IAm Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I’m making a show - with YOU - all about staying creative during this pandemic. AMA…

If your girlfriend and mom swapped bodies and the only way to get them back to normal is to fuck one of them, which one would you fuck?

hahahahahaha I have to at least acknowledge, that is a clever way to ask the most awkward question you possibly could

Do you still talk to your 3rd Rock co-workers?

Yes. They are like extended family. We don't see each other that often, but when we do, there's a familiarity unlike relationships I have with really anyone else. I was on that show for every single one of my teenage years. 13-19. I learned so much from John, Jane, Kristen, French, Simbi, Elmarie, Wayne, not to mention all the writers, directors, etc. I have so much love for all of those people.

Why are you so handsome??

Just to make other guys angry, because fuck them.

50/50 was an amazing movie that really touched close to home for me. What was your inspiration for that movie?

The screenwriter, Will Reiser, wrote it about his own life. He lived something quite similar to what my character goes through in that movie. He was friends with Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg, and he wrote a great script, so they made his movie.

I also lost a good friend to cancer when I was in high school. Adam Visser. We were in a band together. We all still miss him. In fact, there's a dedication to him in the credits of 50/50.

Do you ever fear that if anything ever happens to you, it'll happen to Bruce Willis, too?

Poor Brucie

what's the most unexpected thing you've learned about yourself during quarantine?

I miss sitting in traffic.

Is it hit record, like "Hit that record button?" Or is it " I have a hit record!" This is a serious question I need answered. Or is it?

I feel like it's the first one, but would like some reassurance.

It's an action, not an object. To hit the round red REC button, for me, has long been a symbol of taking responsibility for my own creativity and just fucking doing it. No more excuses, no more sitting around, I know I want to make something, so do it, don't wait for someone else to start rolling the camera, do it, push the button.

But like you deftly point out, it's a play on an old way of thinking about media, selling records, and trying to become popular enough to consider yourself a hit.

Given that you directed, wrote and stared in Don Jon, I have to ask, how often do you watch porn ? And more seriously, what do you think of pornography and its effect (positive or negative) ?

Often enough to say the following... I think we're only barely beginning to understand the massive impact of increased access to unlimited pornography. I don't think porn is necessarily bad, if you're very proactive about how you use it. Like with anything that's powerful and addictive, social media, television, video games, drugs, etc. The problem is, it's easier not to be proactive. Whether it's porn or a lot of other things, new technology is going to make it easier and easier for us to just follow the path of least resistance. And that can be dangerous. In the specific example of porn, studies show a massive jump in impotence amongst young men of this generation as compared to previous generations. I absolutely think that's because of online porn. But it's not just porn. New technology offers us the path of least resistance for consuming our news, staying in touch with our "friends", interfacing in almost every way with the world. One way to think about it is, just don't take stuff for free. If it's valuable to you, pay for it. And if it's not valuable to you, don't spend your time on it. That way you know that you, as the consumer, are being served by whatever product or service you're using. If you're enjoying a product/service for free (whether it's porn or news or friends or anything else), then you're probably not serving your best interests, you're serving the best interests of a hidden third party who is paying to manipulate you.

I've always thought Looper is a very underrated movie. Is there a lesser known piece of media that you were involved in that you're proud of?

Hesher is an indie movie that came out in, I think, 2010.

Band Together with Logic was a music documentary we made and put out last year.

Two of my favorite things I've ever been a part of.

Hey JGL! I love watching you act, Why aren't you acting in new movies?

Thanks dude! (dude has no gender) I took a couple years off acting when I had kids. But I'm actually gonna be in a few new movies coming out this year. One very heavy artsy movie called 7500 on Amazon, one very fun action movie with Jamie Fox that doesn't have a title yet on Netflix, and one courtroom drama written/directed by Aaron Sorkin called Trial of the Chicago Seven that's coming out in theaters. (If anything's coming out in theaters anymore :((( )

Best news of 2020 so far! I am glad that you'll be back!!

you're a doll

Do you remember the guy from one of your old AMA’s whose Filipino mother refers to you as “Joseph Golden Rabbit?”

Hope you still love your moniker because, at least in our house, you will forever be known as Joseph Golden Rabbit.

look at the proof photo in OP. Wait, can you say OP to refer to the original post, or is it only referring to the original poster?

