What’s Your Deal? (with Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and Cat Miller)

Summary

The Severance Podcast with Ben Stiller & Adam Scott Episode: “What’s Your Deal?” (with Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and Cat Miller) Release Date: July 3, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of The Severance Podcast, hosts Ben Stiller and Adam Scott delve deep into the creative influences and production nuances behind the acclaimed workplace thriller Severance. Joined by longtime collaborators Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, along with the show's exceptional prop master Cat Miller, the trio explores the intersection of comedy, cinematic techniques, and meticulous prop design that breathe life into the enigmatic world of Lumen Industries.

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Conversation with Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg

Early Collaboration and Creative Beginnings

Ben and Adam kick off the conversation by tracing the origins of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's partnership, highlighting their shared passion for movies and comedy from a young age. Seth reminisces, “[00:50] ...making home movies together,” setting the stage for their enduring creative synergy.

Influences and Cinematic Style

The discussion shifts to the duo's cinematic inspirations. Seth shares, “[19:11] ...we were big fans of Martin Scorsese, Wes Anderson, and Steven Soderbergh,” emphasizing how these influences shaped the visual and narrative style of Severance. They delve into the challenges of integrating visual effects with comedic elements, noting the balance between maintaining suspense and delivering humorous moments.

Improvisation and Directing Techniques

Seth and Evan discuss their approach to directing, particularly the use of long takes and single-shot scenes. Seth remarks, “[22:32] ...every single frame you have to know exactly what it's gonna be,” highlighting the precision required in balancing improvisation with planned cinematography. They also reflect on their collaboration with seasoned directors like Greg Mottola and Martin Scorsese, illustrating the learning curve and growth in their directing prowess.

Fear and Confidence in Creative Projects

Ben poses a question about the fears associated with creative commitments. Seth responds thoughtfully, “[29:27] ...it really was a gratifying experience,” conveying his trust in the storytelling process and the team’s ability to deliver compelling narratives despite uncertainties.

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Insights from Cat Miller, Prop Master

Role and Responsibilities

Cat Miller joins the conversation to shed light on the intricate world of prop management in Severance. She explains, “[53:20] ...anything that's not a piece of furniture would fall under the props realm,” detailing the extensive responsibilities involved in curating authentic and story-driven props that enhance the show's immersive environment.

Designing Functional Props

A significant portion of the discussion revolves around the design and functionality of props, particularly the iconic computers used by the characters. Cat describes the meticulous process:

“[58:54] ...we 3D scanned it, we 3D modeled it, we 3D printed it.”

She elaborates on the challenges of integrating vintage technology with modern functionality to create believable and interactive props that actors can engage with naturally during filming.

Collaborative Creativity

Kat emphasizes the collaborative nature of prop design, stating, “[56:55] ...we pushed it against the wall and having it evolve in season two,” showcasing how props like the break room table evolve alongside the narrative, reflecting the show's development and thematic depth.

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Fan Questions and Interactive Segment

Intricate Prop Details

Listeners’ questions provide a glimpse into the passionate fanbase’s attention to detail.

Madeline (65:04): “What is the stuff that Mark has to drink in real life?”
Kat responds by revealing the creation of the reintegration elixir, a pina colada-flavored protein shake designed to be both visually appealing and functional within the storyline.

Iconic Props Appreciation

Another fan, Joan Moussa, inquires about the creation of Irving’s watermelon head, one of the show’s standout props. Kat shares the creative struggle and eventual success:

“[68:48] ...he made the rind out of the cap with the little vine coming out and his hair.”

This showcases the dedication to authenticity and fan satisfaction, ensuring that the props resonate deeply with the audience.

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Behind-the-Scenes Production Insights

Collaborative Dynamics

Ben and Adam reflect on the collaborative dynamics between directors, cinematographers, and prop masters. Seth praises the cinematographer, Mark Golenicht, emphasizing his artistic genius and ability to seamlessly integrate visual storytelling with comedic timing:

“[42:28] ...he did something that was his and his alone that fixed it.”

Set Design and Visual Consistency

The episode delves into the importance of set design in establishing the show's atmosphere. Kat discusses the influence of Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural principles on the set, creating a distinct and memorable environment:

“[46:24] ...how do we make it just hyper specific and hyper different?”

This meticulous attention to design ensures that every visual element supports the show's narrative and thematic undertones.

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Concluding Thoughts

Ben Stiller and Adam Scott wrap up the episode by expressing their gratitude towards Seth, Evan, and Cat for their invaluable contributions. They highlight the seamless blend of comedy, mystery, and high-stakes drama facilitated by the collaborative efforts of the entire creative team. The episode closes with encouragement for listeners to engage with the show and participate in future interactive segments.

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Notable Quotes

• Seth Rogen: “[22:32] ...every single frame you have to know exactly what it's gonna be.”
• Adam Scott: “[25:40] ...what are the 10 ideas?”
• Kat Miller: “[56:55] ...I pulled down as many as I could fit in the minivan. I think it was like 13 of them.”
• Evan Goldberg: “[34:09] ...they have so many moving parts that.”

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Final Thoughts

This episode of The Severance Podcast offers a comprehensive exploration of the creative minds behind Severance, unraveling the intricate processes of storytelling, prop design, and collaborative directing that contribute to the show's success. Whether you're a long-time fan or new to the series, the insightful discussions and behind-the-scenes revelations provide a deeper appreciation for the artistry and dedication that define Severance.

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Note: While the episode is set to release on July 3, 2025, the detailed transcript provided allows for an accurate and insightful summary despite the knowledge cutoff.

Transcript

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[Ben Stiller]

Hey, I'm Ben Stiller.

[Adam Scott]

I'm Adam Scott and this is the.

[Ben Stiller]

Severance podcast with Ben and Adam where we are talking all about severance and in this time where we're in between seasons, the different influences and movies and TV shows and people that have kind of contributed to our making the show, I guess, in some way.

[Adam Scott]

And this week we're joined by two incredible multi hyphenates and longtime collaborators Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, who who most recently co created the Apple TV series the Studio.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah, I'm very excited they're coming on. They've made so much great stuff for years, but they also have the studio that's out now.

[Adam Scott]

So.

[Ben Stiller]

Good. Really, really good. And really has this very unique style to it and is also a comedy. And we're gonna talk to them about making that and sort of the crossovers with Severance and also how they got going and how they connected, which was at a very young age and what they've been doing together, which is really, I don' just have such a unique and identifiable style and I think with the show they've taken it to like another place now. That's new.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, it's such a great show. And by the way, if you haven't seen it, this is a big spoiler alert. We're probably going to be talking about the entire first season in detail.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah, I'm excited to talk to both of them. You know, kind of a free form conversation about show business.

[Adam Scott]

Can't wait. I love talking about show business. I don't know.

[Ben Stiller]

Me too. Yeah, I like talking about deals.

[Seth Rogen]

Oh yeah?

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, Making deals. You know, I hope we can really get into it with them about deals.

[Ben Stiller]

I'm curious what their deal is.

[Adam Scott]

That's what I want to know. I want to know what's your deal? What's up? That's what we should rename the podcast, right?

[Ben Stiller]

So what's your deal?

[Adam Scott]

So what's your deal? That's going to be fun talking to them. And then after that, after talking to Seth and Evan, we're going to bring On Cat Miller, our unbelievable prop master on Severance. And we'll talk about her work on severance. And we will also answer some of your Burning Fan questions with Kat.

[Ben Stiller]

Yes, we're gonna get into some nerdy details.

[Adam Scott]

She's the perfect person for nerdy details.

[Ben Stiller]

All right, let's get into the episode.

[Adam Scott]

Ben, how you doing, man?

[Ben Stiller]

I am doing well. I'm doing well. I'm in New York right now. You're in Los Angeles, right?

[Adam Scott]

Yep. When you say New York, you mean New York City, The Big Apple.

[Ben Stiller]

I think people know when you say New York, there's only. It's not like New York, Minnesota or something.

[Adam Scott]

No, I know, I know people know that. But just in case there's someone that's never heard of New York, I'm just specifying.

[Ben Stiller]

No, I'm good. It's super hot. There's a heat wave going on.

[Adam Scott]

Is it still super hot there?

[Ben Stiller]

It feels hot. It's not as hot as it was the last couple of days, but it's definitely. I did a shirt change already today. Whoa. Now, not. Not to get too. You know, I don't want.

[Adam Scott]

But yeah, no, but I know you pretty well. You don't usually do a shirt change till much later in the day, if at all.

[Ben Stiller]

No, my shirt change usually comes around 5 or 6pm for evening wear.

[Adam Scott]

And you have two guys with bugles who enter the room and go, shirt change. And then you do a shirt change just for me.

[Ben Stiller]

It's not. Nobody's there. It's just my own little. You know, how we all have our little rituals in life. You know, I did do a shirt change. Cause it was. It's very muggy. And I mean, it's like. It's exactly what you would think. Like, hot New York City muggy. It feels like, okay, we're in summer. It's happening.

[Adam Scott]

That's right.

[Ben Stiller]

You know, it seems to happen a lot earlier these days. And sometimes it happens in February, too, which is weird.

[Adam Scott]

I was there like a week ago and it was freezing.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah, it's very unpredictable. But, you know, it's just like. You're just moving through the atmosphere.

[Adam Scott]

It feels to me in the dead of summer in New York, walking down the street. It's like walking through a warm milkshake.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

You know?

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah, for sure. Then you're like, extra alert for the rats.

[Adam Scott]

Gross.

[Ben Stiller]

Like everything's at night. You know what I mean? You just feel like every. Everybody's out and just kind of trying to get some air.

[Adam Scott]

And then sometimes you walk through just Like a cloud of turd smell.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. Yeah. Or garbage smell.

[Adam Scott]

Garbage smell.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. That's why we love New York.

[Adam Scott]

It was like, 103 a couple days ago, right?

[Ben Stiller]

Apparently. Yeah. And then they. Yeah, they said. Then the heat index, it was even more.

[Adam Scott]

I don't understand that. I don't understand the heat index.

