Video of the [Wednes]Day: ZOOEY & JOE

Today I've got 3 videos for you -- all involving Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. They have been friends since they filmed Manic together over 12 years ago, and have collaborated on projects small (exhibit A: below) and large ([500] Days of Summer) ever since. I love seeing little-known or little-used talents from people we get used to as "just" actors.  Did you know Joe sings (a lot, actually) and Zooey has no dance training to speak of, despite being lovely in the little dance number below? 

The "Bank Dance" was filmed by Marc Webb (who directed (500) Days of Summer and this year's The Amazing Spider-Man) as a companion piece to (500) Days. The song is "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here" by Zooey's indie-folk-soul musical project with M. Ward, She & Him. Check it out in all its pants-splitting glory.

(500) Days of Summer is the gift that keeps on giving. At one point in the film, the characters have this conversation:

Summer: We've been like Sid and Nancy for months now.
Tom: Summer, Sid stabbed Nancy, seven times with a kitchen knife, I mean we have some disagreements but I  hardly think I'm Sid Vicious.
Summer: No, I'm Sid.
Tom: Oh, so I'm Nancy...

So if you've ever wondered what exactly Joseph Gordon-Levitt would look like as Nancy or Zooey as Sid, wonder no more. CineMash has created a series of videos where actors can recreate some of their favorite scenes, and the world is a better place for it. (Warning: it's R-rated, as Sid and Nancy are wont to be.)

Finally, we have Zooey and Joe being their lovely, creative-type selves. Zooey posted this on her official YouTube channel a couple of days before 2012 arrived, during what I imagine was an incredibly fun evening at the Deschanel household. The song was originally written by Frank Loesser in 1947 for The Orioles and was incredibly successful, going on to be remade over a dozen times in the 60 years following its release. If their harmonies at the end don't make you smile, you might just be a lost soul.