Seth Rogen Sends Message to Daniel Day-Lewis to Guest Star on ‘The Studio' Season 2: ‘Please Consider a Zoom With Us, We'll Pitch You a Good Idea'
Seth Rogen wants Daniel Day-Lewis to guest star on 'The Studio.'
'He's the greatest living actor,' Rogen told me Wednesday at Apple TV+'s FYC event in Hollywood. 'His process is so specific that I think that would be an interesting thing to explore on the show.'
More from Variety
How Oners Created Tension in 'Severance,' 'Adolescence' and 'The Studio': 'We Tried To Keep the Audiences Guessing'
'Étoile' Star Gideon Glick Launches LGBTQ+ Not-for-Profit Theater Initiative Blue Roses Project With Jonathan Groff Joining Board of Directors (EXCLUSIVE)
Dave Franco on Smoking With Bryan Cranston in 'The Studio' Finale and Bringing 'Toxic Positivity' to Every Scene
Rogen, who stars in and co-created the series with Evan Goldberg, says he hasn't reached out to the Oscar winner… yet. 'Daniel, please consider a Zoom with us,' he said. 'We'll pitch you a good idea!'
Goldberg thinks James Cameron would 'work really well' as a guest star, because the 'Avatar' director 'is a genius but he's also known for sometimes getting angry.'
Chase Sui Wonders, who plays the aspiring development executive Quinn Hackett, has already pitched Kristen Stewart to Rogen and Goldberg. 'It's related to identity politics and if Kristen is dealing with a delicate matter, Quinn would attempt to relate to her… and get herself into hot water,' Wonders said. 'We saw a little bit in the first season but Quinn getting into hot water over owning her identity politics too hard would be a very fun sticky situation.'
Wonders also mentioned a potential appearance by Al Pacino. 'There should be something about bringing back 'Scarface' for an absurd amount of money and Al Pacino has sold out at this point,' she said.
Leonardo DiCaprio is on the top of Ike Barenholtz's list. 'He's the guy,' said Barenholtz, who plays Sal Saperstein. 'I don't think he's ever done a TV show. I think Leo is the golden goose.'
Dewayne Perkins, who plays publicist Tyler, didn't even blink when asked who his dream guest star is. 'Zendaya,' he said. 'She's everything. She represents Hollywood in such a cool way, from being a child star to reaching the level that she's reached. She's a really good symbol of what Hollywood can be in a good way.'
And then there's Larry David. His former 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' co-star Keyla Monterroso Mejia, who plays assistant Petra on 'The Studio,' says David 'would fit right in' in the Apple TV+ series because he'd be a 'nice balance to all the chaos.'
Check out photos from 'The Studio' FYC event below.
Best of Variety
Emmy Predictions: The Art of the Submission Creates New and Viable Contenders
New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week
Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
How the longtime ‘Severance' cinematographer wound up directing Season 2's standout episode
As Severance has refined its wintry, corporate aesthetic over the course of two seasons, one woman in particular has been central to crafting the show's look. Jessica Lee Gagné has worked as cinematographer on most of the show's episodes so far, continuing her collaboration with director Ben Stiller from the 2018 miniseries Escape at Dannemora. Mark Chernus, who plays Ricken on Severance, recently told Gold Derby of Gagné that 'her eye, her lens, is the look of the show.' But towards the end of the most recent season, Gagné finally made her directorial debut — and created one of the show's standout episodes in the process. 'I definitely had a lot of doubts going into it. I've doubted myself for a long time,' Gagné tells Gold Derby of taking the step towards directing. 'But then it seemed so obvious that this episode was meant for me to direct, just because of the themes and the possibility of style and language that it could have, and also what the writer wanted from it. So I was like, 'Well, if anyone's going to do this, I have to do it.'' More from GoldDerby Justine Lupe on the unexpected chemistries that power Netflix's 'Nobody Wants This' 'What We Do in the Shadows' cast on alternate series finale endings and the parody that didn't work Catalina Sandino Moreno on 'From' fan theories: 'Whenever you think that you're in the right lane, you're not' 'Chikhai Bardo,' the seventh episode of Season 2, breaks from Severance's usual format by focusing on the character of Gemma (Dichen Lachman). Gemma's shadow looms large over the show, since her supposed 'death' is the reason that Mark Scout (Adam Scott) volunteered for a job on the severed floor of Lumon Industries in the first place. Back in Season 1, viewers met her own Lumon 'innie' persona, Ms. Casey. But 'Chikhai Bardo' actually introduced everyone to Gemma herself for the first time, both in flashbacks to her relationship with Mark before her disappearance and in present-day scenes showing her being experimented upon as a prisoner on Lumon's testing floor. Through the flashbacks, viewers see how Gemma's struggles with getting pregnant pushed her towards Lumon (who apparently own and operate fertility clinics among their many mysterious business holdings). Gagné felt a strong connection to this material. 