Friday, 10 August 2007

Rendition site up and running, Buying dreams on MV and Heath isn't there

The website for Rendition has come to life and not only that it gives Jake Gyllenhaal top billing and includes a high quality version of the trailer, good for us Brits who couldn't see the earlier HD edition. It's difficult to ignore the misspelling of Rendition in the browsing bar but otherwise all looks good. I wonder if more information will be added. So time to register and see what happens. The release date is confirmed as 19 October, which makes one think that the UK date will also be pushed back the week. The best thing about the site of course is the big picture of our Jake just making you want to see this film. Works for me.


An Auction of Dreams

Thanks to Get Real yesterday for letting me know about the latest happening on Martha's Vineyard. We have MV experts visiting WDW - just see the comments to the previous post - and they have filled the place with colour and texture. We've heard about MV's film festivals, political gatherings, shops, inns, bars and restaurants, now we learn it's holding an Auction of Dreams - what a wonderful way to raise money for the community. You can sail with Walter Cronkite, have dinner with Richard North Patterson, listen to one of Bill Clinton's talks, go winetasting, go to the opera, be an oceanographer for the day - and you can even be taught how to make sandcastles by the master himself, Stephen Gyllenhaal.


'Sandcastle Building with Director Stephen Gyllenhaal
THERE WILL BE NO SAND IN THE SANDWICHES...When you and your guests join director STEPHEN GYLLENHAAL for one of his family's favorite pasttimes - SANDCASTLE BUILDING and a beach picnic in Chilmark. Stephen has sandcastle building secrets that will only be revealed to you! You will learn to build spires that rise four to five feet high, steps that a tiny person can actually climb, balconies, windows, and bridges. In short, a real castle that will draw everyone on the beach before your masterpiece is complete! For up to 10 beach lovers.'

The auction took place on August 7, amid fears of rain. I wonder how it went..



I'm Not There

We've been following Heath Ledger with all the excitement of The Dark Knight, which makes it easier to forget that Heath will be seen much sooner in the rather peculiar sounding I'm Not There. Released in September, this film tells the story of Bob Dylan, his life, career and loves through the depiction of six Dylans, one of whom is played by Heath - and here he is:


Michelle Williams is also in it, along with Batman himself Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Richard Gere and Julianne Moore. I am very intrigued by the whole sound of this and I can't wait to see it. Unfortunately, it sounds like Heath won't be singing. Shame. Thanks very much to Jantoinette for sending me this fabulous picture of Heath as Bob.

Includes pictures from Badtaste, JJ and IHJ.

39 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your welcome for the SG/MV info! :) Love the Rendition site is up! Do you have a link for it, btw? I did see it at JakeWatch and maybe I can't spell but it seems that they corrected the spelling mistake in the browser? And the Jake picture is great. Also, there is this so-so review of "Rendition".

Anonymous said...

^^ Oops. nevermind I see you linked the trailer. My bad, lol.

The Heath picture is great. Can't wait to see "I'm Not There". Love Dylan and that cast is amazing.

Anonymous said...

Im Not There has gotta be a hoot. But how are Heath and Rich Gere going to imitate the great Dylan voice - ?

WDW I wait for you to come home from work, like a dog sits waiting
for its Mistress. Its sorta funny.
its sorta sad. (ref: mad mad world)

:) :)

Anonymous said...

Another totally cool post, WDW. Not only did I get off work early on a Friday, I also got to come home to a wonderful picture of Jake. That picture alone should get people pouring in droves to the theaters.

Very intrigued by this Bob Dylan film. Interesting cast. Glad Heath is a part of it. And I like that picture of him. I saw Bob Dylan two years ago in concert. Another one checked off my list of must see musical legends.

And the more I read about Martha's Vineyard, the more I want to go. I have been wanting to go long before Jake was connected to it. I love all this first hand information about the place. Much better than a travel brochure. Thanks everyone!

Anonymous said...

Woohee! Yeah! As Jack would say - I'm so happy that the Rendition site is up, and Jake's picture is great. I'm counting the days until October 19.

Love the picture of Heath as Bob Dylan, I see a resemblance. The MV Dream auction sounds wonderful too. :)

Anonymous said...

