
Seth Rogen loves The 40-Year-Old Virgin's 'filthiness'
Seth Rogen loved cinemagoers embracing the "filthiness" of 'The 40-Year-Old Virgin'.
The 43-year-old actor starred alongside Paul Rudd and Steve Carell in the 2005 comedy film, and Seth still has fond memories of making the movie.
He told People: "It was the first movie I made where I feel like … I was a co-producer on the movie and I helped write a lot of it with Steve Carell and Judd [Apatow]."
Seth had a big role in creating the movie's tone and he loves that it was so warmly received by film fans.
He said: "It was the first movie that I was a part of that I really had a creative voice in, and a lot of the R-rated humour and tone came from me really advocating for that.
"And so it was really rewarding when it came out and people really responded to both the heart and the filthiness of it."
Seth and his writing partner, Evan Goldberg, now have their own production company, and the comedy star previously reflected on his changing status in Hollywood.
Speaking to Sharp magazine, Seth explained: "There was a meeting with an executive who was giving us notes when we were young who said, 'I got into this because I love movies and now it's my job to ruin them.'
"That one sentence really resonated heavily with us. Most importantly, we started to view it as being very comedic, like, it's a very funny dynamic if you love movies and the people associated with them.
"A lot of these people who work at studios just want to be liked by the filmmakers and the actors and the writers, and they just want to feel as though they're part of the creative side of things. But at the same time, they're constantly having to do things for their own self-preservation."
Seth has actually witnessed a "huge dynamic shift" during his time in Hollywood.
He said: "I'm so used to being 20 years younger than the people that I'm reporting to that it only reaffirms this subservient dynamic. And I think now that I'm older, you start to view it much more of like, 'These are people I work with and together we have to make a good thing.' And they want it to be good, but they also don't want to get fired."

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Perth Now
2 hours ago
- Perth Now
Ashley Tisdale reveals her long running Phineas and Ferb behind the scenes rule
Ashley Tisdale refuses to do more than "two-hour sessions" for 'Phineas and Ferb'. The 39-year-old actress - who has voiced Phineas' sister Candance since the pilot episode in 2007 - is back for the beloved animated comedy show's revival a decade after the 'Last Day of Summer' finale aired, and she has reflected on the challenges of recording the voiceovers. She told PEOPLE magazine: "That's always been kind of more of my challenge with Candace, is when she starts to kind of build into that episode and she's really high-strung, and it takes a lot out of me. "So, I only do two-hour sessions. But I've been doing only two-hour sessions from the very beginning. "I recognised very soon into Candace that I was like, 'Oh, I cannot do three hours or four hours.' It's a lot!" Ashley - who admitted as she's "gotten older, it's like a workout" - insisted it doesn't feel like 'Phineas and Ferb' has really been away for the last decade. She explained: "I feel like it never ended because we kept on doing 'Candace Against the Universe' [for Disney+ in 2020] and little things here and there. "So, I guess I was sad when we were done with the show, but I never expected to come back, and it's pretty awesome. "I love it. We have so much fun doing it." Meanwhile, Ashley recently admitted she hopes her daughter Jupiter, four, takes inspiration from her 'High School Musical' character Sharpay Evans. The actress - who also has Emerson, eight months, with her husband Christopher French - told People: "I just think that Sharpay is someone who knows what she wants and I think that's always been really exciting. "I love playing a character like that because I've always known what I wanted. So I feel like that is something to look up to." Ashley loves that her daughter has already developed a passion for movies. The actress shared: "I never thought I'd see the day. But, you know, she's obsessed with tons of movies. This is not the first one she's obsessed with." Ashley revealed that Jupiter is a big fan of the 'Wicked' and 'Tarzan' movies. She said: "She was Glinda from 'Wicked' for the longest time. So she does love the pink, but she also loves 'Tarzan'. So I don't know. It changes."


Perth Now
7 hours ago
- Perth Now
James Blunt is 'happy' being a 'one-hit wonder'
James Blunt insists being a "one-hit wonder" is "healthy" for his ego. The 'You're Beautiful' hitmaker became an overnight star following the release of the 2005 single from his debut album 'Back To Bedlam', and the 51-year-old pop veteran admits he is "happy" to be called a "one-hit wonder" as it means he doesn't get too big for his boots. He told US publication PEOPLE: 'In the States, I am [a one-hit wonder]. You have to understand — I am so happy with that because, as I put on my social media profiles, one hit is all you need. 'I've been called a one-hit wonder by people who are none-hit wonders. And so I'm thrilled with that.' Blunt continued: 'The moment I think I might be a big shot in any way, you, as an American, can tell me, 'No. You're just a little one-hit wonder, James. Get back in your box.' And that's healthy." The 'Goodbye My Lover' singer also recalled how he was rejected by all the UK record labels because of his posh speaking voice and classism in his homeland. On being signed to Linda Perry's Custard Records, he said: 'I hadn't really understood how this was the very last chance I was probably ever going to have. 'I'd been rejected by every UK label based on my speaking voice and the kind of class issues that we have here, and the basis that they would think that just no one would relate to me. They might've been right to a degree. It's taken a long time after 'You're Beautiful' and the backlash for the public to know that, 'Okay. I might speak with a stupid voice, but I am a normal, grounded human being.' So maybe the UK labels were right. [But] for some reason Linda was there. She came in with a hard sell, and we went out that night and got drunk.' Although the song was a huge hit, he did face - and continues to face - his fair share of criticism and is known to hilariously retaliate on social media. He said: 'I think I've always been silly. 'I think I probably did set out in interviews when we were talking about music because it was the one thing I was serious about. "I probably then spoke quite earnestly in my interviews about the music, and now I've learned that that's probably not the best thing to do. So now, I still take my music seriously. I don't speak earnestly about it.'

