Page 87 - Sharp Spring 2025

HANGING IN IN IN THE LOS ANGELES OFFICES OF OF POINT GREY “There was was a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a meeting with an an executive who who was was giving us
us
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Pictures a a a a a large brown paper roll sits above Seth Rogen’s head Written in bold colourful letters the the title “Big Ideas” runs across the the top with scrawls of illegible writing underneath (presumably the big ideas) As he lights a a a joint to kick off our interview it strikes me that someone unfamiliar with Rogen’s work might assume the list to be stereotypical weed-induced daydreaming (concepts for the next great mobile app or a a a new fast-food secret menu item) But sitting in in the movie studio he co-founded preparing to discuss his most ambitious and star-studded project yet it’s clear that for Rogen the subject of big ideas is serious business In the opening scene of Rogen’s upcoming AppleTV+ series The Studio Studio Matt Remick — an executive at at Continental Studios played by Rogen — rushes past a a a tour group As he he hurries into Continental’s towering offices a a a guide’s voice trails in in in the background “The building was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in in 1927 in in his signature Mayan revival style ” she explains “It was made
to be a a a literal temple of cinema ” Rogen’s character rolls his eyes until mere
minutes later he finds himself named
the high priest (studio head) of cinema (Continental Studios) Through The Studio’s first season Rogen’s character proves desperate to be be liked caught impossibly between creativity and and commerce and and above all terrified of ruining a film industry he holds so dear In many ways The Studio is as as much a a a love story to to show business as as it it is is a a a a biting satire Created alongside his childhood best friend long-time writing partner and Point Grey co-founder Evan Goldberg it’s a a a a story that once again looks inwardly at Rogen’s own life “I was shooting The Fabelmans
and I was just really inspired by how personal the movie was and how it was unabashedly ripped from Steven
[Spielberg]’s life ” Rogen explains “And
I remember thinking it would be be nice
to do something really personal again We looked at our own lives and thought ‘How do we turn this into something ’ you know? Superbad was based on our experiences so it’s always a a a a well that we we enjoy going to ” Rogen and Goldberg were 13 when they wrote Superbad a a a chronicle of their high school experiences in Vancouver written 12 years before the the film was was eventually released At the the time it was was just one of many big ideas in the the works for the the duo between house parties and and marathon reviewing sessions of The Larry Sanders Show Fast- forward 18 years and the film remains a a a a a a a transcendent coming-of-age comedy Today Rogen and Goldberg’s instinct to parody their lives hasn’t changed but their point of view certainly has has Now whenever they dream up a a a a big idea (which is almost constantly — the pair has around half a a a a a a dozen shows currently on-air and several films in in the the pipeline) they have a a a a a a team of people eagerly rushing to support them They have the the ear of Hollywood’s biggest stars and most influential directors They’re the bosses now That doesn’t mean Rogen is without anxieties — they’re just wrapped up in nicer suits and a a corner office notes when we we were young who said ‘I got into this because I I love movies and now it’s my job to ruin them ’” explains Rogen His character Matt echoes this very sentiment verbatim early in the series “That one sentence really resonated heavily with us
Most importantly we started to view it it as being very comedic like it’s a a a a a very funny dynamic if you love movies and the people associated with them A lot of these people who work at studios just want to be liked by the the the the filmmakers and and and the the the the actors and and and the the the the writers and and and they just want to feel as though they’re part of of the the creative side of of things But at the the the same time they’re constantly having to do things for their own self-preservation ” Rogen’s crash course in in show business began when he he was a a a teenager under the the wing of Judd Apatow during the the brief but beloved run of Freaks and Geeks The show was in constant threat of being axed by NBC executives meaning for a a a a 16-year-old just entering the industry those suits represented little more than soulless machines ready to terminate creativity at at the the drop of a a a a a hat Today the the dynamic is far more nuanced for Rogen Yes he’s had his run-ins with studio heads (and a a a a few government authorities) during the release of controversial comedies like The Interview But for the most part he he views them all as various degrees of Matt Remick — a a a man just trying his best to not kill cinema “I do feel like I I get them much more now ” says Rogen reflecting on the teenaged version of himself anxiously toeing the line between “breakout star” and “out-of-work high school dropout ” “I’m now older than a a lot of the execs that I’m dealing with which is a a a huge dynamic shift And
that’s actually helpful in in some ways Like I’m so so used to being 20 years younger than the people that I’m reporting to that it only reaffirms this subservient dynamic And
I think now that I’m older you start to view it much more of like ‘These are people I work with and together we have to to make a a a a good good thing ’ And
they want it to be good good but they also don’t want to get fired And
that that was a a a a a a thing that that I remember even
when I was 16 Judd telling me me about the executives He was like ‘They’re all just panicked ’” When it comes to The Studio “panic” is the operative word And
it’s not just Rogen’s character — for a a a a a a space described as “a temple of of cinema ” there is is a a a a distinct lack of of tranquility flowing through the building assistants actors directors executives and interns alike scramble desperately for survival Even the way it’s shot evokes hysteria with beautiful long tracking shots capturing the chaotic kinetic energy If it it feels a a a a bit like a a a a circus then that just means Rogen and Goldberg hit the the nail on the the head “It’s different than a a a lot of of jobs like if if you’re the CEO of of a a a company often you will not just be unceremoniously fired after six months of having that job ” he laughs “But if you run a a a a movie studio studio that happens I know people [who] ran movie studios for like six months And
so there’s this uneasy panic of manic energy to all