Hollywood skewers Itself in ‘The Studio’
Hollywood loves stories about itself, so “The Studio” should come as no surprise. The new Apple TV+ show from codirectors Seth Rogen (also starring) and Evan Goldberg joins the ranks of recent shows like HBO’s “The Franchise” and the recently-concluded “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” or their earlier flagship “Entourage.” It’s a very current, sobering, hilarious, depressing look at the modern moviemaking industry from the eyes of an idealistic idiot turned sudden studio head named Matt Remick (Rogen).
Studio head Patty Lee (the iconic Catherine O’Hara) is ousted by the board of directors at Continental Studios, leaving the position of studio head open to be filled by one of her lieutenants, Matt. Matt’s best friend Sal (Ike Barinholtz) is supportive, but was also gunning for the position. Matt’s assistant Quinn (Chase Sui Wonders) gets bumped up to a creative executive, and Matt has to appease chairperson Griffin Mill (Bryan Cranston), who may or may not be the character Tim Robbins played in 1992’s “The Player.” There’s also the godsend Kathryn Hahn as marketing head Maya, perfectly cast.
Movies not films
Matt’s given the mandate: make movies, not films. Franchises, not stories. In an age where an actor’s IG follower count is a consideration as to whether they get the part or not, it’s depressingly accurate, but Matt’s secret is that he loves films, and wants to make good ones. The comedy comes from his bungling, flip-flopping, hypocrisy, sometimes outright lying. There’s the sink-or-swim survival instinct that won’t give him a moment’s rest, coupled with an innate dream to be involved with some truly wonderful projects, a dream he shared with his mentor Patty, who he brings back as a producer.
Rogen and Goldberg have assembled a deep bench of friends and colleagues for cameos, including, in the first two episodes alone: Martin Scorsese, Charlize Theron, David Krumholtz, Sarah Polley, and Greta Lee, with many more in store. As with “Entourage,” it helps to sell the illusion and ripped-from-the-industry-trades-headlines nature of “The Studio.” Supposedly, the first two-episode drop had industry insiders working overtime on their phones trying to suss out which character was based on which real-life industry figure.
Rogen and Goldberg have a wealth of material to mine, and the chutzpah to play around and have fun with it. The second episode, “The Oner,” concerns Matt visiting a set where they’re shooting the concluding long-take shot of a movie which needs to be done during sunset, the “magic hour,” but is itself a oner, going from Matt’s house to the set and following along as he both ingratiates and frustrates everyone on set.
Struggle
The extra-length debut exposes Matt’s primary struggle moving forward: balancing the budget of the studio, expectations from the board, and his own dreams, while wrestling with his need to be liked by the creatives. It’s not going to be easy, as one of his first missions is to turn Kool-Aid into a blockbuster motion picture the way they did with Barbie. At first Matt feels he gets a lucky break when things might dovetail into working with one of his all-time idols, but this wouldn’t be a comedy if things went smoothly, and they go very bad, very fast. But also, very funny.
