Hesher exited Sundance earlier this year with a fair amount of buzz — some good, some not so good. Regardless, the film’s star Joseph Gordon-Levitt (a FlickSided fave) continues to pick disparate projects and display excellent range well beyond his 29 years. Mysterious Skin, Brick, (500) Days of Summer and Inception are evidence JGL is capable of nailing four different characters in four different types of movies.

Looks like we can add Hesher to the list as well. In it he plays the titular role, a chain-smoking anarchist who mentors a young lad through a personal tragedy. Natalie Portman co-stars as a Plain Jane cashier named Nicole who tries to steer the boy away from Hesher’s bad influence. In the following clip, Hesher helps Nicole navigate a fender-bender while showing off the giant middle finger tat on his back. The flick is supposed to hit theaters this year, but no release date has been set.

[h/t The Playlist]

One of the year’s most eagerly anticipated movies (at least among dedicated filmgoers) has finally arrived. The reviews are in – and they’re damn good (84% on Rotten Tomatoes, with many of those “fresh ratings” being 4 or 5 stars). Inception struck a chord with audiences in its first weekend as well, earning a better-than-expected $60.4 million in its first three days. Yes, Christopher Nolan’s latest head-trip is getting a lot of love from both critics and the general public. So, naturally, one has to wonder: will it get some love from The Academy as well?

Let’s take a look at Inception’s best chances at Oscar gold:

It’s a Lock

Even if Inception follows in the footsteps of Nolan’s last film, The Dark Knight, which was shut out of most major categories, it’s sure to get some recognition for its technical achievements (many forget: TDK did earn a total of eight nominations two years ago, with seven being in technical categories).

With that in mind, we must recognize the film’s absolutely breathtaking visuals. The worlds created during the various dream-sequences will surely catch the Academy’s attention and net nominations for both Visual Effects and Art Direction. The only way Inception will miss out on either of these two categories is if the movie is shut out completely. Also, the visuals are captured through the lens of Nolan’s incredible DP, Wally Pfister; a Best Cinematography nod is very likely as well (he was nominated for his work in Nolan’s last three films, don’t expect that trend to end here).

The same thinking should apply to the stellar sound work present in Inception. The Academy tends to favor movies loaded with fast-paced and complex action scenes (see: The Dark Knight, the Bourne films and The Matrix); there is no shortage of such scenes in Inception. So, recognition for Sound Mixing and Sound Editing are sure things. We can also tack on another nomination for Oscar-winner Hans Zimmer’s amazing, bombastic Original Score.

The last guarantee is for the biggest award of the night, Best Picture. This film is fantastic enough to have earned a nomination back when there were only five slots, but the expansion to ten makes a snub impossible – especially after the backlash the Academy suffered when it failed to nominate TDK.

It’s Likely

Now that I’ve promised seven nominations, I’m going to offer up a few more that I think are pretty safe bets.

Along with a Best Picture nomination often comes a nod for the film’s Director as well. Nolan has proven himself over seven films now that he is as deserving of Academy love as anyone working today. With Inception’s solid story and perfect production values, the Academy will probably bestow a nomination on the man who brought it all together.

Speaking of story, there’s a very good chance Nolan will also be nominated for his complex and riveting Original Screenplay. Inception would not have succeeded on visuals alone, it took a solid story with strong characters and pertinent dialogue to make those visuals hold any real weight. Also, bringing that screenplay to life in a way that makes sense to an audience and keeps the pace moving took some stellar Film Editing. Look for some additional Academy love there.

The next accolade that should come Inception’s way is a Best Actor nomination for its star, Leonardo DiCaprio. DiCaprio is great in everything he does, and Inception is no exception. Stunning visuals and intense action aside, this film is largely an exploration into the psyche of his character, Dom Cobb. Without a stellar performance from Leo, the emotional aspects of Nolan’s script would have fallen flat. Honestly, the only reason I didn’t include this in the “locks” section, is that, per Academy rules, the same actor cannot be nominated in the same category twice – they may choose to recognize his work in Shutter Island instead, though my money is still on Inception.

