Seth Rogen Met With Every Hollywood Studio Head as Research for ‘The Studio’: “They Seem to Like It”

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On Friday, Seth Rogen premiered his Hollywood satire, “The Studio“, at the SXSW festival. During the event, he shared the unexpected influences and encounters he experienced prior to filming.

As a cinephile, I find myself stepping into the shoes of a studio executive in “The Studio.” In this role, I’m tasked with leading Continental Studios, a fictional production house on the brink of financial collapse. Yet, I’m not just focused on keeping the studio afloat – I’m also striving to create masterpieces that will earn critical acclaim and cement our place in cinema history.

In truth, I was working on ‘The Fabelmans’ at the time, and it sparked a great deal of inspiration in me due to the deeply personal nature of Steven Spielberg’s film. During the pandemic, I found myself revisiting ‘The Larry Sanders Show’. This led me to feel incredibly inspired, which is why, alongside my co-creators, I came up with the idea for our show. Having always been a fan of it, I thought we could create something highly personal, drawing from our own experiences, that would serve as the authentic, modern satire on show business.

Despite boasting a long career in Hollywood as an actor, scriptwriter, producer, and director, Rogen met with nearly everyone leading the major studios, along with numerous marketing executives, to gain insights into the genuine opinions of industry professionals.

Previously, we believed we understood their perspective, but we hadn’t had a direct conversation with the studio leaders about their deepest concerns, accomplishments, and sources of pride. Having that opportunity to hear from them first-hand was invaluable. They were all quite eager and apprehensive to see it. From what I gather, they seem to appreciate it; we’ve shared it with some of them, and they’ve expressed their enjoyment.

The show, based in Hollywood, features numerous cameos; Martin Scorsese, Olivia Wilde, Ice Cube, Zoë Kravitz, Adam Scott, and Greta Lee are among these. However, as Rogen mentioned, getting Ted Sarandos for a cameo was particularly challenging due to various reasons, since the series is streaming on Apple TV+ and it might not have been easy for the Netflix co-CEO to make an appearance, given that the higher-ups probably weren’t eager to grant him screen time.

Additionally, Rogen noted that the series primarily satirizes the personas and arrogance of those within entertainment. However, he emphasized that they didn’t aim to create a program that was entirely negative about Hollywood. Instead, it’s a show that maintains faith in the possibility of producing excellent films that succeed. The team was more interested in expressing the challenges faced when creating a quality movie in today’s film industry.

Kathryn Hahn, along with Catherine O’Hara, Chase Sui Wonders, and Ike Barinholtz, completes the main cast. Notably, Hahn portrays the studio’s marketing head in the film. Speaking about her role, Hahn shared that she drew from her own experiences for the part. She reminisced, “There are many films where you’re asked publicity questions that seem unrelated to the movie itself. Or, you see posters or advertisements and think, ‘This is a completely different direction they’re marketing this film as.’

The actress emphasized that the tension between artistic integrity and commercial success is indeed a tangible issue, stating that the show tackles this by illustrating how earning money can seem bizarre within the streaming world. It’s as if everything becomes intangible, like digital currencies. At times, there’s a question about profits, but it’s during those moments when genuine creativity emerges. In her view, this reflects an anxiety prevalent in the industry now and a youthful culture striving to maintain its relevance.

The Studio starts streaming March 26 on Apple TV+.

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2025-03-08 19:55