Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen brought one of the most personal projects of their careers to Cannes, a hand-drawn animated film about Alzheimer’s disease that was directly inspired by their own family’s experiences.
Tanglesadapted from the graphic novel of the same name by Sarah Leavitt, follows a young illustrator named Sarah as she navigates her mother’s diagnosis.
For the Rogens, the story hit close to home on the first page.
They began dating more than twenty years ago, just as Miller Rogen’s mother Adele was showing the first signs of the illness that would affect her for the last sixteen years of her life.
“There were so many similarities between my family and Sarah’s family,” said Miller Rogen, speaking at the Majestic Hotel in Cannes the day before the film’s premiere.
“Our mothers were both teachers and were diagnosed in their early 50s. I understood the denial, fear and feelings of loneliness that can accompany a dementia diagnosis.”
Rogen was equally frank about the depth of the story.
“All of these things that we experienced directly are reflected in this story,” he said. “I remember being in the kitchens or around the dining room tables, yelling at people that something was wrong here.”
The film took more than a decade to make, partly because of the busy schedule of Rogen, one of Hollywood’s most in-demand comedy stars, and partly because the subject matter made it a tough sell.
As Miller Rogen noted: “How many black-and-white animated films about Alzheimer’s disease are there?
Despite this, the pair assembled an impressive cast including Bryan Cranston and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, with Rogen himself playing a supporting role as the well-meaning and musically desperate boyfriend of Sarah’s sister.
The character fancies himself a singer, which meant Rogen had to deliver deliberately fake covers, including one by Melissa Etheridge. Come to my window.
He was relieved to learn that perfection was not required.
“They assured me there was no need for him to be a great singer,” he said. “It makes him a little tragic in its own way. But he doesn’t care. He’s very witty.”
Beyond the film, the couple have long used their platform to advocate for Alzheimer’s research and support for families through their nonprofit Hilarity for Charity.
Rogen was also at Cannes with news on another front, the second season of his award-winning Hollywood satire. The Workshop will feature footage from the Venice Film Festival, completely recreated from scratch using the series’ signature single-take format.
Madonna will be among the celebrity cameos, although Rogen kept details close to his chest. “It’s crazy,” he said. “I’ll just leave it at that.”