It’s a Stretch

The rest of the Inception cast turned in amazing work as well and, in my book, should also be recognized. While it’s far less likely, the supporting cast may join DiCaprio among this year’s Oscar nominees.

Marion Cotillard, an Academy Award winner, might get some recognition in the Supporting Actress category for her work as Mal. Joseph Gordon-Levitt should get a Supporting Actor nomination, both for his stellar work here and to make up for his being snubbed last year for his work in (500) Days of Summer (we all know how much the Academy loves the good ‘ole “we’re sorry” awards). In a perfect world, Tom Hardy would also get a Supporting Actor nomination, but I’m not counting on it.

There you go: seven sure-things, four-safe bets and three long-shots. That’s fourteen total for those of you who are bad at math – which would tie the record set by The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King seven years ago. My guess is that the actual number will most likely be around ten, but we’ll have to wait until the nominations are officially announced on January 25th to find out for sure.

What do you think? Am I being to optimistic? Is my love for the movie clouding my judgement? Leave your thoughts below…

First off, I’m gonna drop a spoiler alert as big as the budget Warner Bros. gave Christopher Nolan: if you haven’t seen Inception STOP READING HERE. I’ll also update this occasionally to make sure it’s accurate. Also make sure to check out the rest of our Inception coverage.

1. The top totem just became one of the most iconic film images of the new millennium. It also serves as the thread that holds the film together. If you really pay attention to it and use common sense at the end, it will help you separate dreams from reality — just like it did for Cobb and Mal. But more on that later.

2. Tom Hardy is the man, isn’t he? He’s got that same irresistible charm that seeps out of Robert Downey Jr.’s pours. Apparently, he has shed 30 pounds and is revved up and ready to roll for the new Road Warrior flick. Badass.

3. Speaking of Hardy, his outfit in the frozen third dream world during the climax reminded me of Dan Aykroyd in Spies Like Us — “Soulfinger.” Also of not here is that by admitting he couldn’t ski during the casting process, he damn near cost himself the role. Nolan doesn’t mess around with doubles, or at least he does as little as possible, which is wise. Three words: 80s action movies.

4. Hardy’s “You mustn’t be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling.” line was on of three moments that provoked a  literal laugh-out-loud moment from the crowd.

5 (28-491). Saved this for the most important number. This film has to do well, or Hollywood wins and original ideas go down into limbo. This film isn’t going to make $100 million this weekend. Probably $55 million if we are lucky (it made $60 M!). But if you love this film do what I did and go see it twice, or three times (which I will do). If you can’t afford to go see it twice, then tell everyone you know about Inception. Why should you give a damn? If you love great movies that make you think, like Vertigo, like Chinatown, like this, you should. If you like watching anything other than sequels, reboots and spin-offs you should. If you believe in art you should. Let’s do the impossible and pull of inception on Hollywood. Plant this idea: “Great original ideas exist and are worth spending big money on.”

6. The only huge hole I saw in the film? How did Robert Fischer Jr. not recognize Saito, a fellow billionaire and the head honcho of a powerful rival energy company? You’d think that even three levels down in the dream he’d recognize an adversary willing to hire an international fugitive to plant an idea inside his subconscious in order to bring down his company. Especially when he was so paranoid about inner-cranial espionage that he hired a security team to train his subconscious to protect itself.

7. On the other hand, Saito was wearing a mask and given the context Fischer believed to be true  — that Peter Browning had been responsible for the kidnapping — he could have easily overlooked his rival’s presence that deep in his subconscious. Additionally, things were frantic, Saito was dying, and he was searching for something. His mind was elsewhere and there was really no reason for him to be suspicious. I caught this on my second viewing, and upon further review is it even a hole? Not really. He did see Saito in the first dream layer, but who else would Browning use as the face of the kidnapping attempt?

