Seth Rogen discusses influence of Albert Brooks on This Is the End, bringing to light how a much-admired comedy icon helped shape the climax of Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s apocalyptic horror-comedy. Rogen, while exploring the Criterion Closet with Goldberg, openly admitted that the closing moments of their 2013 directorial debut drew directly from Brooks’ 1991 movie, Defending Your Life.
Rogen Admits Borrowing the Ending from Albert Brooks’ Classic
During a recent visit to the Criterion Closet, Seth Rogen pulled out Defending Your Life and shared how its finale inspired the end of This Is the End, confessing,
Me and Evan explicitly ripped off the ending for this movie when we were making our movie, This Is the End, We did some work to change it, but it is essentially the same ending.
—Seth Rogen, Filmmaker and Actor
Rogen’s statement highlights the direct creative connection he feels to Brooks’ work, underlining the impact Brooks has had on comedy stars across generations.
This Is the End marked a milestone for Rogen and Goldberg as their first film as directors, telling a story that combined horror with outrageous humor. The movie spotlights Rogen (playing an exaggerated version of himself) and Jay Baruchel navigating a catastrophic event during a wild party at James Franco’s Los Angeles home, as the city falls into chaos. Familiar faces from their past projects like Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Christopher Mintz, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Jason Segel, and Kevin Hart make appearances, with celebrities like Rihanna and Emma Watson joining in the mayhem. The film’s plot sees most of the cast die in over-the-top, graphic scenes, establishing the film as a frenetic blend of genres and a memorable launch for the directing duo.
Defending Your Life: Brooks’ Influence Beyond Saturday Night Live
Albert Brooks, known for his groundbreaking short films on Saturday Night Live, became an established filmmaker in 1979 with Real Life. After two successful comedies in the 1980s, Brooks wrote and starred in Defending Your Life in 1991—arguably his most personal film. In the story, Brooks plays Daniel Miller, an advertising executive who dies in a car accident and arrives in Judgment City, a liminal space where he must justify his life’s choices to a tribunal. The plot takes a poignant turn as Daniel forms a bond with Julia, played by Meryl Streep, yet his fears keep him from embracing true happiness, echoing the film’s underlying theme of courage versus regret.
The creative influence of Brooks extended into his working relationships. Judd Apatow, a prominent filmmaker in his own right, admired Brooks’ vision so much that he cast him as Paul Rudd’s father in This Is 40. Apatow, who played a significant role in launching the careers of comic actors and filmmakers like Rogen and Goldberg—whose Superbad script caught Apatow’s attention—serves as a link in this comedic lineage. Brooks’ work resonated deeply with Rogen, so much so that when Brooks mentioned he had once written a shelved comedy about North Korea, Rogen humorously suggested that his own upcoming project, The Interview, probably didn’t measure up. This ongoing admiration and camaraderie between Rogen and Brooks reveal just how personal and public their mutual respect has become in the comedy world.
The Films Contrast Dramatically in Tone and Style
Despite Rogen and Goldberg’s acknowledgment of Defending Your Life’s influence, This Is the End and Brooks’ film are markedly different in structure and spirit. While Brooks’ movie centers on a single character’s life review in a surreal courtroom, This Is the End incorporates a sprawling ensemble cast, wild set pieces, and an irreverent mix of horror and comedy. Brooks avoids religious symbolism in his version of the afterlife, offering a more philosophical take, while Rogen and Goldberg’s film gleefully embraces supernatural tropes, from the Apocalypse to The Exorcist and Rosemary’s Baby references, making it a showcase for their signature style of outrageous and graphic humor.
The moral warmth and introspective nature of Defending Your Life find little room in the relentless energy and brashness of This Is the End. Rogen and Goldberg’s movie is loaded with R-rated jokes, caricatured violence, and chaos, a reflection of the comedic sensibilities they honed in earlier films like Superbad and Pineapple Express. Although their current series, The Studio, signals a more mature approach to storytelling, This Is the End remains an unapologetic celebration of slapstick, demons, and apocalyptic absurdity, making it a tough comparison with Brooks’ more thoughtful and intimate work. However, the film’s last ten minutes unmistakably communicate Rogen and Goldberg’s unique version of paradise, featuring over-the-top antics, cannabis jokes, and a quirky appearance by the Backstreet Boys.
How the Influence of Brooks Continues to Echo in Comedy
Though Rogen self-critically describes the ending as “ripped off” from Brooks, their depiction of heaven is more homage than duplication. In fact, the NBC sitcom The Good Place, which arrived three years after This Is the End, borrowed even more directly from Defending Your Life’s narrative template and afterlife concepts. Yet, despite their different audiences and storytelling approaches, both films stand as testaments to the evolution of comedic visions around the afterlife. Rogen and Brooks may be divided by genre and tone, but their films offer contrasting windows into how comedians imagine heaven and confront personal fears, ensuring that Brooks’ early breakthroughs continue to inform and inspire the next generation in unexpected ways.
