Apple TV+ Bills' “The Studio,” a skewer from the Hollywood Studio system led by Seth Rogen, as a “comedy.” It's also a fantasy, according to Kameron Lennox, the show's costume designer.
“These characters are trying to hold onto this old love and passion for what filmmaking is and should be,” Lennox said. “But we're losing that feeling.”
Created and directed by Rogen and Evan Goldberg, “The Studio” revolves around Rogen's Mattremic, a bright-eyed striber who has entered the seat of the fictional Continental Studios' CEO. Collectively, Mr. Remic and his Royal Department head are engrossed in navel-pouring nostalgia for Hollywood's golden age.
They have finished their days of looking at the “casino” and trying to greenlight anything other than the reheated IP project, and kowtow appears as an exaggerated version of many Hollywood aristocrats who have appeared in the “studios.” (The show airs on the very such streamers that have promoted the old Hollywood system in reverse.
And if Hollywood today is a dispersal of executives in grey sweaters and thousand-dollar dress sneakers, that note was lost on the way to the “studio.” With a turmeric dress shirt and blazer sticking out over the shoulders, the mat is a throwback to the era when Studio Moguls were dressed like Italian industrialists. (It may not actually exist.)
As Lennox recalls, when real-life executives scanned racks in bungalows in the costume division of the Warner Bros. Lot show, they wondered, “How is this dressed?”
In a recent interview, Lennox detailed how he juggled the show's prominent cameo Cavalcade, a Cavalcade that was a hit with the cast's custom-made suits and Kathryn Hearn's trendy overlord wardrobe. This conversation was edited and condensed.
Off-screen, Seth Rogen became his own style, so when I was watching the first episode, did I wonder if he was wearing his own clothes?
No, but I've been on a project with him before and saw him move in a more relaxed, double-breasted suit and more. We began to incorporate these suits when he showed up to set up.
It was interesting when he approached me for this project and started talking about this character. He was very clear about how he wanted to present himself to this, even as to how his shoulders fit. He said, “It just needs to relax, I don't want structure, but it's double-breasted.”
When he found it, he was like, “This is what I want.” Except for the fact that it needs to feel expensive.
But the suit itself was custom made for the show.
We were dressed everywhere in Europe and Canada. There were a lot of Italian suit manufacturers we ordered and we adjusted the suits. But that's all you can source. That's where I got a suit made from the head of the costume department at Warner Bros. And I had my own cutter that made some things.
When someone like Seth says, “I want you to see this,” it's like the freedom to say it's okay. Like the lapel pin, we have custom made them all to be the Continental Studios logo.
Episode 2 has a moment in which Matt calls out to him that he is looking for a Brunello Cucinelli sports court. But isn't that jacket actually Cucinelli?
No, but it looks like a kushinelli. In other words, it's a gray area. There are only very many Kuccinelis you can afford.
Is it wrong to see the lapels of matt suits appear to be strengthened as the season progresses?
As his ego and confidence grow, his shepherd begins to grow bigger and bigger. “If I could see him being pointed behind him, I knew he had a great ego today.”
What was going on with Maya Mason, the marketing chief played by Kathryn Hearn?
I thought of people like Beyoncé, Gwen Stefani and J.Lo. But then some people try to incorporate that style into their daily lives. Maya is probably one of them. In episode 1, she wears a Stüssy shirt, a boot, and diesel jeans. “This is cool, this is what the kids wear.” I went shopping for her with H. Lorenzo and Ssense.
Each episode is Chockablock along with these cameos of very famous Hollywood figures. Did you dress those people?
Many people we dressed, yes. However, Martin Scorsese has a suit maker in Italy. And he brought his suit. We made sure it was all ready for him. Peter Berg wore his own boxing sweatshirt.
There are also episodes of the Golden Globes, and many of those cameos are those who literally gave us a day to two hours.
Ron Howard We got dressed, but we got him dressed like Ron Howard. But he was wearing his hat from his company, imagine.
Then his daughter Blythe came to set while he was filming, and he said, “Oh, I was so surprised that you could dress like me, so I want to introduce you to my daughter Blythe.”
