Judd Apatow’s “Funny People” Going Viralish

It seems as though the powers that be are circulating some funny viral videos online to promote Judd Apatow’s upcoming third film, Funny People starring Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen; the first two of course being 40 Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up. It’s in no way as “VIRAL” as say the Why So Serious? campaign was for The Dark Knight, which was unbelievably interactive, elaborate and lasted like seven months, but it’s still good online guerilla marketing to generate buzz. So the plot of Funny People surrounds George (Sandler), a very successful stand up comedian who learns that he has an untreatable blood disorder and is given less than a year to live. Ira (Rogen) is a struggling up-and-coming stand up comedian who works at a deli and has yet to figure out his onstage persona. One night, these two perform at the same club and George takes notice of Ira. George hires Ira to be his semi-personal assistant as well as his friend.

In the film, the awesomely funny Jason Schwartzman plays a character named Mark, a self-obsessed TV actor who stars on an NBC sitcom called Yo Teach. Sandler’s character is a comedian/actor so most of the characters in this film are of similar profession.  A couple videos recently popped up online that feature Mark doing a behind-the-scenes-type featurette for Yo Teach. This fake sitcom featured in Funny People, is about a poetry and literature teacher who has the challenge of trying to motivate inner-city kids. Mark described the show as being a cross between Dangerous Minds and The Cable Guy. This is a really fun and cool way for Apatow and Co. to utilize the power of YouTube to promote this film. It already has nearly 14,000 views and it was uploaded yesterday. Perhaps similar videos could appear in the near future since the movie doesn’t open for two more months.

What’s fantastic about these clips and this movie, is that the hilarious Bo Burnham is one of the troubled teens in Yo Teach and is also listed on IMDB as a character in Funny People. For those who don’t know, Bo Burnham is a frickin’ hysterical comedian who has an comedy album with outrageously funny YouTube Videos and songs.  He has made a name for himself in the comedy industry over the last couple years with his videos, his album and his tour performing very well. It was only a matter of time for him to break out into movies. What better place to start than with Apatow, Sandler and Rogen? I know my buddy Charlie is probably geeking out after hearing this.

Mic chec  these two videos of Yo Teach featured in Funny People opening July 31st.

Source: FirstShowing.net

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