Seth Rogen Says Catherine O’Hara’s Character in ‘The Studio’ Is Based on Amy Pascal: ‘She Took Huge Risks’

Note: This story contains spoilers from “The Studio” Season 1, Episode 1.

There’s no limit of impressive cameos in “The Studio,” Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s love-hate letter to Hollywood. But out of all the A-list guest stars, there was one who really stunned Rogen: Academy Award winner Martin Scorsese.

“Scorsese was very impressive and a very funny performer — like legitimately funny — and was really firing on all cylinders,” Rogen told TheWrap.

Scorsese appears in the first episode of “The Studio” as himself. After Matt Remick (Rogen) is thrust into his dream job following the unceremonious ousting of his mentor Patty (Catherine O’Hara), the pressure is on for him to make his first movie a hit. The only problem? That first project has to be a movie adaptation of Kool-Aid, an idea that’s a commercial nightmare to the film-loving Matt. “The Promotion” follows Matt as he desperately tries to shoehorn the movie he desperately wants to make — Scorsese’s possible last movie — into the movie the marketing department needs him to make.

Rogen noted that during filming, the directorial legend kept making Rogen and co-star Ike Barinholtz laugh, especially during the episode’s emotional climax. “He really wanted to improvise a lot, which was very difficult considering how we were shooting things, but you can’t tell him not to. So we just found a way to make it work,” Rogen said.

But by the end of filming, Scorsese had a note for Rogen. “He told me I say ‘f–k’ too much, which was a real badge of honor coming from the man who literally has more profanity in the history of film than any other films,” Rogen said, laughing.

It’s exactly this sort of meta exchange that makes “The Studio” feel so refreshing. Over the years, there have been several shows and movies that have satirized Hollywood, from “Hail, Caesar!” and “The Player” to “Hacks” and “BoJack Horseman.” But none oscillate between loving reverence and cutting, nearly cruel mockery to the same degree as “The Studio.”

A great example of this whiplash pace can be seen when it comes to Catherine O’Hara’s Patty, the woman whose ousting leads to Matt’s rise and the beginning of this particular Hollywood story. All throughout Episode 1, Matt tries to call his former mentor, who pointedly ignores his calls. But when the two finally clash at her gorgeous house, the ensuing argument sets the dizzying, sharp tone of this comedy. As Patty shifts between yelling at her mentee for betraying her and cursing Continental Studios, she repeatedly pauses her rants to negotiate a first-look agreement with Matt.

“It was the first scene we shot together in the show, so we were also feeling out the dynamics of the characters,” Rogen said. “But we always liked this idea of I f–ked her over, and I also need something from her. She’s really mad that I f–ked her over, but she also needs something for me. As emotional and sad a moment as it is, we see it as an opportunity that could be mutually beneficial, which I think really gets to the heart of Hollywood in many ways. People just want to survive. They just want to live to fight another day. That’s a big theme in this world.”

“It seems to me like they’re used to this changing track, just to be able to survive. It’s pretty quick,” O’Hara told TheWrap. “Then I’m telling you, ‘Well, it’s rough, but at least you were taught by me.'”

Rogen confirmed that the character of Patty is based on Amy Pascal, the former Sony Pictures Entertainment head who Rogen has thanked in the past for advocating for his controversial North Korean comedy, “The Interview.”

“Amy is someone who was a huge mentor to me and Evan. We literally were on the phone with her 48 hours ago, asking her advice on whether or not we should do something,” Rogen said. “We sent her the show as soon as it was finished, so she could watch it. We really came up at Sony under her leadership, and she was someone who taught us a ton about the industry and who was a really inspirational figure to us in a lot of ways. She took huge risks and huge gambles, and she’s essential to me and Evan having the careers and lives that we currently have.”

Rogen also noted that, since her fallout with Sony, Pascal has seen a great deal of success as a producer. She’s been behind the Tom Holland “Spider-Man” movies, the “Into the Spider-Verse” movies, Greta Gerwig’s “Little Women” and Luca Guadagnino’s “Challengers.” She’s also behind Gerwig’s untitled “The Chronicles of Narnia” movie for Netflix as well as the next James Bond Film for Amazon MGM Studios.

“She’s truly living an amazing life, and it is very inspirational. It shows how you can evolve in the industry,” Rogen said.

“The Studio” releases new episodes Wednesdays on Apple TV+.

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