by Seth Rogen is revising his stance on youth-centric films over the last 16 years.
Earlier this month, the ‘Pineapple Express’ and ‘Knocked Up’ star sparked backlash online after making some eyebrow-raising comments about 2007’s ‘Superbad.’ Directed by Greg Mottola, the comedy starred Michael Cera and Jonah Hill as teenage friends who make a pact to lose their virginity before graduation.
Rogen, who has a supporting role in “Superbad” and co-wrote the screenplay with Evan Goldberg, said he’s recently seen a resurgence of interest in the film. He also pointed to his “Fabelmans” co-star Gabriel LaBelle as an example of one of the film’s younger fans.
“What’s crazy is that Gabe LaBelle is about 19 years old and his and his friends’ favorite movie is ‘Superbad,'” Rogen told People. “So for some reason it never changed. Nobody has made a good high school movie since then.”
Unsurprisingly, many on social media were quick to point out that there had indeed been many well-received movies about teenagers since the release of Superbad.
Notable credits included 2010’s “Easy A,” which brought “The Scarlet Letter” into the 21st century, and 2019’s “Booksmart,” starring Hill’s sister Beanie Feldstein.
Last week, however, Rogen was ready to step back a bit and tell people his comments about high school movies shouldn’t be taken literally.
“That was a joke. There’s a lot. I’ve done a few personally,” he said, alluding to 2018’s Blockers and 2019’s Good Boys, two films he produced. “Obviously, there were many.”
According to the publication, Rogen and his wife Lauren Miller listed Rogen’s “Easy A” and 2017’s “Lady Bird” — which incidentally also starred Feldstein — as their favorites in the high school genre.
E. Charbonneau via Getty Images
Currently, Rogen and Goldberg are co-producing another movie about teens, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, which is slated for release this summer. Speaking to The AV Club last fall, he described the animated reboot of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise as a “deeply personal” project.
“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 of that – to the film,” he said at the time. “And when I’m sitting with the other people who are working on it, I’m like, ‘We found a way to take care of this,’ which is great.”
