Spoilers ahead for “The Studio” Episode 5
Heading into “The Studio,” there was one episode that series star Ike Barinholtz was dreading. Funnily enough, “The War” is also one of the few episodes that almost completely revolves around Barinholtz’s Sal Saperstein.
“The thing that we did a couple of times that Ike wasn’t thrilled about was the chili,” series creator and star Seth Rogen told TheWrap.
“The War” focuses on just that — a war between two Continental employees who are both close with newly appointed studio head Matt Remick (Rogen). Matt’s longtime friend Sal and his former assistant Quinn (Chase Sui Wonders) come from two very different schools of thought. While Quinn is aligned with Matt’s vision to make great art, Sal is more interested in money-making blockbuster hits. Throughout the season, the two repeatedly butt heads, but “The War” is entirely devoted to their rivalry as it follows Sal and Quinn sabotaging each other and manipulating Matt to get their respective movies made.
One of the funniest moments of this on-set battle involves chili. After Quinn parks Sal’s golf cart in his parking spot and tosses the keys — prohibiting him from parking near the building ahead of an important meeting — Sal parks his car near another random production. While he’s sputtering and cursing as he hurries back, he collides with a man carrying a tray of chili, causing him to be covered in the slosh.
“Evan [Goldberg] came over and was like, ‘All right, we really want to get this in one because if it doesn’t go right, you’re going to be covered in chili, and you’re going to have to go change and go through hair and makeup again,’” Barinholtz told TheWrap. But the production had to cover Barinholtz in chili “a few times,” Rogen explained.
“We’ve got the poor actor holding the massive cauldron of chili, and he just way overshot,” Barinholtz said.
“I do remember showing up to set, and I heard a door slamming,” Wonders recalled. “I was like, ‘Ike, is that you?’ And just outside your trailer door, I see two little shoes full of chili.”
“I had chili and beans in every crevice and crack,” Barinholtz said.
Despite the messiness of the scene, both Wonders and Barinholtz were pleased with the episode. However, they did note it was a bit awkward that this episode was the first one they filmed together.
“It’s always a dream to get to fight or cry or be an immature baby in anything that you read. So when that fight was basically 30 minutes of absolute backstabbing, that was a dream come true,” Wonders said. “It was day one, right into the deep end. It was like, ‘Hi, Ike, nice to meet you.’ And then we just tore each other’s heads off.”
“I thought it told a great intergenerational story about two completely different ways of doing things. I was just screaming at this nice young lady I met and telling her she’s a loser. Then I got to know her, and she is a loser,” Barinholtz joked.
New episodes of “The Studio” premiere on Apple TV+ on Wednesdays.