Seth Rogen Shocked Golden Globes Clearances Weren't Needed for ‘The Studio’

Seth Rogen revealed what shocked him the most about filming The Studio episode that was set at the Golden Globes. In the episode, Rogen’s character, movie studio head Matt Remick, begs Zoe Kravitz to mention him in her acceptance speech.

Rogen was granted permission to film the eighth episode of the Apple TV+ comedy inside the Beverly Hilton ballroom, where the annual awards ceremony takes place, but that wasn’t his biggest surprise.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Rogen said he was stunned that he didn’t have to get any clearances or approvals from the Golden Globes organization to do an episode that poked fun at the behind-the-scenes of the awards show.

“To this day, I’m confounded and amazed by what we need legal clearances on and what we don’t,” Rogen said. “They’ll come back at you with the weirdest stuff of what you need clearance [for], but like, Kool-Aid? We didn’t get legal clearance on that and the Golden Globes.”

Rogen clarified that he couldn’t use Golden Globes signage in marketing and ads for the show. “But for the actual episode, they were comfortable with it. Which was shocking to me, honestly,” he said.

Without knowing that backstory, fans were more surprised by a cameo by Ted Sarandos, the CEO of Netflix. Somehow, Rogen had no trouble asking the head of a rival streaming platform to make his acting debut on his Apple TV show—in a scene at a urinal, no less.

Rogen said he sent Sarandos the whole episode, so he’d know what he was in for. “And he emailed back within like half an hour and was like, “Yes, this is wonderful," he confirmed to Variety.

Rogen previously told Business Insider that Apple initially asked him to cast their CEO instead of Sarandos. "They asked if we could use Tim Cook instead, and we said no," Rogen told the outlet at a red carpet premiere for The Studio in March.

Related: Seth Rogen Details ‘Petrifying’ Celeb Pitch for ‘The Studio’