lament their virginity and poor social standing. Best friends since childhood, the two are about to go off to different colleges, as Seth did not get accepted into Dartmouth like Evan. After Seth is paired with Jules (Emma Stone) during Home-Ec class, she invites him to a party at her house later that night. Later, Fogell (Christopher Charles Mintz-Plasse) comes up to the two and reveals his plans to obtain a fake ID during lunch. Seth uses this to his advantage and promises to bring alcohol to Jules' party. Fogell's fake ID is met with derision by Seth and Evan, as it states that Fogell's name is simply "McLovin". After contemplating their options, Seth decides they have no choice but to have Fogell buy the alcohol with his fake ID. Fogell goes in and successfully buys the alcohol, but is interrupted when a robber enters the store, punches him in the face, and takes money from the cash register.

Seth Rogen

Seth Aaron Rogen (/ˈroʊɡən/; born April 15, 1982) is a Canadian actor, filmmaker, and comedian.

Rogen began his career performing stand-up comedy during his teenage years, winning the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest in 1998. While still living in his native Vancouver, he landed a supporting role in the series Freaks and Geeks. Shortly after he moved to Portland, Oregon for his role, Freaks and Geeks was officially cancelled after one season due to low viewership. Rogen later got a part on the equally short-lived sitcom Undeclared, which also hired him as a staff writer.

After landing his job as a staff writer on the final season of Da Ali G Show, for which Rogen and the other writers received an Emmy Award nomination, Rogen was guided by Judd Apatow toward a film career. Rogen was cast in a major supporting role and credited as a co-producer in Apatow's directorial debut, The 40-Year-Old Virgin. After Rogen received critical praise for his performance, Universal Pictures agreed to cast him as the lead in Apatow's films Knocked Up and Funny People. Rogen co-starred as Steve Wozniak in Universal's Steve Jobs biopic in 2015.

Evan Goldberg

Evan Goldberg (born 1982) is a Canadian screenwriter, film producer and director. Goldberg is known for his collaborations with his childhood friend, actor-writer-producer Seth Rogen. They have collaborated on several films, starting with the comedy Superbad (2007), which they first conceived as teenagers, Pineapple Express (2008), This Is the End (2013), which was their directorial debut, and The Interview (2014).

Personal life

Goldberg was born in 1982 in Vancouver, British Columbia, to a Jewish family. He was raised in Marpole. Goldberg attended Point Grey Secondary School and McGill University. He is married to Lisa (Yadavaia) Goldberg.

Career

Goldberg started his writing career joining the staff of Da Ali G Show along with his childhood friend and comedy partner Seth Rogen. Rogen and Goldberg collaborated on the films Knocked Up, Superbad, Pineapple Express, Funny People, and The Green Hornet. In a strategy to garner interest and funding, Goldberg created a pre-production trailer for Jay and Seth versus the Apocalypse, which was later made as This Is the End, and was released in June 2013. Goldberg and Rogen are both "obsessed" fans of The Simpsons. After learning that The Simpsons executive producer James L. Brooks was a fan of Superbad, they decided to ask the producers of the show if they could write an episode. They were invited to The Simpsons writers room, where they pitched several episode ideas. One was accepted, and they wrote an outline with the help of some feedback from the regular writers. It became the episode "Homer the Whopper", which was the season premiere of season twenty-one.

Christopher Mintz-Plasse

Christopher Charles Mintz-Plasse is an actor who has performed roles such as Fogell (better known as "McLovin") in Superbad, Augie Farcques in Role Models, and as Chris D'Amico in Kick-Ass and its sequel Kick-Ass 2.

Early life

Mintz-Plasse was born in Los Angeles, to Ellen (née Mintz), a school counselor, and Ray Plasse, a mailman. He was raised in West Hills, California. His father is Catholic, of Polish, French-Canadian and Irish descent; his mother is Jewish. Mintz-Plasse attended El Camino Real High School (2003–07).

Career

Mintz-Plasse acted in drama classes from first grade until his senior year in high school. He auditioned with two high school friends for the part of Fogell (aka "McLovin") in Superbad without professional head shots, before the audition and just took one with his camera phone. His mother was required by law to be on set while filming his sex scene in the film because he was only 17 years old at the time. Upon release, the film earned critical and commercial success, with many critics citing Mintz-Plasse's performance as one of its highlights and earned him a nomination for MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance.

Judd Apatow

Judd Apatow (/ˈæpətaʊ/; born December 6, 1967) is an American producer, writer, director, actor, and comedian best known for his work in comedy films. He is the founder of Apatow Productions, through which he produced and developed the cult television series Freaks and Geeks, Undeclared, and Girls and directed and produced The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), Knocked Up (2007), This Is 40 (2012), and Trainwreck (2015). Apatow's work has won numerous awards including a Primetime Emmy Award (for The Ben Stiller Show), a Hollywood Comedy Award, and an AFI Award for Bridesmaids (2011). His films have also been nominated for Grammy Awards, PGA Awards, Golden Globe Awards, and Academy Awards.

In October 2012, Vanity Fair announced that Apatow would be guest-editing their comedy Issue, the first person to ever do so. In 2007, he was ranked No. 1 on Entertainment Weekly's The 50 Smartest People in Hollywood. He is considered a pioneer of the modern film genre bromantic comedy.

Early life and education