Seth Rogen and his better half, Lauren Miller Rogen, arrived at Cannes this year carrying something far more personal than another film premiere. Their new animated movie, Tangles, centered on a daughter coping with her mother’s Alzheimer’s disease, appears to hold especially deep meaning for the couple because of Lauren’s late mother Adele’s battle with early-onset Alzheimer’s.

Premiering at the Cannes Film Festival on May 14, the black-and-white animated feature has reportedly been more than a decade in the making and reflects experiences the Rogens lived through firsthand while caring for Lauren’s mother.

While Rogen has recently been making headlines for The Studio and its ambitious second season, Cannes this year appears to mark something much more emotional — one rooted in personal grief, family, and more than a decade of creative work.

For Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen, Tangles is not simply another producing project. The film mirrors painful experiences the couple lived through while caring for Lauren’s mother, Adele, who was diagnosed with genetic early-onset Alzheimer’s disease in her 50s. Speaking to Variety ahead of the Cannes premiere, Lauren explained just how closely the story reflected her own family’s experience.

“There were so many similarities between my family and Sarah’s family...Our moms were both teachers who were diagnosed in their early 50s,” she told the outlet.

“All this stuff we experienced firsthand was reflected in this story...I remember being in kitchens or around dining room tables, screaming at people that something was not right here.” Seth echoed that emotional connection, explaining to Variety that much of what appears in the film came from firsthand experience.

The film itself, adapted from Sarah Leavitt’s graphic memoir, reportedly took more than a decade to make — partly because of its difficult subject matter and unconventional format as a black-and-white animated drama about Alzheimer’s. Director Leah Nelson also worked to preserve the emotional honesty of the original story while shaping it into a cinematic experience.

“I was crying a lot throughout the entire thing,” Rogen admitted while speaking to People after the screening. The emotional weight of the project appeared to hit especially hard during its Cannes debut, adding that watching the completed film with an audience for the first time felt significantly more intense than viewing it privately at home.

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Even amid the emotional Cannes moment surrounding Tangles, Seth Rogen also offered a glimpse into the chaos awaiting fans in The Studio Season 2.

While discussing Tangles, Seth Rogen also revealed fresh details about the upcoming second season of The Studio, which will reportedly feature an episode set around the Venice Film Festival. Speaking to Variety, Rogen explained that the production team effectively recreated the entire festival themselves because the show’s signature one-take filming style required complete control over every element in frame.

“We recreated the entire festival ourselves...The way we shoot requires these long, continuous runners. So we need to literally control every element of everything that’s in the frame.” Rogen told the outlet.

Rogen also teased that Madonna will appear in the upcoming season, though he remained intentionally vague about what fans should expect. “It is crazy,” he told Variety, choosing not to reveal anything further.

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Are you excited for both Tangles and The Studio Season 2? Let us know in the comments.