[Ben Stiller]

Heat index. I'll explain it to you sometime because I understand it completely.

[Adam Scott]

Do you want to get rid of it, like daylight savings time?

[Ben Stiller]

No, no, it's not a thing. Daylight savings time is a thing. That is, you know, that we could all decide on. Heat index is just an actual calculation.

[Adam Scott]

I feel like they're the same thing.

[Ben Stiller]

I'm not going to go there right now. Okay. What's your 4th of July plans, though?

[Adam Scott]

Oh, the birthday of our nation.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

You know what? We're gonna hang out with some friends who've invited us to hang out for a Fourth of July party. What are you doing?

[Ben Stiller]

See, I never get invited to stuff like that.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ben Stiller]

And then when there's nothing going on, I'm at home. I never do a barbecue almost. I feel like there's pressure to have to do something, and I don't do anything. But that's cool that you got invited to a party.

[Adam Scott]

It is cool. I feel cool.

[Ben Stiller]

By the way, there is a New York in Texas, Missouri, New Mexico, Kentucky, Iowa, and Florida.

[Adam Scott]

You know what we need to do is a live podcast from one of those New Yorks.

[Ben Stiller]

All right. If anybody is listening in New York, Iowa, call up the hotline, tell us what New York, Iowa, is like, and are they having a heat wave? Well, Seth and Evan are here.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, we should bring them on.

[Ben Stiller]

Let's do it. Hey, guys. Hello.

[Seth Rogen]

What's going on?

[Ben Stiller]

How's it going? Welcome to our radio show.

[Seth Rogen]

It is fun.

[Ben Stiller]

Like, I'm doing a radio show.

[Evan Goldberg]

We like your tv. We love your radio.

[Adam Scott]

We're live, by the way.

[Seth Rogen]

Yeah. Yeah. I did Howard Stern recently, and it was like, oh, this feels like doing a podcast. But it's not. I guess it's not a podcast. I guess he's been doing this for 30 years. Yeah, exactly.

[Adam Scott]

I love it when Howard gets going on podcasts. They annoy him so much.

[Seth Rogen]

Oh, he hates them. It's great.

[Adam Scott]

But he's right. Like, people are not qualified, and they're doing the same thing that he does.

[Ben Stiller]

It's like if just people start making TV shows and movies on their own and, like, saying, hey, look at my show. Not calling it a movie, calling it a. Like, my entertainment cast.

[Seth Rogen]

Yeah, my show cast.

[Ben Stiller]

Well, thanks for doing this.

[Seth Rogen]

No problem. Thank you for having us.

[Ben Stiller]

You guys have this incredible long standing working relationship that started like when you were 12 or is that right?

[Seth Rogen]

In bar mitzvah class?

[Evan Goldberg]

It is.

[Seth Rogen]

That is right.

[Evan Goldberg]

We came of age and instantly linked up.

[Seth Rogen]

Yes, exactly. We became men together.

[Ben Stiller]

What was it like being kids going to bar mitzvah class in Vancouver in the 90s? What was it?

[Seth Rogen]

I guess it was 1994 when we were 12 years old.

[Evan Goldberg]

And I would say it's as good as you picture.

[Seth Rogen]

Yeah, exactly. Awesome as you might imagine. As exciting, as amazing as you can.

[Adam Scott]

And did you immediately connect? You just liked the same movies and that's kind of what you connected on.

[Evan Goldberg]

I think it's even worse than you picture where none of our friends really were like into it at all. We were just the only two guys who were really into movies and comics.

[Seth Rogen]

And Evan wrote short stories and I was starting to want to do stand up comedy and so I was writing jokes and I just never met another kid who wrote recreationally. Who a thing they did in their spare time wasn't only playing video games or sports or something like that. Neither of us like sports.

[Evan Goldberg]

Video games rule.

[Seth Rogen]

We did like video games. Video games are good. I actually think the fact that neither of us were into sports had a lot to do with us hanging out. Especially in Vancouver. Everyone was so into hockey and stuff like that and we just like we're not into this.

[Evan Goldberg]

Well, you said this the other day at a dinner we were at together, but I didn't know. You had the same moment where I found out that the sports team players are not from the city.

[Seth Rogen]

Yeah.

[Evan Goldberg]

And in that moment, blow your mind.

[Seth Rogen]

Sports are dumb.

[Ben Stiller]

I'm out.

[Seth Rogen]

I know. It's like why do I care? I'm voting for some Yugoslavia. Like I thought we were Vancouver. Canuck. I get very nationalist and I'm usually real questionable beliefs about.

[Adam Scott]

I'm usually the only person I know that doesn't follow any sports whatsoever.

[Seth Rogen]

Yeah. You also follow no sports.

[Adam Scott]

None.

[Evan Goldberg]

I play hockey every Monday. I couldn't name one NHL player. I don't know a single name.

[Adam Scott]

But it's like in your blood hockey so you can go and actually play.

[Evan Goldberg]

I think it was in my shame my mum wouldn't take me because she didn't want me to get hurt and it was too early in the morning so I only started like eight years ago.

[Seth Rogen]

We did play rugby though in high school. Both of us.

[Evan Goldberg]

Yeah, it was very Canadian.

[Seth Rogen]

Very Canadian. Very violent.

[Adam Scott]

I never bet rugby really hard.

[Seth Rogen]

It's quite hard. But we never followed rugby.

[Ben Stiller]

When you started, you were doing stuff for fun. You made like home movies together. Yeah, right.

[Seth Rogen]

We made a spoof of Spaceballs, which is.

[Evan Goldberg]

I play all.

[Adam Scott]

You make a spoof of Spaceballs.

[Evan Goldberg]

You won't believe this. We couldn't finish it.

[Seth Rogen]

We couldn't figure it out. I'll tell you, it really ran out of energy a few minutes into was.

[Evan Goldberg]

Just that his dad had all the toys, right?

[Adam Scott]

The video camera.

[Evan Goldberg]

We had what we needed, string and X wings.

[Seth Rogen]

But yeah, and we had. I remember, yeah, my dad at a garage sale bought like all the Star wars ties in a big box. And so I had all the Star Wars. So we were using like miniatures and we were making our own, like silly Star wars uniforms and stuff like that. And then we made a spoof of Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs with a little Blues Brothers.

[Evan Goldberg]

We only finished the opener on that one. We didn't get far.

[Seth Rogen]

We did. We did a scene in retrospect, the joke, it was like Pulp Fiction had just come out. And we were making fun of the scene where Christopher Walken hid the watch up his ass. And it was Evan with like a giant hanukkiah. And the whole joke was like Evan explaining how he hid this hanukkiah up his ass to escape the Holocaust with it.

[Ben Stiller]

That's funny.

[Adam Scott]

That's really funny.

[Evan Goldberg]

We tried to find the footage. His mom had it, but it's gone.

[Ben Stiller]

You were pushing the limits even then.

[Seth Rogen]

Even then.

[Ben Stiller]

Edgy comedy.

[Seth Rogen]

Exactly.

[Evan Goldberg]

Fortunately, it was just between the two of us. We found it funny.

[Seth Rogen]

We were just doing it funny.

[Evan Goldberg]

Our audience loved it.

[Ben Stiller]

I'm sure there's someone who was offended in your family, probably. Were your parents creative? And I'm just curious, like, how you got into so young.

[Evan Goldberg]

For me, it didn't have to do with my parents. It was that the rental stores in Canada, they just never checked you for anything. You could get a rated R film. So when I was really young, I was watching rated R films and that hooked me in hard. My brother just fed me a diet of comics and movies. He's a little older. And for me, it's my brother, he got me into it.

[Seth Rogen]

It's the slightly older brother. And my parents just loved movies like they. They were not in any creative field. I just grew up watching tons and tons and tons of movies. And they.

[Ben Stiller]

Did they show you movies like, would your dad or mom sit down and say, hey, you gotta watch? You know?

[Seth Rogen]

Yeah. And it would just. I would just watch what they were watching. You know in the 80s and 90s, just like when Harry Met Sally came out and they loved it. So we would watch that movie all the time. And Hannah and her sisters came out and they loved it, so we watched that all the time. And the Three Amigos and Ghostbusters and just like whatever movies they liked, they would just watch all the time. And we would just sit there and watch it with them. And I think a lot of people our age, it's like your taste in movies really is reflective to whatever those. Your VHS collection was, I guess.

[Ben Stiller]

Totally.

[Seth Rogen]

And so we had these 80 movies that my parents had taped off of television and you would watch over and over and you would watch them over and over and over and. And it is funny because I think looking back, those movies really shaped my sense. And my parents were also very unlike Evan's parents. My parents were incredibly supportive of us pursuing creativity.

[Evan Goldberg]

My parents were confused why we were wasting our time and encouraged us to.

[Seth Rogen]

Go play sports that we would never.

[Evan Goldberg]

Had nor shown any want.

[Seth Rogen]

Yeah, like we would literally be like 13 year olds, like sitting at his family's computer, like trying to write a movie, like seriously trying to write a movie for hours. And his mother would just be like, why are you doing this? You're wasting your time. And my parents would conversely were incredibly supportive and really encouraging and thought we actually could become movie writers.

[Adam Scott]

So you guys both sort of absorbed Seth's parents support and kind of took that.

[Evan Goldberg]

His mom bought us final draft.

[Seth Rogen]

Yeah, bought us final draft at a very early age.

[Adam Scott]

So you wrote super bad, truly, when you were like 14 years old.

[Seth Rogen]

We started in high school. We started before we were 14. Yeah, we started I think in grade.

[Evan Goldberg]

Yeah, that starts rough.

[Seth Rogen]

It was rough, yeah.

[Evan Goldberg]

And not good.

[Seth Rogen]

Not that good.

[Evan Goldberg]

But it was a start.

[Seth Rogen]

And there was some ideas in it that I think made it like all the way through to the final movie.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah, yeah. I'd say very few if any writer directors I've ever met wrote something when they were teenager that then they actually made into a movie that actually became.

[Seth Rogen]

Like a good movie.

