Judd Apatow believes Americans need to “think, engage, and sacrifice for the long term” to survive the world’s turbulent circumstances.
The director detailed the sentiments he shared during his Sundance presentation of the documentary “Paralyzed by Hope: The Maria Bamford Story” at the Golden Globes earlier this month, where he told viewers the country “is currently in a dictatorship.”
“I don’t know if I can solve all the problems in the world right now,” he said in the Variety Studio presented by Audible. “But everyone has to find a way to get involved, wake up, be proactive, and stand up for what this country is really about. What’s happening right now is absolutely heinous and goes against every value of this country.”
Apatow was referring to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who shot and killed American Renee Goode in Minneapolis on January 7, and to the growing number of ICE raids across the country.
“There’s this weird normalization going on right now where it’s like, ‘I’m going skiing today, so I guess ICE isn’t terrorizing everyone,'” Apatow said. “People need to do something, something that Americans don’t often do, and that’s think long-term, get involved, and sacrifice for the country.”
Apatow was joined by co-director Neil Barkley and comedian Maria Bamford in Variety Studio to open up about his mental health struggles and career challenges in “Paralyzed by Hope,” which premiered Thursday night at the Ray Theater in Park City.
Apatow, who recently directed documentaries on “Mel Brooks: The 99-Year-Old Man” and other comedians such as George Carlin and Garry Shandling, believes the ideal subject is “someone who is willing to be completely honest.” He said, “Your goal is to get to the heart of their life. It takes a challenging person to share that with you. Sharing that is a real gift.”
Bamford, who dramatized her own life in the Netflix comedy Lady Dynamite and has spoken candidly about her experiences with depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and suicidal thoughts, is no stranger to mining her own life experiences for material and felt no subject was off-limits for this documentary.
“All is fair. We are in the last innings of our lives,” she said. “There’s no reason to keep things secret.”
