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The Studio: An excellent satire of the movie industry [ENG-ESP]@freddbrito276d

This year I have watched less series than I would have liked to and although I have a lot of series on my list to watch, I have put them on pause for different reasons. The most recent series I just finished, not counting the series I will talk about in this posts, is The Bear, its fourth season was pretty good, thoughtful, emotional and the "slowest" season of all, but in the end I liked it, however, I was quite lazy to make a post about it. So as I was looking for what other series to watch after I finished The Bear, I remembered a series that satirizes movie studios and also stars Seth Rogen, as well as being the director and writer of the series along with others involved, so I was sure this series would be a hit and entertaining... and it was.

Este año he visto menos series de las que me hubiese gustado y aunque tengo muchas anotadas en mi lista por ver, las he dejado en pausa por distintos motivos. La serie más reciente que acabe de terminar, sin contar la serie que hablaré en este posts, es The Bear, su cuarta temporada estuvo bastante buena, reflexiva, emotiva y la temporada más “lenta” de todas, pero al final me gustó, sin embargo, me dio bastante flojera hacer un posts sobre ella. Por lo que mientras estaba buscando que otra serie ver luego de haber terminado The Bear, recordé una serie que satiriza a los estudios cinematográficos y además, está protagonizada por Seth Rogen, además de ser el director y guionista de la serie junto con otros involucrados, por lo que estaba seguro que esta serie sería una éxito y entretenida… y así fue.

The Studio is an excellent series, full of comedy, satire and craziness from beginning to end, I remember knowing about this series some months ago when I was watching Twitter and I found a clip of an episode and I thought it was funny, especially because throughout the series many actors and directors will appear in cameo appearances playing themselves. The series focuses on Matt Remik, who is played by Seth Rogen, is the head of the film studio "Continental Studios" and he, as well as his group of screenwriters, executives and everyone working in the company will have to deal with all the problems related to the creation and production of films. One of the main and most remarkable aspects of the series is its humor, a type of humor very representative and characteristic of Seth Rogen, where we see moments out of control by various artists where moments of marketing meetings, ideas for possible films out of the "normal" and egocentric attitudes of directors and artists are "exaggerated" to show in a certain way that in the cinema, possibly is not so far from those reflected in this series.

The Studio es una serie excelente, llena de comedia, sátira y locura de principio a fin, recuerdo haber sabido de esta serie hace ya algunos meses cuando me encontraba viendo Twitter y me encontré con un clip de un episodio y me pareció chistoso, especialmente porque a lo largo de la serie aparecerán en forma de cameo muchos actores y directores interpretándose a si mismos. La serie se centra en Matt Remik, el cual es interpretado por Seth Rogen, es jefe del estudio cinematográfico “Continental Studios” y tanto él, como su grupo de guionistas, ejecutivos y todo aquel trabajar de la empresa tendrá de lidiar con todos los problemas referentes a la creación y producción de películas. Uno de los aspectos principales y más destacables de la serie su humor, un tipo de humor muy representativo y característico de Seth Rogen, donde vemos momentos fuera de control por parte de diversos artistas donde momentos de reuniones de marketing, ideas para posibles películas fuera de lo “normal” y actitudes egocéntricas de los directores y artistas se ven “exageradas” para mostrar de cierta forma que en el cine, posiblemente no está tan lejos de los reflejado en esta serie.

Something surprising about this series is its production, visually it is a marvel, the composition and cinematography seen in The Studio is outstanding, the use of cameras with continuous scenes in different episodes (there is even an entire episode of a "single" shot) makes it generate a better immersion is that "reality" and also generates tension at certain times of the episodes. The acting by the main characters, highlighting Seth Rogen's performance, are great, very typical of a comedy, there is a lot of exaggeration but not out of nowhere, but it is a type of exaggeration that fits perfectly with the world of madness that characterizes everything related to the film industry. Although there are characters that I would have liked to have stood out more on screen, although it is also something difficult to do so since besides being a series of 10 episodes, its duration for each of them varies between 25 minutes to 40 minutes.

Algo sorprendente de esta serie es su producción, visualmente es una maravilla, la composición y la cinematografía vista en The Studio es sobresaliente, el uso de cámaras con escenas continuas en distintos episodios (incluso hay un episodio entero de una “sola” toma) hace que se genere una mejor inmersión es esa “realidad” y también, genere tensión en ciertos momentos de los episodios. La actuación por parte de los personajes principales, destacando la interpretación de Seth Rogen, son geniales, muy propios de una comedia, hay mucha exageración pero no de la nada, sino que es un tipo de exageración que encaja a la perfección con ese mundo de locura que caracteriza todo lo referente a la industria del cine. Aunque hay personajes que me hubiese gustado que destacaran más en pantalla, aunque también es algo difícil de hacerlo ya que además de ser una serie de 10 episodios, su duración por cada uno de ellos varía entre los 25 minutos hasta los 40 minutos.

