Yahoo Movies ‘Don Jon’: How Joseph-Gordon Levitt got a movie about a porn addict made
Despite being two of the most sought-after young talents in Hollywood, “Don Jon” stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Scarlett Johansson said that making the raunchy dramedy was a task fraught with difficulty.
“I knew that we wouldn’t be able to make this movie at a studio, especially with me being the director,” Gordon-Levitt told a group of reporters in Toronto on Tuesday. “It’s risky; it doesn’t fit into any formula.”
“Life is about taking risks,” Johansson said. “This was a project that could be seen as a risk for Joe and for me.”
“Don Jon” premiered to positive reviews at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival on Tuesday night. The independent film, written and directed by Gordon-Levitt, tells the story of Jon, a bro from New Jersey trying to balance his personal life with a very serious porn addiction. Jon falls for Barbara (Johansson), a wise-cracking Jersey girl obsessed with romantic comedies, but the relationship is complicated by the unrealistic expectations that their respective “hobbies” have left them with.
Contrary to the carefully coordinated way in which most major studios produce and release films, Gordon-Levitt said the plan was simply to make “Don Jon” and worry about getting the movie seen later.
“I was intent on maintaining total creative control and freedom,” the first time director said. “I knew that the way to do that was to do it for less money.”
“Don Jon's” low-budget meant that Gordon-Levitt had to then sell the movie himself after it was completed. The gamble paid off. “Don Jon” was picked up by distributor Relativity at Sundance earlier this year, was included as part of TIFF’s prestigious 2013 line-up, and now has a large advertising and marketing budget to help get it out there.
Gordon-Levitt called his collaboration with Johansson one of the reasons for “Don Jon” success to date. Johansson was one of the first people that the actor/director showed his script to, and the pair worked closely to develop the characters in the film.
“He’s really open to the idea of collaborating,” Johansson said. “He was so excited that we could work together to lift the character off the page and colour her in.”
“I thought having her be a part of this movie would help to illuminate some of the themes I wanted to talk about,” Gordon-Levitt said.
“This is a movie about how media often oversimplifies things, especially when it comes to men and women, love and sex -- especially women –- and Scarlett is a very acute example of that,” Gordon-Levitt explained ("'acute,' I said, not 'cute,'" he clarified with a laugh). “She’s a really smart person, she’s a really talented artist, and yet a lot of what our culture describes her as is just based on her looks. That’s not fair.”
It’s a big year for Johansson at TIFF. The 28-year-old actress appears in two much-talked-about films at the festival – Gordon-Levitt’s comedic “Don Jon” and Jonathan Glazer’s hypnotic thriller “Under the Skin.” Both movies, particularly the latter, feature very risqué performances from the actress. A third film featuring Johansson, director Spike Jonze’s “Her,” was also previewed at the fest last weekend.
“I’ve been really fortunate to have a really productive couple of years with some very diverse projects,” the actress said of her TIFF line-up. “It’s fun for me to be able to go to a screening of ‘Under the Skin’ and then ‘Don Jon’ and to hear the reaction of my friends and family and to have them see the immediate difference between the two.”
When asked what it was like watch to those risqué roles at TIFF in the company of friends and family, Johansson didn't seem too bothered by the idea.
“When I’m watching a film I’m very rarely aware of anybody else’s experience,” the actress said. “Unless my brother was next to me and there was a nude scene, then I think I’d be incredibly uncomfortable.”
"Don Jon" hits theatres on September 27.
The 2013 Toronto International Film Festival runs until Sept. 15.
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