Tag: Joseph Gordon-Levitt (11-20 of 20)

Sep 23 2012 09:00 AM ET

PopWatch Planner: The Emmys, 'Looper,' and 'The Avengers' Blu-ray

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Image Credit: Bob D’Amico/ABC

The Emmys are meant to honor the best of the best at the conclusion of a television season, but from a PopWatch Planner point of view, tonight’s ceremony, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, is the ideal kick-off for a week of much-anticipated television premieres. Now only do some old favorites return  — Modern Family, Dancing With the Stars — but we finally get to peek at some of the most promising new shows. (I’m crossing my fingers for Last Resort.)

So you’ll forgive me if this week’s Planner is Boob Tube heavy, but for any true coach potato, this week is Christmas. Make sure your DVR is well-rested, because it will be put to the test every night. (Revenge versus Good Wife…?) These are the days that make Homer Simpson’s words resonate: “Television! Teacher, mother, secret lover.” Be not ashamed.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 23

The 64th Primetime Emmy Awards, ABC, 8 p.m.

Host Jimmy Kimmel has already promised viewers “the biggest prank ever pulled” when he takes the stage at the Nokia Theatre, and he’s also hinted that the event might serve as a reunion for the Handsome Men’s Club. Apparently, there are also awards to be handed out. Will Amy Poehler and Jon Hamm receive their first trophies?

READ FULL STORY »

Sep 22 2012 05:30 PM ET

Joseph Gordon-Levitt hosts tonight's 'Saturday Night Live': Talk about it here!

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Image Credit: NBC

Pity the poor people of Studio 8H. SNL‘s normal schedule is crazy enough; throw in a special primetime edition of Weekend Update, and you’ve got a passel of performers (and writers, and crew members) who must be feeling pretty exhausted right about now. At least this week’s main show will be hosted by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, an actor whose boundless energy makes a Jack Russell terrier look subdued. Traditionally, liking anything too much is a hallmark of geekery, but JGL’s sincere enthusiasm for performing is part of what makes him cool — if you’re into the whole hipster multihyphenate thing.

Though he wasn’t quite a household name the last time he hosted Saturday Night Live, Gordon-Levitt was riding high on goodwill for indie crossover hit (500) Days of Summer. Thanks to his subsequent roles in Inception, 50/50, The Dark Knight Rises, and next week’s Looper, the former child actor can now be classified as a bona fide movie star. Will increased fame affect Gordon-Levitt’s SNL persona?  READ FULL STORY »

Sep 19 2012 01:59 PM ET

Joseph Gordon-Levitt pledges to cut himself in half in 'SNL' promos -- VIDEO

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The last time JGL hosted SNL, his monologue included two awesome back flips. How’s he going to top that this Saturday? According to the man himself: “I’m gonna cut myself in half! I’ll probably die!”

Thank heavens for the wisdom of Jason Sudeikis, who suggests an alternative in the promos below — “Why don’t you just break dance or something?”

As long as Gordon-Levitt takes Sudeikis’s advice, we should be in for a good show this weekend. The Looper star was a hit when he hosted in 2009, winning praise for his boundless energy and enthusiasm. (Even though Ken Tucker wasn’t a huge fan.) If the promos are any indication, we can expect a JGL who’s a little more subdued — but no less entertaining — come Saturday night. Also, did you know he’s a ninja? Watch and be amazed:

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Sep 11 2012 01:31 PM ET

Joseph Gordon-Levitt gets in the back of Rainn Wilson's sweaty van, gets philosophical -- VIDEO

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Fair warning: If a man looking like The Office‘s Dwight Schrute attempts to lure you into the back of his van with a bowl full of candy, always, always say no.

But if you’re Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and such entrapment leads to deep philosophical conversations, sitar music, and a promotional plug for your website, well, all’s good. Gordon-Levitt and Rainn Wilson huddled in the back of Soul Pancake‘s sweaty van for this meeting of the minds, where they pondered the existence of original creativity. “My point of view would be that every idea is original… or none of them are,” says Gordon-Levitt, who created the collaborative art site, hitRECORD. “That all of us are completely unique people so anything that you say or do is original in that it’s unique to you. No one’s ever said it like you said it. And in that way, everything’s original. But in another way, you’re a combination of what you’ve heard. You know, Romeo and Juliet? Shakespeare didn’t come up with that.”

Whoa.

Of less existential importance, Gordon-Levitt listed his five favorite things in pop culture: Godard’s Alphaville, the Beatles’ Revolver, Salinger’s Franny and Zooey, The Matrix, and Looney Tunes.

Watch the clip below: READ FULL STORY »

Aug 19 2012 03:00 PM ET

PopWatch Planner: Joseph Gordon-Levitt on a bike, 'Suits' and 'True Blood' season finale

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It’s been a big summer for Joseph Gordon-Levitt. First — spoiler alert! — in The Dark Knight Rises, his John Blake inherits the bat cave to fulfill his destiny as Robin. Now, in his latest film, he’s being chased around New York City by a cop who wants what he’s carrying.

It’s also a huge week for summer TV, with many of your favorite shows wrapping up for the season. But don’t fear, there’s a few new series on the horizon. Take a look at our PopWatch Planner for the week!

