Winter 2008, eh? At least that gives Jake time to do at least one film and one musical before this project gets going. I wonder what the reason for the delay is. It does make one think.
I was doing some furtling about after I heard this news and came across a play which was performed at the New York International Fringe Festival in August 2005 which was called 'Sex with Jake Gyllenhaal'. Well, I never. Written by Anthony Giunta and directed by Mark Harborth, the comedy explored "how the search for love often ends up like a bad train trip with missed connections and delayed departures." All parts were performed by a cast of four: Jason Alan Caine, Tara D'Antonio, Oliver Ralli and Laura Walczak. Not surprisingly, this got me thinking about how the writer could be so knowledgeable about sex with Jake Gyllenhaal. So I turned to a review: 'Sex With Jake Gyllenhaal... and other fables of the Northeast Corridor has received quite a bit of FringeNYC buzz based on its catchy title. However, the play is not about Jake Gyllenhaal, or his sex life. In fact, Jake Gyllenhaal is only mentioned in the show once, and briefly at that. Yet, just as US magazine devotes several pages a week to the on-again off-again relationship between Gyllenhaal and actress Kirsten Dunst, Anthony Giunta’s play explores the ups and downs faced in the search for true love.'
'Through a series of vignettes, spanning the years from 1962 to 2019, the play creates several self-contained stories about relationships and the inherent human desire for connection. The stories range from a woman reuniting with her grade school crush, to a woman who shares her secrets with a model on a billboard, to a gaggle of geese flying south for the winter.'
The lesson here would be that, if you want lots of people to watch your play, call it 'Sex with Jake Gyllenhaal'.
What's in a name?
We've been having a discussion in the comments here lately about the name 'Gyllenhaal' and bemoaning the fact that the presenter on the UK's Film 4 last night introduced two films as part of a Gyllenhaal night without bothering to find out how to pronounce the name. I know that I am constantly correcting my non-enlightened friends, although I fear this has something to do with their love of winding me up and making me shout Gyll-en-haal at the top of my voice in crowded pubs...
So, for the benefit of this misguided and ill-informed presenter, this is a link to Jake's lesson on how to say his name. I think Jake has (or had?) more patience with this ignorance and rudeness than I do. The picture of Jake below - showing that the Bubble Boy suit was as heavy as it looked - dates from the around the same time at this interview clip.
For all those interested in family history (I knew I'd get my father interested in WDW somehow), this is where the Gyllenhaal name comes from. To sum up, the first known use of the Swedish name Gyllenhaal was in 1652 when Nils Gunnesson Haal was ennobled Gyllenhaal by Queen Christina. The Haal or Hahl element of the name was possible associated with agriculture (or hares). The noble term 'gyllen' was also used as the prefix golden and was used to praise brave and noble soldiers.
Bringing the story through to the 21st century and the most famous - I think that's fair to say - branch of the Gyllenhaal family, have you ever wondered why Jake's mother Naomi Foner finally adopted the Gyllenhaal surname? Apparently, Naomi took on the name as a 25th wedding anniversary present to her husband Stephen. In this interesting article, Naomi discusses the meaning of a name - not literally in this case - but as a tool of power in Hollywood. In the past, Naomi's children received respect in Hollywood because of their mother's name Foner. But now the tides have turned and Naomi also realises that the huge success of her children has brought new 'value' to the name Gyllenhaal. Naomi's pride in her children shines through her words in this interview and also, the interviewer notes, in her eyes as Jake walks through the room.
Includes pictures from IHJ.
e noble term 'gyllen' was also used as the prefix golden and was used to praise brave and noble soldiers.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post and what beautiful history - and I would have expected no less! :)
Totally fab article about Naomi G. I haven't seen "Running on Empty" (where have I been?). I'll have to see it. I had no idea it was based on the subject matter of the WU. I remember seeing a fascinating documentary on them. Also, some wonderful upcoming projects, especially the Amy Biehl story, with Reese. I think she'd be great in it.
