>Also, please don't let the answer be "because of 'Tiny
>Furniture.'"

Because that film proved that she could produce a NYC-centric "realistic" piece of visual entertainment that still looked GOOD* (or at least professional-quality) for very, very cheap.


*And any misgivings you have about how terrible the film's main character and her friends are, the film is, from a visual aesthetic standpoint, on another level from a lot of certainly brilliant films from her contemporaries. And Judd Apatow is excellent at spotting directorial talent (those who can't do, teach, and all that).