Insulted by a prosthetic nose

Problem: Joseph Gordon-Levitt doesn't look much like a young Bruce Willis.

Solution: Give Joseph Gordon-Levitt a prosthetic nose to make him kinda, sorta, in-certain-ways be plausibly reminiscent of what a young Bruce Willis might have looked like.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis and a latex nose

A better solution: Respect the audience's ability to suspend disbelief and have the actors use their voices, mannerisms, postures, emotions, etc. to sell it, i.e. let the actors do their jobs. The worst thing you'd have to do is add another line of dialogue in the diner:

Joseph Gordon-Levitt (speculatively at Bruce Willis' nose): So... what happened to my nose?
Bruce Willis (rubs the bridge of his nose): It got broke.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt: Did it hurt?
Bruce Willis (shrugs): Not as much as getting shot.

... and you're done! Nobody needs to refer to the physical resemblance factor ever again. No prosthetic makeup, no sitting in a chair for three hours before shooting every day, no goofy pictures on the Internet, no smart-ass bloggers telling you how you should have made your movie.

In short, the prosthetic nose is a case of overselling it. It's a mistake. Don't do that.

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