Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars in the upcoming film 50/50, an original story inspired by personal experiences. It’s a story about friendship, love, survival and finding humor in unlikely places when Gordon-Levitt’s character gets diagnosed with cancer. Says the synopsis, “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.” Reiser penned the script, and co-star Seth Rogen explains the inspiration behind the movie:

“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 comes to theatres September 30, 2011.