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Bike messengers are an interesting breed of bravado and insanity all wrapped up in one wiry package. Of course, I’ll date myself by admitting that I first became aware of their existence while watching the adventures of Puck Rainey on the third season of MTV’s “The Real World.” Still, it’s a real profession that serves a real function in large cities where hiring a messenger is faster than battling traffic on one’s own to get a package delivered in a timely fashion. Now, we can watch Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s portrayal of Riley, the messenger on a dangerous mission in Premium Rush, where he must deliver an envelope while attempting to evade reliably dastardly Michael Shannon, who plays a crooked cop that’ll do anything to stop the message from arriving on time. Talk about a double shot of understated sexiness.
Here are a few photos from the set of Premium Rush. I know that Joe is something of an acquired taste, but he’s just so appealing. Of course, I can’t even fully describe what makes him attractive except to say that he’s got the ideal combination of boyish charm and manly voice going on.
Gordon-Levitt also appears in the October issue of Elle to promote the upcoming 50/50, in which he plays a cancer patient alongside Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, and Bryce Dallas Howard. Here are a few excerpts from the interview:
On The Press: Interviews in general — I’m looking forward to a different experience with you — in general the truth is they’re all really pretty much fiction. I don’t mind. It’s sort of the thing; it’s what it is. And occasionally there are exceptions. I think it’s good for readers of magazines to know that. I think actors especially … a lot of liberties are taken with artists, because it’s a little less consequential than, like, politicians. Although I imagine if you ask government officials they’d say the same thing. Press is basically a created story. It’s all just stories.”
On Playing A Cancer Patient: I spent a lot of my time — most of my days — thinking about what it would be like to be facing death while I was shooting. But, to be honest, I think about it all the time anyway.
On Why He Created hitRECord.org During College: “Nobody wanted to hire me — I can see where they wouldn’t want the kid from 3rd Rock From the Sun. I came to the conclusion, I’m not going to wait for somebody to tell me that I’m allowed to be creative. The metaphor of pushing that red button sort of became my symbol for that kind of self-started creativity.”
On His Snail-Shell Necklace: “They aren’t just shells. There are different hames for it: the Fibonacci spiral, the golden ratio … The spiral in a snail’s shell is the same mathematically as the spiral in the Milky Way galaxy, and it’s also the same mathematically as the spiral in our DNA. It’s the same ratio that you’ll find in very basic music that transcends cultures all over the world. You know that Leonardo da Vinci drawing of the human body, Universal Man? That ratio is all over there. There are certain patterns and repetitions and connections in my world, and througout all of creation, that lead me to believe that there is a connection and there’s a unity and we all — everything are all one thing all at once.”
That’s some pretty deep thinking from a Hollywood actor, right? Joe’s last statement there almost makes me feel bad for ogling him in a sexual way. Almost.
Meanwhile, JGL’s Premium Rush co-star, Michael Shannon is the subject of some booty shots from the set of Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel reboot. While Shannon previously likened his casting to being on acid, it seems that the costuming process has brought him down to Earth. Apparently, Zack promised Michael that he wouldn’t have to wear a silly motion-capture suit because Michael insisted, “It’s going to be really hard for me to be intimidating if I have to wear one of those silly suits.” Then, Michael showed up on set and learned that he does have to wear a grey motion-capture suit (pictured here) during much of the filming for Man of Steel. I can see why he’d be discouraged by having to wear that thing because getting into a real costume certainly helps one get into the state of mind of playing an otherworldly supervillian. Also, CGI costumes are really getting a deservedly bad rap after the Green Lantern fiasco earlier this summer. Luckily, Michael does get to wear an actual Zod costume during part of the filming. Check out the Zod booty!
Photos courtesy of Fame and Elle. Zod photos courtesy of Facebook.
Written by Bedhead
Posted in Joseph Gordon Levitt, Michael Shannon
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27 Responses to “Joseph Gordon-Levitt vs Michael Shannon in the ‘Premium Rush’ trailer”
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I love Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He’s adorable and a good actor; he seems very thoughtful, good-humored and kind.
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I became first aware of bike messengers via Quicksilver ala Kevin Bacon. nuff said.
