We are Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg - Ask Us Anything

Was it hard to get Michael Cera to kiss a girl in Superbad?

Actually, FabulousFaceRape, it was quite easy to get him to kiss a girl. Thanks for asking, FabulousFaceRape. My regards to Mrs. FaceRape.

You guys have stated that some of the funniest jokes in Superbad were from the original script that you two wrote when you were 13 year olds. What is one of the jokes that stands out from the original script that eventually made it into the movie?

"funny thing about my back... it's located on my cock."

And.

Mclovin.

Where does a celebrity buy weed from?

I have a prescription, so I buy it from a store. It's a fucking dream come true.

No question, just a huge thank you for making high-class stoner films and expanding the genre so drastically. Pineapple Express blew my mind.

That's why it's especially important for stoners to become politicians, lawyers, and doctors.

Shoutout to /r/trees.

SETH! I'm your doppelganger. Everyone tells me I look like you; from good friends, to total strangers walking down the street. Happens at least once a day. What do YOU think?

By the way, you in need of a stunt double??

EDIT: Thanks for the Reddit Gold, whoever you are! Got some luxurious, VIP Redditing in my future. What a beautiful day to look like Seth!

Not bad. Of all the chubby jews with stubble and glasses, you're the most like me.

I heard Emma Watson walked off the set because you were high. Is this true?

No. That would make for a wonderful story though. Emma seemed super psyched with how everything went and even came to our premier to do press. I think if you're that put off by weed, odds are you aren't working with us in the first place.

Did you guys already have her in mind to play the part before/while writing the script?

Yeah. We wrote the part for her and then went out and asked her. We where fucking shocked when she said yes.

DID YOU DOWNLOAD THE YEEZUS LEAK?

You bet your ass I did. I'm shocked he made a song inspired by our film "guilt trip" but I'm flattered.

Please tell me Pineapple Express 2 wasn't just a joke. That film NEEDS to be made!

We talk about it all the time. The story we have in This is the End is the actual story we talk about doing. We have some original (we hope) ideas that we want to do before doing sequels, and comedy sequels seem to be the hardest, but it's definitely something that we keep coming back to. And the enthusiasm for it is hard to ignore.

Seth: What’s the one joke or line in one of your films that made your parents roll their eyes and say “Really, son?”.

Evan: Why don’t you act in the films you write?

My parents sometimes get sick of me talking about weed on talkshows and shit like that. They finally said to me "jesus, do you have to talk about weed all the fucking time?" but people always asks so I don't know what to say.

Evan: I don't act because I have a bad memory and third eyeball.

How much of This is the End was ad libbed?

About 50%. The actors came up with a lot of crazy shit, and topped our script a lot more than we'd like to admit.

Seth, on a scale of Mr. Rogers to Snoop "Lion". How high are you right now?

I'm about Harrison Ford right now.

Why was Jonah so angry in his Rolling Stone interview?

I think sometimes they just catch us on a bad day. I talked to that guy for about two hours and when I went home I was like "jesus, I said about two thousand things that could make me look like a complete motherfucker". Alot of it is luck of the draw as to what the people will choose to use, and how they want the article to be. Jonah is not bruce banner in real life.

Seth: what is your reaction to Freaks and Geeks becoming such a revered and celebrated tv show?

It's fucking crazy. When it got cancelled, there weren't really shows on dvd and netflix didn't exist, so there was no precedent for shows that got cancelled to come back to life. We thought it was done. And now more people probably watch it than when it was on in the first place, which is awesome and unexpected. I'm blown away by it.

What is the best advice you've ever received?

"Never touch the pole in a strip club." - Evan's Dad

How the hell did you proposition the actors for This Is The End? Like Rihanna and such.

Well, Seth had noticed that in magazine interviews Rihanna had said that some of her favorite movies were SUPERBAD and PINEAPPLE EXPRESS, so it was a shot in the dark and she said yes. Emma Watson, we just kind of reached out. And everybody else we knew in some capacity and called them up as a friend, and asked if they wanted to come to New Orleans and die really quickly.

Come to New Zealand to make a movie, fuckers! You can stay at my house. We'll go pig stalking.