I guess we'll have to wait awhile longer for news about Jake being in Farragut North *sigh*. Thanks for the update, WDW. :)
Hi Marina - I'm really glad you liked the post - I so enjoyed doing it. I love the interview with Naomi. It's not often we hear from her and this was full of pride for her children and for all their careers.
ReplyDeleteI've not seen Running on Empty either.
Fascinating article about Naomi. Thanks so much! Her sense of amazement and delight, that I have heard before from Papa, that Maggie and Jake have "taken off" so beautifully. She is honest about her struggles - writer's block, five years in analysis, at fifty loosing twenty five pounds, and feeling younger than ever. way to go, woman! she's a mensch of a mama!
ReplyDeletethanks for the video of darlin' precious Jake telling his name. lov'd seeing it again.
Hi positively pia! Naomi sounds like a force to be reckoned with - an admirable woman in so many ways - and what a job she did with those kids!! Made strong by life's struggles.
ReplyDeleteThat video is definitely one of my faves :D
Thanks for yet another wondeful mix of a post WDW!
ReplyDeleteI hope you're right about Jake having time to squeeze in another film before Farragut North. I won't be able to find the time or the money to go to NY and see him in it, so it'll mean a period of Jake-lessness for me if he does do it but a new movie would tide me over nicely. And "Sex With Jake Gyllenhaal"...words fail me! Apart from "yes please!" of course ;)
I'm also fascinated by names and their origins so I loved learning about where Jake's surname came from. "Brave and noble soldiers"- love it.
I haven't seen Running On Empty either but it's definitely one I'm going to look out for. Thanks for the article about Naomi. As a mother this quote "the love story between parent and child is the only one that successfully ends in separation. If you do it right, they leave" really struck a chord with me.The interview also made me think of what Jake said in the GQ interview, about how important it is to him to find the right woman to be a mother to his children (form an orderly queue, ladies!). Naomi obviously did a great job raising Jake and Maggie and Jake obviously appreciates that. If TwistedLogic Junior grows up to be half as well adjusted I'll be a very happy and proud mum when she does eventually fly the nest.
I highly recommend "Running on Empty"...... excellent movie. I haven't seen it in many years, but I distinctly remember really loving it. And I do recall a Jake quote where he admitted that he had a big crush on Martha Plimpton, and I've wondered if this movie was where it started.
ReplyDelete"Bee Season" is also a good movie, but I admit I much preferred the book. (I sort of had a hard time buying Richard Gere as a Torah scholar.) But, if you are interested in seeing Naomi's work, this movie is worthwhile.
Thanks, WDW, for the wonderful Naomi interview. Very illuminating, and another example of what makes this site so different and so appreciated!
Thanks so much for the interesting history lesson on the Gyllenhaal name. And that wonderful enlightening feature on Naomi. I must confess that outside of the general information that is out there, I have never taken the time to find out who and what she is all about. I have seen Running On Empty and thought it was an excellent film. It has been awhile so maybe I should check it out again. As for the ones she wrote that were considered flops like Losing Isaiah, I am sure that's Hollywood talk for not having made enough box office - Which is very sad that the talent of a writer should be based on things like that. I am happy that she is being considered again for whatever the reasons. I read about the Grace Metallious project last year and it is a subject that would interest me. I hope it doesn't end up on the shelf.
ReplyDeleteI love that Naomi got over her fear of letting her age be known. I think that is a major step for womanhood. Stand up, be counted and don't let a set of numbers determine your worth.
The thing I liked most about this interview was her view of parenting. I also feel that is a true statement about raising your kids successfully. You want them to leave and fly on their own. I will feel I have done my job with my son if he grows up to be independent, considerate of others and a man of basic good character.
Hey Dani!
ReplyDeleteGreat to have you back after a lovely holiday. We were missing your posts.
Running On Empty is one of my favorite films. I've seen it many times and I loved the subtle clarity and courage in the handling of truths. I watched it with a young friend of mine aged 13 and it was wonderful to read the way she had perceived the film.
This interview with Naomi contained a lot of little known facts about her. I've read extracts from it earlier but I had missed the best bits. Thank you WDW for brining these rare things to the notice of your readers. We owe you a lot.