So that Robin ending..Were there any plans to do anything with that?

As far as I know, that was always going to be the conclusion of Nolan's Batman movies. It actually makes a really good ending to his trilogy. The theme recurs throughout that Batman is more than a man, it's a symbol, it makes sense to end the story with a person other than Bruce Wayne donning the mask.

Could you tell us your favorite dad joke? I think we could all use a laugh right now.

I have some kind of problem that whenever I'm asked to tell "a joke" I cannot think of absolutely anything. Sorry.

Hey Joe! I grew up watching 3rd rock from the sun with my dad and sister, We loved your whole alien family. What was one of your favourite episodes or scenes you ever filmed on that series whether it was just one you specifically enjoyed or hilarious things were happening behind the scenes that made it so awesome for you?

Each week, right before we'd go out on stage and shoot the show in front of the audience, John would have a "speed-through" in his dressing room. Meaning, we'd speed through script, saying our lines as fast as we could. It was only actors allowed in there, plus the script supervisor to prompt us if we ever forgot a line, not even the director was allowed in. But still we were packed in, because it's not like it was a huge room, and it'd be anywhere from 10-20 actors, sitting on the floor, on the desk, anywhere we could. The camaraderie in that room was palpable. John was (still is) a knight in shining armor.

Hey Joe!

I love your site. It helps me get into the mood of doing poetry, drawing, writing and other artsy stuff. Really, one prompt got me to draw a picture and start painting after pretty much giving up.

Do you think using prompts is as good as "real art?" My feeling is that I need some kind of trick to get started.

Do you use this in acting? Besides working off other actors and the script are there acting equivalents to writing prompts ?

There are definitely acting equivalents to prompts. I mean, first of all, a script. But even in improvisation, you'll often see improv actors start a scene with a prompt.

Personally, I don't think anything is purely original. It all comes from somewhere. Whatever it takes to get your own unique self to start putting out what's inside.

what's the first thing you're gonna do when your quarantine is over?

panic and wash my hands

Would you rather fight one horse-sized John Lithgow or one hundred John Lithgow-sized ducks?

I think you fucked that up...

The thing is, Lithgow isn't that much smaller than a horse.

Wait, did you edit your post? At first you had it backwards. You said one duck-sized Lithgow. Or was I the one who fucked it up?

I originally had one duck-sized Lithgow, realized i fucked up and changed it before I saw a reply. Yeah, I fucked it up originally.

Ah good, glad to know I'm not seeing things. Thanks for being honest! :)

Does anyone call you “Joe”?

Yeah mostly. I used to go as Joey, then that stopped when I was around 17, and my first girlfriend started calling me Joe. But people often assume I'm gonna be touchy about it, like I'll get offended if people call anything other than Joe. I actually don't care.

Hi Golden Rabbit! :D 5 advices from you to keep a good mood during isolation?

1) Put a limit on news and social media. 2) Put in the extra effort to stay in touch with the people close to you. 3) Think of people you wish you were in better touch with, and get in touch, even if it's been a while. 4) Do something creative. Especially do something creative in collaboration with other people. (i know i'm repetitive) 5) Focus on gratitude. A lot of people aren't lucky enough to be able to isolate. If you're not sick, and/or none of your loved ones are sick, then you (we) got it great right now. Keep thanks front and center.

how are you enjoying quarantine?

I feel incredibly lucky. Not everybody is able to stay home. I have a comfortable place to be, I can work from home. Before this pandemic, I would try to remember to be grateful, but nowadays it's really at the forefront of my mind. I hope and I will strive to keep it that way.

Hi Joseph, how was your Passover?

It was on Zoom. Kinda momentous actually. There were a whole bunch of us, and a lot of people who wouldn't have been able to join if we'd all gathered in person, just by virtue of us all not being in the same town. Got charoset delivered from Canter's, sprayed the shit out of it before we opened it, as per our protocol. You know. Pesach.

How was your experience working with Cristopher Nolan on The Dark Knight Rises?

Luis.

Getting to work for Chris taught me an enormous amount, not just about art and cinema but about leadership and basically being a grownup. He strikes an incredible balance between being profoundly dedicated and immersed in the pure art of it, while also being laser focused on a million little practicalities. The truth is, whether we want to admit it or not, the practicalities have an enormous impact on the "art", so much so in fact, that they're one and the same. I think he really taught me that.