8. Apparently, Cillian Murphy was considered for Batman. I was one of those people who grew up a Batman geek and saw American Psycho and said, yeah, that is Batman/Bruce Wayne. But after seeing Murphy play the conflicted heir I now believe that he too would have been a good choice to play the Caped Crusader.

9. Very similar to Shutter Island, the opening scene plays out a whole lot differently the second time you watch this film. And this film really demands a second viewing pretty immediately.

10. Leonardo DiCaprio brings out the nutjob in actresses, doesn’t he? Just when you thought it couldn’t get any crazier than Kate Winslet in Revolutionary Road and Emily Mortimer (that chick has to be crazy in real life, because she plays a wacko in every flick) and Michelle Williams in Shutter Island, Marion Cotillard’s big blue eyes make you not want to sleep for a week.

11. Speaking of Leo, he rocked it again. Not surprised. He’s a modern-day Brando and all that, I’m one of his biggest supporters. I will say this, however, and it’s that it is easy to see that how once an actor reaches the pinnacle of the profession it is pretty easy for him to really thrive. This guy has been working off of Kingsley and Ruffalo, off of JGL and Watanabe, with directors like Scorsese and Nolan. In Leo’s defense, he chooses his projects more wisely than anybody in the business and isn’t afraid to sit years out (1999, 2003, 2005, 2009). He also has virtually no blemishes on his filmography as far as directors go post-Titanic, with the exception of The Man in the Iron Mask helmer Randall Wallace. In Leo’s defense, he was young, fresh off the Titanic and Wallace was fresh off of Braveheart. The were the kings of the world. My point here is that right now Leo is like Kobe Bryant; not only is he the best in the game, he always has the best team around him. That is a deadly combination.

12. As reader Erik points out, I originally missed this number. I think it was just to keep 13 from actually being 13, hence unlucky. Or maybe I just was finally too zombified to notice at 7 AM after writing all night and missed it? Anyway, I wanted to include his really cool interpretation of what could have actually been going on:

I have a suspicion that most everyone in the film doesn’t actually exist, except for perhaps Michael Caine and Ellen Page, and that Caine is the one that has put Cobb into a dream that Page designed. It’s possible that Page is Cobb’s daughter grown up and wanted to know if Cobb actually killed her mother.

This is certainly not my interpretation, nor do I agree with it, but it is also hard to disprove. This much is for certain: this movie will spawn more theories than JFK’s assassination.

13. This is trivial, but what is up with Leo getting away with having the same facial hair and pretty much hair in every film? Didn’t affect me in this film or Shutter Island, but there will be a point where he needs to pull a De Niro and disappear on us or risk going Cruise and being unable to disappear any longer onscreen.

14. Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s “give me a kiss” moment received a huge pop from the audience. That was a very successful moment in the film because things kind of hit a lull between that epic street shootout with the train and the climax. It gave the audience a nice little chuckle and a little release, and broke up the exposition nicely. It also harked back to classic Hollywood. Masterful touch.

15. Speaking of JGL, I just can’t gush enough about the choice to have him in the film. Hardy and Ellen Page are super cool, yes, but JGL is next. He’s the next superstar. I just have this feeling. I had that very same feeling about Philip Seymour Hoffman 10 years before he won an Oscar. Brick, The Lookout and Mysterious Skin might have given him an underground sizzle, and (500) Days of Summer might have put him on the map, but that anti-gravity fight in the hotel hallway might have just made his Arthur the baddest sci-fi mutha since Neo. Trust me, his agent is going to be the busiest dude in town this summer. Everybody is going to want a piece of the JGL now.

