Seth Rogen and Will Reiser on 50/50 and How Life Sometimes Needs a Rewrite

Even the brief chat we've had so far, the chemistry between you two is very evident. How important was the casting process to find Adam? Did you have Joseph Gordon-Levitt in mind from the start?

SR: No, we didn't. We didn't have anyone in mind when writing. It was kinda just like Will.

WR: It was me. We were writing me. [Laughs]

SR: There was literally a very short discussion about Will playing the role, which ultimately I'm very glad we didn't do.

WR: It would have been a horrible idea. [Laughs)]

SR: A very bad idea. [Laughs] James McAvoy was going to do it, but he had to leave because of a family emergency, and then I had known Joe. We thought he could be incredible, and he seemed really excited about it. He actually jumped into the role with very little prep time. It was incredibly impressive to watch. As an actor, I have to say. It's the type of role a lot of people would want to work on for months and do research. He literally, within a matter of days, became this character. It was kind of miraculous.

WR: He had one week to prepare.

Kyle, ultimately, has a very sweet and heartwarming arc, but for so much of the film he comes off like, well, a dick. A good-natured dick, but a dick. Were you worried about making Kyle too unlikeable?

SR: I don't really have a likeability fear -- which I'm sure a lot of people who hate me will attest to. [Laughs] No, to me, it felt like a real dynamic. The only line we had to walk was that I couldn't be such a terrible person that you wouldn't believe this guy would be friends with me.

WR: But I think that's our -- you can correct me if I'm wrong, Seth -- but that's our dynamic. Our friendship is kind of like that.

SR: You wrote it like that! You used to be way more of a pain in the ass and I used to be a way bigger asshole. Especially five years ago. It was much more like that than it is now. [Laughs]

WR: I used to be way more neurotic and Seth would make fun of me all the time. That's our friendship.

SR: I hadn't had a girlfriend yet back then. I hadn't been taught how to behave properly. [Laughs]

Seth, you've been an executive producer before and even a co-producer on The 40-Year-Old Virgin, but here you were a producer for the first time. How much different was that than your previous experiences?

SR: It wasn't that different. The only real difference was that there was no one above us. Normally, we kind of have a Judd [Apatow] safety net. Not that he's around all the time on Superbad and Pineapple Express, but if the shit really hit the fan he was always there. It was actually kind of really fun to not have that. It was terrifying at times, when you look around and think, "We are really in charge of all of this!"

WR: It felt like we were making a student film, because it was so relaxed. We were all collaborating. It was really nice.

SR: We're not those people who think work needs to be harder than it needs to be. We really tried to have a relaxed environment on set, and we're somewhat competent in our process -- as competent as we need to be -- and we hope it goes right. We really try to include everyone. We try to make it really fun. It was really great to set the tone -- because I think producers do set the tone on set. Everyone is wondering, "Is this something I'll get yelled at for? Is this the kind of thing people will go crazy about?" When everyone realizes that it's fun, I think the whole movie becomes better.

The soundtrack is particularly strong, especially because you have bands -- like Pearl Jam and Radiohead -- that normally aren't featured in films. How were you able to secure those rights?

SR: Yeahhh, it wasn't easy.

WR: It was not easy. It was not easy.

SR: It was a budgetary thing. Often in a movie of this scale -- it's an $8 million movie -- if you want songs like that you have to go around with a hat and collect money and get the songs.

Well, it paid off; "Yellow Ledbetter" is a perfect capper to the film.

SR: That is very gratifying to hear. It makes the money we paid worth it. [Laughs] Every time I hear that song, I see a pile of money in flames.

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