As far as eye-catching ways to steer attention towards your latest project go, Seth Rogen has certainly hit upon one of the more unique ones we've seen in recent times. The writer-director-star of The Studio, a new 10-part Apple TV+ comedy that takes a satirical swipe at the movie industry, today dropped the first teaser trailer for his and frequent co-conspirator Evan Goldberg's new show. And whilst it may not tell us a hell of a lot about Rogen's Matt Renick, the new head honcho at the fictitious Continental Studios, it does see the Pineapple Express funnyman get trash talked by a laundry list of industry heroes — including, but not limited to, Martin Scorsese, Charlize Theron, and Anthony Mackie. Check it out below:
"I love movies," says Rogen's Renick at the start of this snappy minute-long teaser, flanked by palm trees and backed by some punchy brass on the soundtrack, "but now I have this fear that my job is to ruin them." Cue crumbling facades (figurative and literal), a Trumpian, chain-sporting Bryan Cranston delineating between film and "movies — mooovies", and Rogen's studio head's life spiralling out of control rapidly as all and sundry line up to tear him a new one. "You're talentless, spineless," scalds Marty; "No one likes you," blasts Zac Efron; "Get the fuck out of here," invites Charlize Theron. But hey, on the plus side, you've gotta know the stars to be hated by 'em, eh? And this tongue-in-cheek comedy — as is now customary from an Apple production — does look the business, even if everyone in it is tearing their hair out over one thing or another.
Following hot on the heels of last year's The Idol and this' The Franchise (not to mention Nathan Fielder's barmy The Curse), The Studio is the latest in a growing trend of series lifting the lid on the insanity of the entertainment industry. We'll see if this one's a blockbuster or a bit of a disaster piece when it makes its two-episode premiere on Apple TV+ on 26 March, 2025. Lights, camera...