Marc Webb and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, The Boys of “Summer”

The director and star of the "anti-romantic comedy" take us through "(500) Days of Summer."

I just asked the same of Marc — do you consider this a anti-romantic comedy, as some have called it?

Joseph Gordon-Levitt: It’s definitely romantic, but romantic in the sense that it’s pro-love. [laughs] Anti-romantic to me sounds like the opposite of what this movie is, which is one of those ironic things. I’m really proud of how non-ironic this movie is. I think the reason they call it an anti-romantic comedy is because when you hear the words “romantic comedy,” you think of X, Y, Z formulaic fluff. This plays with those conventions and follows some of them and deviates from others. It’s about a guy who is raised on pop culture and whose notion of love is formed by movies and pop music. I think a lot of movies in the [romantic comedy] genre make one roll their eyes — make me roll my eyes — and make me say that’s not what it’s really like.

You mention how your character Tom is brought up on pop culture. I was reminded by a scene early on in the film that’s set in an Ikea of the scene in “Fight Club” where everything in Edward Norton’s living room is catalogued and how the film as a whole supports an anti-consumerism view of the world. Do you think the fact that this film is so bathed in pop culture says something about the times we’re living in now?

JGL: I think it’s really appropriate for these renewed times that are largely symbolized by Obama — certainly not simply due to him, but I think he’s a good symbol for it, [for] sincerity. I think people were, for a while, happy to consume bullshit, and enjoy it with an ironic grin, like “ha ha, yeah, I know this is crap and they don’t mean what they say, but oh I love it.” People are fed up with that and want something more sincere, and that’s what this movie is. From my point of view, I was never playing it for “watch this, I’m going to make you laugh right now,” which isn’t to say it’s not funny, but it’s funny because you believe it and know what that feels like, and I wanted to play it with as much sincerity as some of the heavier movies that I’ve done recently.

The movie is also about a guy shedding his old way of thinking about things and growing up and accepting responsibility and being a little more realistic about his notion of love and his own life, not just going along with the status quo anymore and accepting of what comes, but instead being proactive. That to me is very much these times. We, I think, as a country, that’s what we’re finally doing, as opposed to last decade where we were just kind of taking it on the chin.

I asked Marc about his scroll. What did you think about this guy when he rolls something so detailed like that out in front of you?

JGL: I see someone who loves what he does and cares very deeply about it and that’s what I’m always attracted to and who I always want to work with. A lot of people treat it more as a job, or buy into the notion that movies really aren’t that important, “It’s just a movie. It’s just a bit of light entertainment.” There’s nothing wrong with treating movies as light entertainment — they can be that, but that’s not my relationship with them. Movies affect me a lot. If I see a movie that I love, that makes me think, that’ll affect my whole week, if one really gets me. When I work on movies, I’m coming at it from that point of view — this is really important to me and hopefully it’s going to be important to someone who sees it. Marc absolutely subscribes to the same belief and really believes in what he does, and I think it shows.

Without spoiling it, Marc also gave you the chance to do your first full-on musical number.

JGL: Yep, which was one of the best days of my life.

On the other hand, this film cements your ability to throw a punch, following “Brick” and preceding “G.I. Joe.” Do you enjoy your fight scenes?

JGL: I love a fight scene. To me, a good fight scene is really just no different than any other scene. It has to have its back and forth and beats. I hate the fight scenes in movies that get chaotic and the camera starts moving a lot and you really don’t know what’s happening. I like fight scenes that are like okay, this happened and as a result of that, this had to happen — it’s just like dialogue. It has its timing and its beats. “Looney Tunes” are some of the best action movies, or Peter Jackson does it really well. “King Kong” had amazing, amazing fight scenes where it’s like dominoes — one thing really has to lead to the next. But then some of these things, you’re just like oh there’s a helicopter, oh a car just went over there — it’s just a lot of shit happening, but there’s no scene to it.

We’re doing this interview before the film makes its premiere tonight at the Paramount, but SXSW seems to have become your festival — “Lookout” premiered in Austin two years ago and “Stop-Loss” last year.

JGL: I love Austin. I worked here on “Stop-Loss” and I feel very at home here and I always look forward to coming back. Watching movies here is fun. It’s really fun. I had a really great time watching this movie at Sundance, but I have a feeling this crowd is…to be honest, a little more rockin’. [laughs]

“(500) Days of Summer” will open on July 17th.

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