don't be dull, be fannish

Gravity made me want to watch Inception again, for some obscure reason I decided not to question. And thus the movie was watched and enjoyed again.

You know why I love the movie so much? I couldn't care less about Cobb and Mal and Fisher and his issues and his eternal waterfall of tears. I love the movie for its excellent, groundbreaking, mind-blowing ideas. Dream-sharing. Dream levels. Dream security. Projections. Hidden secrets. Paradoxes. Mazes... It makes your imagination expand to previously unheard of levels.

Unfortunately, it's also where the movie's biggest plotholes are hidden. Like, every dream has to be anchored in someone's mind, the architect builds the dream in said mind and then they bring the subject in and he fills it with his secrets. So, level 1 was anchored by Yusuf. Level 2 by Arthur. And level 3 should have - should have! - been anchored by Eames. So, why/how did it work when Fisher took Eames' place and became the anchor for level 3? They shouldn't have been able to hear the music since it was Eames who had the headphones on, not Fisher, the anchor. Also, the whole level should've collapsed once Fisher died - but that can be excused, he didn't wake up, after all, he just dropped into Limbo. Still. The fact that they could exchange one anchor for another and it still worked... I mean, level 3 was specifically build for Eames - as Ariadne said, Eames added a secret route inside the hospital, just for himself. Was it enough that the level was build for him and thus the change of the anchor didn't matter? He was still the theoretical anchor and that was enough? Or was he actually the real one, the real anchor, Eames and not Fisher, and when Ariadne asked into whose mind they would be breaking and Dom responded that into Fisher's, he meant the vault, not the level itself? That would make sense, considering the headphones and Eames guarding the level...

I mean, until that point, it was all crystal clear. But with the level 3 anchor... Plothole or a misunderstanding? Are anchors necessary? They should be, why else would they have anchored the first level in the Saito dream in Nash's mind and the second one in Arthur's? And why else would the Fisher dream levels go Yusuf --> Arthur --> Fisher/Eames? And the second level was Arthur's - remember the Pemrose staircase? They can change only their own dream, not someone else's.

Also, I think that the ending was all in Cobb's head, that he didn't make it back. And not because of the spinning top - but because of the kick. As he said, they needed to ride the kicks up to get out. Cobb and Saito couldn't have killed themselves in Limbo, then in level 3, 2 and 1 - which would be brutal, but efficient... if not for the sedative. If they had killed themselves in Limbo, they would have landed back in Limbo. The sedative wouldn't have allowed them to wake up a level higher. Unless... unless dropping into Limbo basically "rebooted" them. Once they dropped there, they had no other place to go but up and the danger wasn't Limbo itself but forgetting why they were there. Hm... But yeah, I think Cobb and Saito never made it out. Or maybe Cobb never made it out of the PASIV den in Mombasa. Remember? He never let the top stop spinning when he checked his totem because Saito startled him. So, is he still stuck in his dream in the den in Mombasa? Or is he still stuck in Limbo?

Awesome brain exercise!

There's a rumor going around that Marvel wants Joseph Gordon-Levitt for the main character in their Doctor Strange movie: source. I have no idea what Doctor Strange is about but it seems Marvel is determined to get JGL. They offered him the main part in Guardians of the Galaxy and now this... Though I have no idea why they think he would agree to it considering he refused the GotG part. Hm.

Another rumor that's going around is that there's an X-Force movie in the works at Fox: source. Again, no idea what X-Force is about. I just hope it won't be YET ANOTHER Wolverine centered vehicle. I love Hugh Jackman, he's an awesome dude, but I'm getting fed up with Wolverine. The same source also says that there's a Magneto film in development. I would really prefer that, provided Charles was in it, of course. I just can't imagine Erik without Charles. It would be like Arthur without Merlin. Or whatever.

Also, the bad guys and the plot of X-Men: Days of Future Past were revealed: source. Hm. I honestly don't know what to think of it. It sounds very... future-centric. Yet the call sheet said that most of the action would be taking place in 1973. Hm... We will see. More should be revealed at Comic Con.

Bad news: JGL turned down the role of Star-Lord in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. Bummer :( I'm looking forward to the movie but with him staring in it? I would have been over the moon with excitement! *sad sigh*

Good news: On the other hand, JGL signed up for Sin City: A Dame To Kill For: source. He took the part of Johnny, previously offered to Johnny Depp. He will also re-unite with Bruce Willis in it!

Gordon-Levitt will play Johnny, a cocky gambler who disguises a darker mission to destroy his most foul enemy at his best game.

