Guys, this email exchange between Judd Apatow and Mark Brazill, creator of That ‘70s Show, might have happened in 2001, but we like to revisit them to remind ourself that while Cable Guy might have faded into our collective memory, death-threats are timeless. After Apatow sets off a firestorm by inquiring if Topher Grace could do Freaks And Geeks (Topher Grace: behind every poisonous Hollywood feud since 1998), Brazill basically accuses Apatow of plagiarizing his rock band pilot Yard Dogs, and things quickly go downhill from there. “Personally, I feel you’ve made a career out of being a sycophant to Carrey or Shandling or Roseanne, and when you weren’t kissing ass you were stealing from lesser-known comics or leeching off other people’s ideas (Celtic Pride, Cable Guy),†Brazill rants, before cursing the Funny People director with a terminal illness. Says Apatow, “As for the cancer, I’ll wait till you get it and then steal it from you.†If you think that’s brutal, wait until you hear what he has to say about That ‘80s Show.
