We can’t wait to watch the Kool-Aid movie next summer. And neither can Continental Studios. Co-created by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Peter Huyck, Alex Gregory, and Frida Perez, The Studio tells the story of a floundering movie studio, desperate for a hit, while swallowing water in the face of rapid economic and social upheaval. How to you handle the clashing of egos not knowing how to stay relevant?

The Studio is centred on rising (and falling) studio executive Matt Remick (Seth Rogen) who juggles his exquisite artistic integrity and bottom line commerce by being totally original – i.e re-using the same film formula over and over. Let’s watch Goodfellas for inspiration to begin and see if Martin Scorsese is available for a cameo. Audiences love celebrity cameos.

Co-creator Alex Gregory (White House Plumbers), who is no stranger to close-to-the-bone satire, spoke with Creative Screenwriting Magazine about his take on the film industry and avoiding making too much fun of the business.

“I think that The Studio is a unique blend of cinema and television in a way that it hasn’t really been done before. It’s television storytelling, but done cinematically. Every episode is just an A story. There are no B and C stories as is typically the case on a sitcom,” states Gregory.

Alex Gregory. Photo by Alex Gregory

Each episode stands alone. It’s episodic rather than serialized storytelling. Each episode is like a mini-movie and can be watched out of order. The Studio also uses a lot of “oners” (long single takes) which is rarely seen in television.

Another unique way The Studio has portrayed the Hollywood movie business, is its decision not have any villains. “It’s mostly a bunch of people trying their hardest to make something good. As Seth will say, ‘It’s amazing that anything gets done at all, let alone gets done well.’ People are almost daily put in a position where they have to choose between self-preservation and creative freedom.” Creative executives are also on the apex of an identity crisis by figuring out if they are making a film any better or worse. Who can say?

“The Studio is about how hard it is to try to make art in this commercial machine and the conflicting agendas that keep it from succeeding.”

Mining For Studio Jokes

Hollywood is full of funny anecdotes and tales from the inner sanctum.

Gregory contends that the humor is derived from its portrayal of human vanity and a persistent clash of egos. “Almost every episode is driven by a man’s desire to be an artist, or to be perceived as an artist, or to be perceived as cool and to be respected by people who inherently don’t respect him.”

The Studio is a typical comedy of an unwinnable war of egos

“It’s really not much different than VEEP, The Larry Sanders Show, or any of the classic sitcoms. It’s just about his vanity and Remick’s unwillingness to accept who he is and where he fits into the world.”

“I think that vanity is a broader and more accessible theme to audience. And by making it about executives whose outcomes are quantitative and binary, as opposed to artists whose outcomes are qualitative, it’s a lot easier for the average person to understand when Matt’s succeeded and when he’s failed… what he’s fighting for, as opposed to a director fighting for creative final cut of the movie,” Gregory adds.

Another issue with industry-specific films is ensuring that people outside the film business understand and appreciate the industry-specific references.

Martin Scorsese. Photo courtesy of Apple TV+

Gregory is mindful of  “peppering in some industry jargon” in The Studio. “We were very careful about modulating between explaining too much, so that it felt like we were not only saying how people in the industry talk, but giving audiences enough of a clue as to what we’re talking about, so that the average person can start to piece together what the film is about.”

“And by keeping the stories very linear and simple, even if you’re not aware of the industry terms, you’re aware of the stakes. So, the emotions are very easy to understand,” he continues.

“I don’t want Ron Howard to be mad at me. I’m afraid to tell him this. Or,  wanting someone to say thank you. The emotions and themes driving all the stories are very relatable.”

The Emotions Of Hollywood

Hollywood runs on a hard to digest diet of anxiety, narcissism, greed and fear. “Once you’ve succeeded, you want more of it. We also put in enough of the glamor so you understand why someone would want a job that’s so inherently unhealthy and stressful. It’s dazzling to be surrounded by these famous beautiful people and all the trappings of celebrity and these incredible cars, clothes and buildings.”

“People can understand why Remick has chosen this job and why he’s so terrified to lose it. So, I think the whole show is about the anxiety of losing success and status.”

Ron Howard. Photo courtesy of Apple TV+

There is no clear end point to success on the Hollywood treadmill. Even if the Kool-Aid movie is produced and makes a tidy profit, what will make everyone satisfied? Alex Gregory posits an answer.

“Let’s say Kool-Aid is a huge commercial success. The pressure is to make a sequel for the right budget that makes a certain amount of money. How do you do spin-offs? It’s not like you succeed and then the pressure is off. You succeed and the pressure ramps up. That’s the reward for success and Hollywood – more pressure.”

Cameos

No blockbuster movie is complete without A-list cameo appearances to boost the chances of success. The Kool-Aid movie (working title) is no different. Ron Howard, Martin Scorsese and Charlize Theron are among a catalog of stars who add their gravitas and implied endorsement to it.

Alex Gregory mentions that The Studio would have tonally landed very differently without these cameos.

“I think that the show would have been impossible to do without them because to do a convincing portrait of Hollywood, you have people playing themselves. That was the great lesson of The Larry Sanders Show… needing celebrities.”

Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg were determined to cast these heavyweight cameos. Despite the tall order, everyone wants to do good work and they knew that they were in good hands if they signed on.

“The cool thing about Seth being an actor is he knows that when he gets asked to do something, he asks, ‘What’s my joke? How am I going to succeed in this?’ Knowing what a performer’s hopes,  fears, and aspirations would be, we made sure that they were listened to and they all had a joke that they were comfortable telling.”