It speaks to Rogen’s storytelling prowess and eventful adolescence that by the time he gets to his Hollywood experience, one almost forgets that this is, in fact, a celebrity story. At the risk of alienating many a megastar, Rogen promptly gets blunt. A loopy conversation with George Lucas, when the “Star Wars” mastermind seemed to be sincerely preparing for the apocalypse in 2012, is eye opening. The saga of “The Green Hornet’s” troubled preproduction features a disastrous dinner with Nicolas Cage, who was up for the villain role but purportedly pitched the character as a White Bahamian, then years later asked if James Franco snatched the idea for “Spring Breakers.” Dealings with Tom Cruise, Kanye West and Steve Wozniak feel similarly on the nose — so much so that they almost play like too-good-to-be-true satire.

Source: Washington Post May 09, 2021 12:00 UTC