The sweet spot Seth Rogen wanted to hit with ‘The Studio’: “Exactly what we were going for”
Seth Rogen is cinematic Marmite. Through the likes of Superbad, Pineapple Express, and The 40-Year-Old Virgin, he was many people’s comedy coming-of-age, helping them navigate awkward teenage feelings through gross-out humour and unfortunate sexual mishaps. Then there are the folks who think he is the comedic antichrist; a purveyor of unfunny, unsubtle garbage that relies solely on toilet jokes and nudity to get cheap laughs. In a way, both of these groups are right.
In recent years, the Canadian has seemingly been diversifying his portfolio. He co-developed the AMC show Preacher and is an executive producer on Amazon Prime’s subversive superhero hits The Boys and Invincible. He co-wrote and produced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, a surprise success in 2023. Then, there’s his most recent triumph – the Apple TV+ series The Studio.
In this unflinching skewering of the current state of Hollywood, Rogen (who also created the show and has directed a number of episodes) plays Matt Remick, the newly-appointed head of a faltering studio. Remick’s attempts to balance his passion for quality filmmaking with making enough money to stay afloat are constantly undermined by the various pitfalls of the industry. The series has received rave reviews across the board, thanks to its sharp commentary, strong performances, and slew of high-profile guest stars.
Rogen has been a part of the Hollywood system for about two decades now, breaking into comedy writing and acting whilst still in his early 20s. In a way, there is nobody better places to make The Studio than him – he’s how much the business has (and hasn’t changed) over the 21st Century and is acutely aware of how much further it still has to go. In an interview with Variety, which also featured his good friend Jason Segal, Rogen revealed the two pieces of media that had the greatest impact on his latest creation.
Segel, appeared with Rogen all the way back on the short-lived sitcom Freaks and Geeks, noted that The Studio felt like a mixture of Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Oscar-winning film Birdman and Larry David’s iconic sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm. In Rogen’s words, that’s exactly what they were going for. “I wanted it to be fast – that was a word I would use a lot,” he explained. “I don’t love doing scenes that feel like they’re serving some storyline that will pay off in a few episodes. I love high-stakes, intense scenes where everyone wants to grab each other and shake each other. As we were writing the show, the first conversations we were having were ‘How do we infuse every scene so I’m only doing scenes that are really funny?’”
Curb Your Enthusiasm is widely regarded as one of the greatest comedies of all time, whilst David is held up as a genius for his work across the show, Seinfeld, and everything else he’s done. As for Birdman, that was shot to give the appearance of a single take. The scenes flow into one another seamlessly, keeping the pace of the project constantly high. It’s easy to see why Rogen looked to it for advice on how to keep things ‘fast’.
With only one season under its belt, The Studio has seemingly limitless potential. Expect plenty more fast-paced, all-action scenes from Rogen and the crew over the next few years.