READ FULL STORY »

Aug 16 2012 05:43 PM ET

Joseph Gordon-Levitt hates cable news, loves musicals and Christian Bale

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Image Credit: Jeff Vespa/WireImage.com

Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s recent Playboy interview reads like it was partially scripted by an Aaron Sorkin who doesn’t hate the Internet. During a wide-ranging conversation, the Premium Rush star revealed his biggest disappointment as a child actor (he wasn’t allowed to pet the dog in Beethoven), his love of musicals (“A song-and-dance role is closer to me personally than other characters I play”), and his disdain for the national news media. Here’s his Will McAvoy-esque rant:

My parents are political in that they’re well read and as up on the news as anybody I know. To me that is political activism, choosing to stay informed and not just watching CNN or some bulls– entertainment show. Every time I sit down and watch television news, I think, This is show business. That’s what I do. I say, go on the internet and find news from all over the world through the BBC, the Pacifica stations, newspapers, people’s blogs and tweets. It’s so funny when people say Fox is bad. Sure Fox is bad, but I don’t think CNN and MSNBC are really any better.

One question later, Gordon-Levitt slammed the media again, adding in a dig at a few major corporations for good measure:

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Aug 6 2012 05:30 PM ET

After 'The Dark Knight Rises': Where does the Batman franchise go from here?

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Image Credit: Ron Phillips

The Dark Knight Rises marks the end of a cinematic era, but not the end of films about Batman. Now that Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy is complete, it’s natural to wonder what comes next for the Caped Crusader. After an appropriate hiatus, Warner Brothers will return to the Batman franchise, but as Darren Franich’s cover gallery illustrates, Nolan’s approach to the final film has made following him increasingly difficult. Let’s put aside the iconic status of the Dark Knight trilogy for a moment and consider how Nolan used the source material to compose these three films.
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Jul 24 2012 04:58 PM ET

If Russell Crowe doesn't star in his Bill Hicks movie, who should? -- VOTE

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Image Credit: Everett Collection

Russell Crowe has been talking about making a Bill Hicks movie for almost five years. In fact, the chatter has gone on long enough that the 48-year-old Crowe may have aged himself out of the starring role as the politically provocative comic, who died of pancreatic cancer in 1994 at the age of 32. Crowe seems to acknowledge that fact, according to a report in the Sydney Telegraph, but he’s still intent on bringing Hicks’ life to the screen — as the film’s director. Writer Mark Staufer told the Telegraph his script is slated to go in to production “early next year,” with Crowe making his feature directorial debut.

But who should now play the iconoclastic comic, whose brilliant sets were imitated — and co-opted? — by his comedy-club peers and subsequent generations of comedians? The role is a high-risk, high-reward proposition for the right actor, not unlike Jim Carrey’s portrayal of Andy Kaufman in Man on the Moon. My choice? Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Anyone who’s seen his live HitRECord shows knows he’s a charismatic stage performer, and I have no doubt he could channel the darkness that swirled around Hicks like the plumes of smoke that lingered from his cigarettes.

John Cusack also fits the mold, especially since he seems to share some of Hicks’ politics, but he’s not much younger than Crowe. Ryan Reynolds could rejuvenate his career and I have no doubt he could deliver the caustic barbs and astute political observations that made Hicks an underground sensation.

But perhaps only a professional stand-up comic should get the right to portray Hicks. Someone like Zach Galifianakis or Patton Oswalt?

Watch a clip of the man in action, and then vote below for who you think would make the best Bill Hicks.

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Jul 21 2012 11:38 AM ET

Batman. Bane. Catwoman. That ending! Time to talk about 'The Dark Knight Rises' -- but only if you've seen it.

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“Don’t be afraid.” Those were the dying words of Thomas Wayne, said to his traumatized young son after being shot behind a theater by a thug named Joe Chill. The scene in Batman Begins resonates anew with eerie irony — and hopefully, a little inspiration — one day after the opening of The Dark Knight Rises and the tragedy in Aurora. Despite the terror felt nationwide following the violence in Colorado, and even in spite of it, moviegoers packed into multiplexes yesterday to watch the conclusion of Christopher Nolan’s trilogy of Batman movies. And now, you have questions, opinions, quibbles, praises, and many other things to say about this heavy superhero spectacular – particularly the way it ended.

So let’s talk about it. Fearlessly.

And with a massive amount of detail… which is to say, SPOILER ALERT!

Seriously: If you have not yet seen Rises, STOP READING NOW. Because we’re not holding back on anything, beginning with…  READ FULL STORY »

Apr 10 2012 07:42 PM ET

The 'Looper' trailer teaser got us thinking: Do teasers for trailers actually work?

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The teaser for the movie trailer, or “trailer trailers” — this new species of Hollywood marketing — is suddenly everywhere, hyping the first looks at movies like Prometheus, John Carter, The Avengers, Total Recall, and now the Joseph Gordon-Levitt/Rian Johnson sci-fi thriller Looper (embedded below). As the Los Angeles Times noted today, movie trailer releases have become massive events in their own right, so studio marketing machines have seized upon the idea of giving them mini-ad campaigns to build up interest for them.

So is this new promotional tool a boon, activating a fan base’s excitement and making general audiences feel more connected to what’s playing at the multiplex? Or is it an invasive strain of artificial hype that threatens to wipe out all other forms of entertainment life until we are left with only a feedback loop of advertising for advertising of advertising featuring commemorative t-shirts that are also advertisements?

Or, to put it in bean-counter terms, are they getting more people to go see movies? READ FULL STORY »

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