Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd talk new Super Bowl ad, friendship and more
Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd are back together again!
This time the frequent collaborators and friends teamed up for a hilarious Super Bowl ad in which they reminisce on some of their favorite memories together over the years.
Rogen told "Good Morning America" that they put their heads together to imagine how they could make the concept of the commercial as outlandish as possible.
In the Lay's spot, the comedians share a bag of chips and jokingly reflect on everything from that memorable roundtrip they took fueled by Shania Twain singalongs, a turf war they got caught up in and the time they were held in a peculiar hostage situation.
"We instantly felt like how can we make this stranger -- and maybe just more unexpected and more surprising," Rogen said. "We were just kind of making ourselves laugh, and then Evan [Goldberg] came on to direct the commercial and started working on it as well and really took the lead I'd say."
With notable names like Serena Williams, Peyton Manning, Scarlett Johansson, Pete Davidson and more appearing in a wide variety of Super Bowl ads this year, the two also shared how they're feeling throwing their comedy chops into the mix.
"I always accept I'm going to be like the second or third funniest, so that's what I'm aiming for now in life," Rogen said with a laugh, while Rudd added that thinking of how many eyes will be on the commercial is "a bit daunting."
"And it is daunting knowing that other comedians that we are fans of are doing these things," Rogen added. "I try to avoid competition at all costs, and inherently, I do feel like we are pitted against one another a little bit ... but I think ultimately, yeah, I want to do well, I want people to think we're funny."
Rogen and Rudd have appeared in comedy classics like "The 40 Year Old Virgin," "Knocked Up" and "This Is the End," and they said their time filming together for this project made them appreciate working together even more.
"Working with Seth is the greatest, I mean, that was such a fun thing, even with doing this a couple of days ... we were laughing and it felt really familiar and fun and a reminder -- not that, I certainly didn't need one -- but just how much I enjoy working with Seth and I think how much fun we both have hanging out with each other," Rudd said.
Although they've previously collaborated many times, the duo said one trip they took while filming their 2007 comedy "Knocked Up" stands out from the rest.
"I think when they sent us to Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas was one of the most fun things I've ever done," Rogen said. Rudd added, "And also because we went to Las Vegas for the last four days of 'Knocked Up' and the entire experience. I mean, the whole movie was really fun to make, but that was just a completely surreal and fun way to kind of wrap things up."
"We were watching the Cirque du Soleil show that they could kind of stop and start at our will," Rogen said. "It was pretty amazing and hilarious -- that whole weekend, I remember, like we wrapped the movie by a pool in Vegas, which is, that's what you're going for as a filmmaker."
The duo agreed that their real-life friendship translates easily while working on set together, and they hope to collaborate on more projects in the future.
"It's like an ideal thing where you're enjoying yourself and you feel like you're actually doing something that will have you know entertainment value to it and is something you yourself would think is funny," Rogen said.
"As we were doing it I was like we should make another movie," he added. "Why are we not doing this every day for eight weeks because that would be a fun way to hang out."
As for who they're each rooting for on Super Bowl Sunday? Rudd, a diehard Kansas City Chiefs fan, says "the petty side" of him is rooting for the Los Angeles Rams over the Cincinnati Bengals. The Chiefs lost 27-24 to the Bengals in overtime of the AFC Championship.
"I would like to see the Rams win; I think primarily for Matt Stafford -- that'd be a cool story," he said.
Rogen, on the other hand, is focusing on the appetizers on game day: "I enjoy snacks -- I'm looking forward to dips, a multilayered dip to me is a very appealing thing, a buffalo wing of some sort ... I'm going to go to a friend's house who cooks good food and eat her food."