[Ben Stiller]

A really good movie that like kind of a classic comedy now. And like that's amazing.

[Seth Rogen]

I actually do think that is why few people are more shocked that that movie has resonated to the degree that it has than we are. And something we're always marveling at is how short a shelf life comedy has at times and how things that are amazing, seemingly just, you know, but sometimes that doesn't happen. And I really think a large part of the reason that people still relate to it is. Cause we were in high school when we came up with a lot of it. So I think there's like in some cases fundamental, raw way it is imbued with the actual anxieties and fears of 14, 15, 16 year old kids that somehow does resonate through it.

[Adam Scott]

But you also had Greg Mottola instead of someone that's just going after. There's terrific dick jokes in it, but someone that's also emotionally.

[Seth Rogen]

Well, that all came from.

[Evan Goldberg]

I'll never. The first time he did a oner in one of the scenes and we were like amazed. The thought that someone in a thing we wrote was like, we're gonna do this scene in one shot. We were like, are you nervous?

[Seth Rogen]

Well, also just that he had shot like it was so much more composed than anything we had made up until that point. And we would improvise a lot as well. So it was sort of like you were always trying to get to cross coverage. Basically. Like that was always like the name of the game is like, how do you get to people not moving and so you can shoot a camera at each of them. And it was great. But that wasn't like Greg's thing all the time. And I think it gave the movie like a look and a style that. Yeah, like that we didn't even. But we were big fan. Like, it's funny, when we were writing it, we were big like Martin Scorsese fans and Wes Anderson fans and Steven Soderbergh fans. And so we actually, I think, pictured it being very cinematic. And then it was funny. Cause then all the stuff that we were making before it, it was all about like, how do you capture improvised comedy?

[Adam Scott]

You know what I mean?

[Ben Stiller]

Right. But that was because the other really interesting thing is that, I mean, you came to la, you guys were still teenagers.

[Evan Goldberg]

Yeah, I mean, I came when I was 18.

[Ben Stiller]

You didn't come.

[Evan Goldberg]

18, 19.

[Seth Rogen]

Yeah.

[Ben Stiller]

Okay, so you came first. Why did you come on your own, Seth?

[Seth Rogen]

Cause I got cast on Freaks and Geeks. And so I.

[Ben Stiller]

Out of Vancouver.

[Seth Rogen]

Out of Vancouver. And it's. I mean, and it is inextricable from you, Ben, in many ways. Like it was coming off of, you know, Judd had done the Ben Stiller show. And like these were like the things that to us also were like benchmarks. And Jake Kasdan, who directed Freaks and Geeks, had just done Zero Effect, you know.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ben Stiller]

Which was one of the first movies I was in. It was his first movie. He was 20. He was like 21 when he made that movie.

[Adam Scott]

Zero Effect is so rad.

[Seth Rogen]

It's so good. And Bill Pope shot Zero Effect, I think, who shot the pilot of Freaks and Geeks. And we loved Zero Effect. We were completely obsessed with it. And so to us, it was like, oh, we were getting to work with these people who, like. I didn't know who Jud was, but I know who Jake was because of Zero Effect, because we were friends, and I knew what the Ben Stiller show was and things like that. So Judd was sort of, like. We realized a person who was, like, involved in a way we just didn't know. But we were fully stepping into what we viewed as, like, the world that, like, Ben and you guys were kind of creating, like, at that time, you know?

[Ben Stiller]

Right. And I remember Jud telling me, oh, yeah, this kid Seth Rogen, he's like. He's so funny, and he writes and he does comedy, and he's like, really? I remember him talking about you.

[Seth Rogen]

I was pretty ferocious at the time. Yeah.

[Evan Goldberg]

What do you mean?

[Seth Rogen]

I would, like, write scenes for Freaks and Geeks and give them to Judd, and I would write them and give them to the other actors, and I would film us doing scenes that I had written for the show to try to advocate for myself to get to write for the show and to get to, like, write, contribute to the show creatively.

[Adam Scott]

And was that just because you were reading it and you're like, I can do this. I can write a scene.

[Seth Rogen]

Yeah, well. And we were writing Superbad at the time, and I felt like we had, like, a very specific writing style, and I was trying to offer it up basically. Like, I was trying to offer up, like, here's how I view conversational comedy between high school kids. And no one was, you know, Superbad wasn't even done at the time we were writing it. And so I was like, I feel like I have a perspective on how these kids could speak to one another, and I was trying to impose it on everybody.

[Adam Scott]

And so then did Judd kind of scoop you up and he saw something in that and started shepherding you along or helping you along?

[Seth Rogen]

Yeah. Well, then Freaksk got canceled, and we did a show called Undeclared.

[Adam Scott]

I auditioned for Undeclared.

[Seth Rogen]

For which part?

[Adam Scott]

I don't know.

[Seth Rogen]

Maybe Jason Segel. Maybe the Jason Segel.

[Adam Scott]

I really don't remember, but I remember Allison Jones and Judd.

[Seth Rogen]

I was probably the. Yeah, probably because I was. Cause first I was hired as a writer on the like. Cause he had read what I'd done. So he hired me as a writer on the show. And I was 18, and I was, like, a writer on a Fox network, right?

[Ben Stiller]

No. No. It's so crazy. And then. Did you summon Evan to come join you?

[Seth Rogen]

And then during the summers, we finished Superbad around then, right?

[Evan Goldberg]

Yeah. And then it was. Judd read Superbad and said, bring your friend down for a little. Let's see if we can jam together and come up with something. And that led to.

[Seth Rogen]

Yeah, we would sit in Judd's, like, fucking giant house in the Palisades, and he would be like, this is crazy. Are we staying for dinner? How long do we stay? When do we leave? Are we allowed to leave? Will they stay?

[Evan Goldberg]

The answer was staying for dinner. A lot more than us.

[Ben Stiller]

What is happening?

[Seth Rogen]

Are we his friend? Are we working for him? Are we getting paid for any of this? What is happening? Are we in danger? What is happening right now?

[Adam Scott]

Are we in danger?

[Ben Stiller]

That's amazing to me, honestly. And I have to say, like, Judd really was one of the pioneers, I guess, in terms of this improvisational work on film, where he would set it up so that you could really riff and get the best out of people and let them go free to try stuff and then be able to edit it. Right?

[Seth Rogen]

Yeah.

[Ben Stiller]

And I just wanted to say, because you were talking about the movies you guys love, you guys are such cinematic comedy filmmakers, which I feel like, doesn't always go together, you know, and it goes all the way to the studio, which is, I think, really, in terms of how you guys have such a clear, specific visual style to the show. You really, I think, kind of, like, figured out your own style that has a lot more of a cinematic vibe to it, you know, looking at, like, this is the End or something, like a genre kind of movie that has all that, but also there's a lot of crazy, huge cinematic stuff that's going on in it. Yeah, I just think that's. I think that's unique.

[Seth Rogen]

Yeah, it was really like. I mean, it's sort of. It's funny because, like, we would look back at movies like Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and stuff like that, and, like, they're pretty cinematic, you know? And again, I grew up loving. You know, we grew up loving Woody Allen movies and, you know, and, like, Gordon Willis and, like, Carlo De Palma shooting those movies. Like, they're. They're. You know, like, the guy who shot Apocalypse now shot Husbands and Wives. Like, they're very beautiful films, you know? And so this, at the end, was the first movie we directed. And we hired a cinematographer named Brandon Trost, who was around our age. Which right there was like, kind of a revelation.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. That is like, a bold thing to do. Because I think if I was in your position making that movie, I'd be like, you know, get me whoever, you know.

[Seth Rogen]

Oh, we went to Janusz first. We went to Janusz.

[Evan Goldberg]

We immediately did that. Don't worry.

[Seth Rogen]

Don't get us wrong.

[Evan Goldberg]

Yeah, we went to Janusz and he said he was too busy. But he also said, you should get some young guy like you. That's the move.

[Seth Rogen]

So we kind of.

[Ben Stiller]

That's great. Yeah. Janusz Kaminski was Spielberg's cinematographer and he shot funny people.

[Seth Rogen]

Like, so. Judd, actually also then clearly started to want to explore a more cinematic style for his film.

[Ben Stiller]

No, no, but I mean, what jud was its own thing.

[Seth Rogen]

Yes. It was a lot of cameras always, you know, and we talked a lot about like, how, with that movie, how to allow the actors to improv. Cause we knew we had some of, like, the funniest improvisational performers that were around. And we knew that, like, in order to capture stuff that would really feel magical, and we had to allow them to improvise. But then we talked a lot about lighting and the set and to have some sequences that were incredibly composed and pre planned and storyboarded. And then other sequences that we knew we were gonna just put a bun of cameras on. And some shots that we knew were like, okay, this is like a Will break us out of this sort of, you know, riffy camera style.

[Adam Scott]

So you were able to do the cross coverage, just mixed it in with each other.

[Ben Stiller]

Exactly.

[Seth Rogen]

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, exactly.

[Ben Stiller]

Right, Right. There's, like, scenes where it's, like, more that way, but it all feels of a whole. And then there's these huge visual effects sequences, which is, like, visual effects, I feel, is the enemy of comedy.

[Seth Rogen]

It can be, for sure. And Ghostbusters to us and things like that are, like, the reason we thought it could work. You know what I mean?

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. Like, because Ghostbusters, people forget that Ghostbusters actually was scary at a certain point.

[Seth Rogen]

And visually impressive at a certain point. Like, looked as good as what you would expect from anything. And what's funny is, like, I mean, talking about Spaceballs, it's like, I knew always that, like, ILM also did Spaceballs. And I think that's why, to us, it was so impressive when we were kids. Cause we're like, oh, it actually looks like Star Wars. Like, it actually looks better than Star Wars a lot of the time. And so we actually. Yeah. The first Hires we had on this is the End were our visual effects supervisors. And those were by far the most conversations we had were about the visual effects of the movie and how we could afford it and how we could make something that had this reckless quality to it, but also good enough visual effects that you weren't taken out of it. And that it supported the stakes instead of reducing the stakes, while also being.

