Rogen: It’s been a decade since Evan and I wrote and directed and produced a thing I was also in.
Rogen: It’s close enough that we’ve never really had a major conflict over what we want to work on.
It felt to me like a mix: “Birdman” meets “Curb.” Rogen: That’s exactly what we were going for.
Segel: It’s all of the awkwardness and reality of “Curb,” but set to a rhythm.
Segel: It’s a tightrope.
A couple of the industry’s funniest multi-hyphenates are Jason Segel and Seth Rogen, both of whom came from the Judd Apatow comic universe. “Shrinking,” a dramedy about an unconventional therapist (played by Segel) going through the stages of grief, was co-created by Segel, Bill Lawrence, and Brett Goldstein. In addition to co-directing each episode, Rogen co-created “The Studio” with his longtime writing partner, Evan Goldberg. In the film, he plays a recently hired studio executive who is also trying to make ends meet.
Seth Rogen: We shot the pilot for “Freaks and Geeks” when we first met, which was 27 years ago. I was 16 or 17. “What was your age?
“I was 18 or 19,” said Jason Segel. That’s absurd to consider. As a prelude to this, I was reflecting on our initial bond. I know exactly what’s going on right now.
What was it, Rogen?
As we were filming the pilot, Segel: “The Matrix” appeared. We were not very familiar with one another. Nobody else was someone we knew very well. All of us had just met. The only thing we knew was that we both enjoyed smoking marijuana.
Rogen: In my mind, the entire pilot was merely a march to the release of “The Matrix,” since [the movie] was released the day the pilot wrapped.
Segel: Together, we drove to the movie theater, rolled giant joints, and watched “The Matrix.”. I distinctly recall feeling as though something had changed after watching that film. It was a really motivating event.
Rogen: It reminded us of “Star Wars.”. “.”.
Segel: After that, you and I began writing more diligently. You can never get back that time, in my opinion. Our youthful naivete was present. In reality, we had no idea how to proceed.
Rogen: I recall not having the slightest idea what I was doing. When we first met, you had opinions about the acting profession. The first serious actor I ever spoke with was you. All I did was commit the lines to memory and attempt to speak them in a way that sounded at least somewhat natural and realistic. Then I understood that each character on the show was being developed by everyone else.
Segel: However, do you not believe that acting is nothing more than a series of ploys to make you feel at ease when said?
Rogen: To be honest, I don’t really understand it the longer I act. When I think back on my decisions, sometimes they surprise me more than the things I would do now.
Segel: “What would older you say to younger you?” is a question that people frequently ask. At this age, I believe the opposite is more significant. Remember the guys who thought, “Why can’t I make this movie and end it with a Dracula puppet musical? Why can’t we do this whole movie about trying to get booze?” You understand what I mean when I say that we were naive enough to think, “Who’s going to stop us?”.
Rogen: In a lot of ways, I’ve allowed pragmatism to consume my thoughts. When you become overly pragmatic, you start asking yourself, “What will work?” rather than, “What sounds awesome right now?”.
Segel: The worst choices I’ve ever made have also been the most calculated ones.
Are you trying to convey a true north, or a perspective on life?
Rogen: Untrue. On occasion. Eventually, I think some of the things I’ve made are attempting to convey a certain idea. However, I typically begin to think of an idea by considering its energy. That’s what excites me. I never begin with just one thing. Now, where do you get your ideas?
Segel: I don’t love writing, so I don’t do it very often. It seems a little delicate to me. I make a concerted effort not to write down any ideas or problems I’m having in my life. If it continues to bother me, though, I say, “I’ll write about this.”. “.”.
Rogen: Evan and I frequently discuss a Darwinistic approach to our ideas, which holds that the good ideas endure.
Segel: Coming up with ideas isn’t all that tough. However, I’m a little unsure about committing to one. One of your suggestions for a script I’m currently working on has truly stuck with me. I didn’t think I was intelligent enough to write this, but you said, “We’re old enough now to write such things.”. That’s what’s so great about this: beginning to realize, “All right, let’s try to increase the level of difficulty now.”. “”.
Rogen: There are a lot of strange aspects to aging. But it was frightening for Evan and I to even admit that your tastes and sensibilities had changed: “Oh, we don’t want to make stuff about dumb teenagers anymore.”.
Segel: Or having a fear of girls.
Rogen: A decade has passed since Evan and I co-wrote, co-directed, and co-produced a project in which I also participated. As we transitioned from our 30s into our 40s, we spent the entire time working on non-our personal projects.
Segel: Is it similar to a Venn diagram, or do you and Evan share similar tastes?
Rogen: We’ve never really had a big argument about what we want to work on because we’re close enough. Nothing that one of us truly wants to make and the other doesn’t want to make at all has ever happened.
Segel: The energy that permeates “The Studio” is something you truly notice. I thought it was a cross between Birdman and Curb. “.”.
Rogen: That’s precisely what we aimed for.
Segel: “Curb” is all about the awkwardness and reality, but with a beat.
