← The Town with Matthew Belloni
The Town with Matthew Belloni
Part 1: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and Wild Stories From the Set of ‘The Studio’
00:33:27
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- [00:00]
Zach Lowe
Welcome to the brand new Zach Lowe Show. That's right, I'm back to have the same in depth NBA conversations you're used to. We're going to talk about the games, the X's and O's, the drama. The playoffs are coming up and now you get to see every episode in full on video on Spotify and on my own YouTube channel. Episodes drop every Monday and Thursday with a collection of guests you're going to love. So make sure you follow and subscribe to the brand new Zach Lowe show on Spotify or wherever you watch or listen. Listen to your podcast. Let's go.
- [00:36]
Matt Bellany
This episode of the Town is brought to you by max Presenting Hacks for your Emmy consideration. Starring Gene Smart and Hannah Einbinder, the new season picks up with Deborah Vance's late night show finally in production and Ava Daniels stepping in as head writer. To Deborah's dismay, their ever complicated relationship is pushed to new limits as they clash over creative direction and get entangled in blackmail and betrayal. Don't miss the series Slate says has never been better. Emmy eligible for Outstanding Comedy Series and all other categories now streaming on max, this episode is brought to you by Netflix. Presenting the Diplomat from writer and creator Deborah Kahn. Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell return, with Allison Janney joining in the explosive second season as US Ambassador Kate Wyler navigates high stakes diplomacy and a fraught marriage in search of the truth. The Guardian lauds the Diplomat a masterclass in storytelling, and Indiewire hails it one of the best shows of the year for your Emmy consideration. It is Thursday, May 22. About a year ago I got a DM on Instagram from Seth Rogen. He said he was making a new show for Apple where he played the head of a movie studio and he and the writers thought it might be fun if his character listened to the Town and if the Town talked about his character. He just wanted me to record a couple fake lines for them. No problem, I said. He sent over the pages. I read the lines. I had no idea why I would be referencing a Kool Aid movie, but Craig sent the audio back and we both laughed about it. Then a few weeks later, another dm, Seth said, actually we thought it might be fun if you showed up as a character in the world of the show. Would I be willing to play myself in a few scenes? Okay, I said. I didn't really know what that meant, but whatever, I'm game. He said. Tons of Hollywood people will be doing guest roles as themselves on this show, and who doesn't like Seth Rogen. His company, Point Gray, which he started back in 2011 with his collaborator and high school buddy Evan Goldberg. They've got a good reputation in town and a great track record as producers and everything from Seth's movies to stuff he's not in, like the boys on Amazon blockers, Good Boys joyride from a couple years ago. They also did the recent Ninja Turtles animated movie. Since last year, Point Grey has had a first look deal with Universal for film and Lionsgate for tv. And even amid the content recession, they're doing great. Anyway, last summer I went to Vegas a couple times and played myself in a few scenes of the last two episodes of the studio, which are set at the Cinemacon movie theater convention. If you haven't seen it, we will be discussing some spoilers today from those episodes and the whole show. Because the only request I had when I agreed to do the show was, was that Seth and Evan come on this show once the studio came out. Now that it has, now that the finale has aired, the critics love it. It's in the Emmy conversation. They are here today to tell some stories from the set. How they made this very unique looking show who got cut out, what kind of feedback they've gotten from their friends in the industry, what's next for the show and their company Today is Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and the studio from the ringer and Puck. I'm Matt Bellany and this is the Town. All right, we are here, a very special episode of the Town. I would like to welcome all the new listeners who are fans of the studio and Seth Rogen and are currently saying to themselves, holy shit, this podcast guy, he's like a real person. The Town is a real podcast. Welcome, guys.
- [03:59]
Seth Rogen
Thank you.
- [04:00]
Evan Goldberg
It'd be cool if we invented you for the show, that this was all.
- [04:03]
Matt Bellany
An elaborate marketing well, but how is an average viewer of this show supposed to know that I am a real person? I guess because. Because they've watched many episodes with a lot of real Hollywood people in them already. But, like, 99% of people probably had no idea I am a real person.
- [04:20]
Evan Goldberg
I actually never thought of that until right this second. But I think. I think the answer is, it doesn't matter if you're.
- [04:28]
Matt Bellany
It doesn't matter. No. And, like, even if you think I'm like the dude from Ted Lasso, the journalist character that harasses him all the time, like, it still works, it's fine.
