Apple TV's Hilarious, Spot-On Moviemaking Satire "The Studio"

[Clark Kimble]

Never in my life did I ever think I'd look forward to seeing (and hearing) Seth Rogen, but he'(poop) the gold standard with the lacerating satire of moviemaking, Apple TV's "The Studio", a series so painfully and knee-slapping truthful that in its first season alone it's attracted dozens of celebs clamoring for cameos.

In the pilot, Rogen, a longtime, faithful corporate climber at the fictional Continental Pictures --- whose onscreen HQ is the actual Warner Bros. Building #140, a virtual clone of the iconic Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Ennis House --- sees the studio's longtime head, a hysterically grieving Catherine O'Hara, has been fired after several financial flops by the chairman, Bryan Cranston in full Robert Evans mode.

Rogen's studio BFF character, Ike Barinholtz, is also up to replace O'Hara, prompting the two longtime besties to swear that no matter who gets the top job, it won't impair their close friendship.

Uh huh.

Rogen gets the job and immediately proceeds to show in countless ways how little he understands about the internal politics, blatant lies, and shameless sychophancy that turn the studio's (Griffin) Mill wheel, despite his sincere love of movies, inherent honesty, and desire to do right. Rogen must do daily battle with the studio's extremely profane and coarse bully of a marketing director (Kathryn Hahn), who seems inspired by Jeff Garlin's harridan of a wife (Susie Essman) from "Curb Your Enthusiasm"

Episode Two, "The Oner", is an instant classic, focusing on real director Sarah Polley desperately trying to get the perfect golden hour (fading sunshine) shot as part of a "oner" (pronounced wunner), a long, unbroken, moving shot in one take by her lead actress (Greta Lee). Rogen just has to be there to see it himself, since he's a huge fan of famous oners like the "Goodfellas" entrance into and through the Copacabana by Ray Liotta and Lorraine Bracco and the opening long take of Orson Welles' "Touch of Evil".

Naturally, his merely being there gets in everyone's way, only in part because he's now the studio head, making everyone nervous.....while the clock ticks away on that precious golden hour "oner" Polley so badly needs...in addition to wanting Rogen to OK'ing spending $800k for the perfect background song.

Another early episode is loaded with Raymond Chandler-esque, deep film-noir mystery and laughs over the apparent theft of a crucial reel of director Olivia Wilde's just-completed film masterpiece, with her star Zac Efron a major suspect, an episode complete with precise timing to play Uan Rasey's timeless sax wail that opened and closed "Chinatown".

Strongly suggested for binge-watching from the first episode.

[Dicktar2023]

I was very enthusiastic about the first two episodes, but it lost me quick. The third episode, with the lost part of the Olivia Wilde movie, felt like bad Woody Allen. After that, it started to wear on me how familiar the whole thing was. The visual style and music from Birdman. The inside Hollywood gags from every similar material of the last 50 years. The stars playing versions of themselves from Larry Sanders, et al. The 'loveable [fork]-up with a petty streak a mile wide' from Curb Your Enthusiasm. And so on.

I don't really get the Matt Remick character. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to think he is a moviegoer's Davy Crockett, bravely fighting to try to save the lost-cause Alamo of Hollywood, or if he's just a loathsome, backstabbing extra from The Player. I guess it's supposed to be both--certainly there is a commentary in the final episode that notes the space between who he thinks he is and who he really is. But that was the final episode. And honestly, Rogen is simply not interesting enough a performer to make me care.

I love Chase Sui Wonders as his assistant, and Ike Barinholtz grew on me. i don't have much good to say about the finale and its tired drug humor, but I do love the meta-joke that Rogen (of all people) doesn't know the difference between ounces and grams.

[DJ Davis]

I was very enthusiastic about the first two episodes, but it lost me quick. The third episode, with the lost part of the Olivia Wilde movie, felt like bad Woody Allen. After that, it started to wear on me how familiar the whole thing was. The visual style and music from Birdman. The inside Hollywood gags from every similar material of the last 50 years. The stars playing versions of themselves from Larry Sanders, et al. The 'loveable [fork]-up with a petty streak a mile wide' from Curb Your Enthusiasm. And so on.

I don't really get the Matt Remick character. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to think he is a moviegoer's Davy Crockett, bravely fighting to try to save the lost-cause Alamo of Hollywood, or if he's just a loathsome, backstabbing extra from The Player. I guess it's supposed to be both--certainly there is a commentary in the final episode that notes the space between who he thinks he is and who he really is. But that was the final episode. And honestly, Rogen is simply not interesting enough a performer to make me care.

I love Chase Sui Wonders as his assistant, and Ike Barinholtz grew on me. i don't have much good to say about the finale and its tired drug humor, but I do love the meta-joke that Rogen (of all people) doesn't know the difference between ounces and grams.

Yeah. But she did describe it weird. Each piece is 2 eighths. I know that doesn’t matter in the context of your comment, but I don’t think anyone would say it like that. Just … a quarter.

