The Studio has some notes for Hollywood. Like in The Oner, the second episode of Apple TV+’s new industry comedy (out Wednesday 26 March) from the Superbad team of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. The incoming head of Continental Studios, Matt Remick (Rogen), is careening through the Hollywood Hills in his convertible, racing to the set in time to catch the director’s virtuoso oner. That is a scene filmed in one single, continuous take, which – in this case – must also be completed in “the magic hour” before sunset when the light is just so.
As Matt and fellow executive Sal (Ike Barinholtz) make their clumsy entrance (patronising a PA, offering unwanted feedback, debating whether the oner really is “the ultimate cinematic achievement” or “just a director jacking off”), it becomes clear that the episode will itself unfold in a oner. Very clever.
Did you already know all about oners? Perhaps you have an opinion on the Goodfellas tracking shot v Roger Deakins’s Oscar-winning work on Sam Mendes’s war movie 1917? If so, you are very much The Studio’s target audience: an unabashed cinephile who bemoans the never-ending churn of bankable “IP” while wishing for a return to the days of classics such as Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby, Woody Allen’s Annie Hall or, as Matt ruefully reflects, “some great film that wasn’t directed by a fucking pervert”.
You are, in fact, quite a lot like Matt, a man whom corporate big boss Griffin Mill (Bryan Cranston) suspects of unsuitable instincts: “You’re obsessed with actors and directors liking you, rather than being obsessed with making the studio as much money as possible.” Griffin’s got Matt bang to rights there, as we see in another episode when Matt delegates, delays and otherwise weasels his way out of delivering a necessary note to famous nice-guy director Ron Howard.
Unlike Matt, though, The Studio has plenty of constructive criticism to offer, with a point of view on every live industry issue, from overlong running times to gender parity. All the episodes zip along like an assistant in a golf cart crossing the lot on an emergency coffee run, but all contribute something interesting to the big picture. Because Matt’s personal dilemma is also the dilemma at the heart of cinema: are we making art here? Or are we making money? Is it possible to do both? And if it is, can you do so without turning into a total lying, scheming scumbag, who’d sell your grandmother for an awards speech shoutout?
Rogen and Goldberg seem to be managing, at least judging by The Studio’s crammed cameo list, which overflows with the friends they’ve made – and kept – along the way. I mean, they managed to get Scorsese for the first episode. And let me tell you, no one plays “Martin Scorsese” like Martin Scorsese. This guy’s got talent!
Indeed, every cameo in The Studio is a career-best, and every supporting actor is perfectly cast. It’s a treat whenever Kathryn Hahn enters a room as marketing maven Maya, giant adult sippy-cup in hand, to ream out Matt for even aspiring to cool (“Who are you? The fucking Fonz?”). Or when ex-studio head Patty (Catherine O’Hara) turns up to reminisce – very respectfully, mind – about some dearly departed dick (“He had a package like a caramel leather sofa … rest in peace”).
One evergreen criticism is that, like La La Land or Entourage, The Studio is another example of the industry’s self-obsession which risks alienating the average audience member, who’s never set foot on a soundstage nor sampled the delights of on-set catering. Not even a single M&M.
But, as Maya could tell you – might scream in your face, in fact – not everything needs to be relatable, Matt. Whatever happened to being awestruck by glamour? This is Hollywood, baby, the town where, actually, magic hour lasts all day. Or all decade, back in the 70s; that era of Easy Riders and Raging Bulls, which the Continental team are subconsciously, sartorially reaching for in every scene. But wait, maybe the glory days aren’t over just yet, because The Studio is a triumph! You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll pre-order the Blu-ray. Two thumbs up. Five stars. No notes.