“Johnny is a new character in the Sin City world and we are excited for what Joseph will bring to the role,” say directors Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller in a press release (it’s amazing how people can talk in unison in a press release).

“I love how the first movie uses VFX, not to make fake things look real, but to create a heightened world unburdened by the look and feel of reality,” adds Gordon-Levitt. “Plus, nobody makes a badass like Mr Rodriguez.”

Other actors already conformed include Mickey Rourke as Marv, Jessica Alba as Nancy, Rosario Dawson as Gail, Jaime King as Goldie/Wendy, Dennis Haysbert as Manute and Jamie Chung as Miho.

I still haven't seen the first Sin City - though I own it on DVD, as is my habit - but the twins love it, so... I guess this makes me excited - not as much as if he had joined GotG, but what can you do. This style suits him better, I think: not so flashy, rather dark and gritty. We will see how it goes...

Rumor has it that JGL joined the pool of actors auditioned for the role of Peter Quill aka Star-Lord, the main character in Marvel's upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy! Deadline first reported it and they are usually right about these things (unlike Variety that reported Zach Levi among the auditioned which was not true). I'm taking it with more than a grain of salt, still - wouldn't that be SUPER cool?

But if not he, I would like to see Lee Pace in that role. Other than them, Marvel auditioned Joel Edgerton, James Marsden, Garrett Hedlund and others. But I would bounce like a bunny on crack if either JGL or Lee Pace - the lovely, lovely Thranduil! - got the part. The others... eh, I would have to see them in the role first. JGL or Lee would get me excited right away!

Some reporters are already speculating that Marvel's trying to grab JGL to make it impossible for WB/DC to cast him as Batman in JLA. That's actually... very amusing when you think about it.

Tom Hardy was cast in Ubisoft's film adaptation of the video game Splinter Cell. He will play Sam Fisher, who's "a special ops agent with a knack for high-tech gadgets and stealth infiltration. Along with his fellow agents in the secretive "Echelon" black-ops sub-division, Fisher neutralizes terrorist threats around the globe." Source.

How awesome is that? First Michael Fassbender in Assassin's Creed, now Tom Hardy in Splinter Cell.It's great to be a fan of these two super hard working actors. I mean, have you seen their workload? Sheesh on a pogo stick! Especially Fassbender. When does the guy actually sleep?

But then there are actors who make you a bit frustrated. Like James McAvoy and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Both amazing, fantastic actors. But both have commitments elsewhere - James has a family and JGL his HitRECord company - so they are very picky when it comes to films. Don't get me wrong, 2012 was the year of JGL, 4 films in total in the cinemas! And 2013 will be a very big year for James McAvoy, with 5 movies out! But... I want to know more about their FUTURE projects too and there? Zip, nada. James has the sequel to XMFC and possibly that Assange movie. JGL NOTHING! Seriously, I need something to look forward to! Please? Pretty please? With a cherry on top! *paws sadly*

Despite the movie's grim subject, the audio commentary is actually really hilarious. It's recorded by Greg Araki (the director), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Neil) and Brady Corbet (Brian) and they pretty much giggle the whole way through. Not that they make fun of the subject, not at all, they just talk about the hardships of filming the movie and the funny bits, like that they taped the voice-overs literally in a closet full of clothes or about the time a camera caught fire and stuff like that. It's one of the best audio commentaries I've ever listened to because they point out so many interesting things that I missed the first time around. Like...



The relationship between Neil and his mother (Elizabeth Shue). Neil's mother is very... loose to be crude but there's never a doubt that she really loves her son dearly. But she doesn't see him as her kid but more like a little brother or a best friend. I mean, she talks to him about the hot guy she plans to pick up and hopefully have sex with and it's just another day for both of them, nothing special. I wonder what her reaction would be if she ever found out the truth, that he had been molested, that he is a prostitute, that he was raped - and she never noticed any of it. JGL and Elizabeth Shue hanged out together often outside the set and they talked a lot about their characters' relationship because they didn't have many scenes together and they wanted to get it just right.



Michelle Trachtenberg and this scene in particular was another thing they mentioned, how magical it was - and that Michelle just couldn't ride into the shot on her bicycle because she kept falling down, the poor thing. Their relationship, Wendy and Neil's, is... magical, at least IMHO. She's so in love with him despite knowing that he's gay and that he's emotionally dead inside - as she says, Neil has a black hole where others have their heart. It's tragic yet beautiful, the way they stick together.

