“The Studio” Pokes Fun at Hollywood’s Existential Struggle
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Apr 10, 2025
The podcast humorously explores the clash between art and commerce in Hollywood, featuring Seth Rogen as a hapless studio head in 'The Studio.' Discussions dive into the evolving power dynamics between filmmakers and studios, revealing the struggles of maintaining artistic integrity amidst corporate pressures. There’s a nostalgic look at the golden age of cinema while acknowledging the current industry's challenges, including a decline in production and the impact of the pandemic. Despite these issues, there's a glimmer of hope for a creative resurgence in filmmaking.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
The Studio's Premise
Seth Rogen plays a movie executive in "The Studio" who wants to balance art and commerce.
He struggles between making good films and pleasing the studio's demands for commercially successful projects.
question_answer ANECDOTE
The Studio's Style
"The Studio" uses classic Hollywood tropes, like cameos and references, for comedic effect.
It's reminiscent of shows like "Veep" and "Entourage" in its depiction of Hollywood.
insights INSIGHT
Rogen's Character: Too Inept?
Naomi Fry finds Seth Rogen's character unrealistic as a studio head, constantly making mistakes.
She questions his legitimacy in such a high-powered position.
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F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Pat Hobby Stories" is a collection of short stories that offers a darkly humorous and poignant look at the life of a struggling screenwriter in Hollywood. The stories follow Pat Hobby, a once-promising writer who has fallen on hard times. Fitzgerald's signature style, characterized by its lyrical prose and insightful character development, is on full display. The stories showcase his keen observations of Hollywood's underbelly, exploring themes of ambition, disillusionment, and the fleeting nature of fame. The collection provides a glimpse into the world of Hollywood during the Golden Age.
Picture
Lillian Ross
In 'Picture', Lillian Ross chronicles the production of John Huston's 1951 film adaptation of Stephen Crane's 'The Red Badge of Courage'. The book, which originated from a series of articles Ross wrote for The New Yorker, provides a detailed and nuanced account of the film's development, from its inception to its eventual release. Ross's investigative technique involves meticulous notes and extensive quotes from the key figures involved, including Huston and producer Gottfried Reinhardt. The book is praised for its novel-like narrative, its wry observations of the Hollywood system, and its exploration of the tension between artistic vision and commercial viability[2][4][5].
The tension between art and commerce is a tale as old as time, and perhaps the most dramatic clashes in recent history have played out in Hollywood. On this episode of Critics at Large, Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz explore how moviemaking and the business behind it have been depicted over the decades, from Lillian Ross’s classic 1952 work of reportage, “Picture,” to Robert Altman’s pitch-black 1992 satire “The Player.” In “The Studio,” a new Apple TV+ series, Seth Rogen plays a hapless exec who’s convinced that art-house filmmaking and commercial success can go hand in hand. At a moment when theatregoing is on the decline and the industry is hyper-focussed on existing I.P., that sentiment feels more naïve than realistic. And yet the show’s affection for the golden age of cinema is infectious—and perhaps even cause for optimism. “Early auteurs were people who knew Hollywood and could marshal its resources toward the benefit of their vision,” Cunningham says. “I wonder if now is the time for people who are seasoned in the way of Hollywood to really think about how it can be angled toward making art.”
Critics at Large | The New Yorker 