[Adam Scott]

An extension of the comedy, but also presenting just how scary and fucked up the whole situation was. It really was frightening, but also hilarious.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. Cause there are scenes where there's like a punchline that is a visual effects.

[Seth Rogen]

Shot, you know what I mean?

[Ben Stiller]

And that's not easy to do. I just always say it's the enemy of comedy. Because it's really hard. Because when you're doing visual effects, it's all pre planned and you have to. Every single frame you have to know exactly what it's gonna be. And there's not really a lot of room to improvise visually or in terms of the scene.

[Evan Goldberg]

Well, it's also scary because you don't know till post. Like you don't know for months and months and months. So you can't pick up the shot. Cause you don't even know if you need to pick up the shot. Cause the shot didn't work.

[Seth Rogen]

Ye, you wouldn't. I don't know if one would assume, but like we had a visual effects supervisor on set all day, every single day of the shooting of that show, you know. And it's something that we learned from this at the end is like so much sleight of hand is required at times to make these things seem seamless. And so it was always like a very close relationship we had as directors was people who do visual effects, you know.

[Adam Scott]

You know, something that I love about the studio too, as far as you guys go. Like it's also you're turning the page to a new color comedically as well. Like there's just this really fun madcap, for lack of a better term, kind of harkening back to the sort of screwball comedies of the 70s like Bogdanovich.

[Evan Goldberg]

I thought you were gonna say zany.

[Seth Rogen]

You seemed on the edge of zany.

[Adam Scott]

Just as bad as madcap, by the way. Just as bad. I know, sorry, sounds stupid, but whenever you have Seth and the whole gang together and it's just chaos and you eating shit is so funny.

[Seth Rogen]

Falling a lot.

[Adam Scott]

Falling. And then also when you fall, stuff spreads on the ground like ice or whatever it is.

[Evan Goldberg]

It's the evidence of comedy.

[Adam Scott]

It's so funny. And it had the feeling of Altman and Bogdanovich and Blake Edwards and these free flowing comedies of the 70s too. Just that chaos.

[Seth Rogen]

Yeah, we loved those. I mean, yeah, I mean like I think chaotic comedy comedy where everyone's kind of. It's a heightened like that's what we're always trying to do with the show is like find ways to like pressurize the situation and condense the timeline. Have a real ticking clock and stakes that to the characters at least feel like incredibly important, you know.

[Evan Goldberg]

Well, and I think we also have this advantage where it's not a movie and it's a TV show, but it's not a highly serialized TV show. And so we can crank it way up with the panic and the stress. Cause it just ends.

[Adam Scott]

That's right.

[Evan Goldberg]

You don't have to carry over that stress throughout the rest of the week. You know exactly how it sadly ended for Matt.

[Seth Rogen]

Yeah. And that actually for me. We produce a lot of highly serialized television and I've always struggled honestly to be incredibly contributive towards it. Cause my brain just doesn't work that way. Like I struggle with like the 10 hour story, you know, which is what.

[Ben Stiller]

I totally empathize with that. Yeah, I feel the same way.

[Seth Rogen]

It's really hard. And so the idea, it's really different. The idea is like what if each one has like a beginning, a middle and an end. We can give each one a build and its own little shape and they kind of stand alone and they're more like short films.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. You know, and stylistically they seem to have their own thing. Some of them too, you know.

[Seth Rogen]

Yeah, exactly.

[Ben Stiller]

Like the missing reel episode kind of had this sort of noir episode.

[Seth Rogen]

Yeah. And it's so fun to try to do that within the overall visual rules of the show as well. But yeah, that's always what we would try to do is like kind of create these situations and to go for real comedy and for better or worse, me and Evan just think people Falling down is really funny and like for better and how to. It's for better. It's for better. And that was honestly like a challenge we would have for ourselves is like how do we keep it grounded and real and feeling of. Of human emotion and desire. But can we get it to a place where it kind of has one foot in this like real silly kind of comedy world, you know.

[Evan Goldberg]

And we've only seen how his character falls. All the other characters could fall.

[Seth Rogen]

Anyone falls. Hit by a car.

[Evan Goldberg]

Oh, that's true.

[Seth Rogen]

Cranston. Falls also a few times.

[Ben Stiller]

All right, let's take a quick break and when we come back, Adam and I will be back with more from Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg.

[Seth Rogen]

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[Ben Stiller]

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[Seth Rogen]

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[Ben Stiller]

So give it a [e-mail] Switch up.

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[Kat Miller]

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[Adam Scott]

This is David Spade. Dana Carvey. Look at I know we never actually left, but I'll just say it. We are back with another season of Fly on the Wall. Every Effort episode, including ones with guests, will now be on video. Every Thursday you'll hear us and see us chatting with big name celebrities. And every Monday, you're stuck with just me and Dana. We react to news, what's trending, viral clips follow and listen to Fly on the Wall everywhere you get your podcasts.

[Ben Stiller]

In a workplace like Lumen Industries, clarity is hard to come by and the employees work but aren't sure exactly what they're doing doing. Now imagine if they had Notion. Notion is the connected workspace that brings all your work notes, tasks, documents, wikis into one place. It's beautifully designed, super customizable, and actually helps people share information. Even departments as mysterious as OND could collaborate with macrodata Refinement without any unauthorized hallway excursions. With Notion's built in AI, you can summarize meetings, draft documents, and instantly search your entire workspace. No more vague memos from upper management or digging through endless files like you're looking for the handbook on waffle parties. You can view your projects as a table, board, calendar, whatever works for your brain. It's flexible and it's intuitive. Whether you're managing a team, planning a project, or just trying to figure out what your Audi ate yesterday. Notion keeps everything connected. Try it free [e-mail] severance notion, the connected workspace you were talking about before, though, with this 10 hour thing, which I really like, I say I really identify because what you've done on the show is that you can say to somebody, hey, you know what they haven't seen the show. But you know what? Check out this episode. I think this episode's so funny. And even if you don't have time to watch the first six episodes, watch this one and you can get it. You know, I think. And that's something we can't do on Severance, and it's really challenging.

[Seth Rogen]

Give it a shot, guys.

[Ben Stiller]

It happens.

[Seth Rogen]

I'd be really curious.

[Evan Goldberg]

We'll help out.

[Seth Rogen]

We're here. That happened with my mother over my shoulder one day while watching Severance at home. And I can attest she was very confused.

[Adam Scott]

I'm sure. Of course.

[Ben Stiller]

I mean, yeah, confused probably is a nice word. I mean, I feel like people sometimes are like, what the fuck is going on? And. Or a lot of times I get from people too. Like, should I feel like I'm not smart enough or something?

[Evan Goldberg]

But you've given enough answers fast enough, enough that people trust.

[Seth Rogen]

To me, it becomes a question of faith. Honestly, it really does. And I think for me, when I engage in a show like Severance, which is inherently revolving around a mystery that will reveal itself to me over time, I think for me personally, I'm totally okay not understanding things if I have faith that that is what I'm supposed to be feeling and that at some point I will understand what I need to in order to this a gratifying experience. And that's why I enjoy not understanding things. And I enjoy things that seem almost completely unexplainable because I have faith that they will be explained to me. Cause I have faith that you're good storytellers and you wouldn't do things that don't do that.

[Ben Stiller]

Basically, that was kind of what Conan said when we talked to him. He was like, okay, I can just sort of relax into knowing that whatever it is, it's gonna somehow be. And I appreciate that. But when you're making the show, you're trying to think about, well, what is gonna be entertaining to people within watching. And I never was. For me, there was something about what Dan created in the pilot episode that he wrote that was so funny to me and unique, that the down the line aspect of the mystery. Yes. I was intrigued. Like, what's going on? What are they doing? What are the numbers? But that wasn't the first thing that drew me to it. When I first read it was just more like, oh, it's got this weird tone that really makes me laugh and feel strange. Or reminds me of different things I've seen.

[Seth Rogen]

Well, you've made it fun and you made the world really fun and funny. And you can tell that you're not afraid to be funny. Which I think also adds a level of enjoyment to what you're saying in entertainment, to watching the show in a week to week basis where you're like, okay, yes, it's mysterious and I don't always get what's happening. But you're also not afraid to just make jokes and to make set pieces and to make things that are kind of silly. Honestly. There is sort of a silliness to certain aspects of it which I think also takes the weight of it off you. You know what I mean? And you're not. Cause I remember like, you know, I've watched so many shows like Lost and shit like that and like you're just waiting for more information. It's all you want. You're like, all I fucking care about is what these guy in the hatch is doing. That's it. That's all I want to know. And other than being given that information, the show is like entertaining sometimes. But that's like what you really are waiting for is that information. And I think severance is very. Is fun, honestly. The fact that it's funny allows it to constantly be giving you a dopamine hit that is separate from just sheer revealing of mystery. You know what I mean?

[Adam Scott]

I think without the comedic beats it would be really a tough thing to. It would be a lot though.

[Evan Goldberg]

There is one episode this season that is essentially completely serious. And that one. And it's great, plays like a. I thought it was so interesting. It's the only one where it's like it is not bouncing back in between.

[Adam Scott]

That's right. That's right. That 10 episode thing is really interesting because I think it's one of the most challenging things with severance that we're always kind of thinking about is maintaining the tension throughout. And the tension that has to do with the characters, the tension that has to do with the mysteries. It's all of that. Which is why I always think horror is really hard for television. Because, you know, it's so prolonged.

[Seth Rogen]

Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

And you don't have enough time with an hour to build the tension. And then with 10 hours it's too much time to maintain the tension to make something scary. Whereas comedy, like you were saying, it's great to have those little pressurized segments.

[Seth Rogen]

No, very much so. What's hard about it is we have to think of like 10 ideas that make you feel. And that's where we're at right now is like it's so hard to just decide, like, what are the 10 ideas? You know what I mean? And you want to really love every one of those ideas and really make sure everyone allows you to reach the heights that you want it to reach. And I do. Often. There's so many ideas we come up with that would only really work in a more serialized show. Cause they just play out over such a long period of time.

