Gen Art Film Festival: Chicago Red Carpet With Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marc Webb, Scott Caan

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CHICAGO – The Gen Art Film Festival here had red carpet events last week for two movie premieres, “(500) Days of Summer” with star Joseph Gordon-Levitt and director Marc Webb, plus “Mercy” with star and writer Scott Caan.

HollywoodChicago.com was there for both events and scored some Q&A with the principle architects of both films.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lead Actor, “(500) Days of Summer”

The child actor favorite of “Third Rock from the Sun” is all grown up and is making a splash in the independent and now mainstream film world. Following stellar performances in “Brick” (2005) and “The Lookout” (2007), Gordon-Levitt is excellent in his latest, a relationship comedy directed by Marc Webb. Look also for G-L in this summer’s “G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra”.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt at the Gen Art Film Fest, Chicago, June 23, 2009. Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

HollywoodChicago.com: How did your actor’s work on a sitcom and in television in general train you for the next phase of movie acting?

Joseph Gordon-Levitt: I was really lucky that on ‘Third Rock from the Sun’ I was working with phenomenal actors. I learned a great deal from John [Lithgow], Jane [Curtin], Kristen [Johnston] and French [Stewart]. I use what I learned from them all the time.

HC: Rian Johnson and you created a substantial mind blast with 2005’s ‘Brick’. Do you anticipate working with him again, are there any projects floating about?

JG-L: I would hope so. Rian and I are really close and I think he’s going to be making movies for the rest of his life and hopefully I’m doing the same so there is bound to be an intersection at some point.

HC: Your first mainstream summer action movie is about to be released. What is the atmosphere on that type of movie set as opposed to your usual more sedate independent drama?

JG-L: The G.I. Joe set was nothing but fun. It was like getting together with your buddies when you were a kid and playing with toys. Even with all the special effects work, all it is was a fun bunch of toys.

HC: Growing up on screen has claimed its share of child actor victims. What has kept you not only balanced, but constantly evolving in the type and manner of screen roles?

JG-L: I guess I’ve been lucky enough to be around other cool people.

Marc Webb, Director, “(500) Days of Summer”

Webb is making his feature film debut with this beautifully crafted modern day love story.

Marc Webb at the Gen Art Film Fest, Chicago, June 23, 2009. Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

HC: This is your first feature film. What was it about this particular script and theme that drew you into consideration to direct it?

Marc Webb: It was gut reaction, really. After I read it and put it down, something about it touched me. It felt very relatable, even though it was described as a romantic comedy. I hate romantic comedies.

From the first page I thought it was actually quite funny and by end of it I really related to it. It was a moment of total clarity. It made sense to me and I thought I could do it.

HC: Orson Welles once called filmmaking the “biggest electric train set a boy ever had”, what element of the ‘train set’ in directing do you enjoy most and how do you try to use it to its fullest potential?

MW: What Welles said is completely friggin’ true (laughs). I did a split screen sequence that was just a blast. It was a challenge technically but it really paid off.

Then we did a dance sequence that on-set was just sheer joy for everyone involved. It was just fun. And I feel if you’re not having fun shooting, you shouldn’t be shooting.

There are so many people on a film production working together to execute the vision, it’s magical. It’s actually oddly moving, I say that without irony.

Scott Caan, Writer and Lead Actor, “Mercy”

Caan, a veteran actor probably best known for his role as Turk Malloy in the “Ocean’s 11” franchise, is also a superlative screenwriter and director with three scripts to his credit. He breaks out with the poignant “Mercy”, a bittersweet love story that also features a prominent role for his actor father, James Caan.

Scott Caan (left), Director Patrick Hoelck and Lead Actress Wendy Glenn of ‘Mercy’ in Chicago, June 25, 2009. Photo credit: Patrick McDonald for HollywoodChicago.com

HC: As a veteran screenwriter, how was it writing a film about a writer? Did you get inspiration just sitting there plying the craft of writing?

Scott Caan: I think all writers at some point write a movie about a writer. I wouldn’t know how to write a story about an architect (laughs). Usually when I write something, there is always the character of “the writer”.

HC: Do you think you’ve had as much opportunity as your Dad to play different types of roles at a similar age? Or did the era he worked in give him the advantage?

SC: That’s a loaded question, and a longer discussion. He was a pretty big movie star and had the choice to do whatever he wanted. I’m not in that same position. I have to act when they will pay me to act, I don’t get to pick and choose as much. There just aren’t as many roles offered.

HC: Are you a student of any particular school of acting?

SC: I studied the [Stanford] Meisner technique for a long time. I like the moment-to-moment reality taught in the method. I like a type of training where nothing is planned, with more of a spontaneous approach to acting, it feels more artistic.

By PATRICK McDONALD Staff Writer HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com