The Joseph Gordon-Levitt interview | ‘Acting and directing for me comes from the same space — to make things feel real’-Entertainment News , Firstpost

Joseph Gordon-Levitt in and as Mr. Corman

Joseph Gordon-Levitt has collaborated with a galaxy of star filmmakers like Christopher Nolan (Inception, The Dark Knight Rises), Robert Redford (A River Runs Through It), Rian Johnson (Brick, Looper), Spike Lee (Miracle At St. Anna), Steven Spielberg (Lincoln), Robert Zemeckis (The Walk), and Aaron Sorkin (The Trial of the Chicago 7). But his directorial feature Don Jon (2013) showed he can hold on to his voice while incorporating bits of all the filmmakers he has worked with in the capacity of an actor.

As his new directorial venture Mr. Corman releases, Firstpost got access to the actor-filmmaker discussing the autobiographical nature of the show, donning multiple hats of filmmaking roles, and building a global creative community through his venture HitRecord. Edited excerpts below:

You started your career with television. You return to the same format years later with Mr. Corman on Apple TV+. How has the switch to streaming worked in your favour?

I’m really delighted to be partnering with Apple. They’re truly an artist-forward platform. That’s really consistent with their whole brand. They’ve always been one to not just pander to the numbers of the market research, but to really invest in the voice of the individual, and support that. That’s what they’ve always done with their computers, phones, and other products. And now, they’re doing it with shows on Apple TV+.

While Apple may have been excellent partners as you say, Mr. Corman seems a lot like a ‘self-partnered’ project with you taking on the roles of a creator, actor, writer, and executive producer. Which job was the toughest and the easiest respectively?

Look, I love a challenge. I love acting for sure, but I’m a film nerd. I’m invested in every aspect of filmmaking. When I was growing up as a kid on film sets, I’d always be fascinated with: What are they doing with the camera? How do the costumes and props work? The editing, how does that work? How do they add music later? I’ve always been interested in these tools that filmmakers use. And getting to direct means playing with all those different tools. That’s what I really enjoy.

Still from Mr. Corman

Your director in Inception and The Dark Knight Rises, Christopher Nolan, suggested that you do not direct and act at the same time. But you balanced that brilliantly with Don Jon. How did that work out for you in Mr. Corman?

Well, I love the combination! I understand his concern, and I look forward to one day directing something I’m not acting in. I’ve done that on short films.

For me, directing and acting, a lot of it comes from the same muscle and sensitivity. And that is to feel real.

When you’re acting, you’re looking to feel something real. And that’s exactly what you’re looking for as the director: Does this feel real?

Mr. Corman is only the most recent attempt by your creative community HitRecord to cut across geographical boundaries to build an ecosystem with collaborators from different nationalities. How does that help further your growth as a global artiste?

I love that you’re asking that! What better way to get to know people from different cultures with different perspectives than to make art together! And that’s what we do at HitRecords. And it definitely helps my growth when I work in traditional entertainment projects like Mr. Corman. Because filmmaking is very collaborative. Even though I did write, direct, and produce the show, I was working with another writer, and another director, and we were all collaborating to create together. Even the cinematographer, the production designer, so many great actors, and so many other people were involved. There’s no such thing as making a film alone. Maybe you can do that today. But that’s not the way we did with Mr. Corman. I know Mr. Corman is a better show because of my collaborators than what it would’ve been had I worked on it all by myself.

You said Mr. Corman is “the most me-ish thing” you’ve been in. What is it about your life that you want to share with others through this show?

That’s a great question. This is a story about a character who has a lot to be grateful for, and he has a lot to be happy. And he does try to be happy, but he’s not always happy. He sometimes feels insecure, and wonders if he’s doing the right things in his life. Those moments can be stressful, but they can also be funny. I’ve found myself in my life’s hardest moments. That’s one of the takeaways for me from this show. You can find a sense of humour even in the hardest and most uncontrollable situations and thoughts.

Still from Mr. Corman

You have sourced talent across continents through HitRecords. Is the idea behind the venture to reach out to people like your character Josh, who wanted to be a musician but has settled for teaching?

One of the things I love about Josh is that he’s a really good teacher. He cares about his students and works hard doing right by them. I’ve always admired teachers. What I try doing HitRecords is to try, find, and encourage such people to use their untapped creative voices. They may not feel like making a film or a show on their own, but once they get that sense of collaboration or community, it’s far easier. And that to me is the most satisfying aspect of HitRecords.

Finally, Josh reminded me a great deal of Tom, your character from 500 Days of Summer (2009). Do you find any correlations between the two as well?

Ya, I think you’re right. The two characters do have something in common, and that’s probably why I was drawn to both of them. I can’t say I necessarily drew inspiration from 500 Days of Summer with Mr. Corman. But they both have these departures from reality, which was one of my favourite things about 500 Days of Summer. They both are well-meaning and really good-hearted people, but they get in the wrong way maybe because they’re sometimes too selfish or have a negative attitude. Look, I’m sometimes guilty of that myself. I’m mostly a very positive person but my mind goes to negative places. I try to stop it, try to say, “Hey brain, don’t do that!” But it doesn’t always work. I think it’s very human. A lot of us experience the same thing. It’s kind of universal. That’s what’s gratifying about telling stories of these kinds of characters.

Mr. Corman is streaming on Apple TV+.