Judd Apatow's two-part documentary on George Carlin to premiere on HBO

By Randall Colburn  |  August 10, 2020 | 5:10pm
Aux Features documentary
Judd Apatow's two-part documentary on George Carlin to premiere on HBO
Photo: Paul Natkin

Back in June, Judd Apatow revealed he was at work on a documentary about George Carlin, lauding the sharp-tongued comic’s work as “prophetic.” Today, Deadline reports that HBO will premiere the film, which is slated to unfold across two parts. Apatow will direct with the help of longtime collaborator Michael Bonfiglio, with U.K.’s Rise Films producing alongside Apatow Productions. Apatow and Bonfiglio previously collaborated on HBO’s The Zen Diaries Of Garry Shandling.

“The sting of his words is as sharp now as when he was on stage,” Rise’s Teddy Leifer said. “Carlin is the comedian’s comedian who mastered his craft and shaped American counterculture such that he paved the way for a generation of comics that followed.”

In addition to interviewing Carlin’s friends and family, Apatow and Bonfiglio will plumb the depths of Carlin’s standup specials and TV appearances for the film. They’ll also comb through Carlin’s personal archive—journals, scrapbooks, unreleased audio—which are stored at the National Comedy Center.

Carlin is regularly remembered these days for his smart, nuanced, and often very funny musings on politics and religion, the likes of which are as relevant now as they ever were. Let us not forget, though, that he could just as easily drop quality riffs on things like, say, dog farts. See for yourself below.

 
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