Judd Apatow makes me laugh. He makes a lot of people laugh. He kept the packed house at the WGA Theater in Beverly Hills laughing Thursday night as he moderated the "Beyond Words" panel of WGA Award nommed screenwriters. It was a good group -- Simon Beaufoy ("Slumdog Millionaire"); Lance Black ("Milk"); Tom McCarthy ("The Visitor"); Jonathan Nolan ("The Dark Knight"); and Eric Roth ("The Curious Case of Benjamin Button") -- that reflected a range of pics.

Apatow joked at the start about not preparing for the event, but he'd clearly done a little bit of homework. He zeroed in on Roth to start, noting that the esteemed screenwriter had been a friend of Jim Morrison when they both attended UCLA in the mid-1960s.

"Can we talk about that all night," Apatow said.

Roth breezed over this interesting chapter in the L.A./rock'n'roll/Hollywood history with a dry mention of weird scenes ("I did get high with him a lot") and the observation that the Lizard King, in all his tight- leather-pants-whip-it-out-in-Miami-rock-god glory, really wanted to be a respected poet, or maybe even a screenwriter. "He wanted to be here," Roth said. (I think he meant Morrison would've loved being in a setting that conferred on him the status of being a really good writer.)

Apatow then warned McCarthy that the only thing he was more interested in than Jim Morrison stories was behind the scenes tales of "The Wire." (McCarthy co-starred as a really craven character -- a corrupt newspaper reporter -- in the HBO drama's final season last year. He shredded in the role. I loved HATING him.)

"So, what role as an actor pissed you off so much that you decided to write," Apatow asked, zeroing in on the heart of the question, no matter how delicately phrased, that is always asked of actors who decide to write or direct, or do both in the case of the multi-talented McCarthy.

(Pictured above, from left: Eric Roth, Lance Black, Judd Apatow, Jonathan Nolan, Tom McCarthy and Simon Beaufoy.)

Now here's some good news for a town that could use a good laugh. Judd Apatow is lending his talents to FunnyorDie.com, joining the the comedy website promulgated by his pals Will Ferrell and Andy McKay as a partner.

"I am beyond thrilled to have Judd join us at FunnyorDie. However I do find him to be odd in social situations," Ferrell quipped. "This is very awkward but I don't know who Judd Apatow is," said McKay, adding that "Although, after looking him up on IMDB, he seems very impressive.”

Apatow's milieu already has been popular on the site through faux outtakes and clips from his raunch-coms "Knocked Up" and "Superbad."

“Adam and Will and myself have been friends for many years and we thought this would be the perfect opportunity to create a situation where the friendship could not survive." Apatow said.

FunnyOrDie.com, in which users are invited to vote on the mirth merits of various clips, launched in April and can already hang up the "over 35 million served" sign.

Here's a vid clip of Ferrell, McKay and Apatow heralding the news of his arrival. Fair warning, it's a little randy, as you might expect from these guys.

(Pictured above: Ferrell and Apatow at the June 2004 preem of "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy." Pic by Lee Celano/WireImage)