The Golden Globes episode was pretty good though. I’d like to thank Sal Saperstein! Also the second one where he completely [censored] up the moneyshot sunset scene was hilarious.

[Dicktar2023]

I was very enthusiastic about the first two episodes, but it lost me quick. The third episode, with the lost part of the Olivia Wilde movie, felt like bad Woody Allen. After that, it started to wear on me how familiar the whole thing was. The visual style and music from Birdman. The inside Hollywood gags from every similar material of the last 50 years. The stars playing versions of themselves from Larry Sanders, et al. The 'loveable [fork]-up with a petty streak a mile wide' from Curb Your Enthusiasm. And so on.

I don't really get the Matt Remick character. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to think he is a moviegoer's Davy Crockett, bravely fighting to try to save the lost-cause Alamo of Hollywood, or if he's just a loathsome, backstabbing extra from The Player. I guess it's supposed to be both--certainly there is a commentary in the final episode that notes the space between who he thinks he is and who he really is. But that was the final episode. And honestly, Rogen is simply not interesting enough a performer to make me care.

I love Chase Sui Wonders as his assistant, and Ike Barinholtz grew on me. i don't have much good to say about the finale and its tired drug humor, but I do love the meta-joke that Rogen (of all people) doesn't know the difference between ounces and grams.

Yeah. But she did describe it weird. Each piece is 2 eighths. I know that doesn’t matter in the context of your comment, but I don’t think anyone would say it like that. Just … a quarter.

The Golden Globes episode was pretty good though. I’d like to thank Sal Saperstein! Also the second one where he completely [fork]s up the moneyshot sunset scene was hilarious.

With mushrooms, the standard dose is an eighth (or some portion thereof), so saying "two eighths" wouldn't be that weird. At least, that's what I've read. In journals and books and the DARE newsletter.

The Sal Saperstein gag was good. I laughed out loud at the breakfast burrito incident, too, though I wish that conflict had taken more time to build.

Now that I think about it, I like a lot of the show except for Rogen. Unfortunately, he's pretty much the whole show.

[George Zipp]

I was very enthusiastic about the first two episodes, but it lost me quick. The third episode, with the lost part of the Olivia Wilde movie, felt like bad Woody Allen. After that, it started to wear on me how familiar the whole thing was. The visual style and music from Birdman. The inside Hollywood gags from every similar material of the last 50 years. The stars playing versions of themselves from Larry Sanders, et al. The 'loveable [fork]-up with a petty streak a mile wide' from Curb Your Enthusiasm. And so on.

I don't really get the Matt Remick character. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to think he is a moviegoer's Davy Crockett, bravely fighting to try to save the lost-cause Alamo of Hollywood, or if he's just a loathsome, backstabbing extra from The Player. I guess it's supposed to be both--certainly there is a commentary in the final episode that notes the space between who he thinks he is and who he really is. But that was the final episode. And honestly, Rogen is simply not interesting enough a performer to make me care.

I love Chase Sui Wonders as his assistant, and Ike Barinholtz grew on me. i don't have much good to say about the finale and its tired drug humor, but I do love the meta-joke that Rogen (of all people) doesn't know the difference between ounces and grams.

I barely made it through the first episode and then stopped. They immediately lost me at Kool Aid, the movie. Stupid doesn't begin to describe how stupid the whole thing was. The Scorsese bit in that whole thing and then getting kicked out of Charlize Theron's party, I thought I was watching a gawd awful SNL skit. And watching Bryan Cranston, who is one of my all time favorites, play such an over the top ridiculous role (yes, I know it's the point) made it even dumber IMO.

Since then anytime I've expressed this opinion to friends/family those that have watched have given me the 'you have to stick with it." I suppose once the calendar flips to July and we move away from daily tornados and hail the size of watermelons and the temp and humidity both hit 97 daily, I'll be stuck indoors more and I might give the rest of the season a spin. Gonna take a lot to get me from E2 to E3.

[Dicktar2023]

I was very enthusiastic about the first two episodes, but it lost me quick. The third episode, with the lost part of the Olivia Wilde movie, felt like bad Woody Allen. After that, it started to wear on me how familiar the whole thing was. The visual style and music from Birdman. The inside Hollywood gags from every similar material of the last 50 years. The stars playing versions of themselves from Larry Sanders, et al. The 'loveable [fork]-up with a petty streak a mile wide' from Curb Your Enthusiasm. And so on.

I don't really get the Matt Remick character. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to think he is a moviegoer's Davy Crockett, bravely fighting to try to save the lost-cause Alamo of Hollywood, or if he's just a loathsome, backstabbing extra from The Player. I guess it's supposed to be both--certainly there is a commentary in the final episode that notes the space between who he thinks he is and who he really is. But that was the final episode. And honestly, Rogen is simply not interesting enough a performer to make me care.

