Joseph Gordon-Levitt AMA Highlights: Sandman, Batman, Rian Johnson, 3rd Rock, Tarantino
Joseph Gordon-Levitt is without a doubt one of the most interesting and distinct voices in modern Hollywood. Yes, he's a great actor and has done some truly awesome films. He has also worked with many wonderful filmmakers, is sought after by even more and also happens to be one himself. He's already directed one feature, Don Jon, is on the short-list for every big hero role out there, and is the founder of a crowd-sourced media company called HIT RECORD where people can contribute to not only a TV show, but short films and more, all online.
Levitt did a Reddit AMA to promote the first season of HITRECORD ON TV coming to DVD. During the event, he touched on a bunch of interesting topics. He discussed wanting to appear in Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained, how good he thinks Rian Johnson's Star Wars Episodes VIII and IX are going to be, the latest on his DC/Vertigo adaptation, Sandman, if he thinks he'll be in another Batman movie, what makes Christopher Nolan a good director, a possible 3rd Rock from the Sun reunion and more.
Below, read some of the highlights of the Reddit Joseph Gordon-Levitt AMA.
Click on the link in each subhead to read the context of Gordon-Levitt's answers. The full AMA is here.
Update on the Sandman movie:
Been doing a lot of work with David Goyer and Jack Thorne, working on the screenplay. We've been doing our meetings at the DC office, which is a frickin rad place to work. Also just had a great conversation last week with David and Mr. Gaiman. Neil has been extremely big hearted with me, and he's the one I want to please most.
Working with Rian Johnson and his Star Wars movies:
Rian has become one of my dearest friends, so I'm biased, but I feel enormously privileged to have worked on the first movie of a filmmaker who, I feel, is as great as any of our generation. PS – Episode 8 & 9 are going to be... I can't even say how good I think they're gonna be...
Would he do another Batman movie?
[First, someone responds to the question saying Nolan's films are different from Zack Snyder's so it doesn't make sense.] The Gordon-Levitt did this:
(points to nose)
On not doing Django Unchained (original story):
The Django role that Quentin asked me to do was a small one. Even still, I was bummed it didn't work out. But I'm sorta glad, because Quentin himself played that role, and I think he was perfect for it.
Would he do a 3rd Rock From The Sun reunion?
Hell yes. Though not sure how much sense it would make since the alien characters left earth (spoiler alert) at the end of the series. Still, I love all those folks so much, I'd love to..
Does he want to do a musical?
I really really really want to do a movie musical. Trying to figure it out. Find the right project with the right people. In the meantime, HITRECORD ON TV definitely tides me over, because we do lots of musical numbers on the show.
How does he feel about being part of the US release of The Wind Rises?
(JGL voices the lead character in the English-language voice track.)
It's one of the most beautiful movies I've ever seen. I'm deeply honored to be involved in it.
Does he want to direct a feature again?
HITRECORD ON TV is not traditional movie directing, but it's very much a directing job. I definitely want to direct another feature film one day, but in the mean time, I do love getting to satisfy those creative urges on hitRECord.
What is Christopher Nolan like as a director?
Mr. Nolan is a great example of a director who, on the one hand, has an extremely well-thought-through plan, but on the other hand, is open to spontaneous collaboration. This sort of balance is exactly what I try to apply as I direct HITRECORD projects. I actually think of him a lot day to day, as I approach various decisions. "What would Chris do?"