16. Even though this is a complete film that stands alone, WB is going to want a sequel. If there is an Inception sequel, it has to be Arthur’s movie. Hell, Maybe he and Ariadne even get together. Maybe he’ll roll that die? Well, either that or you start all over from scratch. How often do you have a concept and a director where you don’t even need any characters to carry over? Um, never. Except now. And if you want to avoid that ugly Inception 2 name just call it Extraction. I don’t think a sequel here would be unoriginal either — I think this environment demands further exploration. I really do think the primary remaining interest would be in the environment. I think that’s where The Matrix sequels went wrong. They had this beautiful world set up where anything was possible, yet the entire second and third films felt like they happened outside of that world.

But maybe we would still like to know more about everybody not named Cobb, Fischer and Saito? I do think those three characters are fully resolved, however, so if you bring back any of the three you damage the open resolution of this film. So, no, I do not see any possibility of a sequel with Leo — unless Cobb is merely a projection, a la Mal. To work with Nolan again even in a more limited fashion, he might sign on for that. Of course they could always do an Inception prequel, but with Cobb I feel like we already know that story. My idea for a sequel, although it would require all viewers to choose an ending for the first film, is the crew cracking into Leo’s mind to try and pull him out of limbo. In that scenario, Cobb would be the villain and the protagonist, which sounds pretty intense to me. Again, I just don’t see Nolan damaging Inception‘s ending, but you never know.

17. Then again, you could literally scrap the whole cast, keep the ground rules intact and bring in another eight ringers. Just off the top of my head: Brad Pitt (who Nolan damn near cast as Dom Cobb), Evan Rachel Wood, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alexander Skarsgård, Christoph Waltz, Dustin Hoffman, Penelope Cruz and Vincent D’Onofrio. If this movie makes $200 million in the next 6 weeks, Nolan could forget the old cast and just throw out a wishlist like this for the sequel…and both the studio and the actors would jump at the chance. This man is building some Spielbergesque Hollywood capital. Hell, with the Internet backing him like it does he may have unprecedented capital.

18. A lot of people and events have figuratively turned Paris upside down, but nobody has been able to literally turn Paris upside down. That’s why…

19. Before you know it it will be Sir Christopher Nolan. Not afraid to be the first to predict the inevitable.

20. What about Cobb and Mal being younger than older in limbo — which is correct? Well, first off, all of that stuff happened in limbo, which from what we are told makes even less sense than the constructs of your typical dreamscape. Now, that being said, Cobb tried to hold out for as long as possible on admitting and facing the truth, but in the end you see that he had to remember that he and Mal did really grow older in limbo before they freed themselves. His visualizations even admit as much before the film is over. Regardless, even though their minds aged that way in limbo and they felt that old and believed they were that old, hence the aging since their shared subconscious was in control, I believe that when they were able to free themselves by committing suicide on the railroad track that their mind returned to its normal age back in the real world. Minus some extreme wear and tear, of course.

21. Cobb’s inception on Mal actually makes a lot of sense. They dug too deep within the layers of the dream and both lost awareness that their world, the limbo of the subconscious, was not real for a long time. But at some point Cobb figured out they were in limbo. That’s when he planted the idea inside Mal’s safe using her totem that the limbo which seemed so real for so long and caused her to0 give up was but a dream — by having the top always spin. By doing this, he permanently allowed her to lose her grasp instead of just temporarily. He believed that his inception had freed her and would allow them to escape. What he didn’t know is that the idea he planted, the virus he infected her mind with, was so strong that it would infect her mind even in the real world and ultimately lead to her tragic suicide.

Reminds me an awful lot of what Sammy Jankis’ wife did to test him. Or what Leonard convinced himself happened there. A lot of parallels exist between Lenny and Cobb, that’s for certain. You can literally see how Nolan started thinking while making Memento, if this works maybe I can do this on a much, much larger scale someday.