[Adam Scott]

Like the Kool Aid stuff.

[Seth Rogen]

Exactly. And that is the thing where we're just like. We can have basically one of those a season. Like a thing that's sort of like a running joke. That is something we go back to all the time. But it's not like.

[Evan Goldberg]

But it's still the Kool Aid thing. If you didn't have the other beats of it, it would still work.

[Adam Scott]

The Kool Aid thing was great because it. Everything was connected to it because it was the big compromise that he makes to get the job.

[Seth Rogen]

Yes. Everything's in the wake of that. That's right.

[Adam Scott]

That's right. I love the moment at the end of the first episode where you guys are just watching Goodfellas after having fucked over Martin Scorsese. Because your character Matt is just a fan when it really comes down to it. And it's kind of a deeply felt moment right after this horrible thing happens.

[Evan Goldberg]

That's actually a real tradition of ours. Whenever we ruin someone's project, we watch something good they made, we have a.

[Seth Rogen]

Martini, and we think, you know what?

[Adam Scott]

Cheers.

[Seth Rogen]

Cheers to this. Hollywood.

[Ben Stiller]

Did you guys have, like, a meta moment at all working with him? Cause I read that, you guys, he basically. He showed up like, you hadn't really met him before. Right? He just showed up.

[Evan Goldberg]

Never even zoomed. Not even a zoom.

[Ben Stiller]

Wow. Yeah. That sounds to me like a nightmare. I would be so nervous.

[Evan Goldberg]

We did have this thing. Jonah Hill was there and had worked with him, of course. And he kept being like, you're gonna love him. He's so nice. You're gonna have a great time. And it was really nice to someone telling me that.

[Ben Stiller]

Right. Yeah. Right, right. And. And he's so good in the. He's so good in the show.

[Seth Rogen]

Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

But you also had to direct him.

[Seth Rogen]

Who's the scariest person? I mean, I imagine working with Robert De Niro as a young man. Yes.

[Ben Stiller]

I had a. I had a. Honestly, yes. De Niro's like, we're doing a. We're doing another Meet the Parents movie. And I had a call with him yesterday regarding casting, and he called me up, and I got, like, two messages like, bob's trying to reach you. Bob's trying to reach you. And I was, like, doing stuff in the morning, and then I was like, okay. And Adam, by the way, just worked with Robert De Niro too, so you know what this is. But he calls me. I'm like, hey, Bob, how you doing? He's good. Good, good. And he starts talking to me about, like, you know, his point of view on this casting choice. And I was so scared. I was like, shit. I hope that I'm. I hope that I were on the same page with this thing, because I could picture him just, like, you know, saying, no, no, no, you gotta do it.

[Evan Goldberg]

You gotta do it.

[Ben Stiller]

You know, like, it's.

[Seth Rogen]

But.

[Ben Stiller]

But he. Were you, like, nervous with, like, Scorsese, his line, like. Because everything's oners.

[Seth Rogen]

We had no idea what to expect at all. Well, first of all, it was funny. I think his call time was like. He was supposed to be on set at 9:00am Everyone got there at, like, 6 in the morning. We were there for hours before he.

[Evan Goldberg]

Got there, which also, again, we'd never spoken to him. So we were like, if anything goes wrong, he's like, where's the rewrite?

[Seth Rogen]

We're like, what were you. Like, we needed time, and we're just blocking the scene. And I remember being like. We had all these conversations for hours and hours. And we had a second. I think it was our second week of shooting. So we had committed hard to this one camera, one lens thing.

[Ben Stiller]

Commitment.

[Seth Rogen]

And at that day, I was like, I want to have a second camera crew there in case Scorsese. I was like, if he seems judgmental of how we're shooting, I won't be able to take it. And I will later reconcile that this scene stylistically doesn't match the.

[Adam Scott]

What do you mean? Like, if. If it seems like he thinks it's pretentious or if he says something literally.

[Seth Rogen]

I thought in case he was like, what? You got one camera. You shoot like. It's a comedy scene. You use two cameras and you do, like.

[Adam Scott]

You're like, yes, sir, we have another camera right here.

[Seth Rogen]

Literally that. And not only that, it was a camera crew that had worked on Killers of the Flower Moon. So they were like, familiar faces in case you wanted to see them. But, like, yes. And they literally were sitting in a hotel room all, like, on call in case we were like, we need you to come in.

[Evan Goldberg]

We'd also only been filming for two weeks, so we hadn't anything edited yet.

[Adam Scott]

Right.

[Evan Goldberg]

So there was no proof we were actually doing Something good that you could, like, show him.

[Seth Rogen]

Yeah, or show ourselves. Okay.

[Evan Goldberg]

We were still like, I think it's working.

[Adam Scott]

So then he shows up and is it just.

[Seth Rogen]

He's just the best dude ever. He's instantly, like a rapturous ball of energy. Like.

[Evan Goldberg]

Like, you picture him as like, the host of a show.

[Seth Rogen]

It's like, I remember I could hear him coming from down. Like Scorsese sat, where he was like, da, da, da, da. And in that moment, I was like, this is gonna be incredible. Like, you could just like, feel his positive energy. And he comes on the set. Hey, how's it going? Hey, what's happening? Okay. Hey, how. And he's making jokes. How we doing this? Where do I stand? What are my lines? What do I do? And he's like. He's just so. And he loves it. He clearly was having a really good time.

[Evan Goldberg]

And as soon as we got some shots off, we were like. So he was like, keep going. Like, he clearly decided to just like.

[Seth Rogen]

And I remember we were like, it's one kid. And then you forget, like, oh, he's not for. He's like, oh, he knows more about who isn't anyone on earth. And so I'm like, so, like, we think we're doing this original thing. And I'm like, oh, we have one camera. He's like, oh, yeah. French New Wave trafoe, whole history of that. That's right. You know, they only had one camera. That's why they only used one camera. They couldn't edit, so they had to edit in camera. They'd shoot sequentially. And you're like, oh, yeah, okay, you.

[Adam Scott]

That's amazing.

[Seth Rogen]

Wide lens. Cranes are flying. Wide lens. Gotta have that Russian aesthetic. Very wide. Have everything. And we're like, okay, yeah. You understand what we're doing? Yeah.

[Ben Stiller]

You're like, we just thought it would be cool.

[Seth Rogen]

Yeah, we thought it would look cool.

[Ben Stiller]

We were talking also, Seth, about, you know, that thing of the cinematic nature of what you guys do. And you can talk about the shot, a single shot. And all the scenes are a single shot. But the way that that works is because the blocking of the actors. Blocking being where the movements of the actors in the scene is going to affect where the camera goes. And you have to figure out the blocking that's going to work in concert with the.

[Seth Rogen]

And we would block for hours and hours and hours. Sometimes, like, we wouldn't shoot before lunch a lot of days. Cause we would just be blocking from like 8am to 2pm and we also.

[Evan Goldberg]

Did no rehearsals Ever prior to shooting.

[Seth Rogen]

Yeah.

[Evan Goldberg]

So, like, it was on the day.

[Seth Rogen]

It was on the day.

[Ben Stiller]

Why was that?

[Seth Rogen]

We just didn't have access to, like.

[Evan Goldberg]

It wasn't an option to get everyone. We could do it piecemeal. But even so, like, the cast we had and we knew that they could deliver.

[Seth Rogen]

Honestly, part of me was inspired by. I always think of the musicians at the scoring session and how they're just, like, handed the music in the room and there's a hundred of them. And the conductor's like, all right, third one. Boom, boom, boom. And everyone just does their thing. And when they're all doing their thing, it comes together into one beautiful thing, you know? And it reminded me of that, where I was like, I know my shit. I know he knows his shit. I know she knows her shit. We've never done it all together at the same time. But if we all know it as we should, it will just work.

[Adam Scott]

And, you know, you can trust everyone that's in that room.

[Seth Rogen]

And then it would. And I would be standing there being like, holy shit, it feels like we've rehearsed this.

[Adam Scott]

That's what was really fun about the day. I spent. Or couple days.

[Seth Rogen]

Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

I mean, you saw it was that we would. And we had a few oners on severance as well. But all of the scenes in the studio are oners. But we would do it, like, I don't know, six, seven times, and then the scene is over.

[Seth Rogen]

Yes.

[Adam Scott]

Like, I would go home at, like, 2:30 in the afternoon.

[Ben Stiller]

But how many times would you rehearse before you'd shoot? Like, just.

[Evan Goldberg]

We would just. We would block it once or twice. Then we would start filming, knowing the first four are utterly useless, for sure. Completely unusable.

[Ben Stiller]

Right.

[Seth Rogen]

Except in the Globes, where we were.

[Evan Goldberg]

Playing with a limited capacity. We shot, like, we would do, like, 16 to 25 on the globes. We did six.

[Seth Rogen]

Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

Oh, is that right? That was shorter than.

[Evan Goldberg]

There were so many people and so many moving parts that. That one, we had less chance.

[Seth Rogen]

The resets were taking so much longer. Cause there was so many background and stuff like that.

[Ben Stiller]

Your relationship with your dp, though, your cinematographer must be really great. Yes. Was he operating too?

[Seth Rogen]

No, our operator was this guy Mark Golenicht, who's a giant. Giant muscular monster of a man.

[Evan Goldberg]

And a subtle artistic genius.

[Seth Rogen]

Yes, And a subtle. Because his timing was, like, imperative. You know, he understood. You could be, like, holding on Ike's reaction for a split second longer and push in just the tiniest bit and then whip over To Ohara for her reaction and do it a little faster. So. And he would be like, got it well.

[Evan Goldberg]

And even more impressive than that is in the nine minute scene. Sometimes he just has to trust his gut. I don't think people quite get how much was on his shoulders and how in the moment, every scene, he did something that was his and his alone that fixed it.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. Like another actor in the actor.

[Seth Rogen]

He really is.

[Ben Stiller]

You have to have the timing of an actor. Yes.

[Evan Goldberg]

He knows all their lines. Like, it's nuts.