We're going to be in Australia in 2 days for THIS IS THE END press - if you hop over the ocean, you could see us there!

First, I want to say thanks for making 50/50. It offers great insight into what it's like to be a young adult cancer patient (an often overlooked group). I'm a comic and I think cancer can be pretty goddamn funny. Anyway, on to the questions:

• I'd really like to get into writing, producing (and hopefully) acting. What do you think is the best way to get my foot in the door? PA work? Writers assistant? Working as a personal assistant to an established producer? None of the above?

• How do you go about writing with a partner? Do you both write in separate locations or are you always in the same room? I've written with a partner before but I felt like it stifles the creative process to have someone in the room with me because I get self conscious.

Thanks for doing this AMA :)

Thanks so much. Working for established people is a great way to break in if you can do that. I always tell people to just make their own content and if it's good, it'll break through. do standup, make funny or die videos, get a youtube channel, write scripts, make movies, just do it. you can make a movie on your phone nowadays, so just do whatever you think is hysterical and original. We always write together. Because we love each other.

Hey Seth! I met you a few weeks ago when you visited Oakland to promote your film, and I took this AWESOME picture with you. I wanted to say thanks for being so chill about greeting your fans, and I wanted to ask you if we are wearing the same glasses? Penguin, right?

Ha. No. Raybans. But you are very handsome.

How sexy is Franco on a scale of 1-10?

James Franco is an 11 out of 10 on the sex-o-meter.

were you actually stoned when you filmed any of your scenes?

Ha. Sometimes maybe for some low impact scenes.

Have you ever used real marijuana while shooting those scenes?

We're not as unprofessional as people might think.

Probably in a residual sense but it's hard to act really high. for me anyway.

Just wanted to say you guys are awesome and I'm leaving in like thirty minutes to see This Is The End.

THanks!

I love you. You are the funniest guy in the world, what is your opinion on the illegal downloading of movies?

I personally don't do that because it does take money out of people's pockets. sometimes very small films rely on sales to make any money. Huge movies are okay to ilegally download though. Ha! download man of steel all you want.

Man of Steel wouldn't happen to be up against any other movies this weekend would it?

are you implying that we are petty and competitive? Cause we are.

Did you guys have much luck with girls in high school?

No, that's why we made SUPERBAD. If you're having trouble not getting laid, take that frustration and put that towards a future career, because it's not going to immediately change the fact that you're not getting laid.

Are you two really making a movie about Kim Jong Il?

It is not Kim Jong Il, it is his son, Kim Jong Un. We're doing it with James Franco. We're shooting in Vancouver. We're super-excited!

What is the worst thing Evan asked a cast member to do and they refused?

I asked Craig if he would say a bunch of terrible things about Mother Teressa and he almost did it but then politely asked that we not push that joke and we begrudgingly let it go.

Was the house in the movie actually James Franco's home?

No. The inside was built in a warehouse that was used to store coffee beans. The outside was largely computer generated. I don't think franco actually has a house. He lives in a library like the bum in "With Honors".

I actually extra-d on this in NOLA last summer and had a blast, and I loved seeing the movie. Most of the characters are more or less how we imagine them from all the other stuff they've done. And then there is Michael Cera. Where did the inspiration for the crazy, coke-blowing George Michael Bluth come from?

We thought up the character first - someone who is just a cokehead, maniac sex-deviant - and then retroactively, we thought who would be the most surprising person to see in the role. So we chose the sweetest, most beautiful, innocent boy in the world, Michael Cera.

Dopest dope you've ever smoked?

Whoooo. toughy. The first time I went to amsterdam when I was 19 I was alone waiting to meet a friend, so I went into a coffee shop and asked for the strongest weed they had. I smoked a huge joint of it alone and then sat alone in the coffee shop for two hours having no idea what to do. I kept thinking my giant backpack was in people's way.

Which do you like better, things or stuff?

I'd say that things are undeniably better, because stuff sucks shit.

Seth, I've been following you on twitter and you still seem to be pretty down to Earth, have you noticed any changes in yourself since you've become famous?

I only eat off diamond plates and my cutlery is made from the bones of christian babies. But other than that I'm same ol' seth.

Can I pitch my screenplay to you guys on here

Yea, sure, go for it!