- [04:39]
Seth Rogen
You have more than one story.
- [04:40]
Evan Goldberg
You're a multifaceted man.
- [04:41]
Seth Rogen
It's great.
- [04:41]
Matt Bellany
Exactly. By the way, why did you make the journalist character a real person? Because the agent, obviously David Crumhole's actor, the publicist actress. Why did you guys decide to make the journalism person real?
- [04:56]
Evan Goldberg
Part of it was that we would just. We were asking you to do exactly what it is that you do.
- [05:02]
Matt Bellany
That's true.
- [05:02]
Evan Goldberg
So I think that was agents. I don't know if they could perform in scenes, you know what I mean? And we actually do use our real agents. There is a part one of the episodes where Ike is talking to an agent and Chase is talking to an agent, and that is Blair Cohan and Matt Rice that are voicing the agents on the.
- [05:20]
Matt Bellany
That's really funny. And you reference Esther Chang in the pilot even though she's not your agent.
- [05:24]
Evan Goldberg
Exactly. But yeah, the idea was we just thought you could do it, Matt, and.
- [05:29]
Seth Rogen
If it wasn't you, it would have felt fake to us.
- [05:34]
Matt Bellany
Interesting. All right, well, I appreciate it. As you know, I was very nervous on set and you guys were super nice and made me feel very comfortable. So I appreciate that. I want to talk today both about the show and both about, you know, the final two episodes. And I want to talk a little bit about your company and where you guys are going as well. But let's start with the show. I asked around when I was there and everybody, and I know that they had a reason to bullshit me, but I talked to people who I thought were. Were being honest to me. Everyone said that your guys sets are particularly great, comfortable, fun, everyone gets to do what they want to do. There's no bullshit politics. Like even I talked to Katherine Hahn. She's like, no, no, no, no. I like, I've been on some sets and this one was particularly amazing. Like, did you guys have a feeling about this particular show or is this how you run every set?
- [06:35]
Seth Rogen
It's how we run every set. We had this incredible revelation early on that we didn't need to be huge assholes to our jobs.
- [06:42]
Matt Bellany
Listen, you. Everybody says that, but then push comes to shove, you want what you want and the asshole comes out.
- [06:48]
Seth Rogen
You know what part of it is, is. Part of it is there's two of us. So if one of us is being an asshole, the other one pointed out pretty quickly.
- [06:54]
Evan Goldberg
Yeah, I'm always amazed when people say that. And flattered because I just feel like. I feel like I hope everyone's having a good time, but I also feel a lot of stress and pressure in the moment to moment filming of most things. But I also think it's because we Thrive when we're having a good time. And for us it should be sort of like a joyous experience. And I think we've just seen that our best work comes from when it really feels like everyone is committed to this idea of like bringing something very special to life. And. And we really try to like foster that. But so I think part of it is like we're still like those 23 year old kind of kids on set who I can't believe any of this is happening and just think that it should be fun and there's no reason for it not to be unless there's a problem. And I don't think everyone who works with us considers us like joyous, fun people 100% of the time. But on set is where it should be. And we're very lucky on our sets where we pretty much allowed to do whatever we want. You know, I've been on other sets where people are really trying to get involved and stop. You want to talk about everything and it is less fun. So part of it is like we're afforded the opportunity to have a fun environment by the people we're working for.
- [08:09]
Matt Bellany
Yeah, I mean, that was probably the other thing is that it felt like a full freight show. Like you guys, like Apple was like, okay, make the show you want to make. And I mean, I was marveling at the fact that you guys took over an entire like beauty salon area on the second floor of the Venetian just for wardrobe. And everyone was like, no, this is small. You should see the LA set up. Like, we, we're bare bones here in Vegas for two weeks.
- [08:34]
Evan Goldberg
And the freedom within that is it like none of it's lost on us. And it's something I think we've worked hard to get over the years, you know, but it's something we don't take for granted and we try to maximize it. We try to really use the fact that we kind of are left alone to do whatever we want for the most part and are in this show like, you know, pretty well resourced to do all this, which is also something that, like, especially when you make comedy is not always the case. And so that was something we wanted to really try to see to its full potential.
- [09:05]
Seth Rogen
And also, like on the comedy note, like, it is a comedy and if people are being treated poorly or in a bad mood, they're never funnier. Yeah, it's also just like, selfishly, we want the funniest show we can get. And that means everyone should be smiling because then they're in a good Mood and comedy flows better in that sense.
