Actor-turned-producer Seth Rogen (“Knocked Up”) makes comedies for theatrical release, a stiffly competitive market, apparently, due to Marvel.
Speaking with GamesRadar, Rogen said that Marvel movies are essentially “$200 million comedies” that comedic filmmakers have to compete with.
“Something that me and [producing partner] Evan [Goldberg] talk about a lot is how Marvel movies are comedies,” Rogen said, as reported by Fox News. “‘Thor: Ragnarok’ is a comedy. ‘Ant-Man’ is a comedy at its core. So that’s what’s out there. There are $200-million comedies out there, and so that’s something, as a comedic filmmaker, to be aware of. That is the benchmark that people expect!”
“If you’re going to make a big huge comedy, just know that your competition is Marvel. Not to say you should not make those types of films, but know that’s what audiences are seeing, and that, when you see those movies in theaters, they are playing like comedies. They are legitimately funny and star comedy stars,” continued Rogen.
The trick, according to Rogen, is to differentiate the comedies he offers from the comedy that Marvel offers.
“What we’re offering is pure comedy and emotion and relatability and nostalgia. That’s the trade-off,” he said. “You don’t get to see the God of Thunder being hilarious, but you get to see something that maybe represents your actual life, and that’s very gratifying in another way.”
Seth Rogen, who leans politically Left, made headlines last week when he said that he is “actively trying to make less things starring white people.” He said this even while promoting his recent film, “An American Pickle,” in which he plays both lead characters at the same time.
“I mean, personally, I think I am just actively trying to make less things starring white people,” Rogen said. “And if I’m succeeding or I’m not, I’m very much looking to have a far more diverse group of writers and directors and actors that we generally work with, because that group is not incredibly diverse, you know?”
“So that’s how I’ve been trying to deal with it, is just to actively take as they would say, anti-racist measures to assure that some work is [being] done to acknowledge that Black people are very marginalized in American society,” he added.
Prior to that statement, Rogen outraged Jewish conservatives when he openly knocked the state of Israel as something that makes no sense and thrives on propaganda at the expense of the Palestinians.
“You don’t keep all your Jews in one basket,” he said on Marc Maron’s podcast. “It makes no sense whatsoever. It would be nice to live somewhere that was not a part of the Christian apocalyptic prophecy. … Maybe settle somewhere that the Christians don’t think you all have to die in order for the Apocalypse [to happen].”
“To me it just seems an antiquated thought process,” he continued. “If it is for religious reasons, I don’t agree with it, because I think religion is silly. If it is for truly the preservation of Jewish people, it makes no sense, because again, you don’t keep something you’re trying to preserve all in one place — especially when that place has proven to be pretty volatile, you know? ‘I’m trying to keep all these things safe, I’m gonna put them in my blender and hope that that’s the best place.’”
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