Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s critically acclaimed Hollywood satire The Studio pulled back the velvet rope to let viewers inside high-profile industry events like the Golden Globes and CinemaCon. Hours after the Apple TV+ series tied the record for the most Emmy Award nominations for a comedy series, Rogen confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that the team had zeroed in on other glitzy affairs to serve as episode backdrops for the upcoming second season that is currently being shaped.
Though he remained mum on specifics, Rogen’s surprise appearance at this year’s Venice Film Festival all but confirmed that the Lido could figure prominently into Matt Remick’s next adventures.
Rogen turned up at Monday night’s anticipated world premiere of Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine, starring Dwayne Johnson as early UFC icon Mark Kerr opposite Emily Blunt. Though he tried to blend in with the black-tie clad attendees while hanging against a wall of photographers, Rogen was spotted by press, including THR, as he and Safdie chatted it up and took turns snapping photos of one another. In fact, Rogen kept his camera close all throughout the night by taking loads of photos on the red carpet and studiously documenting the wild standing ovation that went on for 15 minutes.
Following the world premiere, Rogen joined Safdie, Johnson, Blunt, Kerr, Smashing Machine producers and A24 executives for a glamorous post-premiere reception at the lush Moro Venezia inside Palazzo Franchetti in the San Marco neighborhood. Inside, Rogen confirmed to THR that he is indeed on the island to scout locations and do research for The Studio.
“It’s so beautiful here,” he said by a terrace bar in between fielding selfie requests from adoring Italian fans. “But I have a headache just thinking of all the logistics we have to figure out to shoot here.”
Rogen on the red carpet at The Smashing Machine during the Venice Film Festival on Sept. 1, 2025.
(Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)
Rogen stars in the series as frequently beleaguered studio boss Matt Remick who is trying to maintain his perch and build a legacy in an IP-dominated industry. The show featured a who’s who of Hollywood stars, many of whom also landed Emmy nods, among them Martin Scorsese, Ron Howard, Bryan Cranston, Kathryn Hahn, Catherine O’Hara, Ike Barinholtz, Zoë Kravitz, Anthony Mackie and Dave Franco. One of the reasons the show appealed to industry insiders and critics alike was the way it satirized such events as the Globes and CinemaCon.
A glamorous film festival like Venice, with its culture of pomp and circumstance and extended standing ovations (including the heated online debates surrounding whether the times mean much beyond the world premieres), seem ripe for a dishy take from Rogen, Goldberg and The Studio’s writers’ room. Rogen will certainly have plenty of photographic evidence to pull from for inspiration.
The Studio season 2 takes Venice? Seth Rogen shoots the standing ovation following the world premiere of Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt. Rogen confirmed to THR that he’s visiting the festival to scout locations for next season of his… pic.twitter.com/e47tRnhqU3
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) September 1, 2025
Seth Rogen was in the mix of attendees standing on their feet during the 15-minute standing ovation for Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt. He was snapping photos and recording video, and overheard saying, “That was awesome!” #Venezia82 pic.twitter.com/YCpBFrIbDF
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) September 1, 2025