There were some aspects of the series that perhaps left me a little "confused" and I had to investigate it after watching the episode, since being a series that is based on everything related to the film industry, there are some aspects and names that being so "technical" or rather, there are certain aspects and direct references to the film industry, I could not understand and several of them are very specific, therefore, you have to know those things beforehand to be able to understand certain jokes or references. The series also shows us that the big movie studios are not governed by art, but by what makes the most money, so many of the decisions that are taken at the time of the creation and production of a film, lack "soul" and are only corporate decisions, the less risk, the more money. They show us a very marked aspect of artists wanting recognition for mere ego and the big film industries do not want to be forgotten and therefore, to be sold to other bigger ones and then eliminated.

Hubieron algunos aspectos de la serie que quizás me dejaron un poco “confundido” y tuve que investigarlo luego de ver el episodio, ya que al ser una serie que se basa en todo lo referente a la industria del cine, hay algunos aspectos y nombres que al ser tan “técnico” o mejor dicho, hay ciertos aspectos y referencias directas a la industria del cine, no pude entender y varias de ellas son muy específicas, por lo tanto, hay que saber esas cosas de ante mano para poder entender ciertos chistes o referencias. La serie también nos muestra que los grandes estudios de cine no se rigen por el arte, sino por lo que hace más dinero, por lo que muchas de las decisiones que se van tomando al momento de la creación y producción de alguna película, carecen de “alma” y tan solo son decisiones corporativas, a menos riesgo, mayor cantidad de dinero. Nos muestran un aspecto bastante marcado de los artistas queriendo reconocimiento por mero ego y las grandes industrias cinematográficas no quieren ser olvidadas y por ende, pasar a ser vendidas a otras más grandes para luego eliminarlas.

The Studio is a very well represented satire of the life of a successful person making soulless movies with the simple fact of making money, but at the same time, it also shows us a very human face of certain characters, so this is a series that has a very good and accurate balance of some aspects of the film industry. Its cinematography is excellent, its direction and humor even more, the cameos are surprising and many of them very funny, in short it is an excellent comedy series.

The Studio es una sátira muy bien representada de lo es la vida de un persona exitosa haciendo películas sin alma con el simple hecho de hacer dinero, pero a la vez, también nos muestra una cara bastante humana de ciertos personajes, por lo que esta es una serie que cuenta con un equilibrio bastante bueno y acertado, de algunos aspectos referentes a la industria del cine. Su cinematografía es excelente, su dirección y humor aún más, los cameos son sorpresivos y muchos de ellos muy graciosos, en definitiva es una excelente serie de comedia.

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2 more reviews

›'The Studio' is a brilliant love letter to filmmaking@namiks290d

I hate the saying that something is a 'love letter' to something. But for once I can really agree that something really is a love letter to something else. In this case, that something is the art of filmmaking. The chaos that is creating stories. Where budgets exceed the millions in dollars and the crews are a complex web of various ideas and attitudes mixed together. Now, I haven't really been a big fan of Seth Rogen. He has made some funny films throughout the years but went a bit overboard with it all, then decided to step back from the acting side and begin a bigger career behind the screen, more on the production side. And during that, he clearly saw the difference in both worlds: the actor side, and the more business side of things from the eyes of studios. This is where The Studio comes into play. A television show that so clearly speaks on his experiences within the industry, turning it into a passion project riddled with comedy.

There are a lot of films in particular which look into the film industry, and often glamourise it. The idea of Hollywood. The idea of fame and riches and making art. Though rarely do we see the perspective of how challenging and silly it can actually be. The thought process that goes into making a film, and how the realm of suits and creatives are shared, clashing and spreading concepts, trying to find that balance in efforts to allow the maniac creatives to create massive productions and tell huge stories, while the suit end struggles to maximise their profits. These days these two sides clash more than ever. The studios have more data, they have more money, and they certainly have more competition with how huge various franchises have grown. Now, each studio looks to make the fastest and easiest money while the storytellers asking for millions of dollars struggle to get their visions realised. Seth Rogen portrays Matt Remick, a studio head at the Continental Studios. A massively successful individual that took up the job from a recently removed higher-up he was mentored by. Taking her position, Matt finds himself torn between the business world of Hollywood and the sheer love for filmmaking as a form of art. It shows us that even the most passionate of film fans struggle to push their interests onto the big screen when so many additional factors come into play. Endless remakes and reboots of big franchises, the copy and pasted structure of their narratives. The want to abandon those and tell fresh stories, to even try to make those franchises more artistic and serious. And the inevitable realisation that it isn't always possible. One joke has Matt attempting to hire Martin Scorsese for a Kool-Aid adaptation, though convincing the huge director to tell the story from the perspective of the Jonestone cult.

