The Sly Oyster | culture & entertainment on the sly

The always estimable Frosty over at Collider sat down with actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt during his press day for the upcoming Stop Loss and asked a few questions regarding his participation in Stephen Sommers G.I. Joe.  In that film, it is rumored that Gordon-Levitt will be playing Cobra Commander.

 Here’s the skinny:

Collider: What attracted you to being in G.I. Joe and how much of a fan are you of Akira?

Joseph Gordon Levitt: (he laughs) Well what attracted me to being in G.I. Joe was when they showed me the drawings of the character that I was going to get to play. I love the idea of just getting to play something way, way larger and huger than life. It’s kind of the opposite of Stop Loss, in fact. Stop Loss is a realistic portrayal of what it’s like to be a solider today. I think movies can be two things – or many things. Movies can be any number of things, they can be - despite the fact that some people don’t believe this – but I think movies can be a meaningful and profound work of art about humanity. They can also be just a spectacle for pure entertainment and that’s another tradition. And that’s the tradition that G.I. Joe fits into, as opposed to Stop Loss, which is, I think, a layered and profound human story. G.I. Joe is not layered or profound at all; it’s just a big thrill ride…it’s like have some fun. And it’s a lot of fun. And when I saw those drawings of the character I was going to get to play, I got that feeling of like just being a kid and wow, that’s so cool, and I get to be that and yeah…that’s why I wanted to do it. And Akira, I love that movie and I know that they are writing in blogs that I’m doing it. It’s funny because the script isn’t even done. I haven’t read a script yet.

Collider: But would you be interested assuming the script is up to par? Because they’ve talked about Leonardo DiCaprio and you being the two leads.

Joseph Gordon Levitt: Like I said, I love that movie. I love that movie. Assuming the script is up to par is a rather big assumption, you know what I mean.  Who knows? There are a million great ideas but it’s all about the execution.

Certainly, landing Gordon-Levitt for a role in Akira with Leonard DiCaprio would propel that movie up the expectation charts a bit.  If you’ve never seen Brick do yourself a favor and go rent that movie today.