'I feel like one thing that helped me direct and work with actors in this capacity for the first time is my own life experience with my career and how I've gotten where I've gotten,' Gagné says. 'I got to have access to amazing projects at quite a young age. I really lost myself within my work for a long time. So going into my 30s, I went through a big questioning phase of, 'OK, I need to find my partner, freeze my eggs, do all of these things … or did I miss out on that part of life?'' Gagné adds, 'I felt like those everyday moments, those everyday conversations, are things that I've felt and lived. So it hit really close to home in that sense.' Bringing this perspective to the director's chair was a big help to Lachman, who in addition to portraying Gemma's fertility struggles also had to do something that no other Severance actor has had to do yet: Portray multiple 'innies.' 'When I found out she was directing that episode, I was very excited,' Lachman says. 'I think she's an extraordinary talent, and I love her vision. I love her creativity, and I love how flexible she is in terms of doing whatever she has to do to capture the moment. And I thought it was really nice to have a female director for that episode.' Most Lumon employees have two personas: The 'outie' that exists outside of work, and the 'innie' they become when they take the elevator to their office on the severed floor. But on the testing floor, Gemma becomes a different 'innie' with every room she enters. This revelation has greatly expanded the possibilities of what can happen within the world of Severance. 'I was terrified because it's an expansion of the idea. It's a new iteration of the concept of the show. And I was like, 'Can the show sustain this?'' Severance creator Dan Erickson tells Gold Derby. 'I love the idea in my head, but you always wonder, 'Is it going to play? Is it going to come across?' What I knew we had was this amazing secret weapon in Dichen. Not that she was a secret, but I knew that she was going to be able to play each of these versions of the character so strangely and tenderly and differently, and she just knocked it out of the park. She nailed it. And then of course Jessica Lee Gagné, who directed that episode, is one of the most brilliant people on the planet. Even with all of us knowing how good she was, she managed to surpass those expectations.' Each of the rooms Gemma is forced into seemingly represent a different unpleasant life experience. One of her 'innies' only goes through dentist appointments, for example, while another has to endlessly write out Christmas thank-you cards. Making all of these selves feel real with limited screentime was the episode's main challenge for both Lachman and Gagné — but thankfully they both made each other feel comfortable in their collaboration. 'Dichen's openness to exploration on set and trying different things made it a lot easier for me, working with actors like this for the first time. She wasn't afraid of doing anything or trying anything. There were some moments that we were just exploring and trying stuff,' Gagné says. 'Like I said, I have a lot of personal experience with these kinds of themes. So I just wanted to really anchor them in reality with her as much as possible. So we had lots of conversations, personal conversations, to see what we could touch on. This very female way of hiding parts of ourselves and not fully showing what we feel in order to put other people first, was always a thing we'd come back to. We had many conversations and we moved through it together.' Gagné didn't make things easy for herself. In addition to directing 'Chikhai Bardo,' she still worked as cinematographer on five other episodes in Season 2. But she thinks this amount of work made it easier for her to push through without getting caught up in her own doubts. 'I think that's what really pushed me through. I would be shooting Episode 10 and then prepping Episode 7 at the same time. It was like I had two or three full-time jobs. I lived and breathed Severance for sure. The main difference between cinematographer and director, Gagné found, is how many more questions you have to answer as the latter. 'The prep work is much more laborious and you are answering 3 million questions. I wasn't used to that as a cinematographer,' she says. 