Jake - I wanted to see something else and not be the boy in the bubble

The good news is that I actually managed to see my way all the way through the Rendition press conference without it juddering and stalling. So I feel safer posting the link. It worked for me by letting it play a bit and then pausing it and resuming the action. It's well worth a watch and I'm pleased to say that I have now learned the name of the lovely actress Nineb Oukach, who, I think, had a strange time of it in Toronto, a little like Omar Metwally. These are unfamiliar actors being paraded around with their much more famous colleagues and sometimes it seemed like they may have felt left behind. This was almost literally true with Nineb as her car didn't show to pick her up from the press conference and she looked like she was trying to hitch a lift with another of the actors. Interesting that Peter forgot his passport!


There are other videos too - and I hope that these two play successfully on every type of PC and in every country. The first one is from Hello and contains an interesting discussion by Jake Gyllenhaal about the use of colours in Rendition - how, despite the bright colours of North Africa, Jake's character should be dressed in muted colours. The second video is from Entertainment Weekly, and I'm grateful to Nadine for the link. Don't be put off by the title 'Just a minute with George Clooney' - click on the video about the beginning of TIFF and, even though it has Brad Pitt's face on it, the video begins with Rendition. It includes more red carpet interviews with Jake and Reese and a new clip of Jake from the film. This isn't in the trailer - give yourself a treat and watch it, it's only very slightly spoilery and it contains one of my favourite lines from the film.



I was struck by two quotes from Jake today as I was looking through some links - one serious and one delightfully Jake. Jake tells Entertainment Weekly 'Like, people say about Rendition, ''You made a political movie.'' And I'm like, well, I didn't think about that. Like I told you, I wanted to see what it was like when I wasn't the guy in the truck watching the other guy walk away and being torn up. I wanted to be not torn up. I wanted to see what that would feel like. I didn't want to be the boy in the bubble. [Giggles] I wanted to see something else.' I love these references to Jake's earlier films and his awareness that with Rendition he's moving into new territory, but that he still feels the pain of Jack Twist's decision.


Jake is then asked: 'This is maybe the most grown-up role you've ever had to date. Was that also part of your thinking?' to which he replies, 'It's nice to deal with issues a little bit ahead of yourself, you know? Things you don't totally understand. To struggle with those things, yeah, it feels a little bit more mature.' It's also good to hear at the end that Jake is happy to now be an experienced hand at Toronto, to be part of the in crowd, to know some of the journalists and to be aware of what's going on around him.


The other quote - or anecdote really - is to do with Jake's music tastes - one of my favourite Jake subjects. E! Online informs us that Jake is a backpacker! 'Jake Gyllenhaal Is a Backpacker: Don't know what that means? It's a term used to describe die-hard hip-hop fans, and I call him that because he told me he is loving the new Talib Kweli album right now. Our interview for his latest film, Rendition (costarring Reese Witherspoon), got really intense because, let's face it, it's about a suspected terrorist who's detained and tortured. To lighten the mood, I asked Jake if he still had the Indigo Girls on his iPod, something he told me several years back. Didn't see that one coming, did ya!'


Finally today, I read this interesting article in the Toledo Blade about what TIFF is like for the media, running around to get their exclusives while missing what's under their nose, in this case Jake and Reese going into the Intercontinental, the fourth of TIFF's hotels where junkets and parties are held. 'Jake Gyllenhaal climbed from a black SUV and entered the hotel. The reporter, untangling his legs from the cables, didn't notice. But now the crowd did. Gyllenhaal walked without breaking stride through the lobby, entered a bank of elevators, moved to the back of the car, stepped out on the third floor, and passed three more entertainment reporters, who didn't notice him, either.' At the gala itself: 'About 500 people stood behind barricades and stood on the stone wall of a nearby church. Over and over, they shouted "Reeeeeeeese!" and "JAAAAAAKKKKE!" Flashes went off and off and off. For minutes at a time, they held their positions on tip toes, sank down to their heels, then rose back to tip toes, dipping and rising and dipping. A large teenage girl shouted at a police officer to step aside so she could take a picture. He ignored her until she yelled, "I'm going over," and began climbing the fence. "No you're not," he said. "Here I go," she yelled, then climbed down.'


I sympathise, I nearly strained a muscle trying to get a glimpse of Charlize Theron's head and Andre Benjamin. Sienna Miller had the right idea, she walked out of the front door of the Hazelton with a big hat on so hardly anyone recognised her and noone got injured.

Includes photos from IHJ.