And so what begins as a strictly professional relationship turns, well, unprofessional.
"I've never done romantic scenes before," Kendrick says, dropping into Philadelphia recently to talk up the very fine, and, yes, very funny, 50/50, which opened in theaters Friday. "And I knew Joe for precisely 20 minutes before we shot one of the scenes in the car - which is pretty far into our relationship - so I was a little nervous. . . .
"I was just really impressed with the way he could make a person feel like you've known each other for years. . . . I was pretty new to that kind of territory, so I give all credit to him. It made me feel really open. Even though I'd only known him for 20 minutes, he opened his heart to such a degree that you felt really safe - and that's a really tough thing. Actors are pretty sensitive."
The reason Kendrick had just met Gordon-Levitt is that right up until shooting started in the spring of 2010, James McAvoy had the lead role of Adam, the twentysomething Seattleite diagnosed with the Big C. And then McAvoy's wife, actress Anne-Marie Duff, had the nerve to have their baby boy earlier than expected.
"Understandably, James left the production - and Joe came in a little late, so . . . when I came up, it was basically a handshake and 'Are you ready to do this?'
"It was a tough transition, because you get attached to one idea in your head. But when I got on set they had cut together a version of the scene where Joe and Seth Rogen try to go pick up girls, and I just felt like, Oh, this is Joe's movie completely. He owns it."