[Adam Scott]

There are so many moments like that in the studio. Like when you interrupt Greta Lee in the shot and then you walk out of frame and he stays on her for just that split second till her face changes and then whips away.

[Seth Rogen]

And like, he was so good at that. And it was like editing. And our editor was on set all day, every day as well. Cause there wasn't a lot of editing that could be done after the fact. So our editor, Eric Kissack, would be and like saying what he would do editorially. He would say, like, yeah, he'd be.

[Evan Goldberg]

Like, you have to whip sooner for it to hit the way it needs to hit.

[Seth Rogen]

Yeah, yeah. He'd be like, I would shave a few frames off that reaction if it was just a normal reaction shot. And so.

[Adam Scott]

Which we can't do.

[Seth Rogen]

Right, which we can't do. So we would have to do it as we were shooting it, basically. But yeah, no, we would shoot the scene with an iPad. And that was a few times. And that was sort of the rehearsal. And that was how, like, as though.

[Evan Goldberg]

We'D watch it again, which we almost never.

[Ben Stiller]

But. Evan, are you holding the iPad?

[Seth Rogen]

No, the DPK.

[Ben Stiller]

And then you're watching the iPad and you're kind of like communicating with him as he does it.

[Evan Goldberg]

Well, yeah, I would run behind and we would run around together in circles.

[Ben Stiller]

And meet each other.

[Seth Rogen]

And then we would all watch it together and be like, oh, it's too wide there. On this line it should be only on Ike. And then on this line it should be all of us. And then this line, it should go to these two. And then as they walk away, it should be behind us, not beside us. And we would sort of figure all that out just like as we were doing it, basically.

[Ben Stiller]

And then pretend you're also on mushrooms.

[Seth Rogen]

Yes, exactly.

[Evan Goldberg]

We were on mushrooms the whole time.

[Ben Stiller]

Oh, yeah.

[Seth Rogen]

The episode was actually probably the hardest because of the amount of people. There's a lot of people. It was a ton of people. And that shot, the shot that you are first seeing is like, it's you in the car. Yeah, it started me in the car. I walked the whole red carpet walk through the lobby and then meet up with you guys and it ends in the thing. And so it was like every reset of that took so long. And so it really was incredibly high stakes. But at the same time, we don't want it to feel like rigidity is like the enemy of this. You know what I mean? And that's why it was so great having people really comfortable with Looseness because it was very regimented and precise in some ways. But we always hoped the actors would saw off the rigid corners and kind of make it feel a little more real, you know what I mean?

[Adam Scott]

Well, when you're entering a shot two and a half minutes in into it. Yeah, it is fucking nerve wracking.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. I had the experience on Empire of the sun where there was like a two minute steady cam shot that I was at the end of and I had one line and I screwed up my line. I said. And I said, cut. I've told this story before, but it's literally one of the most mortifying moments of my life, I have to say. Also, the look of the studio that you guys have to just shift gears for a second is so cool to me. This sort of Frank Lloyd Wright vibe. Literally the first episode I was like, where does. Wait, that looks like it's Warner Brothers, but I've never seen that built. What was your idea behind that and how did you do that? Because I feel like both Severance and your show have a very specific vibe and style in terms of the production design.

[Seth Rogen]

I mean, that's not a coincidence. We referenced Severance and honestly.

[Ben Stiller]

Oh, really?

[Seth Rogen]

In my head, you guys made something so iconic, something that. And I actually thought that was important in this day and age in television is there's so much stuff on. There's so many shows. I watch eight spy shows personally right now, you know, and they're all good. But I think it's so hard to, like, assert any sort of differentiation. I feel like in a lot of ways.

[Evan Goldberg]

Yeah. And the thing we said about Severance is like, if you flip onto the channel for four seconds, you know, it's severance. Like, you know, instantly you could see.

[Seth Rogen]

A still frame of it and know what show it is. Instantaneous. Instantaneously.

[Ben Stiller]

You said it right the first time.

[Seth Rogen]

Instantaneously because of how specific it looks, you know what I mean? And so we talked a lot about specificity. And that was like a word that as we were like just designing the show and the wardrobe and all that stuff. We were like, how do we make it just hyper specific and hyper different? And you picture it being in like. I know everyone at Apple that we pitched the show to just pictured it being in like an office, like this office, just like a normal office. And we never.

[Ben Stiller]

That's what they said to us though when we first making separate. They said, oh well, can find like an office, like an abandoned office in an office park. And we're like, no, no, no, no. It's weird. We actually are going to kind of try to do some stuff that you can't find in, you know, Tenafly, New Jersey.

[Seth Rogen]

Yeah, exactly. And we liked. And so that was like really a part of it was like, how do we give it like an incredibly specific look? I'm just like a huge Frank Lloyd Wright fan. There's this documentary about Frank Lloyd Wright's work in Los Angeles that I find really interesting. And we kind of quote it in the show where like he came to LA and made buildings that were like purported to be kind of monumental, but they almost all became uninhabitable because of how tomb like they ultimately were and kind of how like mausoleum like they ultimately felt and sort of like, you know, the parallels between like a temple and a tomb were very kind of good symbolism for the show, we thought. And also just like to anchor it in like a real history of Hollywood. The studio would have been made at the exact time Frank Lloyd Wright was in LA making buildings. These old studios, a lot of them do it. Beautiful architecture, their Art deco. They had at their time, like great minds dedicating themselves to the design and kind of grandeur of these buildings. And that was also our thought. It's like, how do we like try to make it seem what a great idea was there?

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah, and it's very accurate. It's very accurate. I went to a meeting at Warner Brothers like a couple months ago right when I was watching the show. I was like, I'm literally in, I'm in the space. It's just less cool looking.

[Seth Rogen]

Yeah, exactly.

[Ben Stiller]

Less cool looking version.

[Seth Rogen]

It's funny. That was actually like when, when our Apple executives started watching the show, that was one of their first comments was like, should we be dressing better? We were like, yes, you should.

[Adam Scott]

Should we wear double breasted cool coats?

[Seth Rogen]

Exactly like you guys, they used to look cool. In your job, what'd you do?

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, like in the player everyone looks awesome.

[Seth Rogen]

They all look cool. Yeah. I don't know when it all fell apart. At some point or another, I think.

[Ben Stiller]

Like going into making a show like our show or your show or really any show, you. You kind of like dive in. And especially with streaming, where you're gonna make all the episodes and nobody's gonna see it and then it's gonna go out, you really have to take this kind of leap and make these choices and take these chances. I know, like, I have a certain amount of, you know, when it's before it's gonna come out, like I get nervous or fear it's not gonna be well received or all that. But like it's all after the fact. Because you've done all this work that you've committed to. Did you guys ever have that feeling? Were you ever. Did you ever have any fear of, oh, we've made this huge commitment to this thing, or did you feel it was working as you were going along and by the time it came out you felt like, okay, we know what this is.

[Evan Goldberg]

I believed in this one from the get go. I was just like, this is gonna work. I know this is gonna work. I feel like we're all vibing on the same wavelength. And I felt like it was gonna rock.

[Seth Rogen]

I hope so. Yeah. I think. Cause I was so front and center. I was pretty self conscious about it.

[Evan Goldberg]

I'm not in a shot where if I say my line wrong, it goes to hell and it's all on me.

[Seth Rogen]

Yeah. It took me a long time since I had like written and directed and starred in a thing. And I think the pressure of that is something I have not subjected myself to in a very.

[Ben Stiller]

It's also very specifically, I haven't done it for a while for the same reason.

[Seth Rogen]

Yeah. And the last time I did it, I almost started a war with North Korea.

[Adam Scott]

That's right.

[Seth Rogen]

Which was not lost on me either.

[Ben Stiller]

I totally get that. I totally get that. You guys are awesome. Thank you so much.

[Seth Rogen]

Thank you for.

[Adam Scott]

So fun, you guys.

[Ben Stiller]

Congrats on the show.

[Seth Rogen]

We'll do a mashup podcast next year.

[Evan Goldberg]

Mashup episode.

[Seth Rogen]

Absolutely. Yeah. Thank you.

[Ben Stiller]

Thank you guys.

[Adam Scott]

Our conversation with Seth and Evan might be over, but we've still got some more of this episode for you. Next up, we're joined by severance prop master Cat Miller.

[Ben Stiller]

Foreign.

[Adam Scott]

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[Kat Miller]

This is a brief description of the coverages available. Limitations and exclusions will apply.

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[Kat Miller]

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[Ben Stiller]

The kind made with real fruit juice.

[Kat Miller]

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[Seth Rogen]

Ciao now.

[Ben Stiller]

Hi.

[Adam Scott]

Hey, Kat.

[Seth Rogen]

Hi.

[Kat Miller]

How are you?

[Seth Rogen]

Great.

[Adam Scott]

How are you?

[Kat Miller]

I'm good. I'm so excited to see you guys.

[Adam Scott]

Oh, it's so good to see you.

[Ben Stiller]

Thank you for doing this.

[Kat Miller]

No, it's so cool.

[Ben Stiller]

First of all, I just wanted to say I have had such a great time working with you. Do you remember the first time we met?

[Kat Miller]

I do remember the first time we met. It was in December of 2019.

[Ben Stiller]

Wow.

[Kat Miller]

It was on my birthday, actually. It was my birthday. Yeah.

[Seth Rogen]

Really?

[Ben Stiller]

I think it was this little weird production office in midtown Manhattan or something.

[Kat Miller]

It was. And an editing suite in there or something. And it was ushered in.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. We hadn't like really set up our offices or anything. And it was just like a temporary space. And you know, when you're hiring a prop person, it's such an important aspect of filmmaking. Maybe just like, can you tell people a little bit just about like what your responsibilities are on a movie or a TV show? Generally?