22. The dreamers during the climax were: 1. Yusef; 2. Arthur; 3. Eames. That’s why each one couldn’t go any deeper. Fischer is the mark whose subconscious populates the dream. Ass stated before, his mind has been trained to protect itself from such heists. By going to the “Mr. Charles” strategy and Eames turning him on Browning, he leads the crew right to what they need. Ariadne was the architect who constructed the physical layers of the dreams and in fact was only there to help Cobb deal with his Mal problem. Saito was the tourist who came along so he could get a guarantee that the job was indeed done properly. Cobb was the quarterback who used his experience to call audibles as needed, which they were. He did not want to be the architect nor the dreamer due to his lack of ability to control his projections of Mal inside the dreamscape.

23. I always say this about movies, and it’s why I love suspension of disbelief, but god damn the bad guys cannot aim. Then again, in my dreams the villains have piss-poor shooting, too. I’m a regular James Bond during my REM sleep. But that doesn’t explain Mobasa? I guess Leo just got lucky.

24. Michael Caine is like some kind of film prophet now. He was in that film for literally two minutes and his impact was immeasurable. I suppose he is at the point in his career where he has earned unquestionable wisdom.

25. What in the hell happened to Tom Berenger? I realize that we all age, but this guy really went to sh**. Did he mean to go on the Val Kilmer diet? Next to Cillian Murphy, who looks years younger than he is at 34, he just looked atrocious. On the other hand, he did seem very authentic. The No. 2 guy in a company like that would play a lot of golf, be out in the sun a ton, eat a lot of red meat and room service, travel a lot and booze, just generally probably get run down and look like hell. You’d think that the No. 2 guy would actually work a whole helluva a lot harder than the No. 1 guy and his heir — without the same quality of lifestyle. So it worked well, I suppose. Nothing wrong with the performance either, especially when he was acting as Tom Hardy acting as him — a very slippery slope. But I’m not backtracking — he has aged terribly.

Continue to page two for the final 25…

Over the past nine months, a genius advertising campaign – along with some serious buzz on the internet – has built up the hype for Inception to unfathomable heights. With each new trailer, set photo, director interview or studio plot synopsis came a new reason to be excited – stunning visuals, minor story details, a growing cast of all-star actors – but never a clear picture of what this film would actually be like. Expectations have become so high, it seems as though no film could possibly live up to them.

Except one.

Inception’s protagonist, Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio), is a thief – but not just any thief. He and his team of bandits – Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Ariadne (Ellen Page) and Eames (Tom Hardy) – have the ability to literally enter a person’s dreams and steal thoughts – secrets – from deep within the subconscious. This skill has made Dom highly sought-after in the world of corporate espionage, but has also made him a fugitive.

A wealthy client (Ken Watanabe) offers Dom a chance to clear his name and return home to his family. There’s just one catch: Dom would have to enter a target’s mind and perform a seemingly impossible task. Rather than stealing a thought, he and his team would have to implant one – the act of “inception.”

Obviously there’s more to this – a lot more – but the less one knows boarding this conceptual rollercoaster, the wilder the ride will be.

Nolan’s narrative unfolds slowly. The world he has created is complex beyond description, so time is needed for viewers to become acclimated. Entering dreams is tricky business; there are rules to be followed and risks that must be considered. If, as an audience, we do not fully understand these intricacies, the film would fall apart. Nolan relies heavily on his audience’s ability to comprehend lofty concepts; this is the thinking man’s thriller.

Luckily, no one tells a story quite like Christopher Nolan, and everything is laid out in a way that is both crystal clear and mindblowingly fascinating. As we approach the second act, and Nolan prepares to really unleash his tale, we are properly prepared to face what’s coming next.

The rest of the film plays out at lightning-fast speed. Events, ideas and stunning visuals bombard the screen with unmatched intensity. Viewers are forced to ingest new information just as they are beginning to digest what’s already been seen. The pace and tone build and build in might, never letting up until the credits role.

