The Studio producers Ike Barinholtz and James Weaver said Martin Scorsese agreeing to play himself in the premiere episode made it easier to get other celebrity cameos in the Apple TV+ series. The legendary filmmaker pitches studio head Matt Remick (Seth Rogen) a movie about the Jonestown cult and weeps openly when Matt later pulls the plug. Subsequent cameos include Sarah Polley, Olivia Wilde, Ron Howard, Zac Efron and more.

“It really came down to Martin Scorsese saying yes, and it all started from there,” Weaver said.

Casting director Melissa Kostenbauder added that there are artists in Hollywood who are not so game to act. They’re also busy making their actual projects.

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“We tackled it like a normal casting process, checked availabilities, who would be open to playing themselves because a lot of people weren’t, actually,” Kostenbauder said. “If someone couldn’t do it or wasn’t available, we came up with more lists and talked about more people who would fit in those places.”

An episode at the Golden Globes featured the most celebrity cameos. Barinholtz also stars in the show as Matt’s subordinate, Sal Saperstein.

“You don’t read everything on the call sheet, so you would be there acting and go, ‘Oh, that’s Jean Smart. They got Jean Smart. There’s Aaron Sorkin.’ It was crazy how many people showed up.”

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Weaver said they landed Abbott Elementary creator and star Quinta Brunson on her way to an actual awards show.

“She was dressed like she’s going to the Golden Globes,” Weaver said. “She was like, ‘I have another award event thing to go to after this. I’m just stopping here, doing my line and going to an event.’ That’s because you’re Quinta Brunson.”

In recent episodes, Matt and Sal had to ask Howard to cut a scene from a movie, and Matt kept ruining a complicated shot Polley was trying to direct. In Wednesday’s episode, a reel goes missing from a Wilde movie starring Efron. Barinholtz confirmed many incidents from the show are inspired by real life.

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“There would be times I would be, ‘This is crazy, this would never happen,’” Barinholtz said. “Seth would say, ‘This happened to me in 2014.’ It’s real.”

Weaver even joked, “This is a documentary.”

Cinematographer Adam Newport-Berra said even the behind-the-scenes crew laughs at the references to their struggles.

“I’ve never worked on a set where the crew has felt more seen,” Newport-Berra said. “To see half the crew cracking up during a take is really rewarding.”

Apple has not yet renewed The Studio for a Season 2, but Weaver assured fans there are many more industry stories they could tell.

“If you can all go to the Apple Store after this and say, ‘I’m looking for a new iPhone and The Studio Season 2,’” Weaver said.

New episodes of The Studio drop Wednesdays on Apple TV+.

Check back Monday for the panel video.