The reason why Adam Sandler always employs his friends
It’s been 25 years since Adam Sandler first formed his Happy Madison production company, and ever since, he’s made a point of repeatedly working with a number of familiar faces.
Whether it’s writers, actors, or directors, the outfit has formed a close-knit repertory that feature in virtually every project distributed under the Happy Madison banner, which is quite an accomplishment considering the recent Netflix animation Leo marked its landmark 50th feature-length production.
Frank Coraci and Steven Brill have directed five Sandler films, with Coraci helming seven Happy Madison movies in total. Dennis Dugan, Fred Wolf, Tom Brady, Peter Segal, and Tyler Spindel are among other filmmakers to be embraced as part of the family, with his on-camera cohorts even more prolific.
Allen Covert has either starred in or produced 16 Happy Madison titles, with David Spade on 14, Rob Schneider and Kevin James on 12 and Nick Swardson on eight alongside Steve Buscemi. Even his recent dramatic comedy You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah featured a ninth outing for wife Jackie, with daughters Sadie and Sunny playing his on-screen children.
Essentially, if you become a friend of Sandler’s, then there’s always going to be work. It might be a cliché when anyone describes a movie set as being like a family, but rarely has it proven to be more applicable than when Happy Madison gets the band back together for the umpteenth time.
The reasons for it are exceedingly simple, too, with Sandler having the power to do pretty much whatever he wants, and what he’s chosen to do is spend as much time as possible with his nearest and dearest. Having notched billions at the box office as an actor and producer before becoming established as arguably the biggest draw on Netflix, his track record has allowed him to recruit anyone he sees fit. As a result, that more often than not includes friends and family.
As the man himself put it to The Independent: “I didn’t get into movies to please the critics. I got into it to make people laugh and have fun with my friends.” That sentiment even applies to the creative process, with Sandler admitting that he’ll “think up an idea” before he’ll “call up all of my friends”.
Dugan reflected on the familial aspect of Happy Madison, describing Grown Ups as “one of the best summers of all our lives” because the majority of the cast and key crew members were “just hanging out with our families”.
The reason why Sandler repeatedly gathers his inner circle together to make movies is an eminently simple one. It’s not only because he can, but it’s been proven through ticket sales and viewership data that there are an awful lot of people out there who enjoy seeing it happen.