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hmmmm, sexy and with a brain – nom nom nom
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Love him
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He’s dreamy…
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I still see Tommy from 3rd Rock. Adorable!
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I really like him. He’s so cute, and he just amazed me in Brick. He really surprised me with that performance.
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I would tear that up… Good lawd that man is delicious
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Fans biscuits. I just love him so much. That is all.
Also love what he said about the Fibonacci sequence and the golden ratio which is 1.61803 39887 49894 84820 and can supposedly be found all througout nature and the universe.
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I adore JGL and his manly voice. But, I think the voice he has now is due to vocal training. In his previous tv and film work he had a higher pitched and more boyish voice. Which you can still hear a little bit in his current interviews. I do love his new voice, it’s so deep and sexy.
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love!
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yummy ……good looking, beauty…
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Thanks for the article on Joe! He is still underrated as an actor and musician. I remember when his brother died not too long ago and his reaction to it. I think he is a genuinely good human being who is honest and full of good intentions. Doesn’t hurt that he is handsome( in some indie, sits next to me in sociology class sort of way)and intelligent. I would love to see him do a film with John Turturro!
<3
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I always was captivated by this guy when he was on “Third Rock from the Sun”. There was something sexy about him even back then. Glad he’s grown into a wonderful young successful man. I don’t feel so guilty about digging him now that he’s over 21!
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I love JGL- he’s developed into such a good looking man and a talented actor.
PS: according to imdb, his character is named Wilee, not Riley.
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I use to love JGL. That is until he ignored every fan at TIFF. I then even overheard stories from the past where he was a huge a**hole. I still think he’s a good actor…but he’s ain’t getting any love from me.
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Hesher. See it when it comes out. JGL is amazing in it.
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Marianne, you must be about 10 years old. Apparently you missed the fact that the guy came to TIFF having gone 48 hours without sleep and actually missed the press conf for 50/50 because he was stuck in traffic. This is the ONLY time I’ve read about him ‘ignoring’ fans – and he had a very good reason.
Get it through your head that he doesn’t exist to acknowledge you. Sometimes he won’t be able to. A mature fan understands that.
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JGL is smart, and he is a good actor. I like him. I just get a vibe that he is extremely afraid of anyone seeing him as anything but perpetually brilliant.
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men like JGL have ruined me for real-life men. he’s just too good to be true, *sigh* love him
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@AnonymousDiva: What does him missing the press conference have to do with him ignoring fans. He was there at the red carpet premiere. And everyone else managed to at least sign for a few fans. JGL walked right on by, not even a simple wave for the fans. He didn’t even sign for anybody at stage door after the movie. That’s my personal experience that has made me turned off by him. As I said, I still think he’s a great actor. It’s not like I’ve thrown away my copy of Inception or 500 Days of Summer. I just personally think it was a bit of a douche movie, considering 95% of the people there were there for him.
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Did you even read my post? A man who went without any rest for 48 hours (due to a career you claim to support) is supposed to stop and find the energy to spend even more time giving to fans just because you waited?
You ARE only 10, it seems.
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Deep thinking; pity he doesn’t know that a spiral and a helix aren’t the same thing. No, JGL, the golden ratio is not found in our DNA. Don’t give up the day job.
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@AnonymousDiva: It doesn’t matter how little sleep he had, he still should have interacted with the fans. That’s why he was there. If he was really THAT tired, then he should have just stayed at home and went to sleep. Going out to a movie premiere means putting your “game face” on, sucking it up, and doing your best to be personable and friendly.
And get over yourself, you’re not mature. You insult people who disagree with you in every single post you make. Being insulting won’t make you win a discussion, you know.
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He’s a human being, RJ. A mature person should be able to realize that he has limitations, so what I wrote is simply the truth – it’s not trying to insult anyone else. Given that I’ve made only two posts, you really don’t have any basis to pass judgment on my M.O.
Levitt is not a superhuman, and it’s ridiculous to think he could be.
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I tend to like the guy a lot, but this interview makes him sound like every pseudo-intellectual pothead I knew in college. Also, this movie looks stupid, which is odd considering he has great taste in choosing roles.
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Useful info. Lucky me I discovered your site by accident, and I’m shocked why this twist of fate didn’t happened in advance! I bookmarked it.
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