In Trainwreck, Amy Schumer, (who wrote the screenplay for the film) plays a young, commitment-phobic career woman who finally meets a “nice guy” — one who challenges her long-held beliefs about the impossibility of monogamy.
While listening to The Howard Stern Show during his commute one day, Judd Apatow found himself intrigued by young stand-up comedian Amy Schumer, whose hit Comedy Central show Inside Amy Schumer premiered in 2013. The longer that he listened, the more Apatow was fascinated by her dark humor.
Eventually, Apatow reached out to Schumer and suggested that they meet. “I couldn’t sleep the night before,” Schumer shares. “I was too excited to meet Judd because Knocked Up changed my life.” As a longtime fan of the director/producer’s work, Schumer knew that the next day could make the difference in her young career.
After a positive meeting, Apatow and Schumer decided to work on a script together. Apatow says, “We started talking about her life, her relationships and what she thought was holding her back from having more successful ones. We realized that’s what the movie should be all about.” Ultimately, Apatow decided to direct the movie — a first for a film he had not also written. 
Although she was quite comfortable in the world of standup comedy, Schumer admits that having Apatow as a director on her first film was a humbling experience. “I didn’t know that Judd was going to direct it until late in the game,” she says. “When I let it in that this was really happening, I cried like a one-year-old.”
As the two worked on the film, they both used the time spent in New York to hone their talents on stage. Schumer performed at the Comedy Cellar throughout the filming of Trainwreck. “It was fun to do standup on the weekends and just get to be an actress during the week,” she says.
Remarkably, Apatow also performed at the Comedy Cellar almost every day, often after
putting in 12 hours or more on the set. “Every night after work I would go to the Comedy Cellar and do standup, which I hadn’t done in 22 years,” the director recalls. “I felt like it just put me in a better mood and made me feel funnier during the day when we were working. It was either that or go home and watch CNN. So for me it was like comedy camp all day and all night. For some reason, it helped me unwind.”
Trainwreck is available beginning Nov. 10 on Video On Demand. Check your cable system for availability.
© 2015 Universal Studios All Rights Reserved. Credit: Mary Cybulski
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