Joseph Gordon-Levitt: Writer, Director, Object of Teenage Lust

During his six seasons on the spacey sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun, which ran between 1996 and 2001, Joseph Gordon-Levitt was often asked to appear in teen magazines. They were requests that might make some stars happy, but something felt sordid about the whole thing—and, in this week’s issue of TIME, the actor explains how he put that experience to good use in his first go at writing and directing a feature film. The movie—Don Jon, out Sept. 27 and starring Gordon-Levitt opposite Scarlett Johansson, as a man and woman hooked on porn (him) and romance (her)—turns a satirical eye to the role of mass media and pornography in our culture.

Read the full story unblock blocked websites and check out an excerpt from that conversation below

TIME: As someone who’s made a movie about the way that fiction influences our real lives, how does that affect making your own fiction, a whole movie that also has that ability to influence people?

JGL: I wanted the movie itself to be guilty of some of these same things and lure the audience down the same road, especially the second act of the movie where the conventional romance is moving right along. It uses all those same devices, the beautiful dolly shots and the sweeping string section, the gorgeous lighting and all that stuff. I like it when movies sort of are, I guess, self-culpable. Godard does this a lot unblocked minecraft. That’s actually one of the references I brought up to Scarlett early on: Brigitte Bardot in Contempt. The movie is constantly seducing you with her beauty and her sex appeal and then suddenly slapping you across the face and saying ‘look at what you’re doing, look at how you’re relating to this woman on the screen.’

So you’re a cynic about love, since all those romantic clichés are totally taken apart…

I don’t think it’s cynical. I think it’s rather idealistic. If you’re comparing your lover to this checklist, that’s not romantic. That’s consumerism. What’s romantic is finding the nuances and the details that are unlike anybody else—I can talk to her in a way, or she does this thing that’s completely unique—that’s where the most sexy stuff comes from, I think. You’ll miss all those details and nuances if you’re too busy comparing your reality to these more two-dimensional fantasies that you see on screen.

Does the source of the fantasy, whether it’s a rom-com or pornography, does that matter?

What I’ve been saying is no. I think whether it’s rated X or approved for general viewing audiences, the message is the same: you’re taking a person—in our culture it’s usually a woman—and reducing her to a thing, to an object for your consumption. I think plenty of mainstream media is equally guilty of that as pornography. That’s why I wanted to put pornography at the center of this movie, to compare the rest of our media to pornography. I’ve been [getting questions] like, ‘So, a movie about pornography!’ ‘So, how much pornography do you watch?’ and that’s kind of really missing the point.

But you had to expect that…

It’s to be expected. I’m not mad about it.

Did the idea start with the pornography angle?

The first germ of the story was probably me feeling like a bit of an object myself and thinking about how media contributes to that. When I was on TV when I was a teenager, they always wanted me to be in teen magazines. I really didn’t want to be in teen magazines but it’s a strong promotional tool for a television show. I remember even then making the argument to people who didn’t get it, or who were maybe even freaked out that this 14-year-old was comparing teen magazines to pornography, I remember making that comparison back then.

Do you see the way our culture objectifies people improving in the future?

I think that it’s valid to be optimistic, especially if you zoom out a little bit and compare the way that love and sex works now compared to 100 years ago or 1,000 years ago. I think we’re a lot healthier than we used to be. We’re far from perfect.

So, I have to ask you about the persistent rumors that you’ll return to the Batman universe. Do you have any plans to actually do it?

No, I don’t. I love [The Dark Knight Rises]. I love all three of those movies and I’m delighted to be in it. I thought it was a really great ending to a trilogy. So.

And what about Guys and Dolls with you and Channing Tatum?

Chan and I really want to make a musical together and we’ve been talking about what it could be. That’s been one of the ideas that we’ve been playing with, but it’s super early in the process and who knows what we’ll ultimately end up doing.

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Joseph Gordon-Levitt leaves Sandman film adaptation

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Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who signed on as a producer and possible star for a movie adaptation of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman comic book series, told fans he has left the project over creative differences with its studio.

Levitt delivered the news over the weekend, explaining that he couldn't see eye-to-eye with New Line Cinema. The Sandman project, Gordon-Levitt said, changed hands after he came aboard, going to New Line as a creative decision by Warner Bros. to put its Vertigo comics properties under New Line.

"A few months ago, I came to realize that the folks at New Line and I just don't see eye to eye on what makes Sandman special, and what a film adaptation could/should be," he wrote on his Facebook page. "So unfortunately, I decided to remove myself from the project."