'As a DP I'm very involved in terms of set design and these kinds of things, I'm that kind of cinematographer who really gets in there, but I don't get to take over any of the smaller details. So for me, those meetings with the props department and the costume department, when we were researching all of these new things, that was just joy. I was like a kid in the candy store. To get to direct for the first time on Severance was a pretty luxurious first-time directing experience, and I felt like I needed to live up to it. So I gave it everything I had.' The results of her hard work speak for themselves; the episode astounded viewers and set pieces in place for the epic season finale. Not everyone was surprised by this. 'That was not surprising to me because we've been working together for a while and I know how talented she is,' Stiller tells Gold Derby. 'I thought it was really important that that episode had a female point of view. Jessica is just so talented and really is interested thematically in a lot of the ideas that are in that episode, in terms of how we connect with each other, and how people who have some sort of spiritual connection are linked in different ways. What she did with it visually was just so impressive. It's great to watch her do her thing.' Now that Gagné has gone from cinematographer to director, she's ready to start working on her first feature film. She 'leaves some really big shoes to fill' as Severance's go-to DP, according to Patricia Arquette, but also everyone's excited to see what Gagné does next. 'When you're putting your name on something like that and saying that you approved it, you have to be quite vulnerable. You're opening yourself up to criticism, and I have to admit, I was really afraid of that,' she says. 'But after seeing that it went so well, I think I needed that to help push me forward in the rest of my career.' Gagné isn't yet ready to share many details about her plans, but says, 'We're in the beginning stages, but I'm giving it my heart. It's going to be a personal one, and it's very different from Severance.' Best of GoldDerby Chloë Sevigny on Kitty Menendez and 'Monsters' fascination: 'People are endlessly curious about those who have privilege and abuse it' Jason Isaacs relives filming 'The White Lotus' piña colada scene: 'It was one of the reasons I was worried about taking the job' Kaitlyn Dever on playing 'horrible' characters in 'Last of Us', 'Apple Cider Vinegar': 'I just don't see any other option but to give 100 percent' Click here to read the full article.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Kaitlyn Dever out front in Drama Guest Actress Emmy odds for killer ‘The Last of Us' role
This year's Emmy race for Best Drama Guest Actress is shaping up to be a battle between The Last of Us and Severance. Two guest stars from each show appear in Gold Derby's top four spots: Kaitlyn Dever and Catherine O'Hara for HBO's zombie apocalypse adaptation, and Gwendoline Christie and Merritt Wever for Apple TV+'s sci-fi workplace series. Our predicted lineup of six is rounded out by Cherry Jones for The Handmaid's Tale and Hilary Swank for Yellowjackets. More from GoldDerby 'A lot comes with jumping into that inferno': Questlove explores the burden of Black genius in 'Sly Lives!' 'I cried a lot': Rob Delaney on the heart and humor in FX's 'Dying for Sex' - and Neighbor Guy's kick in the 'zone' 'Karate Kid: Legends' to close out May with a box-office boost, but 'Lilo & Stitch' stays on top Dever appears in three episodes of The Last of Us Season 2 as Abby, a soldier who seeks revenge against Joel (Pedro Pascal) for murdering her father. When she finally locates him, Abby and her group of followers torture and beat Joel to death with a golf club, in front of his daughter figure, Ellie (Bella Ramsey). The cycle of revenge violence continues, as Ellie takes it upon herself to kill everyone associated with Abby until the two come face to face in the finale. In 2023, Dever received the first Emmy bid of her career, for her supporting turn on Dopesick. She has also appeared in projects like Justified, Unbelievable, and Apple Cider Vinegar, the latter of which she'll be on this year's Emmy ballot for Best Movie/Limited Series Actress. HBO O'Hara plays Gail on The Last of Us, a therapist at the encampment who continues to see Joel, despite him being responsible for murdering Gail's husband, Eugene (Joe Pantoliano), who had been infected by a zombie bite. Like Dever, O'Hara could be a two-time Emmy nominee this year; she also has a key supporting role as a fired movie producer on The Studio. The veteran actress has two Emmy Awards on her mantel, for starring on Schitt's Creek (2020) and for writing SCTV Network (1982). Christie's role of Lorne, an anti-social goatherd in Severance Season 2, stood out for its sheer uniqueness. Much of her scenes are shared with Adam Scott's Mark S., who stumbles upon Lorne's Mammalians Nurturable division while trying to uncover what happened to his missing wife. This would be Christie's second career Emmy nomination, after previously earning a bid for her breakout role of Brienne of Tarth on Game of Thrones (2019). Wever also made her Severance debut in the second season, though her