First Look at ‘Don Jon’s Addiction’: John Blake Hits on Black Widow

Ryan Gosling and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are both looking to make the jump from acclaimed stud actor to credible filmmaker, following in the footsteps of people like Kevin Costner and George Clooney (among others). The former is making a surreal Noir-fantasy titled How to Catch a Monster featuring his Drive co-star Christina Hendricks, while the latter in putting the final touches on his dark comedy about a porn-addicted modern Don Juan (Levitt) called Don Jon’s Addiction.

Needless to say, Don Jon’s Addiction is for those who prefer their Levitt brooding and unscrupulous (see: Brick, Hesher, Looper) and not-so-much fans who prefer the easier-to-swallow characters he played in films like (500) Days of Summer, 50/50 and The Dark Knight Rises. Hence, the project is going to premiere at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, where it will have the same advantage as other indie titles that arrive packing a name cast (see: The Sessions and Celeste and Jesse Forever, for recent examples).

Addiction is about “a selfish modern-day Don Juan [who] attempts to change his ways.” Naturally, that means thinking about members of the opposite sex as more than potential conquests – beginning with a voluptuous woman-in-red brought to life by The Avengers star Scarlett Johansson. In other words: John ‘Robin’ Blake tries to put the moves on Black Widow (among other women) in this film.

Here are Johansson and Levitt in Don Jon’s Addiction (feel free to share your funny image caption in the comments section):

The cast, as you would expect, is rounded out by attractive female actors such as Julianne Moore (Carrie), Brie Larson (21 Jump Street), Lindsey Broad (The Office), Antoinette Kalaj (Riddick) and Amanda Perez (Gossip Girl), along with Levitt’s Dark Knight Rises costar Rob Brown (better known for Finding Forrester and the TV series Treme) and Tony Danza as Levitt’s father, Jon Sr.

A darkly comical approach to the story for Don Jon’s Addiction could make it more palpable for a larger audience than a somber treatment of such subjects as sexual addiction and objectification of women (see: Shame). The comparatively ‘edgy’ approach in Addiction should further help to distinguish it from previous lighter and more romantic contemporary takes on the Don Juan character, such as Don Juan DeMarco (starring Johnny Depp).

As for Levitt: he should have no problem bringing the eponymous womanizer to life onscreen. Hopefully, he won’t get caught up in naval-gazing when working behind the camera (as first-time directors are sometimes wont to do).

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Don Jon’s Addiction has yet to snag a U.S. release date, but expect it to arrive sometime in late 2013.

Source: The Playlist