When he's not directing such comedies as "Get Him to the Greek" or "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," 34 year-old Nicholas Stoller is writing...a lot. On the eve of his second directorial effort, Stoller took some time out to discuss the new Universal comedy starring Russell Brand and Jonah Hill, as well as his upcoming "Stretch Armstrong" script.

First of all, congratulations on nearing the finish line. How ya holding up?

Ya know, it’s good, incredibly nerve-racking (laughs) but I’m good, thanks.

"Shrek’s" been #1 for two weeks now. Do you guys think you can slay the green ogre?

(Laughs) I don’t know. At the beginning of the week, I had hoped for either good box office or good reviews and so far we’ve gotten good reviews so I’m technically satisfied.

This movie represents another pairing between yourself and Judd Apatow (producer). Talk about when you guys met first and why you work so well together.

Well, he hired me 10 years ago to write for "Undeclared" at Fox, that short-lived TV show about college...

I remember. Loved that show...

Thanks. Me too (laughs). But yeah, Judd was just hiring young writers from UTA for the show, which is where he and I were represented, and I don’t know--we have a very similar take on what makes both of us laugh. After "Undeclared" was cancelled, he had me write some screenplays with him and then we wrote "Fun with Dick and Jane" together, which went really well so I guess we kind of progressed from there.

Universal has created a detailed look at the reconstruction of New York Street, which was all but destroyed by an electrical fire in the summer of 2008.

In a video shot by Universal and narrated by topper Ron Meyer, Steven Spielberg and other industry vets discuss the multi-million dollar "Phoenix" Project which aimed at rebuilding Universal's infamous production space that was home to such films as "Back to the Future," "The Sting" and "Blues Brothers."

In addition to burning down New York Street and Universal Studios' King Kong ride, the 2008 fire also destroyed nearly 100% of the studio's archived prints. The Courthouse from "Back to the Future" was also lost.

Investigators concluded that the fire was caused by workers repairing a roof on one of the lot's faux streetscapes.

Watch video below: