And we ask him lots about Bridesmaids, too.

No, definitely not!

Im not used to it at all!

Ad content continues below

Is it an odd feeling now, and is that commercial success important to you?

Or is it a case of this is the nice bit at the end?

Its definitely a nice feeling, because its been very hard for me to get things made.

More often than not, I seem to do well critically, which is fantastic.

But unless youre making people money, theyre not happy to have you do stuff.

Have you got a 15-20 year bucket list of films youve been dying to make, but couldnt?

[Laughs] Ill pull out everything Ive ever tried to get made!

No, theres some pet projects that Ive wanted to get done.

But what I dont want to do is dive right into one of my small, pet project films.

Ive got a couple of projects Im really excited about.

Theres one thats been doing the rounds in the trades, with Judd Apatow?

Yeah, and thats a real pet project of mine.

So, hopefully, I can shoot that the following summer.

Theres still a lot of development to do, and theres actor availabilities.

So, fingers cross.

Did the gender angle particularly matter to you?

Honestly, it did.

You talk to Judd and Kristen and they dont feel that swayed them at all.

They just wanted to make a funny movie.

Theres a performance in the film that I dont think has been talked about enough.

I dont think that Rose Byrne has got the amount of praise she deserves for this.

I thought she was outstanding.

I one hundred percent agree with you.

I really thought she was going to be the one that people were clambering about.

She does such an amazing job, and it feels so effortless.

What she did is really hard.

And it turns it into one of these soap opera-y cat fight female films.

Its one of the reasons why none of us like chick flicks.

We saw so many funny women for this role, but they all carried that archness to it.

And we said that we need to get a real actress.

And I was, Wow, this woman knows whats funny.

She did a lot of improv in this film, and was able to keep up with the girls.

That scene where she has a breakdown in the car was a masterful bit of acting.

Id quite like to see the women ofBridesmaidsagain.

Are you tempted to go back and explore them further?

Oh, very much so.

As actresses I love them, and Id love to work with them in different plans.

Im planning on doing that.

But yeah, even this group of characters Id love to explore again.

Even though we ran for two hours, I felt we just scratched the surface of several of them.

So, theres always sequel talk, and theres a part of me that would love to do that.

The danger is that the second one is a crazy romp about a wedding.

Cant you just do the same film again, but take them to Thailand?

Isnt that the done thing?

[Laughs] I thought about that, but somebodys done it!

You drop in the name George Glass in the film.

Thats surely aBrady Bunchreference?

I remember it fromA Very Brady Sequel?

Its from an actual episode ofThe Brady Bunch.

AVery Brady Sequelis a massively underrated comedy.

Thats where I got it from!

Oh yeah, I love that one!

I was referencing the actual show, of which Im quite an expert!

Are we likely to get anAnchorman-style extra movie, Wake Up, Annie Walker anytime soon?

Well, the DVD definitely has a lot of extra stuff on it.

Theres definitely lots extra on the DVD.

I wonder if you could just talk a little about working with her on this?

Oh, it was great.

She was such a sweet person.

And Ive been megafan of hers since I was a teen.

It was a nightmare!

It just seemed like a no-brainer.

She just looked like she could have been Kristens mom.

They had a very similar look.

And she was just a joy.

She just had the best time.

And it was so, so sad to me that she didnt get to see the final product.

A lot of us spent an inordinate amount of money to import the DVD boxset all those years ago.

I think even their window on releasing in the States is winding down.

And, if we raise enough money, will you bring everyone back for a twentieth anniversary special?

Theyd work for scale.

I asked them all.

We were working every episode like it was a little independent film.

It really took its toll on everybody, and when we got cancelled, I was just exhausted.

But at the same time, I was very sad not to see those characters play themselves out.

I reckon its you whos the expensive one now.

AfterBridesmaids, its your fee that will cripple the project.

I am the budget killer!

Thats what $136m at the box office does for you.

Yeah, thats right!

Paul Feig, thank you very much.

Bridesmaids is out in the UK today.Our review is here.