Note: This story contains spoilers from “The Studio” Episodes 9 and 10.
As soon as Dave Franco heard that Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen were working on a new show, he was in. But it wasn’t until after he filmed his first episode of “The Studio” that he begged to come back.
“It was a nice surprise that I got to be in a fake Ron Howard movie doing a crazy New York accent opposite Anthony Mackie,” Franco told TheWrap, referencing “Alphabet City,” the fake movie that appears in the Apple TV+ original. “From there, I had such a good time filming that first episode that I begged them to bring me back.”
That’s what brought Dave Franco to CinemaCon. As with every other element of “The Studio,” the comedy’s two-part finale is wild. After learning that Continental Studios is at risk of being sold to Amazon, studio head Matt (Rogen) becomes obsessed with creating the best presentation possible at CinemaCon, an annual convention where studios show off their wares. If Continental is poised to have its best year ever, surely it won’t be sold. Part of that impressive showing includes throwing the kickass party of Matt’s dreams. At first it’s perfect. But because Matt is almost chronically incapable of being cool, he accidentally messes up the drug dosage on his “old school Hollywood buffet” leading to this Hollywood head drugging his team, his biggest stars, his boss and himself.
Most of “The Presentation” follows the incredibly high Continental team as they try to prepare for this make-or-break event. That means wrangling Zoe Kravitz, finding their CEO (Griffin Mill, played by Bryan Cranston) and in general dealing with Dave Franco in one of the funniest performances of the actor’s career. When TheWrap likened Franco’s manic and drug-addled performance to “toxic positivity,” the actor noted, “That’s a very good way to put it.”
“When we started filming those episodes, we were trying to hone in on how f–ked up I should play this. We quickly realized that the funniest version of it would be me being as optimistic and positive as possible to juxtapose where everyone else was at mentally,” Franco explained. “They’re all going through hell and extremely stressed out. Meanwhile, I’m just floating and having the greatest time of my life, which infuriates all of them.”
The realities of filming Episodes 9 and 10 added to the juxtaposition between Franco and the rest of “The Studio” cast. By the time Franco returned to set, the rest of the cast and crew had been filming for months and had been in Las Vegas for a while.
“I was popping in and coming in with slightly fresher energy. But I was just so happy to be there because I immediately recognized that they were making something very special,” he said. “So I think it was partially me being slightly more rested than them and then partially the nature of this role and knowing I had to bring my energy to 100 for every single take.”
Franco made it clear he’s not like the version of himself that appears in “The Studio,” a high maniac who uses magic to swindle violent criminal bosses. But just like every other celebrity cameo on the show, Franco’s characterization does come from a kernel of truth.
“I do think that they took the seed of my general positivity and amplified it to an unbelievable degree,” Franco said. “In general, I’m a pretty happy person who wants everyone around me to have a good time.”
As for all of those “Now You See Me” references in “The Presentation,” those weren’t Franco’s idea. Everything from plugging “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” in Franco’s recap to the idea that his character was using magic to cheat at poker was already written into the script before Franco rejoined “The Studio.”
“I thought it was fun,” Franco said. “My character in the ‘Now You See Me’ movies is very proficient when it comes to cards, so it felt like a natural marriage with the two. It’s also a nice promo for ‘Now You See Me 3,’ November 14.”
Returning to the heist franchise has been a highlight for the actor. “I’ve known this cast now for nearly 15 years, and we all genuinely adore each other. I don’t think there’s any set that I have more fun on, where I laugh more,” Franco said. “If audiences come out and see it, we will hopefully make these for the rest of my life and reunite with this cast every few years.”
“The Studio” is now streaming on Apple TV+.
