Catherine O'Hara has power, Kathryn Hahn wants money: ‘The Studio' team tells all at SXSW
AUSTIN, Texas — With an opening allusion to Robert Altman's 1992 classic 'The Player,' Apple TV+'s new comedy 'The Studio' tees up an age-old subject — how the Hollywood sausage is made — for the 21st century.
Starring Seth Rogen as put-upon studio head Matt Remick, who tries to balance his cinephilia with the demands of the job, the series turns topics like corporate intellectual property and meddling execs into high comedy (and high stress) situations. 'The Studio' also features Catherine O'Hara as Remick's recently canned predecessor, Ike Barinholtz as his dissolute colleague and best friend, Kathryn Hahn as the lot's aggressive marketing chief and Chase Sui Wonders as a newly minted member of the studio's development brass.
Ahead of the series' March 26 premiere, the team behind the show stopped by the L.A. Times studio at SXSW on Saturday to discuss how the power dynamic between actors and executives has evolved, what the general public gets wrong about studio chiefs and why 'streamers are not the underdogs in today's Hollywood.' Watch the full interview below.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Emmy experts debate Comedy Series race: ‘Hacks' will compete against ‘a bunch of new kids on the block'
Last year's Best Comedy Series winner, Hacks, is back in the running for more Emmy gold, but several new contenders are hoping to stop it in its tracks, including The Studio, Nobody Wants This, and The Four Seasons. Four top Emmy experts — Variety's Clayton Davis, The Hollywood Reporter's Scott Feinberg, Indiewire's Marcus Jones, Deadline's Pete Hammond — debate the race with moderator and Gold Derby editor-in-chief Debra Birnbaum in our latest slugfest video (watch above). "We are almost certainly going to see the return of last year's somewhat surprise winner, Hacks, and then The Bear, which had been widely predicted to win," says Feinberg. "I think we'll see Only Murders in the Building and Abbott Elementary back, and Shrinking. There's a bunch of new kids on the block, most prominently The Studio, which I think is in, as is Nobody Wants This from Netflix. So, I think in a way, we're talking about those seventh and eighth slots that are still up for grabs. You could see returning contenders What We Do in the Shadows and Poker Face, or some new options including English Teacher and The Four Seasons." More from GoldDerby Marlon Wayans on laughing through tragedy in 'Good Grief' and why social media has made comedy 'toxic' Tony Talk: Dissecting those shocking wins for 'Purpose,' Nicole Scherzinger, Darren Criss, and more Behind the scenes at the Tony Awards: From Darren Criss to Andrew Lloyd Weber, backstage at Broadway's biggest night Netflix Jones says that Netflix has a "big issue" with too much product. "Nobody Wants This is the most popular, and I do think that's probably going to be nominated. But there's such a crash between The Four Seasons, A Man on the Inside, and The Residence." He also brings up the "Étoile factor," claiming that Prime Video is "pushing that and trying to do a play of craft love" to help the show get in. "They were the first streamer to win this category, and so I wouldn't put it past them to take it to the finish line." (Note: This was recorded before news of Étoile's cancellation broke late Friday) Davis thinks there is a "clear top five" of shows that feel "locked": Hacks, The Bear, Only Murders, Abbott Elementary, and The Studio. However, "right now at the moment," he feels like The Studio is "the one to beat." He worries whether Shrinking will get in this year since it "really underperformed" the last time it was eligible. As for the Netflix shows, Davis believes Nobody Wants Us and The Four Seasons are going to be the streamer's "top performers." Apple TV+ In terms of out-of-the-box choices, Birnbaum wonders if "all of the press" for The Rehearsal's second season might work "for it or against it." Ultimately, for niche shows, it may come down to how many people have actually seen them. "When you go to events, [the voters] are overwhelmed by the amount of shows that they have to watch," she explains. "So, I think name recognition gets you half the battle." Hammond agrees this is a "tough category" and suggests that the 2023 champion, The Bear, will be nominated, but won't return to the winner's circle. "The Bear is over in terms of winning. I don't see it winning again. The reason Hacks won, in addition to being a great show, is a lot of people just don't feel The Bear belonged in that category." He adds, "It's a very good show. There's no question about that. But I don't think it's going to win." Which Emmy expert do you agree with the most? Be sure to make your predictions and join the Emmy discussion in our TV forum. SIGN UP for Gold Derby's free newsletter with latest predictions Best of GoldDerby Marlon Wayans on laughing through tragedy in 'Good Grief' and why social media has made comedy 'toxic' Minha Kim 'confronted all new emotions that I had never anticipated' in Season 2 of 'Pachinko' 'Étoile': Exclusive 4-part conversation with creators, star Luke Kirby, cinematographer, and choreographer Click here to read the full article.