ABC News
14 hours ago
- ABC News
Mountainhead review: First film from Succession creator promises 'eat the rich' but neglects to feed the audience
The "eat the rich" subgenre has been so well covered in the past decade that it's become overexposed. But the trope du jour does still offer a singular cinematic delight: watching entitled, horrible, rich people get what's coming to them. What: Four tech billionaires hide out in a palatial mansion while their creations tear the world apart. Starring: Steve Carell, Ramy Youssef, Cory Michael Smith, Jason Schwartzman Directed by: Jesse Armstrong When: Streaming now on Max Likely to make you feel: like you've already seen this story Whether they end up bankrupt, castaways or as human s'mores, there is a catharsis to seeing billionaires suffer in fiction because they so rarely receive their comeuppance in real life. In Succession creator Jesse Armstrong's first foray into writing and directing a feature film, he asks: "What if I did an eat-the-rich film, but just give the audience 'the rich' part?" Mountainhead is a very long bottle episode of TV, set in the most expensive bottle you've ever seen. Tech creator Hugo 'Souper' Van Yalk (Jason Schwartzman) — short in both stature and standing (his net worth is less than $1 billion) — invites three of his closest frenemies to his steely, sprawling, secluded compound for a weekend of poker. Randall Garrett (Steve Carell) — net worth $63 billion — is the oldest of the bunch and he can feel it. Multiple doctors have diagnosed him with an incurable cancer which he rejects, dismissing his latest physician as a "simpleton". Venis 'Ven' Parish (Cory Michael Smith) — net worth $221 billion — has just pushed a frightening new AI-generative feature onto his omnipresent social media platform, Traam. Ven's actually only on the trip because he needs to schmooze Jeff Abredazi (Ramy Youssef) — net worth $59 billion and quickly climbing — owner of an AI company whose code way outstrips Traam's version. In a classic horse-before-the-cart move, Traam's AI isn't so great at sorting fact from fiction, leading to unverifiable videos that flare political tensions internationally. Ven needs Jeff's superior tech to fend off faceless federal forces that are putting pressure on Ven to fix his platform before fake videos tear the planet apart. Because all these man-child characters have the emotional intelligence of an egg, Ven can't quite muster the humility to ask for Jeff's help. As the quartet trade barbs and only semi-literate technobabble in Armstrong's trademark galloping, insult-a-minute dialogue, real-time disasters trickle in from their smartphones: Gangs in South America are killing innocents after deep fake videos called them informants; AI-generated deep fakes of ideologically fuelled violence have inflamed conflict between multiple countries. In response, the four men cast themselves as kings of the new world, indulging in casual debate over who is going to be installed as leader of which impoverished country. The world crises in Mountainhead were so true to life that Youssef says he found it difficult to differentiate between the horror filtering in from his prop phone and his real phone. "At a certain point, I didn't really know which was which, and unfortunately a lot of these things started to blend together," he says. "I think our emotions were definitely tested with how escalating everything in the real world is right now." And therein lies the real problem with Mountainhead. In a world where almost indistinguishable headlines are shrieked at us from all angles, why on earth would we want an uncanny recreation as entertainment? In the past week, AI-generated deepfake videos shared widely across Twitter and Facebook inflamed the conflict between India and Pakistan, with experts claiming the platforms didn't do enough to temper the misinformation. Youssef points to Armstrong's strength of tone — which kept millions engaged in the abhorrent actions of his Succession characters — as the saving grace of this purported comedy. "It never felt like we were making fun of what was happening. We were more making fun of the people who are so reckless," he says. Which could work, if any of the characters did or said anything half as disturbingly comical as their real-life counterparts. Randall takes obvious inspiration from billionaires like US venture capitalist Bryan Johnson, who is perhaps more well-known for his radical attempts at "anti-aging". But absolutely nothing Randall says in his ample screen time is as hilariously dystopian as Johnson taking a whole litre of his 17-year-old son's blood to put in his body in an attempt to reverse aging, only to turn around and say the process had "no benefits detected". Ven, with his problematic social platform, weird connection with his infant child and direct line to the president, is reminiscent of Elon Musk. But the character's cringe displays pale in comparison to Musk's gamut of baffling behaviours or squirm-worthy jokes — from setting up a Tesla showroom on the White House lawn to his obsession with 420 gags. Mountainhead was turned around at an astonishing rate. According to Armstrong, he pitched the film to HBO in December last year and production was wrapped by April. This kind of accelerated birth should make the comedy feel fresh and relevant. Instead, Armstrong makes observations and comedy that feel not just dated, but unnecessary. His visual metaphors — like the cold, cruel design of Souper's "home" and the constant, overflowing tables of food (TikTok creators identified luxury grub as the new status symbol ages ago) — are cartoonish in a way that makes you cringe for the creator. The machine gun references to "going to the moon" and bunkers in New Zealand are groan-worthy. His filming style — all shaky cam and quick zoom-ins — ape the reality-TV feel of Succession, but can't pull anything out of Mountainhead's characters except insufferably flat reaction shots. It's clear Armstrong thinks his dip into the world of wannabe tech oligarchs is clever and new, but it quickly becomes repetitive and boring. You can recreate the same effect by doomscrolling Twitter for 20 minutes and you might see a cute cat gif. There are going to be Succession-heads who thought the show deserved 10 more seasons and will likely christen Mountainhead meaningful satire. However, if you do not fall into this group, I implore you to go for a run, touch grass, hug a loved one, draw a picture, bake a cake — all of these actions are more radical in their defiance of dangerous billionaires than watching a rushed recreation of our current societal woes. Mountainhead is streaming on Max now.