Gaiman followed up on Twitter to compliment Gordon-Levitt but note to followers that "I don't choose who writes scripts, the director, producer or cast," as he doesn't own the series.

Taken one way, Gordon-Levitt's departure is a setback for the adaptation, especially if there was to be any chance for the star of The Dark Knight Rises to also star in this. Of course, if Gordon-Levitt's differences were so profound he has to leave now, it could mean this is barreling along toward certain production.

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Joseph Gordon-Levitt Leaves ‘Sandman’ Adaptation, Producing Ku Klux Klan Movie at Amazon

Just last month, Oliver Stone’s true story drama Snowden was pushed back yet again to a release date this fall, around the same time The Walk debuted last year, another movie starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt. However, one of the actor’s developing projects won’t have the benefit of his talents any longer.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt posted an update to his Facebook page that he has left the adaptation of Neil Gaiman‘s beloved comic series Sandman, citing creative difference with the studio. But the actor has also set up another project that he’s producing and may also star in at Amazon. Get details on both of these projects below.
First up, here’s the post detailing Joseph Gordon-Levitt leaving Sandman from Facebook:

So, as you might know if you like to follow these sorts of things, a while back, David Goyer and I made a producing deal with Warner Brothers to develop a movie adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s SANDMAN. Neil himself came on as an executive producer, we hired the excellent screenwriter, Jack Thorne, and we started in on the ambitious task of adapting one of the most beloved and boundary-pushing titles in the world of comics. I was pleased with the progress we were making, even though we still had quite a ways to go.
Recently, as you also might know if you like to follow these sorts of things, the sorta “ownership” (for lack of a better term) of the Sandman material changed hands when Warner Brothers shifted the entire catalogue of Vertigo comics (an imprint of DC) to their subsidiary, New Line. And a few months ago, I came to realize that the folks at New Line and I just don’t see eye to eye on what makes Sandman special, and what a film adaptation could/should be. So unfortunately, I decided to remove myself from the project. I wish nothing but the best for the team moving forward.
I’d like to thank all the great people I’ve had the opportunity to work with on this one. I’ve had a blast with and learned a ton from David and Jack. Niija Kuykendall, Greg Silverman, and everyone at Warner Brothers have been fantastic, as have Geoff Johns and everyone at DC. And it’s been a particular privilege as well as a rocking good time getting to know Mr. Gaiman, whose generous insights and masterful work have certainly convinced me that the Lord of Dreams and the Prince of Stories are one and the same Endless pattern.

Gordon-Levitt first boarded the project back in 2013 with David Goyer producing and Jack Thorne writing the script. The last update from the actor actually came the day after Vertigo comic book titles went over to New Line, but in the months since that announcement last June, it appears development on the project has gone south. That’s really a bummer, because Gordon-Levitt has been extremely passionate about the project. At one time he said:

Big spectacular action movies are generally about crime fighters fighting crime and blowing shit up. This has nothing to do with that. And it was actually one of the things that Neil Gaiman said to me, he said, ‘Don’t have any punching.’ Because he never does. If you read the comics, Morpheus doesn’t punch anybody. That’s not what he does. It’s going to be like a grand spectacular action film, but that relies on none of those same old ordinary clichés. So that’s why it’s taking a lot of time to write, but it’s going to be really good.

Maybe New Line is interested in turning this into a more traditional comic book action flick, and that’s why Joseph Gordon-Levitt left the project. Either way it’s a disappointing update. Coincidentally enough, Gordon-Levitt’s announcement comes after THR reported A Nightmare on Elm Street reboot and The Thing remake writer Eric Heisserer was hired to take a crack at the script.

Perhaps his hiring may have something to do with Gordon-Levitt’s departure? Heisserer’s previous work on the page doesn’t inspire much faith, but he does have the sci-fi drama The Story of Your Life being directed by Denis Villeneuve, so maybe we just haven’t seen work that has let him live up to his potential. We’ll find out eventually, assuming Sandman actually gets off the ground. At least we know Neil Gaiman doesn’t have any hard feelings about his departure:

Otherwise, Gordon-Levitt will be keeping busy over at Amazon Studios by producing a movie called K Troop. According to THR, the film will follow the rise of the Ku Klux Klan after the Civil War and the U.S. Army unit known as K Troop who fought against them. The project is early in development with Gordon-Levitt potentially taking the role of Major Lewis Merrill, the leader of the unit who used African-American to help bring down the KKK. The project is still early in development, so we’ll have to wait and see what happens.