As for Sex with Jake Gyllenhaal what a thought-provoking piece of work. And as you say a name guaranteed to draw crowds!
'As a mother this quote "the love story between parent and child is the only one that successfully ends in separation. If you do it right, they leave" really struck a chord with me.'
Twistedlogic I wanted to say as a daughter having recently faced "final" separation from my mother, it struck a similar chord with me. I have so much to say on this really. Would love to talk to you more about this whole issue of parent-child "separation" ... in my view it goes in phases right from weaning.
Ha ha WDW, you are FUNNY about the Farragut North delay until winter 2008. "I wonder why", indeed :) :)
ReplyDelete*still giggling*
PS Doesn't Atticus look 'ard in that photo?
Morning everyone - another day of rain...
ReplyDeleteHi Twisted Logic and Twisted Logic Jr! I really do hope we don't have a 2008 without a Jake movie - what a thought. I'm hoping that he'll emerge from MV or wherever all refreshed and ready to go on the next project. Not even I could sit on a beach for a year ;D I had an absolutely vivid dream last night about Jake being in London to present an award at the Kermit the Frog Awards - eeerrrr. I hate to think what that says about me. In my dream I 'bumped' into Jake while we were both out jogging in Hyde Park.
hi Birdie - I'm glad you liked the interview and thanks for more information on these projects. I see what you mean about Richard Gere... I'd heard that about Martha Plimpton but I didn't know she was in Running on Empty.
hey Dani - more titles that I didn't know about! Everyone here is so knowledgeable. My list is growing.
Hi Incognita - I'm glad you enjoyed the interview and it resonated with yu. It gave me a good feeling of comfort, I must say. And as I approach a key birthday, I like to hear about strong women who have learnt to be comfortable in their skin. Thanks for the recommendation for Running on Empty. I think a visit to Amazon might be in order...
Anouska for Prez - thanks for giving us time from your election schedule - you have my vote.
I most definitely think something may be going on with that Farragut North delay - being pushed back about 10 months or so.... hmmmmm.
Oh yes, don't mess with the floppy eared Atti ;D
Anouska! OMG. And I've been campaigning for Jake in '08. Gotta think about this!
ReplyDeleteHey persistently pia - I think you should be ok - I think Anouska may have to be Anousa for PM instead :D
ReplyDeleteO, yeah, thanks! Still! Hmmm.
ReplyDelete(Pia promises a partridge in every peartree - hmmmmmmm!)
Good morning everybody!
ReplyDeleteMaybe I missed something this early in the day (quite possible), but isn't winter '08 just 5 months away? Isn't it this January? That's the winter '08 university term anyway--I'm already working on my class plans.
So sorry about the rain WDW--more pics on the news this morning and they're certainly heart-rending.
I too loved the Naomi interview and wondered if you'd be getting more into Jake's heritage after your beetles/Beatles post!
Morning Kim - I certainly got the impression from the email that it was the winter afterwards but I may be wrong - In the UK the winter coming is Winter 2007. Going back to the email it lists a play for Winter 2007 and then Farragut for Winter 2008 and then a play for Spring 2008. So maybe they are talking January/Feb 08? The language barrier gets me again...
ReplyDeleteI seem to treat Jake like an international monument at times - must be the archaeologist in me :D
I think Kim is right ... one language, separated by an ocean (or a sea if you prefer).
ReplyDeleteDang it WDW, I was going for Prez. I intended to lie about my birthplace :)
Anouska still running for prez despite her birthplace
ReplyDeleteNo one will know ;D
Yes I can see how the whole date thing could be read in a number of ways. I had always pictured Farragut North starting this January--and if so, I imagined rehearsals beginning considerably earlier. If that's the case and if Jake signs on for it, it wouldn't leave much time for him to take on any other project, especially with all the Rendition hoopla.
ReplyDeleteThat's very true Kim. I just wish we knew one way or the other. It reminds me of Rendition, how out of the blue that seemed.