On a technical level, Inception is a masterpiece. This is the most visually ambitious film to hit theatres in years, and can only be properly experienced on the big screen. Wally Pfister, Nolan’s go-to cinematographer, captures each frame with indescribable precision; his work is beautiful. The CG landscapes used are fantastic and believable; they possess a sense of tangibility and realism I’m not sure I’ve ever seen before. But, as fantastic as the computer work is, it is Nolan’s use of practical effects that really impresses. In an age where set-building seems to be a lost art, the use of brick-and-mortar scenery is astounding. Every penny of Inception’s $200 million dollar budget appears onscreen in its full glory – and then some (check out the rotating-hallway scene – that is not CGI, it’s an actual moving set).

No visual effect is complete without stellar audio work. Nolan’s team of sound editors and mixers pair each visual with sound effects that can’t be described as anything less than perfect. Additionally, Hans Zimmer’s score is flawless and will likely net the veteran composer his eighth Academy Award nomination. Rumor has it Zimmer wasn’t allowed to see the film as he scored it; if true, the man is a god.

Finally, we get to the cast, and what a cast it is. Headliner Leonardo DiCaprio commands the viewer’s full attention for every second he appears onscreen. Despite the grand conceptual and visual scope of Inception, the film is still largely an exploration into the psyche of his character. Dom Cobb is as complex a character as Inception is a film, and, as always, DiCaprio nails it. He just overtook himself (in Scorsese’s Shutter Island) as this year’s awards-season frontrunner.

The supporting cast is composed with enormous talent as well. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is at the top of his game and has secured his position as one of Hollywood’s most talented young-guns. He might just be his generation’s DiCaprio. Ellen Page holds her own here; shedding the snarkiness found in her prior work. For the first time in her career, she plays an adult – a role that suits her surprisingly well.  Watanabe is good; giving a performance that would probably stand out in any other film, but simply stands in this one. The big surprise is Tom Hardy, who I’ve never seen in a film before (though I did hear good things about his performance in Bronson last year). Hardy is great in each of his scenes; especially noteworthy are the moments in which his character is introduced. He engages in an extended dialogue with DiCaprio’s character – their chemistry is fantastic . I can’t wait to see more of this guy.

I know it seems like I’m gushing; I didn’t want to. I tried to think of something to criticize, but nothing came to mind. I can, however, without any hesitation whatsoever, declare that Inception is the best film of Nolan’s career and will likely stand strong as the best of 2010.

See this movie. Bring some friends, preferably intelligent ones. Watch it, and pay attention. Afterwards, grab coffee, maybe even lunch, and talk about it. Analyze it and dissect it – pick it apart until there is nothing left. And then, see it again.

I’m just going to come out and say it — Christopher Nolan is my favorite director. No, not of all time. No, not currently alive. But, yes, right now, right now I think he’s the best director in the game.

He first caught my attention with Memento, which was one of the most influential films of the last quarter century. Then I went back and watched his first film, Following, and immediately understood how he got Memento produced. Next up was Insomnia, which is a pretty brilliant instant remake of a Swedish movie of the same name. Then he brought the Caped Crusader back from Bat-nipples with Batman Begins. After that there was The Prestige, which I consider a vastly underrated and nearly flawless film. Finally, there’s his latest effort, The Dark Knight, which I consider to be The Godfather II of comic book flicks.

Now, Nolan is moving on to bigger and possibly, or more like impossibly, better things. Since reviews started leaking out in the last week or so, words like “masterpiece,” “epic” and “hypnotized” have been getting tossed around. Every critic seemingly walks away from this mega-budget mind-bender that damn excited about what they just saw. Personally, I think we’re all about to witness the coolest flick we’ve seen since The Matrix dropped just over a decade ago. My expectations were this high for Nolan’s last film, a lot of people’s were, and he didn’t disappoint. He’ll deliver again.

Crazy thing is, the hype is building to a freakin’ fever pitch and we still don’t know jack about the movie or its cast. That’s why we here at FlickSided did some digging and put together this snazzy graphic that brings you up to speed on the cast/characters of Inception. Enjoy and be sure to check back in all week long as we’ll be serving up plenty of Inception coverage!

