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Twelve years ago, SXSW audiences were the first to discover that Seth
Rogen was a leading man when the festival premiered a work-in-progress
screening of Knocked Up. Three months later, Rogen had earned so much
star clout that he reshaped the Hollywood comedy in his image:
jokey and smokey and smarter than you expect, the wise-
cracking slacker with perfect SATs.
SXSW is his lucky touchstone. It is where he debuted
early cuts of everything from Observe and Report and
Neighbors to Sausage Party and The Disaster Artist.
And every time he comes, he's miserable.
"I'm honestly so stressed out when I'm there," admits
Rogen. "I really want people to like our work, so I'm just a
bundle of nerves until our movies play — and then I just
gorge myself on queso and barbecue and tequila."
This year, Rogen is twice as anxious. He's coming to SXSW
with two premieres — one that circles back to his child-
hood and another that showcases his growth. On March
9, he will unveil his romantic comedy Long Shot. In the
film, Rogen plays a principled political journalist named
Fred Flarsky whose ethics get upended when he's
hired to write speeches for Charlize Theron's
Charlotte Field, a presidential candidate who
also happens to be his childhood crush.
Twice as Anxious:
Seth Rogen Unveils
Two Comedies at SXSW
By Amy Nicholson
"Over the years,
that's almost
become the most
fun challenge: How
do we make our
work intellectually
stimulating and
have as much
message as
possible?"
Seth Rogen.
Photo by Matt
Winkelmeyer/Getty
Images for SXSW
