PRESSING PLAY

Think of it as a remix: "It's like what Dr. Dre does to George Clinton," said actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt of his production company, hitRECord.

Last night, more than 800 students attended Gordon-Levitt's "hitRECord at the Movies" event in Stamp Student Union's Grand Ballroom. The interactive event, which Gordon-Levitt has presented at campuses nationwide, was structured around the theme of going to the movies. But the Inception actor wanted to make that experience interactive.

He encouraged students to get on stage with him to participate in live voice-over recordings, filming and singing, which he incorporated into a video of the entire experience.

"It's sort of an experiment," he said in an interview before the event. "How can we make the cinematic experience one that's more live and more of a unique experience at this particular place at this particular time with these particular people in this particular room?"

HitRECord, a venture started by Gordon-Levitt about six years ago, is an online collaborative production company where more than 40,000 members partake in community efforts to create "records," which can be mashups of film, animation, illustration and voice-overs. Gordon-Levitt showcased 17 last night.

"On one hand, it is a kind of an anarchistic, democratic, chaotic, collective thing. On the other hand, it's very much directed by one individual, that being me," Gordon-Levitt said.

Students interested in peer feedback for their art would fit in at hitRECord, where their work will be viewed by other members, including Gordon-Levitt himself.

"It's kind of hard to break into the film industry, so this is a great opportunity to do so," said Student Entertainment Events Lectures Director Vivian Yohannes, who helped organize the event. "If your work is amazing, it will stand out to him and he will help you."

Although this university doesn't offer a cinematography program, a survey done by SEE this semester found students overwhelmingly wanted Gordon-Levitt to come to the campus over celebrity blogger Perez Hilton and speaker Aron Ralston, whose survival story was dramatized in 127 Hours.

"He's one of the actors who embodies style, great poise, and he's also cool and is great at what he does," said senior psychology major Kevin Powell. "Not many actors are like that. I think he chooses his work intelligently and really thinks about it."

But last night's event wasn't about Gordon-Levitt's Hollywood success. Instead, he focused on incorporating students into the records on his website by filming the audience for use in the final product — a documentary about going to the movies.

"When you're an actor in the traditional entertainment industry, you perform for an audience but you don't really get to make things with your audience. There's that dividing line, that wall," Gordon-Levitt said. "I've actually always found that divide a little awkward, so getting to dissolve that was really fun."

The hitRECord community is able to operate as it does — with members editing and contributing to other members' works — because no material on the site is copyrighted, Gordon-Levitt said. However, he added that if films are screened at festivals or college events, the payback for both the members and Gordon-Levitt is significant.

"All the profits get split in half," he said. "Half goes back into the company, and half goes to all the different contributing artists."

Students said working on a hitRECord collaboration sounded exciting.

"I think it's awesome because people can come together, which is one of the best things, and improve other people's work," said freshman English major Ron Bethke.

For students looking to make it in Hollywood, Gordon-Levitt said there are other options for pursuing such careers.

"I would say don't waste your time," Gordon-Levitt said. "The Hollywood industry is crumbling. And you're just as likely to be a successful artist by making your art, making good art, connecting with your audience through the Internet, through live shows, through whatever it is. ...You don't need to wait around for some Hollywood producer to hire you."

marcot at umdbk dot com