Rothman: The Studio misrepresents Hollywood, kernel of truth

Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group chief Tom Rothman said the Apple TV satire The Studio captures a small truth about Hollywood but largely misrepresents the industry, calling much of the show "horseshit" in a recent interview with Letterboxd. Rothman, who spoke after the series earned a record haul of Emmy nominations, said the comedy gets right "a kernel of brilliant, blinding truth" about executives trying to do the right thing, but that the program overstates moral compromise and caricatures studio leaders.

"In each one of those episodes, there is a kernel of brilliant, blinding truth, and that is what makes great satire," Rothman said. "The show is wonderfully satiric. Besides that kernel, everything else is horseshit. Maybe some days, but most days were not morons." He added that he viewed the series with "the sense of humor intended," and recounted using the show's premise as an onstage joke at CinemaCon earlier this year, greeting attendees with "Hi, everybody, I'm Seth Rogen."

The Studio, created by Seth Rogen and collaborators, stars Rogen as Matt Remick, the idealistic new chief of a fictional Continental Studios who repeatedly clashes with the commercial realities of...