What's your tradition for opening weekend on a movie?

I usually stress out like crazy and yell and people for no reason as a way of dealing with my insecurities.

If you had to have Randy Newman's voice, which era of Randy Newman's voice would you want?

The "Toy Story" Era of Newman.

Seth, you were a writer for Sacha Baron Cohen on the Ali G Show…what was that like?

It was great. It was mine and Evan's first actual job together. We would think of people he could interview and then write the questions that he would ask the people, while trying to predict what the people we are interviewing might say. We went on the road to texas and then to spring break in florida where we exposed frat boys as being much more homo-erotic than they would have liked.

Why is Evan never in any of the movies you guys write?

I am in the last scene in this is the end dancing with my wife

Seth, remember that time on some talk show when you told the host that your girlfriend wanted to get a dog, but you said no because then she'd want a baby.....well, how's your wife enjoying her dog?

She loves our dog more than most people love their babies.

What is your favorite movie you've done?

Probably THIS IS THE END and PINEAPPLE EXPRESS. They're both just so fucking crazy, and specifically I think we enjoyed making these we were thinking the whole time "I can't believe they're letting us make this."

On a different note, I, Evan, would like to note that I didn't work on OBSERVE & REPORT but wish I had, because of how cool it is.

Who are your favorite people to smoke weed with?

I mostly like smoking weed with babies.

Which of your many, many quotable lines do you get shouted at you walking down the street?

This is Evan; neither of us really get lines shouted at us. Seth used to get "You know how i know YOU'RE gay?" a lot, but now no one cares about him or me. We're just dust in the wind...

Who is the weirdest person you know?

Probably Michel Gondry. He is the least normal human I've ever met in my life; he's from a different planet made of styrofoam and lego, where physics and logic are not the same as in our world.

Hi Seth and Evan Which would you say was your most stressful movie to make? And which one was the best or funniest to make?

GREEN HORNET was definitely the most stressful. 50/50, SUPERBAD and THIS IS THE END were all a lot of fun.

Was there anyone in particular that you wanted to kill during filming because of any reason?

The answer to any question - "who could you not believe was there?" "Rihanna."

"Who did you most want to kill?" "Rihanna."

If we were killing someone or just thrilled to have someone on set, it was Rihanna. She is more famous than everyone else on the film combined.

What is the proper term: sneakers or tennis shoes?

As Canadians, we find "sneakers" humorous and refer to them as "runners," which makes a lot more sense. You don't sneak around in them, you run or walk.

I can't think of any questions, but you guys rock.

I have nothing to say because I don't know what you look like or what you do, but you also rock!

Would you direct a new generation of Freaks & Geeks if you had the chance?

No, I have nothing to do with the creative elements of that show, I was just an actor and I don't have the right to do that.

Favorite band?

Our favorite band mutually is Led Zeppelin.

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Spunk-a-riffic!

Our movie has more jerk-off or cum jokes than any movie ever made, and it's a title we hold proudly.

I saw This is the End at the midnight showing. Absolutely loved it. My question : did you toke with any of the Backstreet Boys?

We did not get high with the Backstreet Boys. We'll find out if they do that in the sequel. Besides, they don't need drugs or alcohol. All they need is each other.

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I like all types. Been listening to Ab-soul, Chance the rapper, tyler's new album, yeezus!, daft punk, and of course, Crosby Stills Nash and Young

What was your process in casting the celebrity cameos for This is the End?

Was it just "Let's think of some random celebrities to put in this thing?" or did you already have each celebrity role in mind when writing?

Also, was there anyone who you wanted to have guest star but didn't end up getting?

By the way, saw the movie yesterday, loved it, hardest I've laughed at a movie in theaters in a long time. Keep up the great work.

We wanted a mix of people who you would expect us to be with and not expect. We started with our closer friends and then built from there. We always wrote the parts for the people specifically. A few people had scheduling conflicts, but pretty much everybody was into it which was rad.

Does Craig really sweat a lot in real life?

Yes he does. He actually carries a sweat towel around with him all the time because as he puts it, "I'm always sweating or about to sweat".

Which was your favorite scene to film in This Is The End? Which was your favorite to write?

