Seth Rogen turns Hollywood ‘pain’ into laughter

Once upon a time in Hollywood, a young Seth Rogen met with a movie studio executive.

“He said, ‘I got into this because I love movies, and now it’s my job to ruin them,’ ” the 42-year-old actor recalls. “I told him, ‘What a comedic role you have in this industry.’ ”

He put that moment in the back of his mind. Now it’s a 10-episode comedy series called “The Studio,” debuting Wednesday on Apple TV+.

Rogen plays Matt Remick, the newly appointed head of Continental Studios. He wants stars to adore him and dubs himself “the most talent-friendly studio executive in all of Hollywood.”

Meanwhile, he must guide an executive team with different creative ambitions. Together, they try to balance commerce — with dreck like the Kool-Aid movie — and artsy prestige films.

The series — created by Rogen, Evan Goldberg and others — also stars Catherine O’Hara, Ike Barinholtz, Chase Sui Wonders and Kathryn Hahn. Look for cameos from the likes of Martin Scorsese and Ron Howard as they navigate showbiz at the Golden Globes and Vegas’ CinemaCon, where Rogen filmed at The Venetian.

“We wanted to paint an accurate picture of a Hollywood movie studio,” Rogen says while holding court at the South by Southwest Festival. “It needed to be as real as possible.

“Once we cast the show, we heavily rewrote it for people in the show. … We couldn’t believe Martin Scorsese did it.”

The Vancouver, British Columbia, native began pursuing a comedy career at age 12 by co-writing a rough draft of “Superbad” with childhood friend Goldberg. His work includes “Knocked Up,” “Neighbors” and “The Fabelmans,” and his company Point Grey produces “The Boys,” “Gen V” and “Diabolical.”

Rogen, who lives in L.A. with his wife, Lauren Miller, shares his good life advice:

Find inspiration

“There is very little point going through life trying to be interested in something you’re not,” Rogen reasons. “It wastes your time, which is key.”

Rogen acknowledges it can be rough in Hollywood to let your inspiration guide you. That’s what inspired “The Studio.” “We thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be funny to make fun of all the pain we’ve gone through over the years?’ ” he says. “Even that can be inspiring.”

Picture this

“I think many people wonder, ‘Why are so many bad movies made in Hollywood?’” Rogen says. “What people should wonder is, ‘How is any good film made in Hollywood?’ It’s what we’re trying to show here — how tough it really is to get a good movie out there.”

He says his studio chief is one of his funniest roles, and one that’s poignant, too. “He’s all about panic, joy and the pride that comes with success and risk mitigation,” he says. “He also loves visiting a set and finds it tragic that no one wants him around. That’s inherently very funny.”

Room to panic

“The Studio” is shot in an unusual way. “There is no cutting in the show. Every scene is just one big shot,” Rogen explains. “It was actually a great way to mitigate studio notes. The main studio note was: ‘Why are you doing this!’ We also heard, ‘Can you take out this line?’ No. ‘Can you tighten this up?’ No.

“We wanted viewers to feel like you’re really in the room … where your head is kind of on this swivel. We wanted it to feel panic-inducing, which is kind of our experience in the industry,” Rogen jokes. “If we’re panicking, we figure you’re panicking at home … and all anyone wants from a relaxing night of watching television at home is a panic attack.”

Now that’s funny

When Rogen was 12, his first comedy teacher told him, “Fun isn’t funny. Comedy is pain. It’s struggle. So, ask yourself, ‘What bothers me? What frustrates me?’ ” He says it was life advice. “I think failure is more entertaining than success in general,” Rogen adds. “You learn from the failures, and if you’re very lucky, you can smile about it later.”

A different path

Rogen acknowledges he was “very bad in school. Teachers did not like me. I always got kicked out of class even in elementary school. I was that kid standing in the hall alone.” The light bulb moment was when he realized he was funny …and might be able to make a living at it. Rogen left school as a teen when he got a part on the series “Freaks and Geeks.” “It was clear that I was motivated to do other things, which is fine,” he says. “Everyone has their own way.”

Make them laugh

How does Rogen get so many A-listers to do cameos in his projects? “It’s very enticing for people to be funny in life,” he says. “One of the greatest things ever is to make someone else laugh. You make someone laugh today and it’s a good day.”

Life advice

Rogen’s best tips? “Enjoy your life. Finish what you start. Oh, and don’t film yourself doing things and post them on social media,” he shares. “Don’t be a meme. Although some people turn a meme into an entire career.”