Seth Rogen And Lauren Miller Rogen Discuss Their New Alzheimer’s Film

You likely know them for their memorable comedy projects over the years, but since 2012, husband and wife team, Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen, have been striving to provide relief for individuals with Alzheimer’s, as well as for their loved ones, through their Hilarity for Charity nonprofit organization. Inspired by Lauren’s late mother, Adele, who was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s at the age of 55, their family knows that this merciless disease is no laughing matter.

As a way to get the word out even further about Hilarity for Charity’s ongoing mission, which to date has awarded over 475,000 hours of in-home care relief with their Caregiver Respite Grant Program, Lauren and Seth have also executive produced a new documentary film titled Taking Care, which honors the life of Adele and shows the impact that Alzheimer’s not only had on her, but how it has affected those around her.

Speaking with Seth and Lauren during the Taking Care premiere in West Hollywood, California Wednesday evening, being 13 years into their nonprofit’s existence, what are they most prideful about in the evolution and growth that they have been able to achieve?

Lauren said, “I mean, since we started this, I think we’ve grown and changed so much, and we’ve learned. I think the need has just become more and more clear. I set out to make this film because I wanted people to understand the devastation that comes from this disease and the reality of what it looks like when someone has dementia or Alzheimer’s. I think the thing that the film also really highlights is the need to care for caregivers. I think that early on, I really just wanted to show the disease and I think what we’ve learned is how important caregivers are in this process and how they need support.”

Rewarding approximately 400 grants annually to individuals and families in need, Hilarity for Charity has also put on fundraising stand-up comedy events over the years, where celebrity friends have donated their time to bring the laughs to a worthy cause. Even though much generosity has been shown to Hilarity for Charity, they have also faced learning curves and other challenges while building this nonprofit.

Seth said, “I mean, Alzheimer’s is simply not the most glamorous disease. It’s not a sexy disease. It doesn’t affect children – hot ticket donation triggers, you know? It doesn’t have a lot of success stories. It is a very sad disease in many ways. So, those are the challenges, but I think, honestly, like even over the time we’ve been doing it, so much more hope and optimism has come into the Alzheimer’s world. It used to be this thing that was completely unpreventable and completely unstoppable. People were hoping for just some sort of magic bullet cure. We’ve since seen that lifestyle changes and personalized medicine can really do a lot to prevent Alzheimer’s in people. And so, it’s actually gotten markedly more hopeful over the years.”

Speaking briefly with Taking Care’s director James Keach, as well, having worked alongside Lauren and Seth in telling their family’s story on-screen, I wondered what he took away most from his many interactions with them.

James said, “I think what you see in this film is you see how tight their family is and how they’re willing to change the conversation about Alzheimer’s in the world. They’ve taken something that is a tsunami of sadness that faces our nation – our world. They’re trying to change the future of it – they’re trying to empower young people to look at this and go – Okay, this is what you can do – the way you sleep, the way you eat – smoking, drinking – all the health things you can do.”

In 2020, Lauren’s mother Adele passed away from Alzheimer’s. As Hilarity for Charity has continued onward ever since, as well as with the debut of the Taking Care film, what does Lauren believe that her mom would think of all that they are doing today?

Lauren said, “She would explode with pride – I know her. You know, she was a teacher. She taught first grade. She taught for 35 years and I think that, for her, education was so important across all aspects of humanity. I know that, specifically, because this disease touched her own parents, that she would be fighting right alongside us and so proud of how much we’ve taught people about this disease and about caring for people with this disease. She would be the loudest voice in the room, if she could be.”

Best known for his many popular comedies like The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up and this year’s breakout hit series on Apple TV+, The Studio, Seth has utilized his celebrity status and his elevated platform to effectively get the word out about Alzheimer’s and find ways to engage people of all ages to listen.

Seth said, “I mean, for me with this, it was very organic. I think before this as a famous person, I felt like I should be supporting causes – I just had nothing I necessarily understood how to support in more than like a symbolic way. With this, I just found that they are talking about it and through bringing other people to events, I was able to be very much myself and honest, and also bring attention to something that really needed attention.”

Concluding the conversation with Seth and Lauren, what message do they want to say to people with dementia and Alzheimer’s, as well to their caregivers and loved ones, perhaps seeking a little bit of comfort right now during what can be dark and overwhelming times?

Lauren said, “I want to say to reach out to Hilarity for Charity because we have community, we have services and we’re here to help people through those dark times.”