Will Reiser didn’t have to hunt far for source material for his first screenplay.
Six years ago, Reiser, then 25, was diagnosed with a rare type of spinal cancer. He was at the time working at "Da Ali G Show" with Seth Rogen and Rogen's writing partner, Evan Goldberg.
Having experienced Reiser’s scary journey with him, Rogen suggested his friend write about the pain, confusion and, yes, comedy of tackling the horrors of cancer as a young man.
The result -- the tender, candid, sometimes heartbreaking “50/50″ -- opens Sept. 30, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt starring as a loose adaptation of Reiser and Rogen alongside as his wisecracking best friend.
Rogen and Goldberg also produced the film.
Two weeks ago, a hearty-laughing, bespectacled Rogen and the slight, sweet Reiser stopped in Atlanta to talk about the film.
In a small banquet room at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead, the pair, both wearing plaid shirts and sipping beverages -- Diet Coke for the slimmed-down Rogen and tea for Reiser -- chatted amiably about making the film.
Q: Will, has the experience of watching this get committed to film and then having to relive it on a press tour been cathartic?
Reiser: The process of writing the movie is what was most cathartic. When I was sick and we were going through it, I was 25 and not someone able to express his emotions. The process of writing the script allowed me to say all of the things I wasn’t able to communicate, and extrapolate them for the script. Now, going out and talking about it, I feel more removed from the story and have a better ability to talk about it.
Rogen: [Laughs] We’ve grown numb to it.
Q: Seth, how much of your character’s conversations and actions are based on what you and Will went through?
Rogen: There’s very few specific conversations, but I would say the scene in the coffee shop in the beginning probably most encapsulates what our relationship was at the time.
Reiser: Those were the first scenes I wrote in the movie. Seth added some nuance and improv to it.
Rogen: You would complain about woman problems a lot at the time. I was single and insanely stupid and would probably give the worst advice.
Reiser: You did not give good advice.
Q: Seth, do you feel like this character represents you?
Rogen: It does oddly feel more like me than most of the characters I've played in movies. It's more confident than my characters usually are. And the fact that he has a job. ... [laughs] I usually play losers who don't do anything and I actually work a lot, so those things, when I watch the movie, do feel closer to me than a lot of characters I've played.
Q: Did you intentionally pick a title without the word "cancer"?
Rogen: We went through a lot of trouble to make a movie that is appealing to a lot of people and we thought it just seemed silly to give it a title that could potentially repel a lot of those people.
Reiser: For a long time, the title was "I’m With Cancer."
Rogen: That title, it’s edgier, but tonally it doesn’t quite match up with the movie. The movie is very honest and that title is just a little reaching, I think.
Reiser: Coming up with a title was probably the hardest thing.
Rogen: It’s hard to name a comedy about a guy with cancer.
Q: Though the movie is set in Seattle, you shot in Vancouver, where you’re from, Seth. Do you get back there often?
Rogen: Oh yeah. My whole family is there, my parents, sister, nephew. We all stayed at my parents’ house. I kicked them out!
Q: Is that the main reason you shot there, or did you get a good tax break, too?
Rogen: Yeah, we did. And me and Evan always wanted to work there, so we pushed it in that direction. Plus we know Vancouver very well, so we could easily suggest locations.
Reiser: It was a much more appealing place to work than some of the other cities we had as options -- Detroit, Shreveport.
Rogen: [Seattle and Vancouver] are both health-oriented cities, which is something we thought was funny. They’re both places where everyone is jogging or riding their bikes and no one smokes. They’re almost on the forefront of physical betterment in the Pacific Northwest, so more than anything it was ironic.
Movie preview
"50/50″
Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen and Anna Kendrick. Directed by Jonathan Levine.
Rated R for strong language, adult themes, some drug use. At metro theaters. 1 hour, 39 minutes.
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