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Seth Rogen reveals how David Zaslav inspired Bryan Cranston's executive in The Studio: 'He knows his reputation'

Seth Rogen says that controversial executive David Zaslav helped inspire Bryan Cranston's character in 'The Studio': 'He knows his reputation, so he wants to present himself as kind of cool and loose.'

As his protagonist oversees a number of shaky movie productions, he crosses paths with a murderers' row of familiar faces — some of whom are playing themselves, while others portray heightened characters inspired by megalomaniacs and oddballs who Rogen has encountered over the years. Griffin maintains a surprisingly laid-back demeanor, but also urges Matt to be as vicious and unfeeling as possible, essentially encouraging Rogen's character to overpower directors and actors in the name of fiscal responsibility. At first, the Apollo 13 director seems like the unflappably nice guy we're all familiar with, but as the episode progresses and he comes to creative blows with Matt, Howard devolves into a laughably cruel, emotionally volatile jerk that couldn't be further from his public persona.

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