Do you manage your own twitter account?

I can't really handle having too much personal contact with social media. It gives me anxiety. I'm very involved in what goes on my social media accounts, and I go on sometimes, but I work with Matt and Emily at the HITRECORD office, and we do it together. To be honest, I want to use social media to get as many people as possible off social media.

How often do you change your socks during quarantine?

not wearing shoes very much, so less often than normal

Having you considered bringing back HITRECORD on TV? I loved it so much.

Thank you :) We had an incredible time making that show. It was also incredibly hard and impractical for a lot of reasons. But we're still making stuff all the time on HITRECORD, and in fact, this new mini-series will be somewhat like HITRECORD on TV, in that it'll have a wide variety of things that were all made collaboratively, and I'll be hosting it.

Hi mr. Gordon, my question is: what do you miss the most about the time you were not famous?

The right to be outlandishly weird on the subway.

Since many people are playing tabletop role-playing games online to continue telling stories during this time, do you play any or have been interested to dive into them?

I played D&D a lot when I was younger. Haven't played in recent years. Would absolutely love to do it again some time. Only so many hours in the day, of course, and playing with my kids uses a lot of the same imagination :) Got to play M:TG for the first time in a long time recently. It was on a show actually, gotta find a link...

(Edit) Found it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkHkgN2BBLc

Curious about your daily routine before and after lockdown. What do you miss most of the before? what have you learned to appreciate more during this time?

I was in the middle of shooting a new show that I'm writing/directing called MR. CORMAN for Apple. I'm incredibly excited about it. And when we first had to pause production, I was deeply frustrated. Then, I realized how fucking lucky I am, and how narrow-minded it was to be frustrated about that in a time like this.

When I write, I struggle with the constant urge to edit, re-edit, repeat. A project rarely feels complete. Do you have similar experiences and, if so, what guidance can you give to quiet the urges to continue to tinker?

I have this too. One of my favorite answers to this question came from Lorne Michaels, the creator of Saturday Night Live. He said, "We don't put on the show because it's ready. We put on the show because it's Saturday night at 11:30." Deadlines can help. Also...you might know what I'm gonna say...collaborators. Either time or other people. Without some kind of external element imposing a finish line, it's kinda impossible to resist perfectionism.

Content creators are often left out of the loop when it comes to the monetization of their product. How does the cooperative effort you promote protect an individual who makes significant, if not comprehensive contributions, from being taken advantage of by unscrupulous parties looking to poach?

Watch this video about how HITRECORD pays contributors in our community. Unscrupulous parties aren't able to poach, because every payment is looked after by human beings, and presented in an open forum for feedback from the community with transparent discussion about what's fair. By having the conversation out in the open, we've found things are able to reach a resolution that makes sense for everybody. We've been doing it this way for ten years, we've paid the community millions of dollars, and we've never had any bad situations that didn't reach good resolutions.

curious how you would recommend getting started contributing to this show? what should i do first?

would love to be involved. i've seen the ig videos, but didn't participate.

now i want to.

thanks for doing what you're all doing

Probably start by downloading the HITRECORD app. The website's great for some things, but I use the app more often, it's easier and more fun to use, I find.

When you open the app, you'll start at the Projects page. Find a project that inspires you. Contribute to it. Start with something easy. Work your way up to more ambitious things.

And for the show, there's a project on the site (pinned to the top of the feed on the app) where you can get on camera and talk about your creative process and how it fits into your life right now during this pandemic. The show will be using a lot of those personal testimonials.

Ok, 10 things you hate doing on quarantine, but you loved to do it before?

What top 3 things did you hate to do before quarantine, that you actually enjoy now?

I like this version of the question better. 3 things is better than 10 (but I see what you did there :) Also I usually go for the positive spin.

Shit, um, actually having trouble thinking of any. Um...

1) Sweeping the floor. 2) Washing dishes. 3) Taking out the trash.

Sorry kinda boring.

Actually if I'm totally honest, those were things that I almost never did for myself before quarantine, and now I'm doing them on a somewhat (but not sufficiently) regular basis. I'm a spoiled, rich man, and I feel guilty and embarrassed about it, but... no, I guess there's no but there.

