Seth Rogen recently shared how Sony—the very studio that produced the iconic 2007 comedy Superbad—refused to let Jonah Hill’s character interact with a PlayStation console during filming. The ironic restriction came because executives deemed Hill’s character too “reprehensible” to be associated with their gaming hardware. This peculiar creative limitation becomes even more amusing, considering Hill’s character was actually based on a teenage Rogen himself, making the studio note not just a rejection of a fictional character but inadvertently an insult to one of the film’s creators. The anecdote is a fascinating glimpse into the strange decisions that occur behind the scenes in major film productions.
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Speaking with Rotten Tomatoes at the SXSW premiere of his new Apple TV+ series The Studio, Rogen shared the humorous story when asked about the funniest studio note he’d ever received.
“Sony made the movie and we were told that Jonah Hill‘s character, Seth, was so reprehensible to the studio,” Rogen explained. “There’s a scene where they’re playing video games and it was like, ‘Jonah can’t touch a PlayStation.’”
“They were like, ‘We can’t have him interact with our products as a character, because it’s too vile a character,” The actor-writer continued. “And I was like, ‘It’s based on me, that’s very insulting.’”
The creative restriction is particularly ironic given that “Superbad” was distributed by Sony Pictures, making it a case of one division of the company restricting another. While many films feature product placement as a marketing strategy, this situation represents the opposite—a company actively preventing its product from being associated with a character they viewed negatively.
[RELATED – Superbad’s Seth Rogen Says “No One’s Made a Good High School Movie Since”]
For those unfamiliar with the film’s origin story, Superbad holds a special place in Rogen’s career. He co-wrote the screenplay with his childhood friend Evan Goldberg when they were just teenagers. The script drew heavily from their own high school experiences in the 1990s, with the main characters even named Seth and Evan as a direct nod to its creators.
The comedy follows two awkward high school seniors attempting to lose their virginity before heading to college. Though raunchy and over-the-top at times, the film is now considered a classic coming-of-age story that balances wild comedy with genuine heart.
Despite the PlayStation restriction, Rogen noted that the production “accommodated” Sony’s request. Viewers with a keen eye might notice that while Michael Cera‘s character Evan does play The Getaway: Black Monday on a PlayStation 2 in an early scene, Hill’s character Seth never touches the console.
Superbad went on to become a massive hit despite—or perhaps partly because of—its “reprehensible” lead character, launching Hill into stardom with his first leading role. The film has maintained its popularity over the years, with producer Judd Apatow later revealing he had hoped for a sequel set during the characters’ college years, though Hill reportedly suggested they should wait until they were “70 or 80” to revisit the roles.
As for Rogen, he clearly holds no grudges about the backhanded corporate insult, sharing the story with his trademark humor as he promotes his latest project.
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Image courtesy of Walt Disney Animation
