Anyway, Joseph Gordon Levitt is in the film (he plays a major role) and towards the end of the roundtable interview I managed to ask him why he wanted to be in ‘Joe and if he was a fan of “Akira.”

Oh, the other thing to know is Joseph has been rumored to be up for a role in a live action version of the Japanese anime film “Akira.” The vibe I got after hearing him talk is if the script turns out great and the project moves forward…I think it’s very safe to assume that he wants to be in the movie.

In the coming days look for a full transcript, but until then, enjoy the selected quotes.

And if you’d like to listen to Joseph give his answers, click here for the MP3. The time index is 16:05.

Collider: What attracted you to being in G.I. Joe and how much of a fan are you of Akira?

Joseph Gordon Levitt: (he laughs) Well what attracted me to being in G.I. Joe was when they showed me the drawings of the character that I was going to get to play. I love the idea of just getting to play something way, way larger and huger than life. It’s kind of the opposite of Stop Loss, in fact. Stop Loss is a realistic portrayal of what it’s like to be a solider today. I think movies can be two things – or many things. Movies can be any number of things, they can be - despite the fact that some people don’t believe this – but I think movies can be a meaningful and profound work of art about humanity. They can also be just a spectacle for pure entertainment and that’s another tradition. And that’s the tradition that G.I. Joe fits into, as opposed to Stop Loss, which is, I think, a layered and profound human story. G.I. Joe is not layered or profound at all; it’s just a big thrill ride…it’s like have some fun. And it’s a lot of fun. And when I saw those drawings of the character I was going to get to play, I got that feeling of like just being a kid and wow, that’s so cool, and I get to be that and yeah…that’s why I wanted to do it. And Akira, I love that movie and I know that they are writing in blogs that I’m doing it. It’s funny because the script isn’t even done. I haven’t read a script yet.

Collider: But would you be interested assuming the script is up to par? Because they’ve talked about Leonardo DiCaprio and you being the two leads.

Joseph Gordon Levitt: Like I said, I love that movie. I love that movie. Assuming the script is up to par is a rather big assumption, you know what I mean.  Who knows? There are a million great ideas but it’s all about the execution.