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Joseph Gordon-Levitt Talks ‘The Walk,’ Learning to Wire Walk, ‘Snowden’ and More

Joseph Gordon-Levitt had his work cut out for him while working on Robert Zemeckis’ The Walk. 

Not only did he have to nail a french accent and portray a real person with a big personality, but he also had to learn how to wire walk as well. Gordon-Levitt leads the film as Philippe Petit, the high-wire artist who placed his wire in between the towers of the World Trade Center and then walked from one to the other and back again. The Walk chronicles everything from when Petit first fell for the art of wire walking to his discovery of the Twin Towers, all the way up to the day when he’d attempt this “coup.” It’s an incredible story in and of itself, but Zemeckis takes it to another level by turning it into an especially immersive cinematic experience. You can check out my full review of the film right here.

With The Walk currently in select theaters and due for a wide expansion on October 9th, I got the opportunity to talk to Gordon-Levitt about what makes Zemeckis a standout director, what it was like training with Philippe Petit himself and the status of Oliver Stone’s Snowden. You can catch it all in the video interview below.

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Joseph Gordon-Levitt:

• On working with Robert Zemeckis; his humility.
• Learning to wire walk with the real Philippe Petit.
• An update on Oliver Stone’s Snowden.

Here’s the official synopsis of The Walk:

Twelve people have walked on the moon, but only one man has ever, or will ever, walk in the immense void between the World Trade Center towers.  Guided by his real-life mentor, Papa Rudy (Ben Kingsley), and aided by an unlikely band of international recruits, Petit and his gang overcome long odds, betrayals, dissension and countless close calls to conceive and execute their mad plan.  Robert Zemeckis, the director of such marvels as Forrest Gump, Cast Away, Back to the Future, Polar Express and Flight, again uses cutting edge technology in the service of an emotional, character-driven story.  With innovative photorealistic techniques and IMAX 3D wizardry, The Walk is true big-screen cinema, a chance for moviegoers to viscerally experience the feeling of reaching the clouds. The film is a love letter to Paris and New York City in the 1970s, but most of all, to the Towers of the World Trade Center.

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Joseph Gordon-Levitt Welcomes Baby Boy With Wife Tasha McCauley

Five hundred days of diapers! Joseph Gordon-Levitt and wife Tasha McCauley welcomed their first baby, a son, the weekend of Aug. 15, a rep confirms exclusively in the new issue of Us Weekly.

"Everyone’s happy and healthy," says an insider.
The Snowden actor, 34, and the technology entrepreneur, also 34, chose to keep the pregnancy quiet. The ultra-private pair, who started dating in 2013 after meeting through mutual friends, wed quietly at their home on Dec. 20, 2014.

"She's very intellectual and a creator, which he finds very attractive,” a source explained to Us in 2014 of the actor and his wife. "It's a really healthy and normal relationship."
"You can tell he adores her," the source adds of the actor’s feelings for McCauley, who speaks three languages and co-founded the tech firm Fellow Robots. "She's beautiful and smart. Really one of those full package girls."

Can't get enough of Us? Sign up now for the Us Weekly newsletter packed with the latest celeb news, hot pics, and more!

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Joseph Gordon-Levitt-Aquarius

It seems like everywhere you look these days there’s a picture of Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The actor, who started performing when he was six and hasn’t let up since, is currently starring in Don Jon, a movie he also wrote and directed.

We don’t have a time birth for Gordon-Levitt but a horoscope charted for noon (click here to see the chart) shows that he has the Sun on the last degree of Aquarius. The Sun will remain on that degree no matter how late in the day he was actually born. There is a theory that a body on the last degree of a sign displays the attributes of that sign with particular emphasis.

Gordon-Levitt has certainly shown some Aquarius independence during the course of his career. His most recognizable early role was as an alien in the body of an American teenager (being an Aquarian no doubt helped here) in the television comedy, 3rd Rock from the Sun. Even though the series was immensely popular, Gordon-Levitt disliked being a teen celebrity and quit after four years.

In his latest effort, Gordon-Levitt plays a man whose addiction to pornography keeps him from connecting with a real person. There is an Aquarian theme here has well. Aquarius people tend to be more comfortable with abstractions than realities, particular emotional realities, and can have trouble connecting with people as individuals.

It isn’t just the placement of Sun than gives Gordon-Levitt an Aquarian quality. His Mercury and Venus are also in Aquarius and his Sun is in a square to Uranus, the modern ruler of Aquarius. The aspect to Uranus increases his penchant for going his own way and resisting outside control. Gordon-Levitt is very much the rebel, and we can expect to see much more of this part of his nature as his clout in Hollywood increases.

