Movies News

Joseph Gordon-Levitt to direct new movie

Feb 8, 2012, 10:01 GMT

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is set to direct and star in a new movie with Scarlett Johansson.

The '50/50' actor wrote the script for the untitled comedy which will focus on a lothario (played by Joseph) who is on a mission to become less of a 'selfish d**k' and Joseph is excited about playing a different type of character.

He said: 'I wrote myself a helluva role, one that people wouldn't necessarily thought of me for. This is the first time I finished a feature film I thought was good enough to make into a movie. I've written others, including one mammothy huge sprawling thing that encompasses my entire point of view of everything since I was 20 years old.'

The former child star quit acting at the age of 19 in order to attend Columbia University and says he returned to the business primarily to direct films.

He explained to Deadline.com: 'I was a child actor for years and quit at 19, went to school awhile, and a big part of why I came back was that I ultimately wanted to make movies. I spent a year working with Chris Nolan, Rian Johnson, Steven Spielberg, and I did my best to pay attention. I've also been making short films for a long time now, I've directed a ton of them, and that is a huge part of why I feel comfortable and confident in this.

'It takes practice to get used to seeing yourself and not being freaked out and self conscious by the sound of your own voice.'

Although he is looking forward to directing his first feature film, Joseph admitted it could rule him out of working on Quentin Tarantino's 'Django Unchanged' which he has signed up for.

He said: 'It will be tricky schedule-wise, but I was honest with Quentin upfront. He was so cool and encouraging. He said, 'You strike me as the kind of guy who would want to direct,' and I took that as high praise.'