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Director Jonathan Levine sure loves his coming-of-age movies with a messed up twist. First hitting the indie scene in 2008 with the summer-before-college dope dealer comedy The Wackness, Levine reached more audiences with 2011’s Seth Rogen/Joseph Gordon-Levitt cancer comedy, 50/50. Now Levine directs a zombified genre blender of comedy, drama, romance, a dash of horror, with a heap of hormones for this weekend’s Warm Bodies.

“I like things that are different and for me,” said Levine about being drawn to Warm Bodies in an interview roundtable in Boston alongside actress Analeigh Tipton (America’s Next Top Model, Crazy, Stupid, Love.), “…but my interests always screw me up along the way, because I don’t want to do something that is too much like something I’ve seen before, so this felt like a great way to do both. To do something unique and work on a bigger palette, maintain my integrity, and do something that feels fresh.”

Taking place in a world overrun by zombies, Nicholas Hoult (X-Men: First Class, UK’s TV hit Skins) stars as R, one of the walking dead who saves Teresa Palmer (I Am Number Four) as Julie, a human fighting the war for survival. Rescued by R during an attack, Julie realizes that R isn’t like the other zombies. Forming a relationship that can make even the coldest heart beat again, the two go on a comedic-thrilling adventure that can warm up the dying population. Tipton stars as Julie’s living friend alongside Dave Franco, Rob Corddry, and John Malkovich.

During the roundtable, the director and actress talk about: watching their own work on screen, movie soundtracks, the resurgence of zombie movies, John Malkovich rapping, and LARP-ing.

You two have been on the road promoting this film for quite some time. Do you watch the movie in every town or do you skip out when it plays?

Jonathan Levine: No, I don’t, because imagine seeing [your favorite movie] a thousand times. And that’s how many times I have seen the movie before it even gets to people. Once a movie is done, I don’t watch it. Like, 50/50’s been on Showtime and it’s cool when I’m flipping around like, “Holy shit, I directed that movie!” I look at it for five minutes and my girlfriend is the production designer so I watch it every once in a while, but I can’t watch it for more than five minutes before I go, “I fucked that up. I fucked that up.” And she goes, “I can’t believe I put that painting up…” So I just turn the channel.

Analeigh, are you an actress who can’t watch herself?

Analeigh Tipton: I’ve had both experiences recently and it’s nice in this one. I come in and out of [Warm Bodies] so I can really lean back and enjoy the film for what it is. It’s such a small piece of me so it doesn’t bother me that much. I haven’t seen it with an audience yet. I’ve only seen it sitting awkwardly alone in a movie theater.

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