Gordon-Levitt’s placement of Venus in Aquarius has shown itself is an interesting way. Rumors have cropped up that the young actor is gay. Gordon-Levitt response to those rumors has generally been to ignore them, though he did admit to one interviewer to having a girlfriend. That girlfriend is apparently someone outside the entertainment industry and he prefers to keep the relationship private.

People with Venus in Aquarius are prone to unusual romantic connections and are often drawn to relationships that seem unlikely with people from very different backgrounds than their own. But most of all, Venus in Aquarius folks hate having their sexuality categorized. They hated behaving in a way that other people expect and will often do all they can to be contrary in these matters.

One last thing we can say about Gordon-Levitt solar chart is that he has the Moon in Leo. Though its exact position can’t be known without a time of birth (it could be anywhere between 9 and 24 degrees of Leo), it still an excellent sign placement for a performer. This tells us that Gordon-Levitt is a creative person and cannot feel totally at ease unless he is involved in some sort of creative process. Acting is not just a job or him, it is an emotional need.

So, what’s your opinion of Joseph Gordon-Levitt? Do you see his Aquarian qualities? Do you think he would be better off following his Aquarian nature and playing characters or going with his Leo Moon and playing leading men?

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Joseph Gordon-Levitt Has The Greatest Comeback Story Ever, So Move Over Matthew Mcconaughey

Think hard. When was the last time you weren’t having a conversation about Joseph Gordon-Levitt? Summer of 2008, maybe? The moon-faced actor has stuck rigidly to the public consciousness ever since his starring turn in (500) Days of Summer, an insuperably Sundancey career revival that would beget a slow climb through the independent and blockbuster realms to the megastar stature he enjoys today. Of course, before his onscreen romance with Zoe Deschanel, Gordon-Levitt was little more than a memory of late ’90s teen pop.

He was known for supplying the secondary love story in 10 Things I Hate About You, and for playing fake human John Lithgow’s fake human offspring on Third Rock from the Sun. For the decade to follow projects like these, Gordon-Levitt would remain that impishly cute, squinty-eyed kid from the Shakespeare movie and the alien show — a “Whatever happened to him?” sort whose whereabouts could only be pinpointed by those in the know of a then-blossoming Rian Johnson.

But after (500) Days, Gordon-Levitt was everywhere. Over the next few years, he played backup roles in major event films like G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra, Inception, and The Dark Knight Rises. He headlined smaller character pictures like Hesher, 50/50, and Premium Rush. Somewhere in between was Looper, which all at once proved central star JGL capable of handling action-adventure fare and innovative material alike. From there, Gordon-Levitt only set his sights higher: A supporting part in Lincoln. His own directorial effort Don Jon. And now, the big guns.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars in The Walk, which claims everything an ambitious actor might need to align his name with the Hollywood stardom. The picture sends Gordon-Levitt off on the journey of Philippe Petit, who braved a notorious 1974 high-wire walk between New York City’s Twin Towers (famously chronicled in the 2001 documentary Man on Wire).

Gordon-Levitt’s death-defying venture releases in IMAX alongside general theaters, riding high on thrill ride aesthetic alongside its inborn patriotism and New York pride, not to mention the flairs of the uniquely audience- and Academy-friendly Robert Zemeckis behind the camera. It’s real showbiz stuff — the kind an unknown, has-been, or reinvented child actor might only ever dream about.

Gordon-Levitt has come light years from post-Third Rock obscurity, today enjoying such luxuries as a regular seat in the Seth Rogen/Evan Goldberg camp (they’ll be starring together in the Christmas comedy The Night Before) and employ as proverbial muse of filmmaker Rian Johnson, whose next endeavor will be Star Wars VIII — allow that connection to provoke wishful thinking.

Next, Gordon-Levitt will play the eponymous role in Oliver Stone’s biopic Snowden; in other words, just about the most buzzworthy character in contemporary international culture. And the role is going to he who we not too long ago would refer to as "the longhaired kid from Newman’s other sitcom."
There are few stars doing work quite as "big" as Gordon-Levitt today. Of those who are comparable, almost none can claim a six-year gap smack dab in the middle of their careers. Could Gordon-Levitt have made it to superstardom without this time off? Without his initial glimmers of notability? Without lending his voice to the Disney film Treasure Planet? All this ultimately led Gordon-Levitt to his current status: One equally in reach of Academy-friendly roles, mainstream comic mayhem, and interesting genre projects. In other words, he's one of the few figures in Hollywood who can do just about whatever he wants. Not bad as far as comeback stories go.

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