A second trailer for the cancer dramedy 50/50 starring Seth Rogen and Joseph Gordon-Levitt has arrived as buzz for the film is growing. With Gordon-Levitt bringing his hitRECord at the Movies to Seattle’s Neptune Theatre on August 23, I’m hoping for some time to chat with him about his new film while he’s in town… and maybe that other movie he’s working on.
50/50 is directed by Jonathan Levine (The Wackness) and was adapted by Will Reiser from his own novel in which a 25-year-old (Gordon-Levitt) learns he has cancer and successfully battles the disease over several years. The character is based on the real experiences of Reiser, who won his own fight with cancer in his mid-20s. Along with Gordon-Levitt and Rogen the film co-stars Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard, Anjelica Huston and Philip Baker Hall.
The film will hit theaters on September 30 and will also be playing at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier that same month.
Inspired by personal experiences, 50/50 is an original story about friendship, love, survival and finding humor in unlikely places. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen star as best friends whose lives are changed by a cancer diagnosis. Rogen also serves as producer, along with Evan Goldberg and Ben Karlin. Jonathan Levine directs from a script by Will Reiser. “We worked with Will on Da Ali G show, and it was shortly after that we learned he was sick.” Rogen recalls. “As shocking, sad, confusing and generally screwed up as it was; we couldn’t ignore that because we were so ill-equipped to deal with the situation, funny things kept happening. Will got better, and when he did, we thought the best way to pull something good out of the situation was to get him to write a screenplay. Ideally we wanted to make a film that would be as funny, sad, and hopefully as honest as the experience we went through. As soon as the script was completed, it quickly became a passion project for all of us. It helped us come to terms with Will’s struggle as well as our own experiences.” 50/50 is the story of a guy’s transformative and, yes, sometimes funny journey to health. 50/50 draws its emotional core from Will Reiser’s own experience with cancer and reminds us that friendship and love, no matter what bizarre turns they take, are the greatest healers.
