Seth Rogen on what The Fabelmans and Ninja Turtles have in common

The starring role of Seth Rogen in an autobiographically inspired Steven Spielberg drama isn’t quite as random as you might think. Consider how the lifelike high school classic Freaks & Geeks Rogen’s screen career launched or that he used his own experiences to write Very bad from 13 years. Spielberg’s The Fabelmans (in select theaters November 11) follows young Sammy Fabelman (Gabriel LaBelle), an aspiring filmmaker raised by an engineer-genius father (Paul Dano), a musician-artist mother (Michelle Williams) and being influenced by her tagalong friend Bennie. As the latter, Rogen had to bring to life this fictional but truthful portrayal of Spielberg’s surrogate uncle – a process that meant asking the legendary filmmaker for the most intimate personal details.

Fresh from three Emmy nominations for Pam & Tommy and The boys present: diabolicaland with up from a dozen projects in productionDespite his busy schedule, Rogen made time to chat with her The AV Club about this process of turning personal experiences into art. And don’t worry, the conversation actually turned to his coming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles project too.

The AV Club: So The greatest show in the world is the life-changing creative spark that launched young Sammy Fabelman on his career path. Did you have an “aha” moment as a kid? what was yours Greatest show in the world?

Seth Roe: There were a few I think. Honestly, ghostbusters was one. Die Hard was a movie I’ve seen a lot. Total recall, I believe, was one too. Yes, those were some of the films that I really remember. My parents were also big comedy fans, movies like meatballs and such things. It was kind of a cumulative effect, I don’t know if there was a moment. Movies were always a big part of my childhood and sort of the only art my family consumed en masse. We weren’t big readers.

AVC: I can see where ghostbusters and Die Hard would in terms of creative inspiration to…

NO: Me! [Laughs] and This is the endfor sure.

AVC: So how intensely personal filmed The Fabelmans receive? How much do you bring yourself to this portrayal of Spielberg’s uncle character versus balancing that with the real man he’s based on?

NO: I didn’t feel that getting involved with the character would be particularly helpful. Sometimes it is, sometimes not. It was more like an energy I was trying to capture that seemed essential to my role in the film and what is happening in the story. There were always these buzzwords that would be used when I was talking to Steven or his family about Bernie, the person who [my character] Bennie is inspired by. And it was that he was “funny and fun and charismatic and loving.” They all loved him incredibly, even though the story plays out the way it does. And that was something that locked it in for me. So, okay, I have to be someone that you like and who comes across as light and lovely and warm and who doesn’t seem like a horrible alternative way life could go. Which indeed appears like an equally valid one, but only another. A lot of my thinking and work went towards that, capturing the energy that seemed important to make the film work in that regard.

AVC: And without giving away any details about Spielberg’s childhood, what did the conversation with him mean? Were there any concerns that this was sensitive, personal material?

NO: Oh yeah. And I would speak [The Fabelmans co-writer] Tony Kushner a lot. I would go to him first! Obviously, if it feels like it, maybe they’ve had this conversation and I could just get Tony’s answer. And don’t ask Steven incredibly probing questions. But we were invited too [Spielberg] made it clear that it was personal from the start. So there were times when we asked very personal questions, but it felt very much like we had permission to do so. And that we were specifically invited into an environment where we did just that, you know? So there were times, particularly with my character and Michelle’s, where I had a lot of specific questions about how far their relationship had matured and developed in certain parts of the film. That was sensitive stuff. But honestly, he would give clear, concise answers – and we would move on. [Laughs]

AVC: That’s fascinating because I feel like we, as viewers, don’t know the details of that relationship. But you have actors?

NO: Certainly. We had to be very aware of these peculiarities. It’s funny, it’s one of those things that I think if people decide to watch the film a second time, they’ll see that it’s a lot more layered than it might appear on first viewing.

AVC: Because this story is very often told from a child’s perspective and children don’t always understand such things.

NO: Exactly! But I bet if you watched the first dinner scene with us all again, it would play out differently the second time you watched it.

AVC: Spielberg said once“I make private films, even if they look like big commercial popcorn movies.” Are there any commercial projects in your filmography that have featured more of you than audiences might realize?

NO: Yes, probably. the first movie Very bad, was inspired very directly by my life and childhood, and also by Evans, my writing partner. So, in a way, we were thrown into a personal school of filmmaking. and 50/50 was the first film we produced. And this is straight from my dear friend Will who had cancer. And the process of writing this film with him and producing his screenplay really got as much personal juice out of him as possible. [Laughs] Even This is the end, we play ourselves and a lot of the dynamics in the film are very much based on real things that happened in our lives. A direction just as surreal as the film [goes], it’s actually very much based on our real life. You know, movies take so long to make and they’re so hard to make that we’ve found that sometimes you just burn out if you don’t really care what they’re about. And the more personal they are, the more you can relate to them, the better they often are. It’s funny, I do this Ninja Turtles Movie at the moment. And we found a way to make it deeply personal! It’s a teenage film, we bring a lot of our own feelings – of awkwardness and insecurity and wanting to belong and be accepted and all that – into the film. And it is fun. And when I’m sitting with the other people working on it, I’m like, “We found a way to take care of this,” which is great. But yes, this film, especially for Steven, is personal on the outside, which I think is also unique to him. And nothing he’s ever likely to have to do. But I’m glad he did.

AVC: I wanted to ask you about your production as you have so many projects in development. How much is that personal touch part of what you want to pursue?

NO: Yes, we really try. Even The youngwhich I don’t have much for do in everyday life. The reason this series exists is because me and Evan went to a comic book store, saw the comic, picked it up, bought it, read it and loved it. And then spent the next decade making it! But it was only carried by an afternoon we spent together, you know? And so everything is carried by our interests. Ninja Turtles is something I loved as a kid. We’ve got a lot more stuff like this to work on, this one Darkwing duck show and such things. This becomes a fun part of the challenge: how do you bring more and more of yourself into your work? I think the more you show of yourself, the more people like it.