Ridley Scott thinks Judd Apatow should stop taking himself so "seriously" after he moaned about 'The Martian' winning awards as a comedy.

Judd said: "I got Matt Damon staring at me right now, right after that whole Golden Globe Comedy thing. We only have one award, Matt. That's all we get. I'm like a nerd on the schoolyard, and you stole my milk money."

Ridle has now poked fun Judd's comments, insisting he shouldn't take the business of making movies too seriously.

He said: "I must say I was surprised (to hear Judd's comments). It is a movie! It's not the cure for cancer, Judd. Don't take yourself too seriously Judd."

Ridley believes 'The Martian' - which sees Damon play stranded astronaut Mark Watney who stays alive on Mars using his skills as a botanist and his wit to stay sane - bagged the comedy prize because judging panel thought it was "amusing enough" to qualify.

He added: "We didn't choose that category. The Globes chose it because the thought it was amusing enough."

Ridley, 78, was surprised by the hugely positive reaction to 'The Martian' and was overjoyed that it got seven Academy Awards nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Damon and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Speaking of the movie's success, he told The Guardian newspaper: "You never release a film until you're certain you've done the best you can. The rest is in the hands of, not the gods, the audience. And in this instance we did very, very, very well. we went through the roof. That didn't surprise me, because it's a pretty good film."