ReplyDeleteWe're depending on you to get to the bottom of this whole date thing, WDW! (As if you needed another lead to explore!)
ReplyDeleteFirst Naomi's interview, then Incognita got me started thinking about separation and the many kinds and levels of it. Maybe the initial goal is that physical independence kids need to achieve from their parents, and the new self-identity that comes with it.
But maybe the emotional and even spiritual connection needs to be maintained in a healthy way somehow. I'm not so sure my own culture is very good at that or nurtures it much. That's what's so heartening about seeing Jake and Maggie maintain those close ties to their parents. It gets commented about a lot in the media here as if it was a rare thing, which it increasingly is. It's hard to maintain close ties over distance in a fast-paced life
(though the internet helps--that "sea that washes all our shores" we talked about the other day).
Does even death bring that "final" separation? I remember a dream in which I received a letter from my father 2 nights after his death. In it, he said so many things he couldn't say in life--he was just a gruff old soldier without a way for words. But his letter said it all. I remember waking up and thinking he had been with me in such a powerful way. Even as I adjusted to his physical loss, his emotional presence grew stronger for me.
It must be hard to have your stages of separation and closeness scrutinized so publicly--but the Gyllenhaals seem to bear that for the most part with dignity and honesty. Yet another thing that endears them to us.
"Does even death bring that "final" separation? "
ReplyDeleteNo it does not ... that's only the removal of the physical presence as we understand it.
Thank you for sharing your dream with us Kim. You must have had a strong psychic bond though he was not very articulate in RL. I'll share more later.
Yes, that was a great post Kim. That's one reason I admire the G's so much, that they seem to be a very close family and do appreciate each other while they still have each other. Incognita, I agree with your last post as well. I'm off for a few days, but I'll look forward to catching up with you all when I return! :*
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, maybe sometimes emotional separation needs to happen too. I'm thinking of BBM and Ennis and his father. What kind of person might Ennis have been if he'd made that emotional separation and his homophobic dad?
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering too about Ennis' "final" separation from Jack. When he closed the closet door at the end of the movie--was that the end, or the beginning? How do you all read that separation?
I'd never seen the article on Naomi before, and I cannot begin to tell you how much I enjoyed it! Thanks for that.
ReplyDeleteRunning on Empty and Losing Isaiah are both personal favorites of mine and when I watched Bee Season, some time ago, I had a strong feeling there was something of Jake in the young man's character.
Naomi is a remarkable woman and someone I'd happily chose for a role model! I can only imagine what a stimulating environment those kids grew up in, and the intellectual challenges they faced.
Because of Naomi's perspective, the "Hollywood wasteland" had very little affect on her kids. They both have an intellectual sensibility that's very "Eastern." (Yes, I intended the double meaning!)
In some ways, I think growing old has less to do with the physicality of aging, and more to do with the death of ideas and the lack of optimism in people's lives.
You are taking us on quite a journey WDW! This tapestry you're weaving is giving more dimension and substance to who Jake is and what he's about. You've given him "context." And I thank you for it.
"In some ways, I think growing old has less to do with the physicality of aging, and more to do with the death of ideas and the lack of optimism in people's lives."
ReplyDeleteBrilliant Bobbyanna .. so true.
kim, you've said so many wonderful,thoughtful things in your post!!! Familial relationships can be "dangerous" on so many levels, as Naomi pointed out in the interview.
ReplyDeleteFamilies are where we learn to trust, or not trust. "Close" families can stifle growth and smother relationships, or they can nurture and be a source of energy and freedom. They can be the ultimate safe haven, or soul destroying sources of negative energy.We have the obvious examples of Jack and Ennis right before our eyes, but there are also the other examples she explores in Bee Season, Running On Empty, and Losing Isaiah,always examining and re-examinng family dynamics. I'm guessing that in Jake's family, apparently they have a rich, collaborative relationship as artists as well as the family connection.As if they are a source of energy and intellectual stimulation for each other as well as a traditional source of nurture, comfort and support.
incognita, you are always so kind!!! I think it's a reflection on your truly beautiful mother, (that some of us got to know all too briefly!) that you are such a nurturing, supportive person!