Showing the struggles of film production, ranging from the clueless studio head which appears on set only to make the entire production an absolute Hell for the crew by not knowing how things operate and how fragile things are, to the fear of missing a film reel while struggling to keep the medium itself alive despite the high costs, the show manages to tell these stories in its own little creative ways. And often enough with its own incredible styles of filmmaking. For example, plenty of long shots which see the chaos unfolding before our eyes, characters moving from one place to another, shouting at each other, as the camera intricately focuses on each person, moving around them without cutting. Only to cut when it's a scene change. Sometimes these long shots last for minutes at a time and you don't even really notice them with how engaging everything is. And that's how film production can be. A long blur of events in which everyone's running around, constant motion between environments. People talking and walking through sets. Each person doing their own thing. As the show progresses, the challenges ramp up, showing different areas of the film production world. I quite like that it doesn't focus too much on one thing. Sometimes it's colleagues fighting, other times it's the emotional pain of event and award shows in which no recognition is given despite all the hard work that was put in. Where only a select few get to be appreciated and thanked. There's still some of that Seth Rogen style that appears, the sort of comedy I'm not always that appreciative of, though I guess here it does offer some contrast between the rest of the show and its events.

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›The Studio@steemychicken1417d
The Premise A guy (Rogen) takes over as the head of a Hollywood movie studio and tries to balance his love for cinema with the CEOs’ hunger for more money and blockbuster hits.

It reminds me of the eternal debate about cinema, everywhere—including social media groups—between high art and Hollywood trash. People often say you can’t have both, that a massive box office success can’t also be a great film, or that a great film stops being great the moment it crosses a certain earnings threshold. If you watch mainstream productions, you’re not a real cinephile. If you watch lower-tier films, you’re also not a real cinephile. And, of course, you can't talk about cinema unless you watch a seven-hour film from Eswatini with a budget of two cheese pies, where a taxi driver stares blankly at the rainy streets—a metaphor for despair and modern work culture.

So, is Dune high art, or is it Hollywood garbage? How much money can a film make before it loses its art film status? Where do Nolan’s films land on the art vs. trash spectrum? Is horror cinema considered art, or is it inherently lowbrow unless the film predates the invention of the camera? Do action films have any value beyond abs and explosions? And what about romantic films—do they need to be black and white and at least 40 years old to be meaningful (which, by the way, would mean pre-1985, not 1960)?

On the flip side, if you haven't seen 47 Marvel movies this year, memorized every post-credits scene, and eagerly anticipated Avatar 3, or if you’re not arguing online daily about Fast & Furious 17 and whether Vin Diesel can actually drive a car vertically into the Earth's core—you’re also not in the loop.

Personally, I reject the art film vs. trash film mindset. Every genre and style has value. This rigid classification has even harmed certain genres, like horror, which has desperately tried to be taken seriously with endless allegories about motherhood (which we’ve seen again and again in recent years). I appreciate metaphorical films, but I also love pure body horror and mindless splatterfests with no deeper meaning.

Anyway, The Studio… Rogen’s character is looking for a big-name director to helm a movie about… Kool-Aid. Yes, the brand mascot. He wants to replicate Barbie’s success, though it’s a bit trickier because, as the show points out, “Nobody finds the Kool-Aid Man sexy.”
He does manage to secure a major director, but their vision doesn’t quite align with what the studio’s CEO wants. And we get lines like “I love movies. My job is to ruin them.”—which echoes many real-world studio decisions we’ve seen over the years.
Rogen is fantastic in the role, and the overall cast is stellar (Catherine O’Hara, Bryan Cranston, plus Martin Scorsese, Steve Buscemi, and Charlize Theron playing themselves). There are some great comedic moments and chaotic scenes—like Rogen witnessing the disastrous filming of a long-take sequence. Also, some of the cameos are incredible, but I won’t spoil them.

Of course, it’s always a bit ironic when a series satirizes the exact studios, corporations, and platforms that likely produced it. But the concept remains fun.

And while we could debate forever about the value of different types of cinema, I’d absolutely watch a Kool-Aid Man movie directed by a Coppola. It reminds me of the rumor that Darren Aronofsky is directing Cujo. We need more of this. Imagine a Power Rangers film by Tarantino or a Powerpuff Girls movie by Denis Villeneuve.

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