I love Chase Sui Wonders as his assistant, and Ike Barinholtz grew on me. i don't have much good to say about the finale and its tired drug humor, but I do love the meta-joke that Rogen (of all people) doesn't know the difference between ounces and grams.

I barely made it through the first episode and then stopped. They immediately lost me at Kool Aid, the movie. Stupid doesn't begin to describe how stupid the whole thing was. The Scorsese bit in that whole thing and then getting kicked out of Charlize Theron's party, I thought I was watching a gawd awful SNL skit. And watching Bryan Cranston, who is one of my all time favorites, play such an over the top ridiculous role (yes, I know it's the point) made it even dumber IMO.

Since then anytime I've expressed this opinion to friends/family those that have watched have given me the 'you have to stick with it." I suppose once the calendar flips to July and we move away from daily tornados and hail the size of watermelons and the temp and humidity both hit 97 daily, I'll be stuck indoors more and I might give the rest of the season a spin. Gonna take a lot to get me from E2 to E3.

Nah. If you didn't laugh when Marty cried, this show isn't for you.

[George Zipp]

I was very enthusiastic about the first two episodes, but it lost me quick. The third episode, with the lost part of the Olivia Wilde movie, felt like bad Woody Allen. After that, it started to wear on me how familiar the whole thing was. The visual style and music from Birdman. The inside Hollywood gags from every similar material of the last 50 years. The stars playing versions of themselves from Larry Sanders, et al. The 'loveable [fork]-up with a petty streak a mile wide' from Curb Your Enthusiasm. And so on.

I don't really get the Matt Remick character. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to think he is a moviegoer's Davy Crockett, bravely fighting to try to save the lost-cause Alamo of Hollywood, or if he's just a loathsome, backstabbing extra from The Player. I guess it's supposed to be both--certainly there is a commentary in the final episode that notes the space between who he thinks he is and who he really is. But that was the final episode. And honestly, Rogen is simply not interesting enough a performer to make me care.

I love Chase Sui Wonders as his assistant, and Ike Barinholtz grew on me. i don't have much good to say about the finale and its tired drug humor, but I do love the meta-joke that Rogen (of all people) doesn't know the difference between ounces and grams.

I barely made it through the first episode and then stopped. They immediately lost me at Kool Aid, the movie. Stupid doesn't begin to describe how stupid the whole thing was. The Scorsese bit in that whole thing and then getting kicked out of Charlize Theron's party, I thought I was watching a gawd awful SNL skit. And watching Bryan Cranston, who is one of my all time favorites, play such an over the top ridiculous role (yes, I know it's the point) made it even dumber IMO.

Since then anytime I've expressed this opinion to friends/family those that have watched have given me the 'you have to stick with it." I suppose once the calendar flips to July and we move away from daily tornados and hail the size of watermelons and the temp and humidity both hit 97 daily, I'll be stuck indoors more and I might give the rest of the season a spin. Gonna take a lot to get me from E2 to E3.

I sort of chuckled. It wasn't full on laughter but it wasn't not funny either.

I'll take EP2 out for a test drive sometime soon and see if I can get to EP3.

Nah. If you didn't laugh when Marty cried, this show isn't for you.

[Pink Freud]

They immediately lost me at Kool Aid, the movie.

This is obviously a dig at Jerry Seinfeld's stupid PopTarts movie bomb "Unfrosted". When I attended Seinfeld's comedy concert a year and a half ago he talked about making it --- "PopTarts never spoil because they were never fresh!" --- and it sounded just as bad then as it actually is.

You probably know the studio president's name (played by the wonderful Bryan Cranston) is the same as Tim Robbins' studio head in "The Player": Griffin Mill. I'd be surprised if in Season Two there isn't a doomed stalker like Vincent D'Onofrio's movie character terrorizing Rogen as he did Robbins.

Watching that first episode with so many scenes in the studio's HQ building, I could have sworn they filmed it in the world-famous Ennis House ("House On Haunted Hill" and a hundred other productions), or constructed a lookalike, but the actual WB studio HQ is Building 140, and constructed as nearly a twin of the Ennis House, designed from intertwined concrete blocks in the Mayan style by Frank Lloyd Wright. Odd how during my Warner Bros. tour we never saw that HQ building. Although, we did see Commissioner Gordon's Police HQ from TV's "Batman".

When I lived in L.A. I drove up to the Ennis House --- they have occasional tours ---, but was unable to get past the outer gate, where a vicious Doberman chased away dangerous intruders like me. Getting up there is an ordeal, with all the narrow, twisty streets making you seriously wonder if you're on a street, in an alley, or on someone's luxury driveway. Plus, made entirely of concrete blocks on a huge, crumbling hilltop foundation, the Ennis House is likely the heaviest house for miles around, and if that site has a landslide, a LOT of luxury homes on the slopes beneath it are goners. https://franklloydwright.org/site/ennis-house/

The house is so huge atop that hill that while I toured FLW's Hollyhock House on Hollywood Boulevard, the Ennis House is easily visible from the front yard.