[Kat Miller]

Yeah, absolutely. So a prop is considered anything that the actor touches. So that's a really broad range. It can be the glasses that they wear, cell phone that they use, the food that they eat, the cars that they drive, the guns that they. They use, any kind of paperwork they have any kind of bags and. And any other kind of then larger, very scripted objects or things that come up that they have to interact with. Generally, anything that's not a piece of furniture would fall under the props realm.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. Which is a huge responsibility because if there's an actor who has a Diary or something. You have to create that diary and put the writing in there and all of those things.

[Adam Scott]

Or a newspaper article.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah.

[Kat Miller]

And everything with being able to freeze frame and screen grab, and especially on severance, everything is so examined that you can't just get away with just having some random text on there. Just some random words in a diary. No, it has to be specific to the story.

[Ben Stiller]

It wasn't always like that. I think that honestly, it's really. In the last few years, I mean, someone would be reading a newspaper. I don't remember props and movies 10 years ago where people were worrying about what was actually in the real newspaper. Maybe the headline or something like that.

[Adam Scott]

Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but before hd, there was no capability to read whatever article. Even if it was a quick shot of it. You couldn't really see it.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. When I started out, you had to actually describe to the person what it was because there were no cameras.

[Adam Scott]

It was all vocal.

[Ben Stiller]

And I remember talking to you, and there was a project you had worked on where you told me that you had. There was a character that had a desk or something, and that desk was completely functional in terms of if you opened any drawer, it would be filled with real stuff that the actor could use, Right?

[Kat Miller]

Yes. Yeah, that was it. I had just done a Derek scene in France project, and he believed, and he said, prop the life outside of the frame and do that for the actors so that the actor could not have to act so much and pretend and be able to really use and interact with the environment. And that was a huge kind of light bulb for me. Like, oh, the objects that the actors are holding or seeing or even potentially being able to create an environment for them could be a helpful tool in telling the story. And that really helps helped, like, open up a door for me to realize that it's not just about handing, you know, the backpack or the briefcase to the actor. It's actually really, how can I contribute to the story? How can I help tell the story that the director wants to tell and is telling? And how can I help the actors with their ability to tell that story as best as I can?

[Ben Stiller]

So.

[Adam Scott]

And, you know, you did help so much because, you know, so much of the story, obviously, is lumen, and then the culture of luminance, lumen, which is directly reflected in the props that you created. But then you guys really did fill our drawers with stuff at the cubicles. And so much of our time there is spent just sitting around and fiddling with stuff. And those drawers we could pull out like post its that had the Lumen on them or the finger traps, all that stuff you guys made. And we'd throw stuff at each other and it all ended up in the show. But it also made us just feel like we had our own little culture in our cubicle space, which is so important, I think.

[Kat Miller]

I think it's really important that there's nothing random, especially in a show like this. Like everything that we do in all departments is just so considered and so specific. Because anything like a random thing that isn't, that doesn't have a reason, like endowed in the story, then it's just, it doesn't make sense. And it's going to pull the audience out. Our audience is too smart for that, you know.

[Ben Stiller]

But then this, you know, development of this thing. I had never done this either in terms of developing a world. And we moved to these stages in the Bronx and Jeremy Hindle, our production designer was there and starting to create, you know, ideas for the look of Lumen and all that stuff. But you really, I just remember you, your department there, starting to do the R and D on the computers and how deep you went with that. And can you just talk a little bit about your process of how you started that?

[Kat Miller]

Yeah, the computers, when things started to have a retro feel within the severed floor, like Lumen was curating and designing an office space and environment for the Innies that was, that was slightly retro back when design was a point of pride in offices that started to inform us about the tech. The tech was a really big question. Is it going to be super sleek and high tech? And we started to think maybe it could be analog, maybe it can be along the lines of this kind of retro feel. So we started to think about, okay, the computers which the characters are interfacing with for so many hours in their lives. What are the computers? And so I went up to the Rhode Island Computer Museum and got Dan up there to open up this back warehouse. So we opened up this warehouse. It was huge, this Costco size warehouse. It was like going into the Raiders of the Lost Ark and the last scene with all of this things just this history just crated up. And there was just shelves and shelves and shelves and shelves of old computers.

[Ben Stiller]

Can I ask you how did you know that there was a Rhode Island Computer Museum? Like what? Like where do you find that information?

[Kat Miller]

We just kind of knew it. It's sometimes, you know, one of the vendors will rent something from them or something. But we, you know, inside prop business.

[Ben Stiller]

Incredible. Okay, keep going.

[Kat Miller]

Sorry.

[Seth Rogen]

Yeah.

[Kat Miller]

And I was just allowed to be in there in that space for a whole day and just kind of roaming through the shelves and just trying to find really interesting shapes of old computers that would make sense to start a starting point, a jumping off point of what our MDR computers would be. And so I pulled down as many as I could fit in the minivan. I think it was like 13 of them. And I was like, okay, I can't do any more. And I drove back. And then we cleaned them for a very long time because they had decades of grime and cigarette stuff on it. Tried to clean them all up, make them look presentable. And it was really, I don't know if you remember, it was our kind of like first big show and tell.

[Ben Stiller]

I totally remember it. I remember them all laid out there and also all looking at them. Yeah, it was really fun.

[Kat Miller]

Yeah. But everybody came, like everyone in the office were like coming around. All this nostalgia of like, oh, that's the Atari I used to have, or the Commodore my parents used to have. And it was like a big first moment I was a little nervous about, like. But then you went through all of them and looked at them all, and a lot of them are really tall and boxy. A lot of them are really rigid or have a height to them. And then I felt like you were drawn to the Data General Dasher, which we had a little bit lower profile and could also articulate. It was on a yoke, so it could articulate up and down and pivot left and right. And it just seemed like you could already see how that could be directed and used. And we were drawn to, to that. And we, we said, okay, this will be our, our reference point. And so we 3D scanned it, we 3D modeled it, we 3D printed it. And we had to get actual CRT tubes and screens to put in it because we didn't want to just do an iPad behind something that looked old. We wanted to actually do what the real texture, you cannot fake that real texture of what a crt, an old school tube screen looks like. So we found matching ones. We found nine matching Commodore 9 inch CRT TVs. We ripped them apart. We tried to put the, the tubes within the housing. We had to make some adjustments because all the old computers just used to be monochrome and just one color. But we wanted to have multi colors on our tubes. So the color tubes were longer than what our housing was.

[Adam Scott]

And that one color was that green.

[Ben Stiller]

That green or orange or white.

[Adam Scott]

That's right.

[Ben Stiller]

There was also white. I had a Radio Shack, a trs, I think, back in the day, that was my first computer. And it was like. I think it was white.

[Seth Rogen]

Yeah.

[Ben Stiller]

But the green was also. That's, like, such an iconic.

[Adam Scott]

So are all the tubes used on our computers, are those all vintage? Those are old tubes.

[Kat Miller]

Those are old tubes from the late 70s, late 70s, early 80s.

[Adam Scott]

Because they don't make them anymore.

[Kat Miller]

They don't make them anymore. And so there's very few left. We tried. We gathered as many as we could find at that time because we knew, you know, what if one breaks. We weren't even sure it was going to work because we had to rearrange where all the transistors were and all the power sources were. And that kind of made the tube. You know, we had to do a lot of R and D that it would make the images go wavy. But we kind of finally got it right and was able to figure out a way to then splice the input and the power cables and dig out a channel within the yoke so that we could run all the cables through the yoke of the computer and down through the desk so that it could peer wireless, which was a cool little.

[Adam Scott]

It's a lot of cable.

[Seth Rogen]

It's a lot of cable.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. And then to make them functional was a whole other level to it also in terms of the actual programming. Right.

[Kat Miller]

Yeah. So they're fully interactive, they're fully on, and they're fully functioning in real time, and nothing gets laid in and post or anything like that. You know, you had said early in, I think, in that first interview, Ben, that you wanted the actors to be able to actually interact with the computer in real time, because not only in the story were they supposed to be in front of those computers for a long time. But, you know, Adam, you guys are actually sitting at those desks for so long while we shot for hours at a time, that not having that actual functionality and that's something to interact with just seemed like a lot.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah, the development of that was, I think, such an important aspect of the show, even to the point of having them be functional, so that you guys on set could actually know what you're doing. And it's so much easier as an actor actually doing something real than pretending. And I guess in between setups, too, you guys would start to do a lot of refining.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. I mean, just to pass the time, I would refine. And you could also adjust the size of the numbers and kind of learn how to refine enormous groups of Numbers all at once or single number. There's all different ways of doing it. And Zach and I were always debating which was the most efficient.

[Ben Stiller]

No, Incredible. To just have that ability. I think it made so many things easier on set. There's so many more things to talk about with you, but we have some hotline questions from our listeners that were going to play for you and get some answers. All right.

[Kat Miller]

Yes.

[G]

Hi. My name is Madeline, and these are my roommates Tyler and Kendall. And our question is, what is the stuff that Mark has to drink in real life? Like, what was Adam Scott drinking in that weird little yellow thingy? Looks like colostrum or sauerkraut. Those are our guesses, so let us know. Okay, Praise Kier. Bye.

[Ben Stiller]

Oh, the stuff in season two.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, in season two. Correct me if I'm wrong, Kat, but was there coconut in there?

[Kat Miller]

There was. There was. It was the reintegration elixir. And we auditioned so many. So many different things. You know, we had this whole debate in our prop department before we even showed anything, like, do we really make it taste disgusting? Do we want Adam to really drink something disgusting? And they were like, no, we wanted to drink something that tastes so good. I. There was. It was a pina colada flavored protein shake with applesauce to make it. To thicken it up. And then we floated and suspended the coconut chunks inside of it.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, it was not disgusting at all.

[Kat Miller]

Actually.

[Adam Scott]

It was quite pleasant. And lots of fiber because of all the coconut. Yeah, it wasn't gross at all. It was a pleasure.

[Ben Stiller]

My question for Madeline would be, what is colostrum? Or maybe that's Kendall. What is colostrum?

[Adam Scott]

I think that was Kendall. Just kidding.

[Kat Miller]

I don't know.

[Ben Stiller]

And it does have a sauerkrautty kind of color to it.

[Adam Scott]

I'm so glad it wasn't sauerkraut. That would have been a bummer.