"Families are where we learn to trust, or not trust. "Close" families can stifle growth and smother relationships, or they can nurture and be a source of energy and freedom. They can be the ultimate safe haven, or soul destroying sources of negative energy"
ReplyDeleteBobbyanna once again these words stopped me in my tracks. And you are so kind ... my mother received so much support from her internet friends whom she knew all too briefly alas. You all sweetened the twilight hours for her.
Good evening everyone - I'm back, got the wine open (I found my bottle opener - it was touch and go for a while) and I wanted to thank you all for your very moving discussion today - thanks for letting us listen in.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I must wish Marina happy, safe travels - if it's a holiday, have a wonderful time and I look forward to welcoming you back *)
Kim and Icognita - your exchange has made me think and I appreciate it as this clearly comes from personal experience for both of you. In particular, Kim, thanks for sharing your dream with us. I've had a similar dream myself, with a grandparent, and it brings me comfort, as I think was intended. I'm very fortunate that I've not had to endure an enforced separation with loved ones but BBM taught me above all else to kep these precious people close - if not physically, then in some other way, and it definitely helped me become a less selfish person. Still a long, long way to go though. I must say though that listening to you all here has now become a part of this process, just as doing the site has helped me understand why Jake is so important.
Bobbyanna - Thanks for your thoughts on Naomi and her work, expecially its expression of family dyamics. I think it would be worth my while seeing these films.
Cheers, everyone :D
So many wonderful comments about family closeness, parental relationships and how they can affect ones life positively or negatively. I experienced that "final separation" from my mother 17 years ago when she was just 51 years old. As I approach that age myself in the next three years I don't feel that I have lived long enough at all to get all this life has to offer.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me continuously wonder at the courage she showed as she knowingly faced the end of her days here on earth and the effort she made to put her children first by giving us words of comfort to help us through and put what should have been years left of mothering in five short months. In the 31 years that I had my mother those five months were the best and the worse. Worse because there was so much more I wanted to learn about her as a woman.
That is my goal as a mother to be the best I can everyday and hopefully leave my son with all of the abilities he needs to not only survive in this life but to appreciate it to the fullest. Sometimes I think I worry too much about leaving my son. None of us knows for certain how much time we have, but being 48 and the mother of an 8 year old makes it something that is never too far from my thoughts. But I do try not to dwell on it because it can lessen the life I am living.
I dream about my mother quite often and the dreams are always like a pleasant reminder that she is has not left me. It still saddens me that her life was too short but the best way I can honor her is to live a happy life.
Learning more about Naomi has made me respect her all the more as a strong woman and mother. Obviously Jake and Maggie are an everyday testament to what this woman is made of as a mother but it is nice to also get to know the woman.
Dani - that's a fine comment. I can imagine how difficult it must be approaching the same age that your mother was. I'm grateful I still have time to discover more about my own mother. I have no children to worry about myself but it sounds to me like your little boy, and Twisted Logic's Jr, are extremely lucky.
ReplyDeleteIf nothing else, that interview with Naomi, has made me think about how I must relate to my own mother - especially now that I'm no spring chicken myself and so it's become a relationship of friends. I'm seeing her this weekend for the first time in almost three months due to a succession of difficult trials and I'm going to think about what you've all said here over the last day or two.
Now, shall I watch Zodiac again this evening.....?
Definitely, watch Zodiac again this evening, WDW. I am LOL!!! It is filled with details I missed when I saw it at the theatre. Tonight will be my fourth viewing. I expect Blockbuster to start harrassing me to return it, so next week I'll buy it. (I found Heath's Four Feathers for $6.99 at Borders, of all places!)
ReplyDeleteMy mother is 89! We had periods of not so good relations when I was much younger, (both of us were works in progress.) but now I'm very grateful we've become so close over the last two decades.
Hi Bobbyanna - All right you've persuaded me! II really do think Zodiac is a great small screen DVD and I love being able to rewind bits and pieces of it. I do love the music....
ReplyDelete