The new Rendition side looks good - and it seems that Jake really gets the top billing. A bit of a (pleasant) surprise.. Lets hope we will get more information soon - and I am eager to see the poster....
Thanks for the link to the review - call me dumb but I don´t understand what that guy wants to tell us. “So anybody who’s aware of the practice of extraordinary rendition doesn’t really need to see this movie” - and anybody who is aware of racism does not need to see “Crash” and anybody who is aware of homophobia does not need to see BBM and anybody who is aware that war is bad does not need to see “Full metal jacket” or “Jarhead” and anybody ??...”And it's definitely No Fun” - Did he expect a comedy? Sorry, but I don´t understand his arguments. And I hope that his statement “The Good Intentions and Important Message are hammered at you with typical Oscar-baiting Hollywood subtlety. There’s no room for the audience member to bring anything of their own to the movie” is not true.

Everyone knows that Bob Dylan is a genius and a legend - so when a friend (a huge fan) asked some years ago if I want to go to a Dylan concert with him, I agreed. And I expected something great and groundbreaking - but surely not one of the most boring experiences in my life. :-)) The concept of the film looks interesting and original and great actors including Heath are involved, but I am probably lost for everything concerning Bob Dylan....:-))

Until today my dream was to visit New York on day (and perhaps watching a good play with ...ehm ..an excellent actor) but reading all those posts about Marthas Vineyard makes me want to go there and now I remember that I own an entertaining but also a bit shallow book called ”Up Island” by Anne Rivers Siddons and the main part takes place in MV and she describes it so well and real. I should read it again.

Thanks again WDW for finding all the wonderful articles and infos concerning Jake & Co.

Anonymous said...

Carla, loving Uncle Bob is incomprehensible to some. However he is not :sacred: to me as is Jake and I wouldnt be offended nor probably would Himself if the movie is a Dud. But how can it be with Heath, Richard Gere and so forth. And how can it not amuse ole Uncle Bob to see himself portrayed by a couple of the most stunning guys of the silver screen.
As if he cares, which he probably does. Heh heh long live Dylan!

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Hi everyone :D sorry I've not been around much today. A long day of work and then Mr WDW insisted on taking me out to the pub... But this weekend is for dedicated Jaking so I hope to make up for it.

Hi Get Real - I'd left out the link and then went back to put it in, it must have been while you were looking :D That's a great photo of Jake. Thanks for the review link. And yes, they've corrected the spelling - just as well.

I am very excited about this Dylan movie - what a cast!

Hi positively pia! - thanks so much for your comment and for you posts on the last thread. I'm going to go straight over there after this to respond to them.

I understand that the actors are going to be miming. I really don't need to hear Richard Gere sing again after Chicago ;D Mind you, sometimes I don't want to hear Bob Dylan sing...

Believe me, I look forward to coming home and catching with you and everyone else. :)

Hi Dani! It is a great picture and the pictures of Reese and Meryl are good too, although obviously not in the same class. This is good company for Jake to be in. My whole view of MV has been transformed for me by everyone's local knowledge.

Hi Marina - I can't wait til October 19 either - we should start a countdown! And I think Heath looks gorgeous in this photo, like a better looking young Dylan ;D

Anonymous said...

It's thrilling to see the Rendition
publicity and Jake FEATURED. The preview made my heart pound with excitement and although the review was probably on target as far as "message films" are concerned -was, nevertheless, quite compli- mentary about style, direction, actors and so forth.

WDW you are home after a long week.
I hope it was a good week, despite the long commute.

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Hi Barla thaks for that great comment - you wrote your's as I wrote mine.

I was surprised to see Jake get top billing above Reese but all is good :D I haven't read the review yet but from what you say it sounds nonsensical. Rendition is not a fun subject - and surely its whole point is to inform interested people about the practice.

Tht's interesting about the Dylan concert. I grew up on Dylan as my parents were both fans but I was always more of a Bread, Beatles and Pink Floyd girl. I like a fair few of the songs - Lay Lady Lay - love that... But give me Arnold Lane and See Emily Play and I'd be happy.

I've travelled all over the US but not to MV and now I would like to see it. Maybe off season some quiet year.

Hey positivel fourth street - if this film fails or falls flat I'd be amazed. It has so much going for it. And the idea of Cate as Bob and Michelle as her lover, so intriguing. But seeing Heath looking so fine with a guitar strapped around his shoulders - I need to see this!

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Hi Pia - thanks! It's been a long, long week but by the end of it I realised I'm happier in this job than I have been for some time. They've made me feel very welcome and I'm getting used to the commute. Good to know I've two solid days of Jakin ahead ;D So I hope you will be around :-)

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Carla Gotta apologise for calling you Barla!! Don't know what came over me except for tiredness and a shot of Irish whisky :)

Anonymous said...

One a the reasons I love this site is we all apologize so sweetly for our typos. It's so dear.

And - TGIF!

