The Awkward Way Seth Rogen Met Steven Spielberg

Seth Rogen is set to become part of one of Steven Spielberg's most personal projects yet. As Deadline noted in May, the "Superbad" star landed a role in Spielberg's upcoming movie, "The Fabelmans," which is reportedly inspired by the iconic director's own childhood. The film will star Rogen as Spielberg's "favorite" uncle. Spielberg also co-wrote the script along with one of his most trusted scriptwriters, Tony Kushner, marking the first time Spielberg took up writing since "A.I.," per Deadline. The film is expected to come out in 2022, while production started this past summer, Variety reported in March.

This is the first time Rogen and Spielberg have worked together. Spielberg had previously approached Rogen about creating a sci-fi film based on "The Last Starfighter," but Rogen rejected it, according to his April interview with The New York Times. Rogen, who wrote about this event in his collection of essays titled "Yearbook," noted that he and his writing partner, Evan Goldberg, were already working on a project that had a lot of the same elements proposed by Spielberg, so the duo opted to produce the project themselves, per the report.

Spielberg apparently didn't hold it against him, given he has tapped Rogen to play a person that is dear to him in "The Fabelmans." Still, for a long time Rogen thought Spielberg didn't like him. The reason is the rather awkward first encounter Rogen had with the filmmaker. Keep scrolling to check out what happened when Rogen and Spielberg met for the first time.

Speaking on "The Howard Stern Show" in April 2019, Seth Rogen recalled the time he ran into Steven Spielberg at one of Jeffrey Katzenberg's "Night Before" parties that take place before the Oscars. Rogen was hanging out outside with someone he knew when one thing led to another and the two lit up a joint, he recalled. "It was this awkward moment where, like, Steven Spielberg came up to me, like, as I had this joint in my hand. And I could just tell, he did not like it. It was a very judgmental moment," Rogen noted. 

Faced with the situation, Rogen found himself having to decide whether to get rid of the joint or pretend everything was fine. "You're confronted with this thing. I was like, 'Do I f*cking try to hide it? Do I just keep smoking it?" he recounted, laughing with Howard and Charlize Theron, who joined him on the show to promote their rom-com, "Long Shot." Ultimately, Rogen opted to carry on as normal. "I think I'll just have to take ownership over this and keep smoking this joint in front of Steven Spielberg," he added.

Rogen insisted that he was not being paranoid or imagining things. "I've run into him a few times and he always seems a little disappointed in me," he said with a laugh. Considering Spielberg has sought Rogen for collaborations, it seems Rogen might indeed be reading too much into it.

Seth Rogen has always been open about his use of marijuana, which is reflected in his famous stoner films, like "Pineapple Express." In 2019, Rogen and his writing partner, Evan Goldberg, teamed up with Canada's Canopy Growth Corporation to co-found a cannabis company called Houseplant, as The Guardian reported at the time. "Houseplant is a passion we've brought to life through drive and dedication. Every decision we've made for the business reflects the years of education, first-hand experience and respect we have for cannabis," Rogen said.

Rogen has also grown more vocal about his support of the legalization of marijuana as a way to reform the criminal justice system. On April 20, 2019, the Canada native took to his Instagram to promote efforts to amend a Canadian law so that it would expunge, and not just suspend, criminal records for simple possession of cannabis. "#420 is also about activism and I'd like to bring awareness to some of the injustices that revolve around cannabis in Canada. Canadians deserve freedom, not forgiveness," he said, referring to Bill C-93.

In an April feature in The New York Times Magazine, Seth's father, Mark Rogen, disclosed that his son suffered from an undiagnosed learning disability most of his life. Calling it "the miracle of marijuana," Mark said that he and his wife "had him on a strict diet that helped keep him in balance, but it wasn't 100%. Marijuana finally made his cells relax," Mark explained.