Screen Junkies » 50/50

What You’ve All Been Waiting For: The 2012 Independent Spirit Awards

Joseph Gibson — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 00:39:45 +0000

You’ve been waiting in feverish anticipation for months, carefully crafting your prediction ballots and getting ready for the big night. Now, the wait is over, and the 2012 Independent Spirit Awards are finally here! Here are all the big winners, so you can finish up your office Independent Spirit pool. Hope you won big!

Best Feature: The Artist

Best Female Lead: Michelle Williams for My Week with Marilyn

Best Male Lead: Jean Dujardin for The Artist

Best Supporting Female: Shailene Woodley for The Descendants

Best Supporting Male: Christopher Plummer for Beginners

Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist

Best Screenplay: The Descendants – Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash

Best First Screenplay: 50/50 – Will Reiser

Best Cinematography: The Artist - Guillaume Schiffman

There you have it, folks. Isn’t it nice to finally be done with awards season?

5 Comedies Besides ’50/50′ That Find The Funny Side Of Cancer

Wookie Johnson — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 19:53:37 +0000

This weekend, Seth Rogen takes on cancer for a second time with the comedy 50/50. He stars alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who plays a young man that finds out he’s living with the disease. The comedy-drama takes a look at the complicated feelings one experiences while undergoing cancer treatment and facing their own mortality.

Sounds like a tough sell in the humor department, but if done with enough heart, the results can be equally hilarious and moving. Here are five films that were bold enough to mix a little levity in with their heavy subject matter.

Funny People

This list doesn’t just prove that cancer can be approached in a humorous manner, it also proves that Seth Rogen might actually cause cancer. Perhaps he’s unknowingly radioactive like Dr. Manhattan, or maybe he’s poisoning soup with Pine Sol like that lady in The Sixth Sense. After appearing alongside a cancer-stricken Adam Sandler in Funny People and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in 50/50, it’s clear that Rogen could be to blame. Jonah Hill‘s sudden weight loss is starting to make a lot of sense.

My Life

When father-to-be Michael Keaton is diagnosed with terminal cancer of the kidneys, he decides to videotape himself giving life lessons to his unborn son. He records instructions on how to shave, play sports, use jumper cables, talk to girls, and cook spaghetti. Sadly by the time his son is old enough to appreciate these lessons, VHS is deemed outdated and they are impossible to view.

Chicks Don’t Dig Cancer In ’50/50′ Trailer

Wookie Johnson — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 15:28:58 +0000

6 photosBryce Dallas Howard

This morning we have a new trailer for Will Reiser’s autobiographical 50/50 that focuses more on the comedic and less on the film’s bummerific aspects. This shorter look leans more heavily on Seth Rogen to make light of Joseph Gordon-Levitt‘s cancer like any good friend would. Though as evidenced here, using cancer to pick up chicks isn’t as foolproof as it sounds. It’s cancer. Not a puppy.

50/50 opens in theaters on September 30th and also stars Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard, Phillip Baker Hall, and Angelica Houston.

Laugh In The Face Of Cancer With The ’50/50′ Trailer

Wookie Johnson — Fri, 27 May 2011 18:55:56 +0000

4 photos'Looper' Set Photos: Future Cars Don't Look Futurey Enough

Please stick around after the awkward introduction to watch the trailer for 50/50. Based on the true story of cancer survivor Will Reiser and directed by Jonathan Levine (The Wackness), the film looks pretty well done. Joseph Gordon-Levitt slaps on a cardigan to play Adam (based on Reiser), the cancer-stricken 27-year old who must learn to live with the disease.

Seth Rogen addresses Reiser at the top of the trailer as one of his “best friends.” But then he goes and co-stars as the goofy best friend. Is he imitating himself? Could be. Though at first I thought he was imitating the character Dan Fogler always plays.