Did you have an opinion about sex addicts before this movie, and did doing this movie change your opinion?
Tim Robbins: I didn’t think too much about it. I didn’t think it was much of a problem until I started talking to sex addicts, and I was lucky enough to go to a meeting and see the courage it took these (mostly) men to address the issues and acknowledge how detrimental the addiction has been to their lives. What’s inspiring about this is that there are people out there with these terrible afflictions that are working, working, working to overcome them, and that’s something I truly admire.
What was your experience working with Mark Ruffalo like?
Josh Gad: I hated him (laughs). No just kidding. Mark is so extraordinary onscreen because he is so extraordinary in real life. He really is one the most giving actors I’ve ever met and he just loves to play. He loves to find it in the moment with you, which is all you can ask for as an actor. He is as unbelievably charismatic in real life as he is onscreen.
Alecia Moore: He was very supportive for me as the new guy. For me it was fun to watch those three guys, the boys club, because you didn’t have to say anything. They just had this incredible rapport with each other which was really fun to see. That was one of my favorite parts.
Gwyneth Paltrow: Mark and I did a really classic movie together (laughs) a long time ago that was shockingly snubbed by the Oscars called A View from The Top. I had an amazing time working with him then and we have good chemistry and it was very easy. He’s a lovely man and an excellent actor. I loved every minute of it.
Tim Robbins: I loved every minute of it too, but now I know that I shouldn’t go to these things because then you’ll talk about me (laughs).
Stuart, what do you hope people will take away the most from watching this movie?
Stuart Blumberg: That’s a good question. I think that, even apart from sex addiction, which is the prism through which the movie is told, the thing I really wanted to capture was the fact that whenever we go through a hardship, it’s easier to go through it with people. Often it’s easiest to go through it with people who are going through the same thing, so that was really message I wanted to convey. The idea is that we all may be broken, but if were broken together than we have a chance.
How would say this movie sees people who don’t suffer from this addiction but have to see it from the outside? Is it something they can get involved in or is it something they have to view from a distance?
Stuart Blumberg: Well I think perhaps this movie can also be useful for people who are not necessarily suffering from it. Fundamentally, I just wanted people to be able to identify with all facets of all the characters and to not allow people to make quick or snap judgments about them.
This movie functions as both a comedy and a drama. What made you and your co-writer Matt Winston write it in such a tone?
Stuart Blumberg: There were a couple reasons. When Mark Ruffalo and I were doing The Kids Are All Right, he kept saying the reason the movie works is because you have a little honey to make the medicine go down. So whether it’s the idea of a gay marriage or sex addiction, I think it’s really helpful to liven these movies with humor. The other part of it is, when I would go to these meetings, people would say, “If you’re gonna try to capture this, don’t just make us these grim, sour and dour guys in trench coats. We are real people and these meetings are funny, and the stuff we go through is often hysterical. You’ve got to capture both, that’s your mandate.” So I felt it was incumbent upon me to capture all the different shades of it. I think it’s easier for people to get into the story and follow these characters as they go into these dark places if they’ve invested in them often through comedy.
Alecia, you have given us some great characters and performances through your music. How was it for you to bring a character to life through someone else’s words and vision?
Alecia Moore: It’s really interesting. I’ve been telling my own stories for years and I do write my own songs, but if someone brings me a song that’s wonderful, I’m not going to turn away just because I didn’t write it. I have to be able to relate to it for it to ring true for me to get up on stage every night. But this was an opportunity to tell someone else’s story that I could relate to a little bit, and if we’re talking about music videos then I’ve got camp down. I can do camp all day long, and this was a little less. It was a challenge to be serious, really. It’s really hard for me to be serious.
Gwyneth, you had said when you did Iron Man 3 that you didn’t really understand the sci-fi elements. Do you prefer doing movies like Thanks for Sharing more than something like Iron Man 3?
Gwyneth Paltrow: It’s not that I’m not interested; it’s just that I don’t get it. I’m not intelligent enough to appreciate sci-fi. I think I’m missing something or maybe I just have a vagina (laughs). That may be the problem. But a movie like this, which is really about something, is very intriguing. I love doing the Iron Man movies, don’t get me wrong, and I love working with Robert Downey Jr., but this kind of thing is just a whole other kettle of fish.
I love the fact that this movie is about what we should all be doing, which is bumping up against our damage and seeing what’s holding us back and keeping us from being whole people. You can look for metaphors and stuff in a movie like Iron Man about triumph and different archetypes, but with a movie like this it’s nice to do something that’s so intelligent and original and kind of forward.
I don’t prefer one over the other. I loved doing Iron Man and I love doing action. I had an amazing time doing special effects and I never really done that kind of thing before and I absolutely loved it. I also absolutely love working with these actors and saying these amazing words, so I’m very lucky that I get to do both.
That concludes our interview but we’d like to thank everyone for their time. Be sure to check out Thanks For Sharing when it hits theatres this Friday.