- [09:21]
Evan Goldberg
Yeah. We've also seen comedians, like, switch off. Like, we've even seen, like, if something. Something it could. The whole vibe can be ruined very easily.
- [09:31]
Seth Rogen
I have a vivid memory of telling an actor one time, I was like, I didn't like that first joke you said. But the second one was great. Can you do that one again? And it shut them down.
- [09:39]
Matt Bellany
Freak out, total meltdown, total shutdown.
- [09:41]
Seth Rogen
They were not fun for the rest of the day.
- [09:43]
Evan Goldberg
Yeah, it took, like. And I've seen it every once in a while. You'll just say one thing and you're like, oh, we just dug a hole that will take four hours to dig ourselves out of. From, like, a sheer vibe standpoint.
- [09:55]
Matt Bellany
Or say a journalist who's acting for the first time and keeps telling you how bad he is. And Evan keeps saying, no, no, no, man, you're great. You're great. It's so good.
- [10:06]
Seth Rogen
Hey, no regrets. Your performance is great. We are happy with it.
- [10:09]
Evan Goldberg
Performance is great.
- [10:10]
Matt Bellany
Why did you guys shoot it the way that you did? Why the oners?
- [10:15]
Evan Goldberg
Why?
- [10:15]
Matt Bellany
The feeling of, you know, following these people around closely with the kind of up close and one take philosophy that you guys used.
- [10:25]
Seth Rogen
One of the main reasons is we were tired of doing the same thing we've been doing for years and years and years, and we thought it would be more exciting. One of the reasons is because we wanted to, like, capture the panic of Hollywood. And putting you in the room with the people and making you kind of the camera whipping around, looking at them, yelling at each other would best bring that panic into the viewers. Like.
- [10:47]
Evan Goldberg
Yeah, A lot of shows are just shot, like, from the outside. Like, you know, we love succession and talk about it a lot, but it's very long lenses. Like, you can feel the distance between the characters.
- [10:57]
Matt Bellany
It feels like surveillance almost.
- [10:59]
Seth Rogen
Which is genius and purposeful on that show.
- [11:00]
Evan Goldberg
Yes, exactly. It feels like you're observing something from afar rather than in the midst of something. And our experience is literally in the midst of these rooms, our heads on a swivel, yelling at people, getting yelled at by people, following people, running around. And we wanted to make it as immersive to our literal experience as possible. We use one wide lens on the whole show to the 21 millimeter lens, which is like sort of what you see when you're standing in a room. You know what I mean? And so a lot of it was designed to really, like. Yeah, like, put the viewer in the shoes of one of the people in the scenes.
- [11:42]
Seth Rogen
Yeah. And we also wanted to make it that in this day and age when everyone's attention span shrinking, shrinking, shrinking, we wanted to make it that you don't look away because it's not cutting. There's no pattern for you to predict. You're not thinking, like, we're wide, then we're going to go medium, then we're going to go short or a close up in, like, the back of your head. You. You don't know what's going to happen. And if you look away, you might miss something that we like.
- [12:03]
Matt Bellany
Well, what the show gets right. And I get. I've been asked this by a bunch of media outlets over the past couple months. Like, oh, is, is the studio accurate? Like, does it capture Hollywood right now? And the thing that I say that the show gets right is this overwhelming sense of fear that has enveloped the industry, particularly in the last. I know everyone's always been anxiety ridden in Hollywood, but the fear that everyone has of getting fired, of making the wrong green light, of picking the wrong actor, of anything that really comes through in the show, it's sort of like the anti or the reverse Entourage. If that show was wish fulfillment. Modern Hollywood is a sea of anxiety and disappointment and compromise. And that, to me, is what the show is trying to communicate. Is that correct? Correct. Reid?
- [12:57]
Evan Goldberg
It's so funny because, like, we really didn't talk about making a show that was like, commenting on the industry as a whole, beyond our, like, very personal experience with it. And our hope was that our personal experience would be representative of a lot of people's experience and would hopefully kind of speak to the industry as a whole. But this is just what we've witnessed. So, like, it wasn't like the thing we were trying to say. It was more reflecting the things we've seen and therefore the settings for the scenes in the episodes. But from our perspective, that is what we witness a lot of. There's a lot of risk mitigation, a lot of fear, a lot of trying to create a circumstance where you feel like you're making a safe bet on a thing that is almost impossible to predict the outcome of, except, you know, in the most kind of, like, rudimentary ways. But, you know, fear of saying the wrong thing, fear of looking the wrong.