We loved filming what we refer to as the cum battle. The writing of the first party scene was fun because it was great to see who we could get to do what crazy shit.

Would you rather make a movie that did poorly in theaters and turned out to be a cult classic, or one that was a box office hit but was virtually forgotten in a year?

The first one. We've made both those types of movies (people don't like to admit it, but Green hornet made a shitload of money) and it feels much more gratifying to make movies that people love but aren't as successful. Kind of.

Q1: I know you guys are both writing partners but how does the process work? You obviously discuss it but who writes what and how do you organize your ideas or settle differences?

We both do everything together. We sit in front of one computer at one desk and we make huge lists of ideas that slowly evolve into the movie. We outline the emotional stories and the structure for a long time and then we write the dialogue. All sitting six inches from each other. the whole time.

Ever since we started when we were 13, we've done everything together (except for acting). Even when we were in separate cities, we would write over the phone. If we don't agree on something, it's like any team or partnership, we just debate it until we reach an amicable middle ground. Also we have a lot of great people that we work with - Kyle Hunter, Ariel Shapir, Alex Mcatee, and our producing partner James Weaver, and we bounce stuff off them all the time.

why don't you guys do more work with mclovin?

He is in This is the End and he's in the movie we just finished filming, Townies. He plays a frat guy with a giant cock.

Hey guys, so Jonah got his nomination...Which member of the cast do you see getting an Oscar nom next and why?

Probably not me! Maybe Jay. He's been in movies that have won oscars and whatnot

Love your stuff man. You are a good writer. But anyways, on SNL you mentioned you played Magic. what were the cards you wanted to make? and after you got rich did you buy a black lotus?

Ha. I don't think I ever got the black lotus. The royal assassin was a hot commodity. I am a fucking nerd.

What is you favorite type of pie? Mine would be key lime.

Lemon meringue pie is by far the king of all pies, and the other answer is WRONG!

Your movie This Is The End was infinitely better than I thought it was going to be. Thank you so much for the endless laughs, you're rad.

Well my question is why were your expectations so low. Not cool brosef.

Evan -- who would win in a fight: Franco, McBride, Jonah, Craig or Seth pretending to be Franco pretending to be Harry Osborn from Spider Man?

Hmm...I would say it would be Jonah, playing the Seth from SUPERBAD, who's actually being played by the Seth from Seth's life in the Green Goblin outfit and women's underwear.

So I know This is the End and all... but are all of you guys going to continue to collaborate and make more comedies in the future??

I hope so. We're about to direct another movie with me and Franco. and we have some stuff with Jonah and the others that we're working on too.

shout out to Nick Theodorakis!

What's your biggest piece of advice for writing comedies?

My biggest piece of advice to anybody is just to finish what you start. Because if you don't finish stuff, you're just trying to be a writer. When you finish it, you're a writer. And specifically regarding comedy, share with a lot of your friends; don't be isolationist about it, try to get a lot of opinions and try writing with a partner - it works for me!

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I'm not famous (Evan here) and I'm going to speak for Seth and say that it's ruined his outlook on life and everything is empty for him now.

What projects do you guys have planned after this movie?

We already made another movie with Seth, Rose Byrne, and Zach Efron, called TOWNIES, about Seth and Rose raising a child next to a frat and they go to war.

I noticed Deftones' music was in your film, and the title "This Is The End" is actually a line from the song in the movie, Hole In The Earth. Intentional or no? I mean, I didn't really figure you guys had much to do with the music anyways, I just wanted to know if you guys were Deftones fans?

That is a coincidence, but we did actually pick pretty much all the music in the movie, and I was HUGE in to deftones in high school. Seven words is a fucking sick song.

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I had a lot of fun doing it (this is Seth) - it was very entertaining. What did YOU think?

Who is your man crush?

Chris Messina. He's everything I will never be.

I've been enjoying all your recent podcast appearances. Have you ever considered starting your own?

You should drop by them more often. Especially Doug Loves Movies.

We talk about making our own podcast a lot. The idea is to do a show that reviews people who review movies and other things.

Because there have been too many nights where we've gone to sleep asking ourselves... "who watches the watchmen?