Joseph, do you believe anybody is capable of making art?

Absolutely. At the same time, I'm not really a fan of the thing where one splatters a bunch of paint on a wall and self-importantly calls it art without taking the time to practice, to get better, and to challenge one's self. Every human being has a unique set of experiences (and unique DNA) so every human being is unique, so every human being has something unique to express. Art is expressing that unique thing, and doing it with enough care that someone else can understand it. Even if that someone else is just that same artist in the future.

As a new writer I have a hard time balancing when my work is ready for peer review/feedback. I like to get input so I can change course if needed but sometimes the reader doesn’t understand the bigger picture. How do you manage timing on stuff like that?

Also I will definitely be joining your site! Would love to collaborate on this project.

That's a great question.

The first thing that pops to mind is WHO you're showing your works in progress to. That selection process is paramount. For example, if it's someone who knows you too well, they might bring too many outside associations to it and won't be able to receive it on its own.

Also, and I'm gonna push back on you here, hope you don't mind, I would question your concern that "the reader doesn't understand the bigger picture". That's your job as the writer. Figure out what they need to understand. Put yourself in your audience's shoes.

Thats a great answer, thank you!! I’ve been showing people close to me and also in snippets not as a whole so I think just changing my approach will be helpful.

Thanks again!

Got it. Yeah, maybe just find the right person who's willing to take the time to read the whole thing.

Has the stress from quarantine affected your dreams? If so, how?

Yes, I'm pretty sure I've dreamt about it specifically, but I can't exactly remember specifically how. It is a life goal of mine to get better at remembering my dreams, and one day to even be able to have lucid dreams -- I've only ever had one of those.

What's your ultimate goal with HITRECORD? What do you hope it accomplishes/changes?

When I started saying "hit record" to myself, many years ago, back before it was a platform or a production company or a community or even a tiny little website, it was my own little personal rallying cry to help myself be creative.

Now it's what I work on to try to help other people find their creativity through collaboration and community.

I think the world would be a better place if everybody had a sincere creative outlet. Not one governed by a craving for attention (and ultimately serve an ad-model), but a creative outlet centered around self-expression, human connection, and the simple fun and fulfillment that comes along with making stuff, especially together with other people.

Hey Joe, glad you're here!

Which project that came out from HitRecord are you the most proud of?

Also which albums are on your current rotation?

HITRECORD: B.O.K. -- Sundance Live Labs 2020 -- Edward Snowden short film, It's Only Getting Better -- Move On The Sun, our second full length album of music. ALBUMS: Sam Prekop, self titled -- Y La Bomba, Lupon -- Strauss, Also Sprach Zarrathustra

what should i read during quarantine?

Right now I'm reading PALE FIRE by Nabokov. It's hilarious and bizarre. If you're creatively inclined, I'd recommend LETTERS TO A YOUNG POET by Rilke. A lot of what he's talking about, actually, are the virtues of solitude, going into yourself, ignoring the outside world, so that's perhaps appropriate. Of course, my experience is different, I mostly feel creatively inspired by collaborating with other people. Also, TEN ARGUMENTS FOR DELETING YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS RIGHT NOW by Jaron Lanier is a good thing to read as we're all so glued to our feeds these days.

I'd like to start contributing to HITRECORD, but the amount of talent that is already available makes me wonder if anything produced would be noticed. When searching for collaborations, how wide is the scope? Is it easy for content to get lost in the "void" of thousands of contributions?

What you're talking about is a totally valid question, especially if your main intent is being in the big show. Which again, is a valid intent. If you join our community, and your only goal is being on the show, your odds are decent, but it's honestly not a slam dunk. However, if your goal is to do something creative with other people, at first by helping other people finish their projects, and eventually perhaps by starting your own and recruiting people to help you finish yours, if the inherent reward of creativity is what you're after, if you're trying to get over writers block, or if you want to make art outside of the framework of the competitive popularity contests of social media, I feel quite confident that you'll get it.

Do you think you'll ever do another HIT Record tour post-corona? Would love to see you in Seattle again!

I love our live events. Yes. Check out what we did a few months ago at this last Sundance... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGBlrB2wPCw