Seth Rogen says he had to scrap an entire episode from 'The Studio' after some celebrities refused cameos

Canadian actor Seth Rogen has shared a few candid details of his comedy series, The Studio. According to IndieWire, the actor spoke on an unreleased episode of the Filmmaker Toolkit podcast, mentioning that many celebrities could not play cameo roles in his series.

As a result, he ultimately had to cancel an episodes. Speaking of a particular script from the show that couldn’t be filmed due to the cast member issues, Rogen said:

“It was too specific, and only two or three people could do it. It was a scheduling conflict. None of them could do it when we needed them, so we literally didn’t shoot the episode.”

Seth Rogen also explained that each celebrity featured in The Studio held a specific place in Hollywood, and he didn’t want viewers to question the level of fame or influence these people had. Instead, they chose stars who matched how studios would react.

Evan Goldberg, one of the series creators along with Seth Rogen, was also invited on the podcast. He explained that the list of potential actors for each role was much narrower than people might expect.

For instance, when it came to casting Zoë Kravitz, who had a key part in the final episodes of The Studio, they needed an actor who had some experience directing, but not too much, and who hadn’t yet won a directing award, but could in the future.

What was Seth Rogen's inspiration behind The Studio?

On March 27, 2025, he was interviewed by Today and was asked about the concept behind The Studio, where he played the head of a fictional movie studio in modern-day Hollywood.

Seth Rogen said The Studio was inspired by personal experiences in the industry, including his anxieties and concerns about his position. The story followed a character who was passionate about films but often found that his job meant making those films worse.

Even though he admired directors, his role involved disappointing them and delivering bad news. He described the movie industry as full of contradictions, and running a studio as both difficult and sad, which, in his view, made the concept perfect for comedy.

When asked if the idea came about following Seth Rogen’s real-life conversation with a studio executive, the actor said:

“Yes, we were getting notes from a studio executive and he said to me and Evan knows exact words. He said, “You know I got into this cause I love movies and now I feel like it's my job to ruin them.” And that always left a real impression on us as to just what a hard and again inherently tragic job the role of a studio executive can be, you know.”

Trending

Actor and director Seth Rogen said he had always been a big fan of and has considered Martin Scorsese one of the reasons he got into filmmaking. Rogen and his team wrote a role specifically for Scorsese, hoping he would enjoy it, and the veteran filmmaker agreed to star in The Studio.

The first time they met was when Scorsese arrived on set, something Rogen admitted he didn’t fully believe would happen until it did.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback