I saw a remarkable movie a couple days ago, remarkable at both how serious it takes its subject--a young man (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) attempting to beat a cancer diagnosis--and how damn funny it is, thanks in large part to the man's best friend (Seth Rogen). The film is called 50/50, and you positively need to see this movie, which also stars Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard, Anjelica Houston, and the great Philip Baker Hall.
The story is based in large part on the story of the film's writer, Will Reiser, who met Rogen when they both worked on "Da Ali G Show." When he got his cancer diagnosis, Will was able to find the humor in it even while he was going through god-awful treatments and surgery. That isn't the story of this movie, but that's where it started, and 50/50 does not spare us any of the gory details of chemotherapy, etc. It's both a heart-wrenching and uplifting story featuring Gordon-Levitt, making us care about him even when he's at his lowest points in the process. The icing on the cake is the wonderfully light directing touch from Jonathan Levine (ALL THE BOYS LOVE MANDY LANE; THE WACKNESS; and the upcoming adaptation of the novel WARM BODIES), who displays a great gift for making me weep openly.
I've got an entire theater to fill (nearly 200 seats) for an early Chicago screening of 50/50; here are the details. The screening of 50/50 takes place on Thursday, September 8 at 8:30pm (please note the slightly later start time) at a theater in downtown Chicago (the exact location will only be given to those who win). Each winner can bring one guest. Here's how you win tickets:
Send me an email at 50-50Chicago@aintitcoolmail.com (please note the new email address) with the subject line "Beat the Odds" (exactly like that). In the body of the email, I need your Name, whether or not you're bringing a Guest (guests' names are not required), and the answer to the following question (read carefully): "What's the closest you've come to dying, and how did you avoid it?" This can be an illness, an accident, doing something fun, whatever. I'm looking for serious answers here folks. Be specific and graphic is you want to. Keep your responses BRIEF--limit it to 75 words (no matter how tempted you are to go over the limit). People with the most interesting answers win. Winners will hear from me early next week.
Although this is an exclusive AICN event, it will be slightly overbooked to make sure there is a full house. So you should arrive early to make sure you get in and get a good seat. If you can't arrive early, don't enter this contest. If there's even the slightest chance you or your guest will have to back out of attending if you do win, don't enter. If you have a job that might make you late or unable to attend, or an ill/pregnant relative, or a temperamental significant other, or a scratchy throat, do not enter.
Anyone not showing up without informing me 36 hours ahead of time so I can fill their seats runs the risk of being no longer eligible for future screening contests.
Good luck, everyone! And thanks to Summit Entertainment for giving us this extremely cool screening.
