Schumer’s hot
‘Trainwreck’ team talk about the film.
In the comedy world and beyond, 2015 is shaping up to be the year of Amy Schumer.
Between her new film “Trainwreck” and its recent standup tour, her Peabody Award for “Inside Amy Schumer,” her Glamour Awards speech that went viral and her hilarious appearance on “The Bachelorette,” she’s a formidable force in show business these days - a status she chalks up to being genuine.
“I’m a pretty authentic chick,” says Schumer during a recent on-camera interview, her high heels kicked off and bare feet resting just outside the shot.
“What you see is really what you get. I’ve responded to that. I remember when Jennifer Lawrence came on the scene I was like, ‘Oh, cool, like, a real person,’ even though she’s such a movie star.
“Yeah, you see I’m dressed up like a show poodle today, but really if anybody sees me during the day or the pictures they tweet out, I look like a newly homeless person.”
Her “Trainwreck” co-stars agree she’s the real deal.
“I’ve known Amy for 10 years in comedy clubs in New York and she’s always had respect of comedians,” says Mike Birbiglia, who has a role in the latest season of “Orange is the New Black.”
“She herself is so funny, but she’s also a genuine fan of other people and she’s very generous,” adds Vanessa Bayer of “SNL” fame.
Schumer wrote “Trainwreck” and stars in it as a hard-partying magazine writer who’s afraid of commitment - until she meets a sports doctor (Bill Hader) while on assignment for a feature article.
Colin Quinn plays her father, who has multiple sclerosis, and Brie Larson plays her straightlaced sister.
Other cast members in the Judd Apatow-directed comedy, which is out Friday, include NBA star LeBron James, Oscar winner Tilda Swinton, WWE champ John Cena and comedian Dave Attell.
Schumer, a Manhattan native who broke on the scene with “Last Comic Standing,” said she started writing the film just over two years ago and “kept modifying it and workshopping it until the very last day.”
“It was a constantly evolving script and it’s super autobiographical. I was falling in love when I was writing it and terri- fied and learning a lot about myself and things that had been holding me back in relationships.”
Apatow offered plenty of advice, she says.
“Both of us are people without boundaries, we’ll really say what’s going on with ourselves, like: ‘I really woke up hating myself today,”‘ says Schumer.
“So I just was sending him scenes and he was encouraging me to keep writing, and I thought he was just bluffing.”
This is Apatow’s first time directing a film he didn’t write, but he says he enjoyed the process, noting he likes “helping people figure out how to execute their vision.”
It’s something he did with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg while producing “Superbad,” and with Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo while producing “Bridesmaids.”
“That’s actually I think the most enjoyable part of it, is just, ‘What do you want to do, how can I help you make it work?”‘ says Apatow.
“And people are so excited when they’re making their first big movie. They just put so much more effort in it when just everything is on the line, because it’s their big break.”
James has a relatively prominent part in the film, playing a client and confidante to Hader’s character.
The involvement of the Cleveland Cavaliers foward turned out to be fortuitous, as promotion for the film fell in line with his team making it to the NBA Finals.
The Cavs lost in the finals the night before the “Trainwreck” crew arrived in Toronto for the comedy tour and press junket.
“As soon as they lost we replaced him, photoshopped Kevin Hart in,” jokes Schumer.
Asked at the time how James was handling the loss, Schumer and Apatow pretended to call him on the director’s cellphone.
“‘Lebron? You’re still rich and you have a beautiful family? Oh, OK, cool,”‘ said Schumer. “I’m sure he’s fine. He’ll recover.”