Seth Rogen Reveals Shocking Sony Rule That Kept Jonah Hill from Using PlayStation in Superbad!

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2007’s Superbad is one of the best comedies of the 2000s. Almost twenty years have passed since its release, and it remains a bold approach to the teen comedy genre that often broke the rules of what was allowed to be shown on screen or not. Superbad has enough in it to make it a risqué comedy, but distributing studio Sony Pictures didn’t have an issue with the edgy plot. No, according to writer and star Seth Rogen, their most important note was that Jonah Hill’s character could not use the PlayStation that’s featured in the film.

Rogen, who co-wrote Superbad with Evan Goldberg when they were teenagers, was at the SXSW festival, where he spoke to Rotten Tomatoes about his starring role in Apple TV+’s latest series, The Studio. In the show, he plays Matt Remick, the head of a production studio who attempts to save the company and has to deal with just about every figure in the entertainment industry. The conversation with Rotten Tomatoes segued into a question about the funniest note he had ever gotten when making a movie, and Rogen recalled Sony’s note about Hill not being able to use the video game console.

Per Rogen:

In the movie “Superbad,” Sony produced the film, and it was mentioned that Jonah Hill’s character, Seth, was considered highly unpalatable to the studio. There is a scene where they are playing video games, and it was explained that ‘Jonah couldn’t touch a PlayStation.’ The studio stated, ‘We can’t have him interact with our products as a character because his character is too offensive.’ Jonah responded, ‘But it’s based on me. That’s quite hurtful.’ However, they eventually accommodated the studio’s request.

For those who don’t know it, PlayStation is actually a video game brand owned by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It’s all part of the Sony family, of course. Naturally, they oversaw Superbad as a comedy project that could feature product placement if necessary. And if you made a teen comedy in the 2000s, video games had to be part of the picture. So, what better console to put in the film than the PlayStation?

The scene shows that Evan is engrossed in playing video games, while Seth is trying on clothes in the same room. As per Sony’s instructions, Seth does not appear to be interacting with the PlayStation, and he remains off-screen during this part of the footage.

Would ‘Superbad’ Be Made Today?

Superbad follows Seth and Evan, two teenagers who decide to break a few rules as they’re about to graduate from high school. They’re joined by Fogell, another student whose latest achievement is the purchase of a fake ID and changing his name to McLovin. He’s the one in charge of buying the alcohol that Seth and Evan promised to take to a party held by their love interests. Unfortunately, things don’t go great for McLovin, who gets picked up by police officers. Seth and Evan must find a way to get alcohol, and this marks the beginning of the best night of their lives.

The comedy blockbuster proved that R-rated comedies could still be successful in the era of “friendlier” PG-13 films like Legally Blonde, School of Rock, and Meet the Parents. Superbad made more than $170 million at the box office, and it featured raunchy teen humor à la American Pie and Animal House. No limits whatsoever. Films of this nature are not often made today, at least not in the studio system. There are exceptions, of course, but studios seem more concerned with real “offensive” content than a PlayStation in the hands of a horny teenager who’s not afraid to spew out profanity as if his life depended on it.

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2025-03-16 21:49