Anonymous said...

Carla, you added the part to my Bob Dylan experience that I didn't mention. For me, it was also the most boring time I had ever had at a concert. I was thrilled to be seeing him, but I didn't care much for his new choices in music. He was even more difficult to understand than ever. And he only sang one of his many classic songs. Still, his life is interesting and I will certainly seek out this film. With a cast like that , it can't possibly be worse than the concert I saw.

Anonymous said...

Hi WDW...I have been uber busy and have not been able to comment..but now..THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for all the great postings the past week or so...you are the best. This is the best site to get your Jake fix!! That picture of Jake on the Rendition page is fabulous..I will be drooling until...well forever...LOL!! This whets my appetite even more for the film.. Did anyone read the review on Jake-Weird...Written by Lance Carmichael, CC2k staff writer Source: Cincity2000 it is very interesting...to say the least..I kind of agree with the reviewer in that this time of movie is always dicey to make...hopefully our Jake will pull in the audiences..thanks again..for the great postings..Michele

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Hey pia - I just love it that everyone's so polite and kind to one another :D Oh yes, TGIF!!

Dani I'd heard this about Dylan's concerts. He has to accept people want to hear their favourites, and why shouldn't they? They spent good money on them.

Thanks Michele - that's so kind! I'm more than happy to supply you with a fix of Jake, does me good too. I'm going to check out some of this Rendition buzz over te weekend. I've not had chance to do it during the week beyond saving the links. I want to give it some serious thought before I post on it.

Anonymous said...

Barla sounds good - I should give it a try ...please enjoy your whiskey, WDW.

Dani, thanks - I started to fear I am the only one who was bored...the film sounds really interesting and Todd Haynes is a great director. Release date over here is january 2008....

One of my dreams is it to go back about 30 years and watch Jimi Hendrix live - he is my hero.

Wasn´t there a movie not long ago where Hayden Christensen played Dylan?? With Sienna Miller? As far as I remember, Dylan was not amused and tried to prevent it.

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Thanks Carla I am sorry for misspelling your name. I'm wnjoying the whiskey, just knocking a glass down now before bed.

Now Jimi Hendrix was something else. I never really got on with Bob Dylan - so much good music to choose from then. Hendrix had style.

You're ringing some bells with talk of the old Dylan movie. I wonder what Dylan ill make to this one, especially being portrayed by a woman!

Anonymous said...

Great post, Carla. I was never lucky enough to see him in concert. It's always been about his words and what he has to say for me. So many great songs! He's right up there with the Beatles for me. I'm looking forward to seeing I'm Not There. :)

Anonymous said...

No need to apologize - to say it with Jake "I love that shit"...

Before I go to bed here is an interesting bit from Jeff Wells "Hollywood Elsewhere" about Rendition:

http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/archives/2007/08/
goldsteins_rend.php

I love the second comment....:-))

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Well, g'night everyone! Thanks so much for all your comments. Carla thanks for the link, I'll add that to my research this weekend. Always good to be busy when it's because of Jake. Have a good night everyone and a fab weekend - cheers! :D

sass said...

WDW:) Heath's pic is savored and saved.
You're wonderful. I went right over to the web site and registered.:) This trailer, though I could see and hear the trailer on the other web site last week, has much better sound and picture quality.

As for the review; this film all ready has people engaged in heated discussion around the net, and it's two months from opening. If this is a "message" film, tedious and boring, it's obviously one that inspires passion.

Our government is not supposed to engage in these practices. I knew we engaged in this practice, but had no idea of the name. Some of my friends say OK get the information any way you can, while others are shocked and disheartened as I am .

Hmmmmm..methinks I smell an agenda. To each his own; the Limey was a good movie, but I preferred Traffic. What does that say about me?;)

I'm not in one of the people groups, he named, who would go to see this "important" movie.
I'm an aging Gyllenhaalic: I have to go, Jake Gyllenhaal is starring.*woot*
nitenite WDW:)

Anonymous said...

There are a lot of artists that don't want to revisit the past. They just want to keep going forward with what pleases THEM. I know one should be happy about what they are doing, but a big part of that should come from how happy they make the fans that have followed them for forty odd years!

That, said....I love Jimi Hendrix - NOW! I didn't appreciate his music when I was young and he was still alive. Looking back, he was definitely ahead of his time as a black artist. Of course he is an example of playing the music that pleased him instead of bowing to what was expected. Unfortunately we will never know if he would have continued to take us to the edge as he did.

Anonymous said...