CLICK HERE FOR FULL-SIZED GRAPHIC

We recently pegged Joseph Gordon-Levitt to bring back Heath Ledger’s Joker due to his involvement in Inception. It looks like we might have been getting pretty close. According to the site Hollywood Life, director Christopher Nolan could be looking at JGL to bring the Riddler to the big screen in the next installment of his Batman franchise.

Apparently, Nolan really became fond of working with the (500) Days of Summer star during their time together filming Inception. During the production, an on-set joke about JGL reading for the untitled Batman 3 project — which doesn’t even have a completely finished script as of yet, for the record — started to garner serious consideration. Now it seems that Gordon-Levitt will not only read for the part of the enigma-obsessed villain, but also is one of the frontrunners for the part.

Of course, all of this is contingent on this rumor being true. True or not, it’s sure to fuel a fanboy frenzy of speculation. The most important thing to take away from this news is that it’s looking even more and more likely that the Riddler will appear in Batman 3.

I’m just glad things are really starting to take shape in Gotham City. A definitive “no” on the Joker from Nolan. This rumor. Inception about a month away, and once its opening passes Nolan will only have bats on the brain. Joseph Gordon-Levitt would definitely be an inspired pick for the Riddler, one which could work out much like casting Ledger as the Joker did the last time around. I’ll definitely co-sign on this possibility (even though I still love Michael C. Hall of Dexter as the Riddler).

(image via Hollywood Life)

I noticed something about Joseph Gordon-Levitt a year ago writing for a now defunct site (Austin Script Guy)…homeboy looks a lot like Heath Ledger.

Tell me he doesn’t? He’s his spitting effing image! For anybody who doubts his acting chops, just go watch 500 Days of Summer, Brick, The Lookout and Mysterious Skin. He’s picking up where Heath left off and becoming one of the “must watch” actors of his generation. Even his turn as Cobra Commander in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra made that crapfest worth watching.

That being said, if Christopher Nolan, David Goyer and Co. wanted to bring back the Joker to face Batman again in Batman 3, I think they could do it with JGL. Would he have to fill some whopping effing shoes? You bet. But if there is one young actor who looks like Heath and has his potential, it’s JGL. Remember, we once all doubted Heath’s ability to pull off the Joker. Remember how that played out?

Personally, I would only recommend using JGL as Heath’s Joker briefly, maybe from a cell a la Anthony Hopkins’ Hannibal Lector in Silence of the Lambs. That way you could use lighting, or a lack thereof, to mask the actor’s differences. Maybe he gives Batman a few clues to track down the Riddler. Hey, the only thing the Joker hates worse than the Caped Crusader is no longer being the biggest game in town. He’d also likely feel like the Riddler was a two-bit rip-off, even though that’s not the case at all. It’s not like Batman couldn’t get into Arkham undetected either.

A lot of people are clamoring for Johnny Depp to take on the Joker after seeing him step in for Heath in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. That’s a bad idea. Why? He couldn’t sink into the role the way JGL could. Let’s face it, most of the moviegoing public still doesn’t know JGL, while most of the world knows Depp — he’s a household name. JGL working with Nolan in this summer’s Inception also makes this seem more feasible. Also, remember that Scarecrow made a cameo in The Dark Knight after serving as one of the main villains in Batman Begins. That certainly lent Gotham authenticity and continuity, so why go away from that strategy now?

I honestly believe that Joseph Gordon-Levitt is the one actor who can pull off reprising Heath Ledger’s Joker. Gutsy statement, but there’s no doubt in my mind. The other thing is, and this is huge, I actually think most fans would approve of this casting choice. Heath was wildly popular, especially following his death, but JGL has a cult following himself. Christopher Nolan, please do us a favor and do what the Dark Knight himself did with the Joker at the end of Batman Begins — “look into it.

If you like this idea, be sure to join its Facebook page.