Rogen: I would often say, “I wanted it to be fast.”. What do I enjoy doing? What do I want to do all day? Insertion shots and establishing shots are things I don’t enjoy doing. Scenes that seem to be advancing a plot that will be resolved in a few episodes are not my favorite to work on. I enjoy tense, high-stakes situations where everyone wants to shake and grab one another. One of the first discussions we had while writing the show was, “How do we infuse every scene so I’m only doing scenes that are really funny?”.
Segel: You seem to have limited your work to scenes that people find appealing.
Rogen: No cut was made. We didn’t shoot anything that wasn’t shown. Do any of you improvise frequently?
Segel: When it’s reasonable. This blend of comedy and drama is also present in our show. As you are aware, I enjoy discussing acting.
Rogen: Not some people’s.
Segel: It turns out that all of the improv techniques we learned for comedy and became quite proficient at also work well for dramatic scenes.
Rogen: I believe even more so. as a result of your lack of humor.
Segel: And you don’t want to show off your intelligence. The authors of “Shrinking” are amazing, and they provide us with an excellent and incredibly detailed treasure map. You say, “Oh, but there’s an interesting little thing over here,” as you are then thrust into the three-dimensional treasure map.
Rogen: Is the entire production directed by the same person?
No, Segel said.
Rogen: That’s the one thing I’ve never really done. How’s that? For the first time since “Freaks and Geeks” or “Undeclared,” I acted in a television program with “Pam and Tommy,” and I must admit that I found it difficult to work with different directors. Having all these people enter and pass the show from one person to another really confused me.
Segel: You’re right. You are block shooting for locations, and there are a lot of moving targets, so etc.
Rogen: During the day, several directors will arrive.
Segel: That does happen sometimes. But with Bill Lawrence at the top, we have a really strong team. But it’s an interesting thing, you know, because you do all the work, but I doubt anyone understands what the show is until you start editing.
Rogen: Not on our program.
Segel: We wanted to honor the fact that this is a show related to grief. People around the world are truly suffering from this shit. It should also be humorous. Turning the dials to see how bad you can make him as a therapist was a lot of work.
Rogen: While we were watching it, I was telling my wife, Lauren, about it. I didn’t believe this show went that far, but she was asking, “Is he doing cocaine and sleeping with prostitutes?”.
Segel: Since you know me well, you would probably concur if you were in charge of me: “Guys, you can have him do as much bad stuff as you want,” I said. “.”.
Rogen: “It will be alright. “.”.
Segel: People’s thoughts will be, “Oh, I hope he’s okay.”. “”.
Rogen: I feel sorry.
Segel: Make use of the cash.
Rogen: How did Harrison Ford end up with you?
“We got Harrison Ford because Harrison Ford is the type of person you make an offer to so that you can say, ‘We’ve made an offer to Harrison Ford,’ for three days before you choose the real guy,” Segel said.
Rogen: In a restaurant, that sounds awesome.
Segel: He didn’t know anything about me, but he read it. Following their pleasant meeting, Brett Goldstein sent him “The End of the Tour” and “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.”. Then, it seems, Bill Lawrence received a text message that read, “I’m in.”. Great dick, tell the child. “.”.
Rogen: That’s fantastic, even if he wasn’t there. That’s what I’d take.
Segel: What about your cameos? Do those represent the people you’ve accumulated over the course of your career?
Rogen: Not at all, no. I would estimate that half of them were complete strangers to me. We sought out individuals you had never seen us with before. It has been forwarded to Martin Scorsese’s manager. A couple of times, I had met Zoë Kravitz. Many of these individuals were acquaintances of mine. You must have been at a party.
Segel: I did have a meeting with Martin Scorsese. We urinated next to each other at the urinals when we first met at the Golden Globes. He had the tall one, though, and I had the kids’ one. Therefore, everything about it was completely incorrect. What a wonderful memory.
Rogen: He is a small individual.
Segel: Were you scared to give such a directive?
Rogen: There is no worse thing in the world. I was terrified the show would be rejected creatively because we were filming it in such a particular way.
Segel: Hearing that you experience anxiety intrigues me greatly.
Rogen: In a lot of ways, I am the character. The character’s main motivation is to avoid disappointing his heroes. And that’s one of the hardest things I have to deal with: I’m always so conscious of how angry I’ll be if someone thinks something we’re doing is bad.
Segel: How do you behave when you have to deal with all of this additional baggage?
Rogen: I think it’s more enjoyable to write the scene, direct it, and stand in it than it is to merely act it out. I like that it’s much more difficult.
It’s a tightrope, Segel said.
Rogen: “Steve Jobs” was the first time I had ever done a film with lengthy walk-and-talks and intricate shots; it had to be flawless. It was the first time I created something where everyone was actively participating and truly leaning in. And everyone applauds when you get it. That was the kind of energy I wanted to strive for every day.
Segel: You’re explaining my acting philosophy. The ability to repeat is crucial once you begin working from all the other angles. However, the moment you catch something is the magical moment, the one where I think, “Oh, fuck, we did it.”.
Francisco Vargas was the production designer; BAUIE+RAD was the producer.