“The Good Intentions and Important Message are hammered at you with typical Oscar-baiting Hollywood subtlety. There’s no room for the audience member to bring anything of their own to the movie”

Carla - good to see you around. The reviewer seems peeved about something doesn't he? Makes me even more eager to see the film! Seeing that people are not really aware or sensitised to what really goes on in the name of getting information, I think the message will bear some hammering! "Anything of their own" -- doubt? disbelief? I'll be happy if the film sets these to rest. Well, I do get a little passionate about the subject!

"One a the reasons I love this site is we all apologize so sweetly for our typos. It's so dear. "

Pia I so agree -- there is an intimacy here which I've not seen anywhere. And I love your humor about Uncle Bob!
My current favorite line from Dylan:
"Oh, where have you been, my blue-eyed son?"

It's good to find lovers of Hendrix. WDW great that you're into Pink Floyd. My mom adored them. I'm so happy that you are liking the new job.

Dylan's "singing" is an acquired taste(yes I acquired it from Day One) but the lyrics - I can just sit and read them over and over.

Anonymous said...

Yes, Incognita, Dylan's lyrics are/were brilliant. And I actually love the sound of his voice. I listen to his old stuff on the way to work quite often. He is a bit more difficult to understand now days. That's why his new music does not appeal to me. I don't know what he is saying. It could be just as brilliant as before for all I know. At least if he sang all those incredible classics that we know and love it wouldn't matter whether we understand him now because we remember the words!

Anonymous said...

Wow, WDW, I just had to come back and say that incredibly large picture of Heath is amazing. At first I had clicked on the picture to enlarge it. Now I actually clicked on the link and all I can say again is WOW!

Anonymous said...

I've always loved Bob Dylan's voice, and his words are pure poetry - commentary of turbulent times, and some very earthy and romantic. Almost too many to name, but some of my favorites are "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall", "Tangled Up In Blue", "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here with You", "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright", "Lay Lady Lay", "Simple Twist of Fate" and of course, the Brokeback connection of "He Was A Friend of Mine." I loved Joan Baez' "Diamonds and Rust" about her relationship with him. Jimi Hendrix was great too. :)

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad you mentioned "Diamonds and Rust" by Joan Baez. When I started reading about this film, it made me remember that gorgeous song. Just beautiful isn't it? And it's on youtube.

Anonymous said...

Thatnks so much for another wonderful post! WDW. A night out sounds great!! That one article I read about Rendition, said very well done. Well acted, wonderfully cast, intelligent script, excellent direction. Compared it structurally to Traffic and Syriana. As for the demographic it will appeal to, I imagine anyone who is a fan of those actors, and people who like political thrillers,and yes, the people who know what "rendition" means will want to see it too.I would think people who liked Syriana will see this. It's not a general, wide release film, IMO. I'm sure it will defnitely find it's audience. I think it will do well in overseas markets too.

Anonymous said...

Thanks everyone for reminding us about Diamonds and Rust. I love Joan Baez and yes, I love the sound of Dylan's voice too... very different! And for me it will always be about the wind -- he taught me to listen to it.

Here are a couple of links about Dylan

Blowin' in the Wind
and
Feeling the Way the Wind Blows

Anonymous said...

Pffft!! Who cares what that reviewer says? He's trivializing the subject by saying he doesn't like "so-called" message movies that hit him over the head with metaphorical sledgehammer, or that's how he perceives it. I think Rendition is going to be great, and can't wait to see it. I loved Syriana too, and was crazy about Traffic, especially the Masterpiece Theater version. Something about those blue poppy fields, frightening but hypnotic at the same time. Wonderful movie.

Yes, Anon., I agree, there's no other word to describe "Diamonds and Rust" but gorgeous - the guitar, Joan's voice, and the lyrics. :)

Anonymous said...

Wow, Incognita, that was fascinating, Feeling the Way the Wind Blows. Thank you for that. I did see that documentary about Dylan. It is puzzling in a way that someone who could write such lyrics had no interest in being an activist, but I guess I can understand that he was an observer. That's important too.
Good night, all! :*

Anonymous said...

Another great post AND conversation.

Dylan's early songs are brilliant -- sung by others, IMO. Peter, Paul and Mary did justice to them and made them understandable. I never could understand Dylan very well.
Joan Baez' Diamonds and Rust is a classic, such an interesting, personal perspective on Dylan. My favorite description: the unwashed phenomenon, which is exactly how I always thought of him.

That Lance Carmichael review is interesting and reminded me of -- dare I say it? -- Crash. I can't wait to see Rendition for myself. I have a feeling my take will be quite different from Carmichael's. LOL

Anonymous said...