Hey Seth! I saw This Is The End Tuesday night, and it was GREAT. Two questions:

Is Danny McBride actually a jerk, or is he cool?
And, are you and James Franco as close as the movie makes you out to be?

Danny is actually the sweetest guy on earth. He's married and has a baby and I don't think has ever attempted to murder someone.

Me and franco are close, but he's super busy and he never listens anymore!

These are the only questions I could come up with:

What are your favorite beers?

What are your favorite South Park episodes?

Man. I like Canadian beers. Kokanee is what I grew up drinking, so I'm partial to it.

Southpark: hard. Imaginationland is amazing. when jimmy gets a hooker. The world of warcraft one is rad. so many...

Do you have to be REALLY good in English Literature(big vocabulary etc.) in order to write movies?

I was pretty good at English literature (this is Evan speaking) - I was bad at almost everything else. I probably couldn't do this job in French, or Hebrew, or Aramaic.

Damn. You guys have been making the rounds. Adam Carolla Show, NPR, etc. etc. You must be exhausted from answering questions about the movie.

So, my question: Burritos. Great food, or the greatest food?

Depends on the burrito. Breakfast burrito: greatest food.

Which movie is your favorite comedy?

My favorite comedy is SPACEBALLS (this is Evan). I think Mel Brooks is the funniest man ever.

How are you so awesome?

All Comedians are awesome. You just have to know where to look. Which is north.

(Americans are also pretty good)

I loved the L.A specific jokes in the movie, the subtle delivery of the word "Cahuenga" killed me. What other subtle line deliveries / sight gags crack you guys up the most but may not have registered with the whole audience?

I would say every time you see anything that looks like LA, it's not perhaps a gag but something we're proud of because we filmed every minute of the movie in New Orleans - so the Hollywood sign, the palm trees, Melrose are all constructed or made with computers. Actually if you dissect the film the geography makes no sense - they go from Franco's house to a corner store in like 2 minutes walking, which is impossible. It's on the DVD, but we shot a whole thing where they talked about remaking some of their past movies, and only Seth and Jay had heard about Craig Robinson's past movie DRAGON WARS, so we made a bunch of jokes about it. Other than THIS IS THE END, DRAGON WARS probably has the most screwed up layout of LA.

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If it's the clip I'm thinking of, it's not my first show. It was something called "comedy night in canada" and it was my biggest show i'd ever done at that time. I think around 400 people or something. I think I'm around 15 in that video. I may be wearing a "Korn" shirt.

This isn't a question, but you should be in the expendables 3.

I would love to, but I hear that they would want to Josh Gad instead.

How can I get fake Hollywood weed?

That is a very good question! I would call my props master, he could give us the answer. I'm assuming you'd go to the fake weed store.

It would be in the same location on Melrose as the real weed store, except nothing works.

Does any of you guys have time to play videogames? If so, what's your favorite one?

We try to make time for videogames but it's hard these days.

Seth's favorite game is CALL OF DUTY, and I like UNCHARTED.

Hey Evan, sweet name bro. You make all of us proud.

• An Evan

Thanks Evan. From one Evan to another Evan.

Where do you come up with your ideas for these hilarious movies?

Either in Canada or America, usually the Continent of North America. But we had a few zingers in Asia while we were on the Green Hornet trip.

Hey Seth huge fan been watching all of your work for years. I've got a few questions.

I’m wondering How come you don’t you appear on the league more? Your roll as dirty randy is one of the funniest on tv.

Do you ever consider doing more serious/non-commical movies? 50/50 was somewhat a step in that direction but I’m just curious if you are interested in doing movies where you aren’t trying to make people laugh (action, mystery, etc.)

Have you ever considered playing a roll where you are a religious figure (priest, monk, crazy Mormon, etc.)? I think it would be hilarious

We talk about making more dramatics movies, but it really seems that if approached right, you can make any movie into comedic one. 5050 showed us that. It's a greater challenge, but the movie is more accessible and more people will see a movie about a tough subject often if it's funny.

SETH What's the best way to pass a urine drug test for MARIJUANA?

They have things call "whizzinators" which are like dildos that have pee bags in them. all you need is some clean piss (child's) and you're all set.

What is your favourite green vegetable.

Weeeeeeed. Ha!