Brian Greenberg's directorial debut, The Junction, depicts his personal struggle with OxyContin addiction, the actor said in an interview in January.
Greenberg admitted that most fans didn't know about his short-lived struggle with opioids. “It's catching people off guard. But I had a brief encounter with addiction. I'm not an addict. I want to make that clear. I'm an ally,” he said. vanity fair “But I was prescribed OxyContin for a routine surgery, and after that I became a bit addicted to it and had a hard time coming off of it,” he said in a Jan. 25 interview.
Greenberg talked about why this particular theme resonated with him and how he was able to work as a writer, actor, and director on this project.
“I'm the type of person who doesn't want things to control me, so that stuck with me and really pissed me off,” he told Vanity Fair.
He went on to talk about the unique approach he took when filming.
“I think that's what made me want to destigmatize addiction and confront it with this film. I feel like it all starts with empathy,” Greenberg said.
“This is an opioid crisis, and we're filming in Rhode Island. It's so prevalent across America. It's hard to find someone who hasn't been affected.”
He explained his process.
“Then I went out into the streets of Rhode Island and found real people in the throes of addiction and filmed them. I didn't want to turn these addicts into porn. I didn't want to trivialize the message. “And this story isn't just about the addict. It's about everyone affected,” Greenberg said.
EAST HAMPTON, NY – OCTOBER 13: Actor Brian Greenberg attends the 21st Annual Hampton International Film Festival on October 13, 2013 in East Hampton, New York. (Photo by Eugene Gologulsky/Getty Images, Hamptons International Film Festival)
“So I went to social workers and counselors and families who help people get off drugs. What we got was a wide range of people. I worked with my editor to see if it would be a good fit to put in the film. I found the perfect timing.”
Greenberg admitted that the filming process was a real eye-opener for him.
“I just started trying to understand what this crisis is, and it's been mostly my own personal journey trying to figure it out,” he told Vanity Fair, although the process sometimes He said it was “very draining and overwhelming” for him. (Related: Country singer Jelly Roll reveals the depth of his addiction problem)
The 97-minute feature is scheduled to premiere in theaters and on Apple TV+ on Friday. The story revolves around his three interconnected characters: his CEO of a pharmaceutical company (Griffin Dunne), his doctor (Ashley Madekwe), and his addict (Greenberg), and each character's affected by the opioid crisis in the form of
