Seth Rogen has lived a life.
Since getting his start in a gay bar in his hometown of Vancouver, the comedian has written, directed and produced dozens of movies. Some have been bad, which he owns up to, but most of them have been good. And this success has earned him a place in Hollywood, where he frequently rubs elbows with the rich and famous.
As such, Seth has plenty of stories to tell.
He's good friends with Kanye West, who is seemingly the friendliest person in Los Angeles, based on Seth's descriptions.
Moreover, Seth reflects on what it's like to be ridiculed in the public sphere, as was the case following the disastrous release of The Interview. He reveals it was "particularly painful" to be on the receiving end of jokes, but says he came out of the experience with a better perspective: "What I really learned was how f--king fast people forget s--t and move on."
The idea of not taking one's self too seriously is what makes Yearbook so good; it's a reminder to take the good with the bad. And even in the worst case scenario, you'll have a great story to tell.
To get a sneak-peek at Yearbook, out now, continue reading!
Following the finale of Freaks & Geeks, Seth and Jason were on the search for their next big roles, when they were both offered the opportunity to audition for the role of Cheddar in 8 Mile. Clearly, neither of them got it.
According to Seth, they auditioned together for the sake of ease, but it turned out to be a terrible decision as they couldn't stop laughing. Seth explains, "Auditioning is embarrassing in the best of times. Add the fact that one of my best friends is watching me do it and that we're both reading for rappers from Detroit, which we could NOT have been less right for."
Believe it or not, Nicolas Cage has beef with James Franco.
According to Seth, it all started after sitting down with the National Treasure actor to discuss a potential part in The Green Hornet. At the time, Nicolas said he wanted to play a "white Bahamian" villain, which was not at all a part of the script and Seth refused to add it. Obviously, Nicolas passed on the role since it didn't match his vision.
But, a few years later, Nicolas confronted Seth about James' character in Spring Breakers. In Seth's words, Nicolas told him, "Did you ever tell him about that meeting we had? About the white Jamaican guy? Is that where he got the idea for the guy in Spring Breakers? Did he steal it from me?"
To this day, it seems Nicolas still believes James stole his idea… and that Bahamian and Jamaican are one and the same.
At the 2011 Grammys, Seth introduced Eminem, Dr. Dre and Rihanna, but just as he was about to go onstage he decided to introduce himself to Beyoncé, and it went terribly. Beyoncé was standing with Gwyneth Paltrow when he walked up with "too much confidence."
In retrospect, he writes, "I should have gone up to her like you would the queen or that giant bird creature in Harry Potter that you have to bow to before you can fly around on it."
Instead, he boldly approached her and was smacked by a security guard, spilling his drink on himself in the process. And then, he had to go onstage just moments after. As Seth told E! News' Daily Pop, "I got what I deserved... I was humiliated and I didn't get to meet Beyoncé."
Seth offers a bit of insight into what it takes for Snoop Dogg to write one of his raps. The key ingredients: a Blackberry, a joint and some "hoes."
The screenwriter recalls asking the rapper to perform something for him, recalling, "He put his head down and thought for a long moment. Then he looked over to one of his guys, narrowed his gaze... and said: 'Bring in the hoes.'"
What followed was a brief dance party as Snoop Dogg wrote a short verse.
According to Seth, he and Kanye have the "longest and weirdest" friendship in Hollywood. He writes that he first met the rapper in 2004, when Kanye jogged by his house and yelled, 'You're a funny motherf--ker.'"
A few months later, Kanye showed up at his door and asked Seth's wife, Lauren Miller, if Seth wanted to come outside and play basketball. Seth recalls how Kanye introduced himself to Lauren as Kanye East, before Seth came over and admitted he was "too hungover" to play a round of b-ball.
Then, there was the time Kanye told Seth that the infamous "Bound 2" music video was supposed to be "stupid and bad." Their conversation then led to Lauren and Seth climbing into Kanye's Sprinter van, where he gave them a private performance for two and a half hours. Seth says, "It was quite incredible."
All in all, Seth admires Kanye. He writes, "I don't have any insight into Kanye and his current state of being or mindset other than to say I really love his music and my interactions with him have been lovely."
Kanye isn't the only rapper to invite Seth on an adventure. According to Seth, Sean "Diddy" Combs once asked him and Lauren to join him on a hot-air balloon ride over Sonoma, Calif. even though they weren't really close. They declined the trip, but Seth writes, "We both still talk about how insane and awkward it would have been, and we wish we could have experienced it. I can't decide if he'd have been really brazen or endearingly scared of the heights and fire."
Seth discusses the controversy surrounding his movie, The Interview, at great lengths before revealing many of Hollywood's biggest players supported him when Sony wouldn't. George Clooney, Kate Winslet, Sacha Baron Cohen and more reached out to him to express they were on his side.
"In the midst of the mayhem, I got an email from Russell Crowe, who I'd only met a couple of times, inviting me to his ranch in Australia to hide if I needed to. I said no, but it always struck me as nice," he shares. "George Clooney tried to get all the heads of major studios to sign a letter in solidarity with Sony and the film. None of them would sign it, but I appreciated the attempt. The fact that Clooney spent even one afternoon thinking of me is flattering."
Yes, Seth really did pee in a Snapple bottle outside of Tom Cruise's home. But, as he puts it, "Am I kept up at night by the thought that Tom Cruise likely has video footage of me urinating in a Snapple bottle in my car? No."
As for meeting Tom, Seth says things were "totally normal... until... it wasn't." We'll let you judge their interaction for yourself.