Guess Ive seen Dylan as an activist; he was down south with civil rights workers in the 60s, and his political songs are mighty powerful: esp. masters of war. sings out on issues.

I hear he's hard to understand, in concert, these days, unless you know the songs, but I dont find him so in recordings I love his late stuff: Love's Theft, End of Time, Modern Times. He's got a radio show on satellite where he plays pieces he likes and makes commentary. A pal recorded one show for me - so I heard it once.
otherwise, i havent the faintest idea who has "satellite" radio. is there an alternate universe out there?

Anonymous said...

More great conversation going on here! :D

I think Dylan is a true poet. His lyrics are brilliant. But I do agree with those that have a hard time understanding his singing now. His older songs he sang beautifully, but now it is harder to make out what he is saying.

I have never seen him in concert by himself but I was very fortunate to go to the special anniversary concert they had for him in NYC. It was every artist you could ever want to see. George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Pearl Jam, Neil Young, Stevie Wonder, amoung many more all with Dylan. It was an amazing night. Clapton did "Don't Think Twice It's All Right" as a blues song, Pearl Jam did "Masters of War", they all sang on "My Back Pages", etc. The only bad thing was that was the concert that people booed Sinead O'Connor. I was not one of them and was pretty shocked to see that happen.

WDW, I love that you are into Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett (RIP) era PF! I saw them once and it was a great concert.

And I am always happy to see the U2 love here (mentioned in previous threads). I LOVE them and especially Bono!!

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Hi everyone - weekend at last - great:D Thanks for all of your comments and for all of this feeling about Bob Dylan. Just wonderful.

Hey Sass - I'm glad you liked the picture of Heath - and you Dani! - he looks so young. I know he is young but sometimes he doesn't seem it, o me anyway. The trailer on the official site is way better than the other one, the sound is very good too.

The subject of Rendition and whether it is a suitable topic for a movie is bound to divide people and to divide reviewers. Not least because the whole practice of rendition is illegal and is usually denied I believe. I imagine that, as the film appears to show a CIA interrogator's change of heart, it comes down on one side, but I would hope the whole issue is dealt with in all its complication. We must wait and see...

Hi Incognita - I agree that Bob is definitely an acquired taste. I lovethe lyrics and usually like the tune, but not his voice so much. I tend to like cover versions I suppose. Hey Beckela you seem to agree with me! :D

And yes, I love early Floyd :D

Hi Marina - oh how I love He was a Friend of Mine and I think Nelson sings it perfectly. I must listen to that Joan Baez song, that you and Anon recommend. I'm not generally into that sort of music but I'll have a listen.

Hi Bobbyanna - I hink Rendition will appeal to people across borders as this practice is unlikely to be confined just to the US. I do hope it gets a good release though, in enough cinemas. I want Jake to be seen more widely.

Hi Pia satellite radion indeed - for me radio is something you listen to in the car. I do like the lyrics of Dylan's songs but I'm not much of a folk music lover myself.

hey Get Real - what a great concert to go to! I'd love that way more than a Dylan concert myself. To see George Harrison - I adore George. I saw Pink Floyd myself years ago. Of te names you mention I also like Stevie Wonder very much, and Neil Young. They booed Sinead O'Conner - not good. I have all of her albums and although I sometimes don't agree with what she says, she says it beautifully.

Oh yes, love U2 - the band I want to see more than any other. I missed them on the steps of the Palais in Cannes by a night.

Oh and Sass - absolutely! If Jake's in a movie, I'm going to see it and see it and see it. I guess that's what it all boils down to. It's good that Jake's choice of films mean I learn something but that's not my primary goal :D

Anonymous said...

Beceka, I liked the reference to Dylan as "the original vagabond" in Diamonds and Rust too. I love that these songs paint a picture or tell a story - a balladeers.

This discussion has made me think of one of my favorite examples of Bob Dylan's romantic poetry, from Tangled Up In Blue (as I'm listening to it):

She lit a burner on the stove, and offered me a pipe

"I thought you'd never say hello," she said. "You look like the silent type"

Then she opened up a book of poems and handed it to me,

Written by an Italian poet
from the fifteenth century,

And everyone of them words rang true and glowed like burnin' coal

Pourin' off of every page
like it was written in my soul from me to you

Tangled up in blue


Makes me weak in the knees! I'm looking forward to this movie. :)

Anonymous said...

oops, that should read "they're balladeers".

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Marina - 'tangled up in blue' - what a lovely way to describe how I feel so much of the time :D