Leslie Mann Discusses Being Directed By Maude Apatow

Maude Apatow is known for far more than being the daughter of iconic actor Leslie Mann and legendary writer/director Judd Apatow. She’s made a huge name for herself as an actress over the past decade or so, having starred in huge movies and shows like Euphoria and, most recently, One of Them Days.

But you might not know that Maude just made her directorial debut — yep, she’s following in her dad’s footsteps! The movie is called Poetic License, and it’s a comedy (with guaranteed LOLs the entire time) that just premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on Sept. 6. The movie stars none other than Andrew Barth Feldman, Cooper Hoffman, and Maude’s mom, Leslie Mann — who also happens to be a comedic genius.

So since Leslie plays the starring role in Maude’s very first movie as a director, naturally, that leads us to wonder what it was actually like to film together. Well, lucky for us, they both opened up about it at the premiere…and discussed their mother-daughter relationship in general. So let’s recap.

When asked about what it was like to be directed by her daughter, Leslie had a lot to say, and she knew her answer right away. “My dream is to spend every moment of the day with my daughter,” she began (and I know this has my mom enthusiastically nodding her head). “So it was so nice for me to get to do that. And she had to do that!”

Because a big part of the film is about a mother-daughter relationship (an overbearing, semi-boundary-crossing, yet really freakin’ relatable one), Leslie then compared her character’s role to her IRL experience of being Maude’s mom. And it was nothing short of hilarious (and really relatable).

“I like to train my kids to need me forever,” she admitted with a laugh. “It’s a really hard part of life, to switch from being a mother, being needed. Sad. So sad. So hard,” she said, choking up. “But yes, it’s difficult. And I don’t recommend it,” she said, referring to the transition of raising young kids to independent adults.

But the connection is mutual, of course, because Maude then shared a hilarious anecdote that tells us pretty much everything we need to know. “When I left for college, it was so, so sad. It was the worst thing ever,” Maude said. But the separation anxiety didn’t last long: “Then I dropped out, and I was back so quick,” she said.

So there ya go! Looks like Maude and Leslie are attached at the hip, and we love to see it — not just because their experience rings true for many of us fans, but also because I need more content with these two together. Nothin’ like a good mother-daughter celeb dynamic, amirite?