character is much more grounded and driven by emotion. She portrays Gretchen George, the wife of Zach Cherry's outie character, Dylan George. Their marriage has become stale over the years, but Gretchen soon rekindles her love for him by secretly meeting with his innie version, Dylan G., under the watchful eye of Miss Huang (Sarah Bock). Wever is already a two-time Emmy champion for the comedy series Nurse Jackie (2013) and the limited series Godless (2018). Jones returned to The Handmaid's Tale for the final season as Holly Maddox, the feminist mother of June (Elisabeth Moss). Only this time, she was seen in the present-day story (as opposed to flashbacks) after June found her alive and working at a refugee camp in Alaska. In the series finale, Holly convinces her daughter to write a book about everything she's accomplished as an escaped handmaid who helped take down Gilead. Jones has three Emmys to her name for 24 (supporting, 2009), The Handmaid's Tale (guest, 2019), and Succession (guest, 2020). Rounding out Gold Derby's top six is Swank for Yellowjackets. She plays the adult version of Jenna Burgess' Melissa, a member of the girls' soccer team who crashed in a plane and survived in the wilderness. In the present, Melissa starts a new life as Kelly after faking her death by suicide. Swank is a double Best Actress Oscar winner for Boys Don't Cry (1999) and Million Dollar Baby (2004), though this would be her first Emmy nomination. Others in the running for a Best Drama Guest Actress Emmy nomination include Tati Gabrielle (The Last of Us), Jane Alexander (Severance), Julie Hagerty (Matlock), Sydney Cole Alexander (Severance), Angela Bassett (Doctor Odyssey), and Rebecca Tilney (The Pitt). Note that contenders like Gabrielle, who were not officially submitted by a network or studio, can still enter their own names for Emmy consideration. SIGN UP for Gold Derby's free newsletter with latest predictions Best of GoldDerby 'I cried a lot': Rob Delaney on the heart and humor in FX's 'Dying for Sex' — and Neighbor Guy's kick in the 'zone' TV directors roundtable: 'American Primeval,' 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,' 'Paradise' 'Paradise' directors John Requa and Glenn Ficarra on the 'chaos' of crafting 'the world coming to an end' Click here to read the full article.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
‘There's an epic nature to this story': ‘Dune: Prophecy' star Emily Watson teases travels to Arrakis for Season 2
In its first season, Dune: Prophecy explored the Imperium and the foundations of the Sisterhood that would become the powerful Bene Gesserit 10,000 years before the birth of Paul Atreides. At the cornerstone of that foundation stands Valya Harkonnen. As played by Emily Watson on the HBO series, the Mother Superior is a powerful and uncompromising leader, doing everything she can to secure the future of her Sisterhood. More from GoldDerby Kaitlyn Dever on playing 'horrible' characters in 'Last of Us', 'Apple Cider Vinegar': 'I just don't see any other option but to give 100 percent' How the longtime 'Severance' cinematographer wound up directing Season 2's standout episode 'We could do this show forever': 'Somebody Somewhere' creators on final season, heart, and the humor of Bridget Everett By the end of the series' first season, Vayla found herself on a new planet, but one very familiar to Dune fans. Gold Derby had the opportunity to speak with Watson about playing Valya and what lies ahead for her as she ventures to Arrakis in search of the enemy who could destroy everything she holds dear. Gold Derby: What was your familiarity level with the world of coming into this project? Emily Watson: Minimal. I had seen the first Denis Villeneuve movie, but then went on a very steep learning curve. I'm glad I didn't know that when we set out on that journey, the level of fandom — not just the lore and the detail of it and mythic nature of it — but also the sense of ownership of what the interpretation should be. There's a very heartfelt, passionate voice out there, people who know and love this world. How much did the depth of this fictional world help your process? Or did you avoid knowing too much? It certainly helped up to a point. Obviously, you have to respect the material and learn as much as you can. We had a very helpful team of people helping us digest material and pointing us in the direction of pieces of research and pieces of the books that would be useful. I wasn't going to sit down and read absolutely everything. At the same time, as with any part, you have to go on your own imaginative journey with it and make it — in a very strange and alien universe — as human as you can. What were you first impression of Valya once you were able to read material from the show? Very messed-up, very tough, very damaged. Very, very driven in the sense of the ends justifying the means. The end to her is righteous. She's in the business