There are times when it is difficult to follow the career of an actor: the busier he gets, the more there is to watch. It is becoming increasingly expensive to keep up with Joseph Gordon-Levitt as his CV continues to grow. He has been acting a long time–twenty-five of his thirty years–in which time he has established a history of memorable roles in memorable films and received over a dozen nominations and awards. He is starring in ‘50/50,’ out now, and will appear in at least five releases next year.

Mr. Gordon-Levitt impressed a lot of people, even as a toddler, but real fame knocked with his TV role as Tommy Solomon in ‘3rd Rock from the Sun’ (1996-2001). He held his own with such stars as John Lithgow, even though he was only 15 in the first series. After that, most of his roles were in film, and he has made a surprising number of good decisions in the roles he has chosen.

He became an indie-film prince, exercising his acting muscles in a variety of roles: as a homosexual hustler in ‘Mysterious Skin’ (2004), a leading man in the arguably-romantic comedy ‘(500) Days of Summer’ (2009), a megalomaniacal baddie in ‘G.I. Joe’ (2009), and an action-star in ‘Inception’ (2010). ‘50/50’ sees him as a young man battling his odds with cancer.

What sets Mr. Gordon-Levitt apart is the number of arrows in his quiver. His acting is solid, he nails comedy, the drama is compelling, and he can convey the message in an expression or through his delivery. He can also sing, dance, direct and write. He established a web-site to collaborate on projects with other artists called www.hitRECord.org.

His rendition of ‘Make ‘Em Laugh’ on Saturday Night Live (2009), complete with gymnastics, surpasses most performances by a host in that long series. He did most of his own stunts in ‘Inception’s’ complicated fight-scenes.

There have been comparisons to Heath Ledger; they even starred as brothers in ’10 Things I Hate About You.’ He has the intensity and the range. He will be in the follow-up ‘Batman,’ though not replacing Mr. Ledger. Next year alone, he will be working with Spielberg, Tarantino and Nolan. This is impressive company, certainly.

Mr. Gordon-Levitt is accomplished, adored and amiable. He can be serious and he can laugh. He jokes, takes the lead and defers. He is generous with praise, and modest. He is polite. He could be the “nice young man” of whom parents would approve for their daughters; he has a depth of which the daughters would approve for themselves.

He sparred with Zooey Deschanel in ‘(500) Days of Summer,’ and stole the film from the “it-girl.” His dance routine elevates the film above most romantic fare. One begins to wonder if there is anything Joseph Gordon-Levitt cannot master. It is a relief and a pleasure to learn that there is an actor with real depth for two generations.

He is a ladies’ man and a man’s man, with great range and many facets. There will be many more opportunities to see his work, next year and beyond.

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Django Unchained is the new movie written and soon-to-be directed by Quentin Tarantino set when slavery plagued the South. Right now the movie is in pre-production and is still looking for people to fill the cast. Releasing his most recent film Inglourious Basterds in 2009, Tarantino has been keeping busy with Django for some years now.

With all movies, rumors spread around the Internet like flies on a discarded orange. Django is no exception to this. It is rumored that Will Smith was Tarantino’s first pick for the role of the main character Django, who is a freed slave trying to save his love from the clutches of Calvin Candie, a white plantation owner. Will Smith turned this down.

After some days of searching, the role was finally filled by actor and musician, Jaimie Foxx.  His most famous role was playing Ray Charles in the movie Ray, for which he won an Oscar for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role. In that same year, he was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for Collateral.

Other actors who have popped up on the cast list as well. Leonardo DiCaprio might play the evil Candie, and rumors have been spread that Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds) will play Dr. King Schultz, the German bounty hunter who helps Django with his rescue/revenge mission.

Tarantino finished the script early in May. It has been reported that it is 166 pages long, which converts into, roughly a 2 hour and 40 minute film. Shortly after being finished, the script leaked. Indiewire.com got a handle on it and describes the script as the most straightforward story that Tarantino has written. In the movie, it does not play around with 2 or 3 story lines like Inglourious Basterds did with Shoshanna and the Basterds.  Instead, it has one timeline, one story, in one area of the South.

Tarantino drew from two main influences: the spaghetti western Django by Sergio Corbucci and Sukiyaki Western Django.  Corbucci’s film is like a civil rights meets Fist Full Of Dollars movie. A gunslinger enters a town torn between two rivaling sections. One section is run by the KKK, and the other by Mexican bandits.  Funny enough, Quentin Tarantino is part of the cast of Sukiyaki Western Django.  This film is also closely related to Fist Full Of Dollars because of its gang-related plot.

Still in pre-production anything goes for the new Tarantino flick. With filming starting this fall and released scheduled for December 2012, this is one movie that people will keep their eyes and ears tuned as more information rolls in about the vengeful slave, Django.

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