- [13:56]
Matt Bellany
Way publicly, fear of offending talent. I mean, it's funny that so much of your character is about wanting to be liked by talent and yet having responsibilities to the company. And you've been in the opposite chair on these conversations.
- [14:12]
Evan Goldberg
I've been in both chairs on these conversations. Is what's funny about it. And truthfully, the saddest answer is the character is most reflective of me in many ways, in that I am both someone who is catered to, but also someone who is constantly having to navigate the talent on their own shows and that they're directing and producing and trying to entice into doing things and trying not to alienate when I'm having to give them bad news about their thing. And that's just, like, a common theme we've seen, not just in Hollywood, but I think, like, in all walks of life is like, people. There's kind of an allure to celebrity, and the richest people in the world want famous people to like them. The people who need it the least still want it a lot. And that's something that we just have noticed over the years as inherently comedic in a lot of ways, is that just like it doesn't matter who you are and what your life is like. The. The allure of celebrity is strong, and the allure of having a person that you have watched your whole life like you is, like, a bit. And it's something I have still like, very much so. I know.
- [15:26]
Seth Rogen
And the weird thing, people think if you're a celebrity, you're immune to it. They're even more susceptible to it.
- [15:32]
Matt Bellany
Oh, yeah. Yeah.
- [15:34]
Evan Goldberg
It's true. Because. Because we. We like it so much. We dedicated our whole lives to it. And. And when a bunch of people are on. When a bunch of famous people are on set acting, almost all they're doing is telling stories about other famous people and how they met other famous people. This weird interaction with another. How they embarrassed themselves in front of me.
- [15:51]
Matt Bellany
Oh, yeah. I was hanging with Franco and Ike and prancing those guys on the set, and they were talking about the other people that were on the show and who was great and how funny they were and all this stuff. It was amazing.
- [16:03]
Evan Goldberg
We did interview tons of studio heads leading up to the show at. Almost all of them emphasized the importance of being thanked by first and last name, and that was a distinction all of them made. And it is something I'd never. And I had seen people not be thanked and be upset about it, but I actually didn't understand until we were talking to them. It just didn't even occur to me. It's like, oh, yeah, their name isn't on the movie. And some of them feel as though they contributed a ton, and that is the only record that they had anything to do with it.
- [16:39]
Matt Bellany
Well, I've talked to publicists also who have feared getting fired when the talent does not thank their executive because they are used as middlemen to try to get their talent publicist to get the star to thank the executive. And if it doesn't happen, then they feel like they are under fire.
- [16:58]
Evan Goldberg
I had an actor, a major movie star came to me and told me a story about how once, literally when the head of the studio came to them and was like, you're going to thank me, right? You better thank me. And like studio heads calling the actors the weeks up just in general to invite them to events, parties, basketball games because they think they might want to win and they're working their way in to ingratiate themselves on the road to award season. Like all that stuff. And for the record, like, if I.
- [17:26]
Seth Rogen
Was in their position, I would do the same thing. They 100% for sure every time.
- [17:31]
Evan Goldberg
When Million Dollar Baby came out, I was Jay Baruchell who's in. It was like staying in my shithole apartment in West Hollywood with me and we were literally like smoking weed in my like disgusting, like built the apartment, watching the Academy Awards and the movie won. And Clint Eastwood thanked Jay from the stage as he's like smoking weed beside me on the couch.
- [17:57]
Matt Bellany
Amazing.
- [17:58]
Evan Goldberg
Literally jumped out of his seat and he was like, this is one of the craziest, greatest, most amazing things that's ever happened.
- [18:05]
Matt Bellany
It's the Leo meme from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. He's just like pointing at the screen.
- [18:09]
Evan Goldberg
I do see how it's silly in some ways, but it's also, I think this is a thing we try to do with the show. A lot is like, it is silly, but it's also important.
