This-Is-40-PosterJudd Apatow’s This Is 40 is one of a very small number of straight comedies in strong contention for the Oscars this year. With an awards season-primed release set for 21st December in the US, we’re all looking forward to seeing Apatow’s sort-of sequel to Knocked Up.

We’ve been seeing plenty of great things from the film over the past few months, and now we’ve got a new featurette to share, courtesy of HelloGiggles*, going behind the scenes for an important day of shooting with Maude Apatow.

“Writer/director/producer Judd Apatow (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Funny People) brings audiences This Is 40, an original comedy that expands upon the story of Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann) from the blockbuster hit Knocked Up as we see firsthand how they are dealing with their current state of life.”

Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann star in the leads this time around, reprising their original characters, with brilliant support coming from new and familiar faces alike, including Jason Segel, Maude and Iris Apatow, Albert Brooks, Chris O’Dowd, John Lithgow, Melissa McCarthy, and the brilliant Lena Dunham.

Apatow is once more directing from his own script, and serves as producer as well alongside past collaborators Barry Mandel (Serenity, Bridesmaids) and Clayton Townsend (Knocked Up, Bridesmaids).

This Is 40 will be released in the US this month on Christmas Day, in prime position for the Oscar nominations in January. Here in the UK, we’ve a little longer before it arrives, with its release set for 14th February for the Valentine’s weekend, but when it comes to Apatow, it’s always worth the wait. For now, here’s the excellent new behind-the-scenes featurette. Enjoy.

[yframe url=’www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqSPwpq2iK4′]

 

*The young Maude Apatow is also a contributing author to the site, along with the ever-brilliant Zooey Deschanel.