S01.E02: The Oner

[AnimeMania]

The filming of an intricate sunset shot becomes complicated by Matt’s set visit.

Premiere Date: March 26, 2025   Apple TV+   

Greta Lee

Sarah Polley

Edited March 26 by AnimeMania

[SeanBug]

This is pretty good.  Lots of inside H wood humor and references, luckily Seth has a ton of friends willing to do cameos. 

Much better than The Franchise.  I don't think I laughed once at the couple episodes I watched. 

Catherine O'Hara is a hoot.  It does seem Matt L is a little too naive and bumbling to have been in the business 22 years. He doesn't realize everyone is only nice to him to get something they want? 

[Corgi-ears]

Yeah, Matt's backstory (has been working at the studio and business for a long time) doesn't track with how naive and un-jaded he is. It feels like I would buy his character more if he were, say, a nepo baby and his father parachuted him into the job of studio head (though that might strain credibility and create other problems).

But when he goes to the toilet (we spend 30 seconds watching him pee, which: LOL. "Pee faster, you stupid fucking schmuck!"), walked into the shot, and then panicked to the extent of tripping and going flying, I laughed pretty hard. 

Edited March 27 by Corgi-ears

[SG429]

5 hours ago, Corgi-ears said:

Matt's backstory (has been working at the studio and business for a long time) doesn't track with how naive and un-jaded he is

It seems like either fish-out-of-water or failing-up, but neither one tracks with what we know so far. Even the Hapless PA has better on-set awareness.

But it's a really fun show, and the whole meta thing going on in this ep was well done.

[aghst]

They're spending a lot.

Second episode featured a plot about watching a tracking shot in a movie.

But it features tracking shot of Matt, in his car or walking around the studio.

Then they use "You can't get what you want" for the show just like they discussed using it for the movie within the show.

Even the first episode featured a lot of fancy camera work, with Matt driving his convertible at dusk on a city street.

I guess Rogen got Apple to pony up a huge budget.

Scorcese is a better comic actor than one would have expected.

Charlize Theron appears at the end of the first episode in the background, just to approach Matt and Sal -- I only recall Barinholtz in The Mindy Project -- and say "get the fuck out."

 

[SeanC]

At the end of this season I look forward to doing a ranking of all the fake movies based on how much I would want to see them in real life; so far this episode's Greta Lee period queer romance is #1.

[Blakeston]

I found this way too cringey to be amused by it.

Also, it felt like a ripoff of the extended scene in Babylon where the shooting of the talkie is flubbed over and over again while the powers that be flip out and curse like sailors.

[SeanC]

On 4/3/2025 at 10:15 PM, Blakeston said:

Also, it felt like a ripoff of the extended scene in Babylon where the shooting of the talkie is flubbed over and over again while the powers that be flip out and curse like sailors.

It was nothing like that scene, though? Beyond the basic idea of something getting repeatedly messed up, which was hardly invented by Babylon.