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Brian Tyree Henry on how ‘Dope Thief' let him ‘reclaim' his name: ‘I was just Paper Boi to people,' and now ‘I became Brian again'
"Dope Thief allowed me to reclaim my name," says Brian Tyree Henry, the star and executive producer of the Apple TV+ limited series. The Oscar, Emmy, and Tony nominee tells Gold Derby, "I was just Paper Boi [from Atlanta] to people for quite a few years. And so with this one, I think that I became Brian again, and that is very special to me." Watch our full interview above. Henry plays Ray Driscoll on Dope Thief, a con artist who, along with his lifelong friend Manny Carvalho (Wagner Moura), robs from drug dealers by posing as DEA agents. Unfortunately, they steal from the wrong people, and mayhem ensues. The program is written by Peter Craig and based on the 2009 novel by Dennis Tafoya. "Everything that happens is absolutely terrible, but in the end, it's a fun ride," the actor recalls. More from GoldDerby Emmy experts debate Comedy Series race: 'Hacks' will compete against 'a bunch of new kids on the block' 2025 Tony Awards highlights: The best, the worst, and the 'Hamilton' mixtape Tonys 2025: Best prediction scores by Gold Derby experts, editors, and users "Wagner Moura is truly one of the best that's ever done it," Henry says of his costar. "Being able to do this show with him was the greatest gift I've ever been given, honestly." On their first day on set, he recalls Moura pulling him aside and revealing that he was "really scared," to which Henry responded, "'Regardless of what goes on, I promise you I won't leave your side. We've got each other.' And from then on, we were just connected and locked in." Henry calls Dope Thief a "love story between these two friends who are more than friends. I don't even think the word 'friend' is appropriate. They've been through so much together. It's very easy to see series where it's a Black and Brown man paired together — violence, drugs, all the yahooey — but you never really get to the core of who they are. But these two men are afraid and vulnerable, and there is grief, there is regret." Apple TV+ Henry sees a connection between his roles as the lead actor and executive producer, and takes both positions seriously. "What I realized by being the star of the show and also the EP, is that there's this phrase that floats around on sets that says, 'It starts from the top.' Whoever is considered the top of the show, their tone dictates the rest of how the show goes and is felt. And so, in this particular project, I felt like being No. 1 on the call sheet meant that I set the tone, and I didn't want anything but joy." The tone of Dope Thief shifts between incredibly dramatic and hilariously light-hearted. "Even if I'm on the ground covered in blood with a hole in my leg, in between takes, we're going to get up, I'm going to play music, we're going to talk," says Henry. "Peter would let us improv all the time, which is my juice. I love it. I just always want to be truthful in where the characters are." Regardless of what happens at upcoming awards shows, Henry is happy that Dope Thief gave him room "to show people my range and that I'm not just one thing." He's already been nominated at the Gotham TV Awards for this project, and the Emmy nominations will be unveiled on July 15. "I don't ever win sh-t," he laughs. "It's cool, but I'm always so wrong about what I think people will recognize. Let me tell you something: I'm honored." Henry opens up about how the sixth episode, in which Ray was in a "delirium" after being shot, came on the heels "of a major loss in my life, when my father died." He explains, "This episode also dealt with Ray and his father [played by Ving Rhames] and all these different things, and I was like, you have got to be kidding. There is no way that you can make this up. It was incredibly cathartic. It is an episode that I truly, truly, truly love. It was incredibly hard to make, but at the end of the day, it was so rewarding." The actor is proud of all of his collaborations and has nothing but thanks for Craig. "I tell Peter all the time, thank you for putting dialogue like this in my mouth," he says, "and for allowing space for me to actually show all these different emotions that they normally just don't let us as Black actors play." What does Henry think his character will be up to five or 10 years in the future? "I hope that Ray is on a farm in a garden that he has procured somewhere in New Hope, Pa.," he says with a smile. "I hope that he makes candles, is in love with his mother [played by Kate Mulgrew], that they're running a shop. I really want him to wear cardigans, but I want him to really feel like he's free," Henry continues. "I think that freedom is the thing that he needs." Dope Thief is now streaming on Apple TV+. SIGN UP for Gold Derby's free newsletter with latest predictions Best of GoldDerby 'Say Nothing' star Anthony Boyle on playing IRA activist Brendan Hughes: We 'get to the humanity as opposed to the mythology' The Making of 'The Eyes of the World: From D-Day to VE Day': PBS variety special 'comes from the heart' From 'Hot Rod' to 'Eastbound' to 'Gemstones,' Danny McBride breaks down his most righteous roles: 'It's been an absolute blast' Click here to read the full article.
CNET
an hour ago
- CNET
Apple tvOS 26 Brings iPhone Karaoke Microphones and Liquid Glass
At WWDC 2026, Apple unveiled the new features coming to tvOS 26 which include the company's Liquid Glass design, and the ability to use the iPhone as a microphone in Apple Music. Apple has now unveiled the ability to connect your iPhone to Apple Music on TVOS to use as a karaoke mic. Apple TV first introduced a karaoke mode to Apple Music in 2022, enabling users to sing along to onscreen lyrics, but there wasn't a way to hear your vocals apart from "live." Liq Apple In addition, Apple said that its Liquid Glass design, which reimagines buttons as see-though glass diffracting the content underneath it, will be coming to Apple TV. The company also said that the Apple TV Plus app is also getting bigger, "more cinematic" poster art in each of the show slides. Lastly, the company is also bringing profiles to TVOS enabling users to set up their own home screens and separate app logins. The Apple TV is one of our favorite streaming devices due to its simple interface and its ability to play games as well as display Dolby Vision content. The updates probably won't encourage users to switch from Roku or Google TV, but should enhance the experience for existing owners.