- [18:22]
Matt Bellany
Today's episode is brought to you by Peacock. Presenting the Day of the Jackal for your Emmy consideration. Eddie Redmayne and Lashana lynch star in the original drama series Variety calls an exhilarating thriller. The series follows a lone assassin and an intelligence officer in a cat and mouse chase across Europe. The Day of the Jackal is streaming now only on Peacock. This episode is brought to you by Focus Features. An Indian paintbrush presenting the Phoenician Scheme. An epic comedy adventure from director Wes Anderson. Starring Benicio Del Toro, Mia Threpleton, Michael Cera and an all star cast follow Zsaza Korda as he races to survive assassinations, win back his daughter and pull off the scheme of a lifetime. The Phoenician scheme. Rated PG13, only in theaters Friday. The Cranston character is unbelievable. I mean, it is so good and I imagine you Wrote him as, like, a David Zaslav character at Warner Discovery, where, you know, he's the uncaring CEO, only cares about the bottom line, and he even kind of looks like Zaslav. But then Cranston brings this whole, like, Bob Evans vibe to it. And it was interesting when I started thinking about that because it made it even more kind of meaningful because that is a reflection of Hollywood these days. Like the guys who were edgy and took risks and came up in the 70s and 80s going with their gut. Those people are still running the business today. It's just that their priorities are now the Kool Aid movie. And I don't know whether Cranston did that on purpose. I know you named him the same character name as the guy from the Player. Was that on purpose to show just kind of the stale kind of aging of Hollywood and how the old people now run the town and they kind of don't care anymore?
- [20:19]
Seth Rogen
It was very much, like, reflective of Zaslav and people like him. But what Brian brought to it, that he eventually explained to us, because a lot of it, he was like, you're going to like this. You're going to see a surprise. Which was a very fun way to work with him. He said that he want. He said people often remain visibly how they were when they were at their most powerful. And so to him, his character was at the height of his power in the 70s, early 80s. And so he, like, channeled that into this character. But I think to what you're saying, it's very much like. And now he is completely different with different priorities than who he was. But he still fancies himself the same guy in a sense.
- [20:54]
Matt Bellany
Right. It's corporate rot. It's the same reason we see David Zaslav sitting courtside with Larry David at the Knicks game last night while his company was just downgraded to junk status by S and P. Like, that is the perfect encapsulation of what's going. Aslaw wants to. To see himself as hanging with the cool kids. And he sees Larry David, who's almost 80 years old, as one of the cool kids. And yet the company is just not what it was back in the day when he envisioned someday running one of these companies.
- [21:26]
Evan Goldberg
Yeah. And I should note, like, David Zaslav lives literally in Robert Evans's house.
- [21:31]
Matt Bellany
He does.
- [21:31]
Evan Goldberg
And I was invited to a party there, and I went, and it was filled with famous people.
- [21:38]
Matt Bellany
And I'm sure he came up and slapped you on the back and said, we'd love to have you at the Warner studio.
- [21:46]
Evan Goldberg
And what's funny is HBO wouldn't even hear the pitch for our show.
- [21:51]
Matt Bellany
Well, they had their own show. I remember when, because I was asking on the set, I was like, is anyone going to watch this show? Like, this is. This is a very insidery show. And people were like, yeah, we're actually a little worried about this HBO show. They have this show called the Franchise, which is another Hollywood send up. And lo and behold, that show comes and goes and this show sticks.
- [22:15]
Evan Goldberg
I mean, I think the fact that it is so focused, our show, I think on very simple comedic episodes. Like we really looked at shows like the Larry Sanders show and Seinfeld and like the shows we grew up loving, where it was just self contained. You set up a joke, you play out the joke and you pay off the joke, you know, And I think the fact that we didn't lean into like trying to tell a very long story about these studio executives and their emotional lives and their personal lives and their, you know, and how they grow and evolve, like, that wasn't that interesting to us. It was more like, how do we take these parts of the industry and really like comedically explore them in a short, incredible burst?
- [23:00]
Matt Bellany
Yeah, there's one premise for most of the episodes. It's like, what if we had to debate the racist casting?
- [23:06]
Evan Goldberg
Exactly. And there's one storyline like most shows even have like an able story, a B story and a C story. We don't even do that. Like we incredibly singularly focus the episodes and I think that makes it all really easy to take in and to process. And we're not asking you to like invest in this overarching storyline that you have to track for five hours. We're asking you to invest in this one joke, basically, that we are setting up very clearly and paying off by the time the episode is over.
- [23:38]
Matt Bellany
Yeah, Seth goes to a fundraiser and nobody respects him.
