‘The Studio’: Seth Rogen’s Star-Studded Satire Celebrates Hollywood While Skewering Franchise Overkill
Alci Rengifo
There are many common misconceptions about how studio films are made. Famous directors are believed to be domineering geniuses conjuring personal visions for the screen, guided by their brilliance. Making movies is more of a collective effort, even more so when lots of money is involved. Many cooks cram the kitchen, financial interests are balanced precariously with artistic integrity and quite a lot of dumb ideas get greenlit. It’s even more complicated now in a world where old business models are falling apart. Apple TV’s “The Studio” celebrates everything frustrating but exciting about the Hollywood machine, somehow jabbing at its corporate excesses while endearingly profiling the people staying in the game because they want to tell good stories.
Matt Remick (Seth Rogen) is a Hollywood suit who finally gets his big break when tapped to be the head of the fictional Continental Studios, a struggling entity after a string of flops. He’s a dreamer and sincere film buff who wants to give genuine auteurs a chance to make real cinema. Alas, the realities of the business soon crash down on Matt. His boss, CEO Griffin Mill (Bryan Cranston) has come up with the next billion dollar idea. Continental has scooped up the rights to the Kool-Aid Man. Mill envisions this as the company’s opportunity to make a smash like “Barbie,” by taking a recognized I.P. figure and turning it into a respected hit. Matt accepts the assignment with a smile while internally struggling. He figures maybe he can buy a script by Martin Scorsese (played by the real maestro) about the Jim Jones cult mass suicide and call it “Kool-Aid.” His marketing exec, Maya (Kathryn Hahn) thinks the idea is stupid and they should focus on a totally cynical cash grab product.
This is actually just the first mini adventure Matt endures in this addictively watchable creation by Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Alex Gregory, Peter Huyck and Frida Perez. They know the industry so well “The Studio” can feel like a documentary, cheering and lamenting an art form in crisis. Each episode is basically self-contained, providing laughs, commentary and tours through the ins and outs of filmmaking. The underlying theme is that Matt is almost becoming the last of a certain breed of film executive. He genuinely loves cinema, adores arthouse heroes and can endlessly reference film trivia. When Matt watches dailies from an ongoing shoot in 35mm, he gives a whole speech about the beauty of celluloid before the older projectionist complains that digital is easier to screen. He collects vintage cars not only because he has the means, but to stay in touch with a bygone era. Matt must also show the ropes to Quinn (Chase Sui Wonders), a younger new executive who used to be his assistant and can’t hold it together in front of big stars.
The writing intelligently runs this cinephile mood in parallel with the funny, wackier yet true sides of the business. Each episode deals with some hassle that can come up with any production. When Mill finds out Matt bought the Scorsese script, he chews him out before the rattled Matt claims he merely bought the script precisely so Scorsese couldn’t make it. This leads to a great moment where Scorsese becomes the one spitting at Matt, calling him another cheap suit. The season is full of great cameos like this from notable names who get to dabble in playing moments they no doubt have experienced. Olivia Wilde appears as herself, throwing Matt into a crisis over a missing reel from her new movie. Ron Howard gets to shed his nice guy reputation when Matt and his right hand man, Sal (Ike Barinholtz), don’t know how to tell the director the ending of his otherwise excellent new film is too self-indulgent. Anthony Mackie is also featured in the Howard episode as the movie’s star, sharing some hilarious moments in the made-up movie within the show. Another episode deals with Matt dropping onto a set where the crew is preparing to shoot a “oner,” meaning a scene done in one, unbroken shot. It sounds simple enough but just Matt’s presence creates funny anxiety issues with the director. Test screenings, committee meetings and the tedious work of choosing a poster all get space. Rogen has the perfect look and demeanor for his role. He is the film nerd who is given power, only to realize it’s a nerve-crushing responsibility. How can the nice guy survive by needing to be a corporate enforcer?
“The Studio” isn’t trying to trash the existence of the industry. Consider that even Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos and Puck partner Matt Belloni make cameos. For every ordeal Matt endures, there’s also the exhilaration of making something with a group of committed people. What Rogen and team do mourn is how so much talent is now often focused on recycled schlock, remakes, sequels and algorithms. Watching a show like this, you wonder about the thousands of people behind the scenes of a movie like “Snow White” or the hundredth “Fast & the Furious” entry. Someone has to write the check and committees push the advertising campaigns. Hanging over Matt’s head during the millions of things he needs to keep track of is the company’s fate if the Kool-Aid Man movie flops. Patty (a wonderfully manic Catherine O’Hara), Matt’s predecessor, seems happy after being fired and demoted to being a regular producer. At least she can just focus on making movies. Anyone interested in this defining art form should check out “The Studio” precisely because it taps into that spirit, while giving you an all-access tour of the very real nature of the grind.
“The Studio” begins streaming March 26 with new episodes premiering Wednesdays on Apple TV+.