The Studio: The Missing Reel

April 9, 2025 6:28 PM - Season 1, Episode 4

Title says it all. "You'll be the man who killed film."

AV Club review.

"I'm going to walk in on you one day fucking a reel of film."

"She made Zac do 40 takes of putting on a hat."

"He's a weirdo for sure, but I believe every word he said."

"She smelled like rubbing alcohol!!!"

"It's just a ripoff of Chinatown!"

"Classic Hollywood ending."

posted by jenfullmoon (13 comments total)

I enjoyed the big chase scene, knowing that it will be presented as a one-shot.
posted by applesurf at 8:45 PM on April 9

This was a fantastic episode. I was getting a little worried that The Studio was just going to be Curb Your Producerism with everyone yelling at each other and Seth Rogen being afraid of pissing off directors, just over and over, but I loved this Neo-Noir turn. It was pitch perfect. And the final scene in this was so just great slapstick fun.
posted by dis_integration at 2:16 PM on April 10 [1 favorite]

I shared dis_integration's concern about it leaning super hard into the cringe aspect (I find Curb unwatchable) but this show continues to surprise me. I like that Sal's character appears (so far) to really be a good friend to Matt, rather than immediately showing him twiddling a mustache and plotting against him at every turn. I like that Rogan is great at showing how the job is pretty much making Matt second guess everything about himself, his decisions, and what he thought he knew about the industry he has idolized his whole life. I think the cameos and the 'stars playing themselves' aspect is working really well. And Rogan is smart enough to surround himself with a phenomenal cast, and to use the 'every scene is a one-shot' formula in a way that doesn't feel hackneyed or over-done.

Now hoping for an episode that centers Katherine Hahn's character and her bonkers outfits in the main storyline!
posted by Molasses808 at 3:35 PM on April 10 [3 favorites]

god everything about this show is just so good huh
posted by DoctorFedora at 6:43 PM on April 10 [1 favorite]

I don't know what to make of the show. It's VERY well done, but it's also cringe comedy that's dedicated to making its lead into a sad, pathetic, ineffectual ass when he wants to be the hero of the movie biz. More of a deep down tragedy when you think about it.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:09 PM on April 10 [1 favorite]

This has continued to be a fun show.

Farewell '51 Corvette, but what will Rogen be driving next?

I think so far as the show draws upon Hollywood, be it genre, be it stereotypes, and so on, and everyone is gleefully in on the joke, it will continue to be a pretty great ride.
posted by Atreides at 10:20 AM on April 11

NYT article on the fashion of The Studio:

Am I wrong that the lapels on Matt’s suits seem to beef up as the season goes on?

As his ego and his confidence grows, his lapels start getting bigger and bigger. We would joke, like, “If you could see it pointing up from behind him, you knew that today he had a big ego.”

What was going on with Maya Mason, the marketing chief played by Kathryn Hahn?

I just thought of people like Beyoncé, Gwen Stefani and J.Lo, who have stylists that come in and create looks for music videos. But then some people try to incorporate that style in their day-to-day life. Maya’s maybe one of them. In Episode 1, she’s wearing a Stüssy shirt and Diesel jeans that are boots. Like, “This is cool, this is what the kids are wearing.” I shopped for her at H. Lorenzo and Ssense.

posted by jenfullmoon at 10:44 AM on April 11 [1 favorite]

I was a bit surprised to see that Matt swapped out his British convertible for a Corvette, but was immediately taken out of the story when they said it was supposed to be a 1953 and the third one off the assembly line. All the '53 Vettes were white with red interiors. Pennant Blue wasn't available until 1954, and yes, the first thing I did after watching the episode was to do a bit of research to confirm my understanding of early Vette colour palettes. I guess we'll have to blame the sheik for the non-factory-spec restoration.

I probably wouldn't be focused on the car so much if it weren't part of the plot. It's also not a car I would pick to recreate a film noir chase scene. I would have picked something at least a decade (or maybe two) older and something more substantial (think big fenders) that would have felt more in period with the hat and trench coats. A Corvette of that era signals the exact opposite of a film noir car: it's about open roads and sunny skies.

(As an aside, somebody in the car wrangling department is a Jaguar fan, first with the E-type in Sarah Polley episode and now with the XJS seen in this one. And yup, I get it.)

This show is a bit of a mixed bag for me. I love the technical skill that is displayed in the filmmaking. I love the atmosphere and the sets and the costumes and the cars. I really hate that Matt is such a idiot. I get that he's in love with the industry, but if he has worked his way up to studio head, he should a bit more worldly.
posted by sardonyx at 9:57 PM on April 14 [1 favorite]

I am here for the car critique, thank you.
posted by Atreides at 7:04 AM on April 15 [2 favorites]

Well, since I have an audience...

Zac Efron paying $2 million for the Vette either means:

a) he really wants the movie to get made (even though he said he didn't have time for a reshoot--and if that's the case, how did they reshoot that last reel?) and he is just that nice of a guy to put his money into the project

b) he really is a sucker when it comes to buying classic cars.

As evidence of b) I'd argue that Matt's Corvette isn't worth $2 million, or anywhere close to that.

Okay, a low serial number is a desirable feature and adds to the value. An interesting ownership history also can jack up the price (although some random, unnamed sheik wouldn't necessarily add any value, he'd have to somebody more important/well-known than that).

But even with those factors, the price is still too high for that car. Hagerty has a value of $178,000 listed for a base 1953 in good condition (and with that paint job I don't think the car would rate much more than good).

Autotrader currently has a 1953 (in the proper colours) listed for just a hair under $50,000. I've put the ad into the Wayback machine to prevent link rot. (And I must say, for that price, it's a really tempting car, and I have been missing my roadster....) I see 1954s mostly running between $70,000 and $200,000 (with one outlier at with a lot of custom work, including a lot of cosmetic touches that I think detract from the car's appearance, listing at $680,000).

Past sales results on Bring A Trailer, show '53s going for between $130,000 and $220,000, but for the purposes of this discussion, there is currently a low serial number (#5) 1953 Vette up for auction. The current bid is $250,000 with four days to go. It will be interesting to see where it finally lands. It seems to be nicely restored (as far as it's possible to tell from a website). Again, he's the Wayback version of the current page. It didn't save as perfectly as one would hope, but scroll down for pictures and descriptions.
posted by sardonyx at 8:35 AM on April 15 [1 favorite]

Kinda wonder if one of the writers got hoodwinked over a similar car at some point.
posted by Atreides at 10:36 AM on April 15 [1 favorite]

At some point I was expecting the phrase "matching numbers" to have been dropped in reference to the car and was a tiny bit disappointed that it wasn't. I guess that would have been too much "inside baseball" for a show about a movie studio that doesn't necessarily have an automotive-oriented audience in mind.
posted by sardonyx at 12:27 PM on April 15 [1 favorite]

Just in case anybody is reading this in the future, the final bid on the auction Vette was USD$410,000.
posted by sardonyx at 1:02 PM on April 19