- [23:41]
Evan Goldberg
Exactly. And I think that's very relatable also is like, we really worked hard to make sure the ideas are like, everyone's been at a table at a fucking event with a bunch of people that they don't think it's like receiving them in the way they should. Everyone wants recognition for their work. Everyone wants to feel like they're a part of their team that they work with and those people like them. Like, no one wants to look. I was. Well, not no one wants to look racist, but hopefully people don't want to look racist. So I think things like that, like we really tried to focus in on like if you took all the Hollywood out of this, what is it about something that's kind of just like simple.
- [24:17]
Matt Bellany
And relatable and it's also got you in it. I don't think this thing gets greenlit anywhere if you are not starring.
- [24:25]
Evan Goldberg
Yeah, and we didn't even think I was enough. Like, we attached Ike and Catherine o' Hara and we really don't take any of this for granted. And especially we had everyone telling us, like, people generally do not like Hollywoody things. You know what I mean? And so we, like, would not have over delivered more on our pitch because we really did not think that. Yeah, we were very aware. It was an uphill battle, you know.
- [24:52]
Matt Bellany
All right, so everyone in town is debating and speculating about who's who on the show, who. You know. You've said some things during the press tour. Steve Asbell at 20th, I think is still going on and on to people about how he never said that his job was to ruin movies, even though you said he did. Have you talked to Steve about this?
- [25:14]
Evan Goldberg
I have talked to Steve.
- [25:18]
Matt Bellany
What was his reaction to you?
- [25:20]
Evan Goldberg
Well, it's funny because there's like, him getting thrust in all these headlines. I saw him at a party first and I was like, I quote you in the show. It was before the show even came out and the trailer come out. I was like, it's in the trailer, but I haven't said it's you. And he was like, say it's me. I don't care. So I was like, okay, I will.
- [25:37]
Matt Bellany
Oh, he gave you the green light to say it.
- [25:39]
Evan Goldberg
He did.
- [25:40]
Matt Bellany
So this is just damage control. He doesn't want Disney to get pissed at him.
- [25:44]
Evan Goldberg
Also, he got, like, sucked into other just like headlines about the show that were conflating him with, you know, like, it made it seem like I said he was an asshole or I said he wasn't cool. You know, I may have used words like schmuck very colloquially, I think, but I don't. I don't. I see how he was all of a sudden drawn into, like a spotlight that is uncomfortable for someone.
- [26:07]
Seth Rogen
But like, like, when he said it, he was. It was nice to see a man self aware of the pitfalls of his own job. It was not like we walked away from that moment being like this asshole.
- [26:16]
Matt Bellany
We were like, oh.
- [26:17]
Seth Rogen
Like, he knows that he has the power to steer things in the wrong direction and he's trying to navigate it.
- [26:22]
Matt Bellany
It's a good line. And it's something you would say to creators to prepare them for news they don't like.
- [26:28]
Evan Goldberg
Yeah. And it's something that actually really, like, humanized almost every interaction with every studio executive I had after them. Like, and it really gave me a perspective on them that we never forgot and actually became like the fundamental cornerstone of the whole show.
- [26:42]
Matt Bellany
Yeah. And it's very easy to understand if you don't know anything about Hollywood, you get that line. Because everybody can relate to that in their own jobs. It's like, holy shit, I got into this job to do X, now I'm doing Y.
- [26:54]
Evan Goldberg
Exactly. Which is maybe counter to X. Right.
- [26:59]
Matt Bellany
There's a lot of other real life parallels. It was sort of funny to see the studio reference in a lot of the industry news. Like Jen Salke at Amazon got fired, like right after the show premiered. And lo and behold, she put out a statement saying she'd always wanted to be a producer. Just like Catherine Oharas character. And then like the whole narrative at Warner brothers where Mike DeLuca and Pam Abdy, they have been under fire for greenlighting all these expensive, auteur driven movies. And then while the studio is airing, they have sinners, which actually does really well. And then the narrative wholly changes on them. Did you, like, are you following this stuff? Like, did you get feedback from them?
- [27:38]
Evan Goldberg
Oh, yeah, yeah. I run into these people and it's funny, I think, you know, like, it's not like that happened well after, but it's all stuff that's happened. Like, it's all stuff I've seen personally 10 times in cycles throughout my time here, you know.
- [27:52]
Matt Bellany
But do they all think that the show is based on them?