Other Batman 3 Casting Posts:

• 10 Catwoman Candidates For Batman 3
• Dexter’s Michael C. Hall = The Riddler

Christopher Nolan. Leonardo DiCaprio. Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Ken Watanabe. Ellen Page. Marion Cotillard. Cillian Murphy. Michael Caine.

Need I go on? I didn’t think so. The name of the movie is…

…Inception. And it looks fu**ing AWESOME!!!

[Via Trailer Addict]

Could Joseph Gordon-Levitt be joining writer/director Rian Johnson for the sci-fi flick Looper? The fine folks over at /Film seem to think so. Evidently, rumors are swirling the duo that made Brick one of the best indie films in the last ten years are in serious discussions to reunite.

Looper has been on Johnson’s to-do list for the last couple years, but news of the project has been sparse as of late. I hope this recent update proves to be accurate because it means JGL would play a futuristic government agent sent back in time to kill himself, or into the future. I’m not 100% sure, but it still sounds awesome with a capital A!

Again, this is nothing but speculation for now. But if you love Brick as much as I do, cross your fingers and toes it comes to pass. Just because, here’s a clip from Brick, in Russian:

Austin’s SXSW Film Conference has become a big draw for Hollywood celebrities. Here are the 15 most well-known actors and actresses who were officially at SXSW:

15. Jamie-Lynn Sigler

The HBO regular (Entourage, The Sopranos) was in the ATX for the premiere of Wake, an Indie flick with a The Twilight Zone feel.

14. Jonah Hill

The chubster comedian hit up the SXSW red carpet to promote his new film Cyrus, a romp where he plays Marisa Tomei’s son.

13. Chloë Sevigny

The Indie queen showed up for the world premiere of Mr. Nice, the British biopic about former drug kingpin Howard Marks (which we loved).

12. Joseph Gordon-Levitt

This future Oscar nominee (just a matter of time) threw a big HitRecord (his collaborative media site) event Saturday night.

11. Kristen Stewart

The Twilight star attended the SXSW showing of The Runaways. No, ladies, Robert Pattinson didn’t accompany her.

10. Ryan Phillippe

The ex-Mr. Withersp0on was at the Paramount for a sneak preview of the SNL spoof MacGruber (check out our MacGruber review).

9. John C. Reilly

Will Ferrell’s partner in crime showed up  rocking a fedora to offer support for Cyrus, in which he co-stars with Hill and Tomei.

8. Ashton Kutcher

Ranked in the middle due to his 4.6 million Twitter followers yet questionable acting skills, Kutcher was here more for SXSW Interactive than SXSW Film.

7. Dakota Fanning

This Meryl Streep-in-training walked the Austin red carpet to pump up The Runaways, a film about Joan Jett and Cherie Currie’s legendary band.

6. Sissy Spacek

The former Oscar winner and six-time nominee traveled to Texas to attended a screening of Get Low. No fans showed up as Carrie, which is surprising given Austin’s horror-loving culture.

5. Adrien Brody

Brody, also an Oscar winner, was part of a big Predators presser. Oddly enough, he didn’t attend the big Predators sneak preview event at the Ritz.

4. Robert Duvall

It was an honor to have one of the best film actors of all time in our own backyard (for Get Low). Thanks for coming, Bobby!

3. Val Kilmer

He showed up for the MacGruber red carpet event, but then blew off the post-movie Q & A session. Maybe he went to Kilmer burgers?

2. Edward Norton

The Fight Club starrer and most recent Hulk was at the South Lamar Alamo Drafthouse for the U.S. premiere of Leaves of Grass.

1. Bill Murray

Murray, who was in town for the Get Low showing, was reportedly tossing back shots with Wu-Tang’s GZA. Doesn’t get any cooler than ODM — Ol’ Dirty Murray.

(Photo Credits: YardBarker.com, Austin American-Statesman, LIFE, IFC.com and, yes, FlickSided.)