[Ben Stiller]

Oh, and now I just remembered what colostrum is. It's the first form of milk produced by the mammary lands of humans and other animals immediately following delivery of the newborn. Colostrum is like that in the back of my head.

[Adam Scott]

You can get little packets of. Of it and eat it throughout the day for health reasons.

[Ben Stiller]

Tyler, Kendall is a doctor. All right, let's go to. Let's go to another question.

[G]

Hi, Ben and Adam. This is Taya calling in from California, and I need to know when you guys are making the Irving mugs for real, because I need one for my mug collection. So give me a call and pray.

[Adam Scott]

Yes, It's a good idea.

[Kat Miller]

It's not. It's a great idea. It's a great idea.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah.

[Kat Miller]

I've had so much fun making mugs on this show. I don't. It's just the. The branding of the Lumen mugs and. And making the trigger mugs. They're the ones that have the hand. The handle with the kind of indent so you put two fingers through it.

[Adam Scott]

Yes.

[Kat Miller]

I just. I just love making the mugs on this job.

[Adam Scott]

And it shows.

[Ben Stiller]

It's such a great prop because it's so, like, usable in life, you know, I. I don't know. I must have, like, six different Lumen mugs at home that are combination of. Maybe stolen from the set or from, like, some promotion or whatever. Have, like, a big green one. Did you ever make the green ones?

[Kat Miller]

I did make the green ones. Yeah.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. And. Yeah, one of my favorite moments in, I guess is it episode. Is it 5 the Funeral? And, you know, Milchick's in the back supply closet with the other. The other mugs, the other face faces. You know, that was something that I think, you know, it was a great development of the Irving mug from the funeral and the idea that, oh, there are other mugs with the faces of the other people at MDR that someday might be.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, they're ready.

[Kat Miller]

They're just ready. They got them ready.

[Adam Scott]

It's a really clever moment.

[Ben Stiller]

Ominous face mugs.

[Adam Scott]

How about the. The Irving watermelon head, Kat?

[Ben Stiller]

Oh, we actually have a hotline question about that. So let's look. Let's play that.

[G]

Hi, my name is Joan Moussa. I'm from Seattle, Washington. I have got to know who carved Irving's watermelon head. It was one of the most beautiful pieces of art I've ever seen. And the touch, the nose, the Rhine nose was such a special touch. I just want to make sure that whoever did that is honored. Thank you.

[Ben Stiller]

Oh, my God. That's like. I've seen people online really obsess over this watermelon head.

[Kat Miller]

You know, our fans are amazing, and the super fans are so detail oriented, and they have created. Tried to create almost all the props, and they do it with such high fidelity. They have tried to recreate the Irving watermelon head, and it's just amazing. The results are amazing. We tried to do it. So Panko, who is our Platinov, who is our master sculptor on the show, show and does so much great work, tried for many weeks to. For a couple of weeks to carve out a real watermelon Irving Space. And it was just so mushy and just couldn't hold the detail. The water content of the watermelon was just so too, way too high. And so, you know, I was like, okay, okay, you gotta keep trying. And he's like, I'm gonna make it. I'm gonna try out a foam. And I said, no, it has to be real watermelon. Everyone will know. And so he's like, give me me a day. And he got some foam. I came back the next day and I was like, oh, you made it out of real watermelon. Amazing. And he was like, no, that's the foam. And I was like, he's just a genius. And I feel like when he had that little cap, he made the. The rind out of the cap with the little vine coming out and his hair.

[Adam Scott]

So good.

[Ben Stiller]

No, it's brilliant that it's like a little, like. It's like a little Pope cap or something. I don't know. There's some. Something very ecclesiastical about it, but yeah. Let's listen to one more question.

[G]

Jackie. I'm an Audi from Down Under. I am absolutely loving this series, especially the art and design, and I was just hoping you could give some insight into the design of the show's sort of two worlds. I feel like the Audi world is quite modern and, you know, has some really modern parts of it, like the severance presentation, while the ini world has a real distinct, like, retro, futuristic style. And I just wanted to know, how do you approach designing each of these worlds? And do you have a favorite prop or piece of set dressing? Mine personally is the goat eye chart on the painting floor. It's amazing.

[Kat Miller]

I felt like the art department had.

[G]

A lot of fun. Anyway, praise, kids. Great show. Thanks, guys.

[Ben Stiller]

Oh, thank you.

[Adam Scott]

So nice.

[Ben Stiller]

What's your favorite prop, Kat?

[Kat Miller]

I gotta say, the break room table. Making the break room table in season one and then pushing it against the wall and having it evolve in season two in the break room, that was a real fun adventure.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah, that was really challenging. That was challenging because it was something that didn't really exist in reality in terms of the idea of this sort of. Of brainwashing room and to figure out how to get and still have the elements of the retro, the sort of, like, table projector. What's that called?

[Kat Miller]

It's an overhead projector. Like old school. Super old school.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah, yeah. Which I loved. And those elements. And I remember you creating that and looking at all those specifics. And I remember, as a director being so Excited. It's like, oh, there's like a knob. I can do a close up on. I can do an insert here. So many fun inserts, which was amazing. And then also to figure out even like the throw on that, the projector so that it could be in focus for her to look at the words, for Heli to read the words. Then seeing how we could shoot through that, it was all created. The ambiance of that scene, the feeling of that scene was because of that table and how you designed it and.

[Adam Scott]

Then repurposing it for the second season. Break room was insane.

[Ben Stiller]

And I have to say, it was one thing that I felt like, unfortunately couldn't figure out how to. How to do in the second season was to use that table. I had originally blocked a version of the scene in episode 201 where you guys go in the break room, the new break room for the first time. And originally the scene where you guys are all talking after Milchick leaves with Ms. Wong was a scene where you guys stood up and started talking. And one of the blocking moves was that Dylan went over by the table.

[Adam Scott]

I think I thought he did.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah, yeah, he did. And then that was a scene actually that I went back and looked at and felt like it wasn't quite working. And we reshot the scene with you guys just sitting around in a circle. But the sort of collateral damage of that was that we didn't get to see that really ridiculously funny idea of that table which became like a game table where you had two paddles that were in the shapes of hands.

[Kat Miller]

Yeah, so we use the. We wanted to use the same break room table that Heli. You know, Heli's hands were exactly to it.

[Ben Stiller]

The hand like forms that she uses where it picks up her, you know, all her like vitals were used now as paddle holders.

[Kat Miller]

Yeah, we made hand shape ping pong paddles. And we had a whole game that we created which was with a pink pong ball. And you would try and hit the glass that was now against the wall. And the projector would have a little like the old pong where it was just a floating little target and you would have to try and hit it. And if you hit it, it would, you know, explode in a firework of color. And then you try again. I will say it was really challenging because the hand ping pong paddle was really hard to use. But Ben, you were really good at it. You got that up and you really good at it.

[Adam Scott]

I found it impossible.

[Ben Stiller]

I actually, I have a picture of Zach Cherry playing it like one of the bendo pictures that I can. I have never posted that because I thought people wouldn't necessarily know what that is, but now I could post that of him playing and, like, having fun with it. But, yeah, that was such an inventive, you know, and great sort of, you know, thematically saying like, hey, we took this thing that used to be a torture device and turned it into a fun game, which was very Lumen. Well, Kat, this was so great. Thanks for joining us.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, thanks, Kat.

[Kat Miller]

The show is just such an honor to work on and just the most creative and collaborative and you guys are just like such artists and it's just such a great. It's just such an awesome thing.

[Ben Stiller]

Well, you are an artist. And honestly, the. More. Whenever we talk about doing the show and talk about this collaboration, we literally couldn't do the show without.

[Adam Scott]

No, there's no way.

[Ben Stiller]

So the reality is the show is a collaboration of all these different artists and creative people, you know, making stuff. And I just feel like from the beginning, it's great to meet somebody. When you meet someone for the first time and you don't know where that working relationship is going to go, that I feel really grateful for. Our creative working relationship.

[Kat Miller]

Yes, me too. Ditto.

[Adam Scott]

Kat, you're just incredible. It's an honor to work with you and thank you for being here.

[Kat Miller]

Thank you so much, guys.

[Adam Scott]

And that's it for the episode. The Severance podcast with Ben and Adam will be back again next week.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah, this was really fun. Remember, you can stream every episode of Severance on Apple tv. You can't stream it anywhere else, just on Apple tv.

[Adam Scott]

Plus, that's the place. What if we started saying there are multiple places you can stream the show and started directing them to, like Netflix.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. Or stream it wherever you get your streaming shows. Yeah. Like they say with podcasts, right?

[Adam Scott]

That's right. Stream it wherever you like watching shows. The Severance podcast with Ben Stiller and Adam Scott is a presentation of Odyssey, Red Hour Productions and Great Scott.

[Ben Stiller]

If you like the show, be sure to rate and review this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your other podcast platform of choice. It really makes a difference.

[Adam Scott]

If you've got a question about severance, call our hotline, 212-830-3816. We just might play your voicemail and answer your question on the podcast.

[Ben Stiller]

Our executive producers are Bari Finkel, Gabrielle Lewis, Naomi Scott and Leah Rhys Dennis. This show is produced by Ben Goldberg. It's mixed and mastered by Chris Basel. We have additional engineering from Javi Cruces.

[Adam Scott]

Show clips are courtesy of fifth season music by Theodore Shapiro. Special thanks to the team at Odyssey, Maura Curran, Eric Donnelly, Michael Lavey, Melissa Wester, Kate Rose, Kurt Courtney and Hilary Schuff.

[Ben Stiller]

And the team at Red John Lesher, Carolina Pesikov, Gian Pablo Antonetti, Martin Valderruten, Ashwin Ramesh, Maria Noto, John Baker and Sam Lyon.

[Adam Scott]

Hannah Great Scott, Kevin Cotter, Josh Martin and Christy Smith. At R Rise Management, I'm Ben Stiller. And I'm Adam Scott.

[Ben Stiller]

Thank you for listening.