- [27:55]
Seth Rogen
A lot of. A lot of them.
- [27:56]
Evan Goldberg
A lot of them do.
- [27:57]
Seth Rogen
A lot of people do. And at first we correct them, but now it's just like, sure, yeah, it's you. It's all you.
- [28:03]
Matt Bellany
All right, we are back with the call sheet. Craig, this is going to be a pretty amazing Memorial Day weekend at the box office. Talking about a record, potentially. The current record is from 2013, where Fast and Furious 6, Hangover 3 and Star Trek Into Darkness got to 306 million domestic. Three iconic films, three real winners right there. But this weekend we already talked about Mission Impossible 8 and now we've got Lilo and Stitch. Are you into this?
- [28:36]
Craig Horvik
Well, I was as a kid. I loved Lilo and Stitch.
- [28:39]
Matt Bellany
So it's meaningful to you as a property? We've discussed this. It's not meaningful to me. I am too old.
- [28:44]
Craig Horvik
This is perfect. Millennial nostalgia. Yeah, Stitch is the best. Every kid loves Stitch. The animation of Stitch, he is just like every kid's dream pet.
- [28:53]
Matt Bellany
Yeah, I know, it's kind of brilliant. It's like, what can we. How can we make a pet movie that is actually cuter and more fun? Oh, we'll just make him an alien and he can like surface.
- [29:02]
Craig Horvik
Yeah. And there's like other. There's like aliens coming from his planet trying to get him. It's fun.
- [29:06]
Matt Bellany
Okay.
- [29:06]
Craig Horvik
And there's a great song. Hawaiian roller coaster ride is great.
- [29:08]
Matt Bellany
Oh, I didn't realize. Okay. Reviews kind of middling. They're just like whatever, but doesn't matter. Tracking on this one is somewhere between 150 and 160 for the four day. Once you get up that high, it's almost impossible. Let's set the line at 155. And honestly, I looked at the pre sales for this one. They're pretty strong. So I'm going to take the over on 1:55.
- [29:32]
Craig Horvik
Yeah, I think so too. This is going to double mission impossible.
- [29:35]
Matt Bellany
I know.
- [29:36]
Craig Horvik
It's going to be tough for Tom Cruise to lose to Stitch.
- [29:38]
Matt Bellany
I know. And he beat the original Minority Report came out the same weekend as the original Lilo and Stitch. And he actually beat it then and he is not going to beat it this time. Doesn't matter how many popcorn buckets he eats, he's not going to beat this one.
- [29:54]
Craig Horvik
Do you think people want to go to more children's movies if the previous ones are good? Do you think the success of Minecraft helps the success of Lilo?
- [30:01]
Matt Bellany
Sure. Mostly because the kids see the trailers and they get into the habit and now we're heading into school, getting out, and I think having an early season kids hit is meaningful for the rest of the summer. I don't know how meaningful. I'm sure there are studies that show, you know, if you have a huge kid's box office performer at the beginning of the summer, it will lead to whatever multiple throughout the rest. But just anecdotally, like my kid absolutely gets more excited. He wants to see Lilo and Stitch. Right.
- [30:30]
Craig Horvik
Because then if they had a good time at the theater a few months ago, they'll want to go back. It primes them to want.
- [30:34]
Matt Bellany
It's not just kids, it's. It's everyone. Moviegoing begets moviegoing. That's why you need these early summer hits because they. Everyone sees the trailers. Everyone has a good experience if they like the movie and they want to go back.
- [30:45]
Craig Horvik
Yeah, but kids are less discerning. I feel like adults, even if they love sinners, they kind of need to know that the next movie is going to be good. Although I generally agree with you, I think kids, it's like, oh, Minecraft was a hit. Let's go see another one.
- [30:56]
Matt Bellany
I know. And it's all about the snack pack and what candy they can eat. But yeah, that's a different story. Yeah. So I think this will overperform. I don't know if it's going to get to the record. Might depend on how Sinners holds and how final destination holds over this weekend. But if, if we can get up there over 300 million, that would be a pretty great quasi start to the season after early season Doing great, too. So Adam Aaron, my buddy at amc, he's got to be happy these days. Come on the town. Now's a chance. Adam Aaron, you can come on the town. All right. That's the show for today. Want to thank my guest, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, producer Craig Horvik, our editor Jesse Lopez and I want to thank you. Part two coming tomorrow.