4. This Is The End Began As A YouTube Skit
The idea for This Is The End came out of Seth Rogens desire to make a comedy where actors would play themselves, only theyre stuck in a ridiculous situation. The original concept was that he and Busta Rhymes would team up to fight antmen that emerge from the Earth, an amazing that was swiftly rejected by studios. He made it into a short instead titled Jay And Seth Versus The Apocalypse - where he and real life buddy Jay Baruchel are trapped together in a dingy house after the apocalypse. He intended to bring the short around some festivals, so to raise awareness of it he cut a trailer and posted it on YouTube. Rogen was already building a fanbase from Knocked Up so the trailer quickly went viral, with studios suddenly offering him a deal to make a movie out of the idea. He rather swiftly go backing, though it would be another five years until This Is The End finally came out. Sadly Busta Rhymes was nowhere to be found, so maybe that idea could be reused for a sequel.