A native of Los Angeles, actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt has been a part of mind-boggling films such as Looper and Inception. This means he probably has a lot to discuss with the media in terms of creativity. La Weekly recently talked to the actor-director about his success and other things. Are you following Gordon-Levitt on social networking websites? If so, you might also feel that he has undeniably good vibes. More than just an accomplished movie star, storyteller and musician, Gordon-Levitt is into connecting with other people positively and celebrating creativity. The actor even started a social networking platform to do that.
Gordon-Levitt has played many likable characters and a few not-so-pleasant ones. His latest show entitled Mr. Corman on Apple TV+ aims for a headier and hard-to-believe experience. Gordon-Levitt wrote, directed and starred in the web series with a complex titular character known as Joshua Corman. As for the actor-director, there are some reasons for the complexity of the character, including his gratitude.
Gordon-Levitt told LA Weekly that it came from him considering his own life much and feeling grateful for several things. He described Tasha McCauley as an ideal partner for him as well as said that his parents are reliable and cognitive folks.
The actor is also grateful about the fact that he could do the kind of work he cares about and could live someplace safe. He attributes those kinds of things to luck, something which he always thinks about. He wonders how much he deserves the things that he is grateful for and how much luck plays a part in them. It made him consider a fictional character who resembles a lot to him and maybe had some different pieces of luck. The actor said that this is the source of the complex character, who grew up and attended high school in Los Angeles. The actor feels that the character is similar to him but has some differences.
Basically, Corman is Gordon-Levitt in a parallel universe, but the point is that the character could be anyone if timing, choices and circumstances were different. Lifestyle is more precarious than life itself. Almost everyone is fortunate to be the person they are, but in this world of selfies and self-gratification, it does not always work to count our blessings as we feel pity for ourselves or down. The subtext of the show not only addresses this disconnect but also shows how mental health issues and privilege can make some confounding inner conflicts.
As for Gordon-Levitt, anyone who can go through LA Weekly or watch TV is in a favorable situation as compared to many others living with life-threatening issues. Gordon-Levitt stated that everyone can perhaps appreciate that life experience. Still, he said that while he could enumerate the good stuff in his life and that he is happy many times, his brain does not occasionally want to allow him to be happy.
In Mr. Corman, Gordon-Levitt plays a tricenarian musician turned fifth-grade teacher cum a depressed Los Angeles millennial, which is occasionally pretty difficult to watch. Corman only appears engaged when talking to students in class or making weird yet amazing soundscapes that might not be heard. Many moments in Corman’s life appear to be full of unease, contentiousness and worry.
More than just being unhappy, Corman is so distressed that he is paranoid. The makers show Corman’s paranoia with a pounding sound that persistently plays in the character’s head and that is supposed to remind us and him that not everything is OK in the world. A pandemic, a meteor crashing into earth, or a war could end everything. Until that occurs, human beings have much ugliness and struggle to deal with each day.
The dark stuff in this show is contrasted with light and exuberant moments, thanks to its few surrealistic sequences made to convey the feelings and thoughts of each character intriguingly. Gordon-Levitt has some fun with the show, at a visual level. Some scenes in it resemble scrapbook pages, whereas others look like collages or paintings. There are trippy animated parts, cool angles, unique introductions, dream sequences, and some scenes with singing and dancing. The series starts with a sad vibe but becomes richer, more exploratory when the ten episodes of its first season progress. It eventually ends on a high note, literally and figuratively.
When it comes to his fictional alternative self, Gordon-Levitt considers it lucky to have been able to work in the capacity of an artist. Gordon-Levitt also attributes most of the success of any artist to luck. As a Los Angeles artist, the actor feels that Corman did not have those pieces of good luck. A good part of Mr. Corman Season One is about the protagonist figuring out the relationship he has with his form of creativity. Describing teachers as heroes, Gordon-Levitt stated that if he was not fortunate to earn a living as an actor, then he would be interested in teaching. He wishes that people around the world celebrated teachers more than artists.
As an actor, there has been some fortune for Gordon-Levitt over the past many years, but he has put in hard work for it. Even as a teenager, he had many admirers. For instance, his Mr. Corman co-actor Juno Temple considered him to be among the best-ever actors when he was part of films such as Mysterious Skin. Temple also reckons that Gordon-Levitt is a special person.
Temple also sings in the web series where Nathan Johnson’s music is an important component. Rapper Logic made his acting debut with the show. The fact that the soundtrack of the web show is accessible on streaming services shows that it is a good-enough standalone creation.
The coronavirus made the makers choose a year of filming in New Zealand, but they captured much of LA in outdoor settings and shots before the move. The show has references to Los Angeles’s traffic, nightlife and landmarks. As for Gordon-Levitt, the presence and energy of the US city is a significant component of the show.
