Seth Rogen names his five favourite movies of all time
The sphere of Hollywood comedy in the 21st century has been sculpted by a number of influential creatives, including director and producer Judd Apatow, comedian Ricky Gervais and the loveable stoner persona of actor Seth Rogen. Making an unlikely feature film debut in the 2001 indie drama Donnie Darko, Rogen quickly grew into the 21st century with his role in Adam McKay’s Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy kicking off his comedy prominence.
A keen producer, Rogen boosted his own career by helping to fund and create the very films he made a name for himself in, with the likes of The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up and Superbad taking him to international acclaim. By the time Pineapple Express was released in 2008, Rogen was a bonafide Hollywood star and a surprising critical darling, too, with each aforementioned comedy earning respectable acclaim.
Though he remains a strong comedian, Rogen has branched out of late, taking on more straight-faced roles like in Danny Boyle’s 2015 film Steve Jobs and Steven Spielberg’s latest auto-biographical piece The Fabelmans.
A keen lover of cinema, as well as one of its most beloved stars, Rogen sat down with Rotten Tomatoes in 2008 to reveal his top five favourite movies of all time, honouring some classics in the process. A well-known stoner, Rogen’s first pick is no surprise, choosing the Coen brothers’ slacker flick, The Big Lebowski. Starring Jeff Bridges, John Goodman and Steve Buscemi, Rogen calls the iconic 1998 movie “unbelievably funny”.
Second on Rogen’s list of favourites is the beloved 1980s favourite Ghostbusters, starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Sigourney Weaver. “That was just good ol’ high-concept fun,” Rogen says of the film that follows a group of friends who agree to become ‘Ghostbusters’ and rid New York City of spectres. Clarifying his love of the film, he explains, “It’s a ridiculous concept but it was handled very much, ‘How would four dudes do that, you know?’ And it’s great. I love that movie”.
Keeping to the classics, Rogen’s third pick is the Martin Scorsese crime classic Goodfellas, starring Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta. Simply summarising his thoughts, the actor states: “I just love that movie. It’s a rad movie. It’s beautiful”. Frankly, we couldn’t agree more, with the film heralding a new era for crime cinema. It might even be Martin Scorsese’s greatest-ever movie.
Moving away from the classics, just for a moment, Rogen’s fourth choice is the slightly more offbeat comedy-drama The Last Detail, with Jack Nicholson and Randy Quaid. Speaking highly of director Hal Ashby’s style, Rogen states, “Ashby shoots very simply. He kind of takes a step back and shoots stuff as it happens. Things are never about the shot…It’s always about the joke. It’s never about how the camera moves”.
Seth Rogen’s five favourite movies:
- The Big Lebowski (Coen brothers, 1998)
- Ghostbusters (Ivan Reitman, 1984)
- Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990)
- The Last Detail (Hal Ashby, 1973)
- Total Recall (Paul Verhoeven, 1990)
Bookending his list is the Arnold Schwarzenegger sci-fi flick Total Recall from 1990, directed by the king of cult cinema, Paul Verhoeven. “Total Recall‘s just f–king rad,” the actor says of the bombastic action movie, adding, “That movie is a good indicator that you can take things much farther than you think you could…That movie goes really far. It’s pretty crazy. I love Paul Verhoeven. He’s the man”.