Seth Rogen and the real inspiration of “50/50,” Will Reiser, come to SIDEWALKS to talk about their film.
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Video Content: Seth Rogen with Will Reiser (50/50): SIDEWALKS host Maaika Westen interviews the star of the “50/50,” Seth Rogen, who is joined by screenwriter Will Reiser. They talk about the casting and screenplay, which is loosely-based on Will’s life with cancer. Additionally, Will and Seth tell us about how they met and the success of Seth’s career.
Mini-Biography:
Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Seth Rogen is an actor, stand-up comedian, producer, and screenwriter.
Started his career as a standup comedian, Seth’s early TV roles include “Freaks and Geeks” and “Undeclared,” where he was also a staff writer. From there, he went on to write for “Da Ali G Show.”
Seth was a co-producer and co-star in “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” which was followed up by “Knocked Up” and “Funny People.” He co-wrote and co-starred in “Superbad,” “Pineapple Express,” and “The Green Hornet.”
Other roles include “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy ,” “You, Me and Dupree,” “Zack and Miri Make a Porno,” and “Observe and Report.”
“50/50”
Rated: R
Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard, Anjelica Huston
Directed By: Jonathan Levine
Written by: Will Reiser
Studio Synopsis:
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.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVObFYOU9rE[/youtube]
Interview Credits:
Recorded: September 20, 2011
Host/Segment Producer: Maaika Westen
Editor: Richard R. Lee
Special Thanks To: Summit Entertainment and Allied–THA