Overview
- Rogen made the remarks in interviews published over the weekend, saying a 2007-style process—where a studio buys a script, sets a budget and release date, then casts and makes the film—would not happen today.
- He described a current greenlight process that requires a director and recognizable actors to be attached up front, and said studios will alter shooting timelines to secure names they believe will boost box office returns.
- Rogen contrasted today’s approach with an earlier executive mindset he credits to figures like former Sony chief Amy Pascal, who he says once trusted filmmakers to assemble the funniest cast and deliver the best version of a film.
- He acknowledged exceptions to the rule, pointing to recent low-budget horror hits such as Obsession and Backrooms and noting he met Backrooms director Kane Parsons years before that movie broke out.
- The shift he describes could reduce chances for new actors and writers to break through on studio timetables and steer studios toward safer, name-driven choices that favor short-term commercial predictability.