Comedy’s Dynamic Duo, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg
No, we are not in jail. And am I really that short?!
“If we can write a high school movie, then we can make a high school movie.”
— Seth Rogen
This episode features a dynamic duo. Seth Rogen (@SethRogen) is an actor, writer, producer, and director. Evan Goldberg (@EvanDGoldberg) is a Canadian director, screenwriter, and producer. Together, they get into a lot of mischief and create amazing comedy.
They’ve collaborated on films such as Superbad (which they first conceived as teenagers), Knocked Up, Pineapple Express, The Green Hornet, and Funny People. They have also written for Da Ali G Show and The Simpsons.
In 2013, Evan and Seth released their directorial debut, This Is the End. In 2014, Seth starred in and produced (alongside Evan) Neighbors, which was a worldwide comedy hit and has taken in more than $268 million.
In December 2014, Rogen and Goldberg’s film, The Interview, became the most-talked-about news story around the world. Under extremely difficult circumstances, the film persevered to become Sony Pictures’ #1 digital title of all time.
Neighbors 2 is shooting now and will be released next May. Seth and Evan are also in production on Sausage Party, a raunchy animated movie for adults about one sausage’s quest to discover the truth about his existence. Seth and Evan are producing the film with Megan Ellison and Conrad Vernon.
In our conversation, we discuss all manner of tactics and silliness, including:
Kyokushin karate
Writer’s block and related debates
Their writing process
Who are the most underrated comedians and comedy writers?
How Superbad got made… after they first drafted it around age 13
The odd book Judd Apatow recommended to them (also Woody Allen’s favorite)
How The Kids in the Hall influenced them
The movie they both wish they’d written
Common pot mistakes
Recommended newb pot for working versus relaxing
Will there be a McLovin spinoff?
And much more…
Listen to it on iTunes.
Stream by clicking here
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Want to hear another podcast related to comedy? — Listen to my conversation with Bryan Callen, who is a world-class comic and prolific actor. Stream this episode below or right-click here to download.
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QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: If you could interview any comedian, who would it be and why? Please let me know in the comments.
Scroll below for links and show notes…
Enjoy!
Selected Links from the Episode
The comic strip Calvin and Hobbes
The movie The Mist
The Freaks and Geeks television series
The Ski Patrol movie
Undeclared
Talladega Nights
The 40-Year-Old Virgin
Adaptation
The Princess Bride
The Larry Sanders Show
Rejected: A Film by Don Hertzfeldt
The Kids In The Hall
Fawlty Towers
Monty Python
Absolutely Fabulous
Watchmen by Alan Moore
Preacher – Book One by Garth Ennis
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Art Of Dramatic Writing by Lajos Egri
The Conquest of Happiness by Bertrand Russell
Love You Forever by Robert Munsch
The Fast and the Furious
“How Do People Get New Ideas?”
Jack Herer
Connect with Seth Rogen:
Twitter (@Sethrogen) | Facebook | Instagram (@sethrogen)
Connect with Evan Goldberg on Twitter (@evandgoldberg)
Show Notes
The story of how Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg got into karate and beat the shit out of each other [06:42]
How their view of competitive violence changed after karate [10:58]
How Seth and Evan first met and when they first started collaborating [12:08]
How Seth and Evan decided to write Superbad [16:05]
The differences between standup comedy and movie writing [19:30]
How Seth and Evan’s writing process works [25:03]
How This Is The End came together, and how they created the film [27:01]
How the Superbad script came to life [33:24]
Being hired to write for Da Ali G Show and other acting roles [40:06]
The lessons Seth and Evan learned from Judd Apatow [44:06]
Thoughts on the concept of writer’s block [48:29]
Today’s most underrated comedy writers [52:04]
The first person who comes to mind when Seth and Evan think of the word successful [57:52]
The habit Evan picked up when working with Snoop Dogg [1:03:01]
The advice Evan and Seth would give their 25-year-old selves [1:05:07]
The reason nearly all involved in Freaks and Geeks ended up being so successful [1:11:06]
Weed and productivity [1:14:20]
The types of pot for different situations [1:17:30]
People Mentioned
Judd Apatow
Paul Feig
Jake Kasdan
Nicolas Cage
Hannibal Buress
Sacha Baron Cohen
Don Hertzfeldt
Trey Parker
Matt Stone
Woody Allen
Elon Musk
Bryan Callen
Steve Jobs
Isaac Asimov
