‘The Studio' decoded: A guide to the comically passive-aggressive Hollywood speak in episode 1

CNN

01-04-2025

The new Apple TV+ series 'The Studio' is a typical office comedy, set in a workplace that on any given day might be visited by Martin Scorsese, Zoë Kravitz or Zac Efron.
Co-created by and starring Seth Rogen as Matt Remick, a newly-appointed head of the fictional Continental movie studio, the series is a satire about the disrupted state of the film industry, insecure executives, artist egos and corporate greed, with a whole lot of A-list talent in on the jokes. It's Corporate Erin for those who hear the words 'award season' and think 'gridlock' not 'glamour.'
Despite the Hollywood setting and over-the-top cameos, Rogen hopes anyone who's worked in an office with a ridiculous boss or found themselves feeling uncertain about their careers will laugh, too.
'We took great care to make sure the comedic premise itself was relatable to anyone watching,' Rogen recently told the Guardian.
Still, some terms – like movies and television shows themselves – carry more meaning than you might see on the surface and require a little translation. Here's your guide to some of the famously passive aggressive language of entertainment, as featured in episode 1.
'I had an idea, actually, that I was going to run by you for the scene,' Rogen as Remick tells Pete, the director (Peter Berg), between shots during a set visit as the episode begins. 'Buddy, we're good on ideas, thanks though. I'll see you at Charlize's party, right?' the director responds as he walks away.
Translation, Remick: 'I really wish I had your job.'
Translation, Pete: 'I don't have to listen to you, but I may have to run into you again.' Bonus dig: 'I'm on a first name basis with Charlize Theron and know that you're probably not.'
'Patty's gonzo. She's gotta be. Ten straight bombs. She gave all her dumbass friends overalls. She spent $30 million restoring this building. She's done and I kind of feel like I'm going to replace her,' aspiring C-suite studio exec Sal Saperstein (Ike Barinholtz) says to Remnick.
Translation: Saperstein is not-so-secretly thrilled that Patty (Catherine O'Hara) may be getting fired and he knows it would be for the same reasons most male studio heads in town would use to justify their multimillion dollar bonuses. He also (overconfidently) sees himself as the obvious heir apparent.
'I've heard that you are really into artsy-fartsy filmmaking bull***t, that you're obsessed with with actors and directors liking you rather than being obsessed with making this studio as much money as possible,' Griffin Mill (Bryan Cranston), an amalgamation of every major media conglomerate CEO, says to Remick.
'Me?' Remick responds incredulously. 'That could not be further from the truth. I am as bottomline oriented as anyone in this town.'
Translation, Mill: 'I don't care about films. I care about making movies that make money.'
Translation, Remick: 'I will say anything I think you want to hear to get this job.'
'I am very close to closing on the deal to get the rights to Kool-Aid and I'm talking huge, four-quadrant version of it,' Mill says to Remick.
'That is f***ing perfect! That's exactly what we should be doing, Mr. Mill,' Remick responds with enthusiasm.
Translation, Mill: 'I'm going to turn Kool-Aid into the next billion-dollar 'Barbie.''
Translation, Remick: 'This is the worst idea, ever.'
'We are going to make the auteur-driven, Oscar-winning Kool-Aid film,' Remick to his executive team.
'Did 'Mario Brothers' win an Oscar? No, it didn't, but you know what it did win? $1.3 billion,' marketing executive Maya (Kathryn Hahn.)
Translation, Remick: 'My work matters. I have taste.'
Translation, Maya: 'Emphatically, you don't. I can't sell this.'
'It's for sure the best version of the very, very, very, very middle-of-the-road version of this. It's not what I want to be coming out of the gate with, but Griffin Mill will love it and more importantly, he'll have it by the end of the week,' Remick says about a Kool-Aid pitch.
Translation: 'My soul is not-so-slowly being killed.'
'I got into all of this because, you know, I love movies, but now I have this fear that my job is to ruin them,' Remick says to his mentor and recently fired predecessor, Patty.
'The job is a meat grinder. It makes you stressed, then panicked and miserable. One week you're looking your idol in the eye and breaking his heart, and the next week you're writing a blank check for an entitled nepo baby in a beanie. But when it all comes together and you make a good movie, it's good forever,' Patty responds.
Translation, Remick: 'This high-profile job I wanted so badly and finally landed might actually suck.'
Translation, Patty: 'It's as bad as you fear but worth it.'