They also talked about Billy Drago who played the AIDS riddled john who picks up Neil in a bar. That scene, in the white, white hotel room is so beautiful because of how gentle the guy is with Neil. They couldn't praise Billy Drago enough for how much he brought to the movie, how big an impact he made in just two scenes.

Another thing Greg Araki talked about was working with the children, how they shielded them from what was going on, that the kids never knew what the movie was actually about because they didn't want to hurt them emotionally.

They also talked about the rape scene. JGL said he didn't remember almost anything from it. He approached all the sex scenes as any other scenes, they weren't there to "grab your crotch" as Brady Corbet said, every one of them was there for a reason. JGL said that it wasn't that hard to play the victim - but he couldn't even imagine what it had to have been like for the actor who played the rapist, to go so deep inside himself and find that place that would lead him to do something like that to another person, especially since the actor was nothing like his character, he was an incredibly sweet, kind man.



And then there was the last scene... Brady Corbet was 14 when they filmed the movie! Wow, just wow! JGL was 21 at that time and they both looked the same age. Greg Araki asked them not to meet, not to talk to each other till they actually had a scene together. So, when their characters meet, it's actually them, the actors, truly meeting each other and talking to each other for the first time. And the way they both talked about the last scene on the couch... Wow, it must've been magical. Brady Corbet said that he had never felt as close to an actor as he did to Joe right then and there and that it lead to a deep understanding between them and to a deep friendship, this knowing that they shared something special. From what they said, they were filming it for, like, 16 hours in a row and that after the first 6 or so, they basically fell into a sort of trans. JGL said that to get into the character of Neil, he always went outside and smoked - he's not a heavy smoker but in this movie he smoked a lot - and that once Brady went after him and they just stood there together, unable to say a word.

You know, after listening to the commentary, the movie seems much easier to watch. It's like they allow you to see it through their eyes, see the magic in it, in the music that Greg Araki chose, in the way JGL and Brady Corbet play their parts... Suddenly, it doesn't feel as harsh - don't get me wrong, it's still a very cruel movie but it also feels very... dreamy.

From the TDKR promo shoot. This must be one of the best promo pics I've ever seen of JGL. Sweet!

Premium Rush will be out on DVD on Dec. 21! The Dark Knight Rises on Dec. 4! Definitely buying both, need to satisfy my JGL obsession :P

And talking about JGL, Looper has made $126 mil. worldwide so far! With a $30 mil. budget, that's all kinds of awesome! Congrats :)

AfterElton.com and their slash column made Inception's Arthur&Eames the pairing of the week: link. I loved what they wrote about it:

Inception fandom exemplifies what makes fandom unique. Here Christopher Nolan thinks he made this epic portrait of an alpha-male dealing with emo man-pain from the death of his wife, and then Inception fandom comes along and decides that, no thanks, that guy's kind of a major douchebag and we'd rather focus on the two hot dudes flirting in the background.

Inception fandom illustrates that how fans interpret content is never fully in the creator's control. And Arthur/Eames illustrates that you don't need more than 3 minutes of actual interaction in order to generate two years' worth of fantastic fanon. All you need are two incredibly attractive men playing suave, debonair criminals with a shared history... and a few brief moments of hardcore flirting.

Eames, who clearly enjoys becoming a woman and flirting with other men, is partially inspired by queer vintage heartthrob Farley Granger. Arthur, who may know Eames from their shared military background, is apparently inspired by GQ.

Normally a stand-alone film like Inception would never have a large fandom, but Inception fandom has thrived for two years, mainly because of the onscreen chemistry of Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Tom Hardy.

Exactly why I love this pairing. At first, I didn't see it. It took me 2 whole years to fall for them but when I finally did, I fell hard. I wonder if Chris Nolan's aware of how popular these two are. I bet that, if he does know, he pretty much went "O.o;; That's kinda, sorta not what I was aiming for?" when he learned about it. LOL! In any case, I need to thank Mr. Nolan for introducing me to JGL and Tom Hardy and their absolute awesomeness!

A comment exchange with sharona1x2 reminded me of this wonderful interview with Rian Johnson where he talks about his next project, in very vague terms:

The stuff I'm chewing on right now for my next thing - the couple things I'm juggling, they both have scifi hooks to them. I think it's something I might stick around in for awhile.

Source

Vague, but so exciting! I hope he casts Joe in it again - well, Joe has been in all Rian's movies so far, so that fact would support it, having the main part in Brick and Looper and a cameo in The Brothers Bloom. So, I really hope we get to see Joe in a sci-fi directed by Rian again and soon!