There's a new Seth Rogen cover profile out, complete with some comments from the prolific writer/director/actor/producer on how Kanye West's quest for multi-hyphenate respect has inspired him.
Speaking with Caroline McCloskey for a GQ piece published Tuesday, Rogen said he's been trying to sharpen his sense "in recognizing when I'm acting out of hubris" in relation to choosing projects. While that hubris can be a hurdle for quality, Rogen—using West as an example—said that same confidence can also inspire massive changes.
"It is a fine line, because I do look at Kanye, for example, and I remember the truth is at first, people were like, 'Why you making shoes, man? Just make music,'" he said of West's move into Yeezy domination. "And his shoes are great. People love them. He's made Adidas billions of dollars. So there is something to be said for staying in your lane, but sometimes people do really great outside of their lane."
Rogen then recalled West's proposal for a multi-screen immersive theater experience, presumably in connection with his 2012 short film Cruel Summer, which debuted at Cannes with a seven-screen presentation. "He wanted a movie to play on eight screens: There's one in front of you, two above you, two on the side of you and, like, below you," Rogen said. "And I did have this thought like, Dude, you have made some of the greatest rap albums of all time, and I'm sitting there, like, Why are you trying to design movie theaters? Just keep making these great fucking rap albums. But who am I to say that?"
![Seth Rogen](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 203 115"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Rogen, a well-documented fan of West's music, has praised West's approach to multi-platform creativity before. He also brilliantly incorporated "Runaway" into a Big nod back in 2015:
The full GQ piece is well worth your time, and can be found below: