Over the past decade, Seth Rogen has been busy with plenty of acting, writing, and producing duties — but he hasn’t directed a movie since 2014. InterviewFor understandable reasons.
Interview It starred Rogen and James Franco as their characters interview North Korean dictator Jong Un Kim, then are recruited by the CIA to assassinate him. The film caused a high-profile international incident, with the North Korean government threatening the United States if Sony released the film and Sony being subjected to a massive cyberattack shortly after.
Rogen and partner Evan Goldberg directed the film together, their second directorial effort after 2013’s This is the end. Jump forward to 2026, and Rogen has directed a lot of TV episodes, including his own hit series studio – but has yet to direct another feature.
“It’s been a long time coming. The last one we did was almost like the start of a war, which made us maybe gun-shy for a while,” Rogen admitted at the premiere of his new film. Invitation Wednesday. “We’ve calmed down again through TV and it seems to be going well, so we’re talking about maybe, hopefully, directing a movie next year actually.” He added that in Hollywood today, “we are no longer the biggest problem.”
He currently stars in another actor-director vehicle, the Olivia Wilde vehicle Invitationwhich sees him and Wilde as a couple barely keeping their marriage together who invite their neighbors (Penelope Cruz and Edward Norton) to a dinner party that quickly goes off the rails.
Rogen joked that just being a hired actor — rather than his usual multi-hyphenate role — in the movie was refreshing, as “it’s nice when there’s a conversation going on there and you say, ‘Normally I’d be a part of that conversation that everyone seems so miserable to be a part of.’ And I can just scroll through Instagram and talk to Edward.”
He also praised Wilde, saying: “I’ve worked with some people who act and direct at the same time and I always really enjoy that. For me, she was very bold in both aspects which I found really admirable, as if she was taking big swings as an actor and director.”
Invitation It slides into select theaters on Friday, and opens wide on July 10.