of saving the universe and saving humankind. She basically founds a cult, and cult leaders are very charismatic, persuasive people. They pit young people in competition with each other to be the most zealous. It's a sort of recruiting tool — telling people they're special and that they're the chosen ones and that they can save the world. It's the beginning of a myth. It's the beginning of thousands of years of creating a myth. Which aspect of her character appeals to you in how you approach portraying her as an actor? I love the idea of going into the world of science fiction and superpowers and all of that. But with Valya, all of her powers are in her mind, so the actors are doing the heavy-lifting. It's about mental prowess and having to be very, very present, in-tune with people, and hyper-aware. I like the mental discipline aspect of it. How much consideration did you give Charlotte Rampling's performance from the Villeneuve films? Or did the 10,000-year gap free you up? Absolutely, that 10,000-year gap is liberating. Thank God! At the same time, I do think she's iconic. She's an incredible presence and an incredible actress and so powerful. For our job, that's a direction of travel, but at the same time, with the way that our story was structured — going back to when these character were young and how they began to travel down this path and the unformed nature of what they're doing and the vulnerabilities that they have — it's showing a different arrival point. Was there any framework for you and Jessica Barden (who plays the younger Valya) to synch up your performances? Or were you just relying on the writers? Strangely, we had visions of spending time together, but the strike meant that it was not to be. We did talk. Once I started talking to her — her sense of fierceness and rawness — I felt lucky. To have someone portray your past in such a vivid way, it does an awful lot of the work for you. To arrive at Valya in place where all that youthful wildness is being control and put to a purpose, it felt like a nice journey between the two of us. What was it like to get to see her performance finally? It was great. It was thrilling. It made me nervous. I had seen [the younger actors] around, but we didn't have any scenes together. Seeing how those youngsters created that early world was fantastic. It seems possible within the world of the show that you could eventually be in a scene together. I know! I was saying that her the other day. "I wish we could do stuff together." But there is an awful lot of scope for doing whatever you want in this universe. How does thorough world-building in the production design affect your performance? It immediately gives you a sense of place and a sense of status. Again, it does a lot of the work for you. Those costumes were very powerful, feminine, and dark. Wearing a veil, in fact, I found thrilling. It's like wearing a mask. It's liberating because you can project a different kind of power from behind a veil. I love that. But also, the sets were breathtaking. Every time we went onto a new set, it was really shocking how big and powerful they were. It was awe-inspiring. There's an epic nature to this story. It's a vast universe, spanning many worlds. You don't have to work to reach for that. Valya's sister, Tula (played as an adult by Olivia Williams), is the closest relationship she has, but the two character spend most of the season apart. What was it like trying to bridge that gap and sell the familiarity? We have enough time together to establish that. Olivia and I are different kinds of actors, but we very much come from the same stable — theater and Shakespeare — with an understanding that you are taking a particular part of the story and serving that. Knowing that they were connected in their mission and what they were trying to achieve, although very far apart from each other, and trusting Olivia as an actor to be running the show back at the school brilliantly while I was off doing what I was doing. That sense of betrayal at the end, that nothing has been what I thought, feels powerful. Valya ends the season on Arrakis. A personal question: How do you feel about sand? I'm not particularly good with heat, so it's going to be interesting. I don't think we can be in the same location because of world events, but judging by the Villeneuve films, they shot everything in the desert at dawn and dusk. Wherever we are, I hope it's the nicest light, but obviously not too hot. Best of GoldDerby Chloë Sevigny on Kitty Menendez and 'Monsters' fascination: 'People are endlessly curious about those who have privilege and abuse it' Jason Isaacs relives filming 'The White Lotus' piña colada scene: 'It was one of the reasons I was worried about taking the job' Kaitlyn Dever on playing 'horrible' characters in 'Last of Us', 'Apple Cider Vinegar': 'I just don't see any other option but to give 100 percent' Click here to read the full article.
