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EXT. SAN JOSE VALLEY – DAY
Calango Joe pulls Emily
by the arm and lifts
her onto the back of
his horse.
Before riding off, they
both turn to take one
last look at the San
Jose Valley, its ground
still smoldering from
the war that raged just
hours ago. The land is
scarred, silent.
CALANGO JOE
Emily... the Wild West is gone. It's over.
He spurs the horse.
Emily holds tight to
his back as they
disappear into the open
land, riding in search
of new adventures.
FADE OUT.
It was the final draft
of my screenplay that I
sent to the producers
after spending a long
time immersed in my
first western. Then,
two months later, I
received only one note
from him: 'Emily
should have killed
Calango Joe, not ended
up with him.'
What? My screenplay is
titled "Only The Heart
Forgives", and the
entire backbone of that
western was built
around Emily forgiving
Calango Joe in the end.
The note made no sense.
I rejected it and stood
by my ideas. But, as
always, money speaks
louder than good sense,
and I was faced with a
choice: hold on to my
vision (keeping it
locked away in my head)
or give in to the
producer and watch a
version of my movie I
never imagined.
How I wish my producer
were Matt Remick, the
character Seth Rogen
plays in The Studio,
whose laughter seems
like (part Santa Claus,
part phoneme: 'heh
heh heh heh').
For all screenwriters,
waiting for notes from
producers is like
Vladimir and Estragon
waiting for Godot in
Samuel Beckett's play;
we never know what the
next step will be, but
what I do know is that
it will be hard.
And this feeling is
portrayed so truthfully
in the third episode of
The Studio, a new Apple
TV+ series titled
'The Note,'
written by Peter Huyck
and directed by Seth
Rogen and Evan
Goldberg, which follows
a single storyline per
episode, unlike most TV
series that juggle
three subplots.
In the episode, we see
the other side of the
game. We follow the new
head of the studio,
Matt Remick (Seth
Rogen), as he prepares
to inform the
screenwriter and
director, Ron Howard,
that the final scene of
his new movie is too
long and will need to
be cut. The problem is
that this scene is
something Mr. Howard
brought from the bottom
of his emotional chest,
and he isn't willing to
let it go.
The episode builds
within that dramatic
structure, selecting
each of the studio
head's assistants
to carry out this
unfortunate mission.
All of them fail, and
their journey is as
perilous as Homer's
Odyssey. Ultimately,
the confrontation falls
to Matt himself, which
leads to a hilarious
scene with Ron Howard.
Howard proves himself
to be not only a great
director but also a
skilled comedian. His
acting talent is
well-documented, as
seen in his IMDb
profile (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000165/),
which lists over 90
credits.
Anyway, what is most
meaningful in this
episode is the
stressful process that
taps into the studio
head's inner
emotions, driving him
to send his note to the
creator. We - all
screenwriters - find
the plot very amusing.
It might be too
fanciful, but when you
think about all the
notes we receive, and
imagine if some
note-givers had
suffered even a little
like Seth Rogen's
character, then revenge
is definitely in the
air.
END
THE STUDIO (2025) / Watch on Apple TV+
Cast: Seth Rogen,
Catherine O'Hara,
Kathryn Hahn, Ike
Barinholtz, Chase Sui
Wonders.
Writers: Seth Rogen,
Evan Goldberg, Alex
Gregory, Peter Heck,
Frida Perez.
Directors: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg.
Composer: Antonio Sanchez.
Cinematographer: Adam Newport-Berra.
Editor: Eric Kissack.
Production Designer: Julie Berghoff.
Executive
Producers: Seth Rogen,
Evan Goldberg, James
Weaver, Alex McAtee,
Josh Fagen, Alex
Gregory, Peter Huyck.
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