Rufus on Jake: 'Him, I don't look at as a mother. With him I'm completely predatorial'

WDW favourite Rufus Wainwright is playing in Wilmington, Delaware, tonight and he's been interviewed (on the phone from backstage in Washington DC) by The News Journal of Delaware to mark the occasion. Rufus is asked about Jake Gyllenhaal and I absolutely adore Rufus' answer.


'I know Jake quite well, mainly because he'll admit he's a pretty fanatical Wainwright fan. He's been snooping around for a while, which has been lovely. Him, I don't look at as a mother. With him, I'm completely predatorial and willing to go anywhere, but I'm pretty sure he's straight. So that's not gonna -- whatever. We're fine. So I see him in Hollywood, and he's become quite a friend actually.'


I see this as a perfect excuse (as if I needed one) to repeat yet again one of my favourite moments of 2007. Good way to start the weekend.



'What you want and what is the truth are always two different things'

In David Fincher's interview with Jeffrey Wells that I posted yesterday, the discussion moved to Rendition and whether the character of Douglas Freeman was actually believable and how that passivity in the face of such horror would not be something David would normally associate with Jake's character. Jake would want to overpower him, David said.


So as a response, and because I love looking at Jake talking so earnestly and thoughtfully about a subject he's loath to make light of, here is a video interview in which Jake talks about the morality of the decision facing Douglas as well as Hollywood's role in enlightening audiences about some of the more disturbing events going on in the wider world.




Hollywood's role is to aid discussion - that's all it can do - and in America one is fortunate that the discussion is allowed. There's GyllenSpeak to relish here too: 'I don't know how anybody does anything good by thinking they're doing the right thing' and 'What you want and what is the truth are always two different things and I think that's like the human struggle.' Is there a translator in the house? But guess which scene Jake selected as his favourite from Rendition? A clue - it features Meryl and Peter.


Talking of translators needed... Here is an interview with Jake, and produced in German, in which he talked more about the role of politics and Hollywood. When asked if actors should use their celebrity to promote politics, Jake replies that he doesn't consider what actors have to say particularly interesting. Journalists should, in his opinion, ask politicians not actors for their political opinions because they have more power - and they are potentially more dangerous. Jake is asked whether he, and George Clooney, choose roles for a cause. He replies that he chooses roles that are concerned with emotions and with how humans relate to one another and not for a political statement. If the audience isn't affected then what's the point? 'George Clooney would probably say something similar to you, only funnier and more articulate.' However, Jake then goes on to say that every choice whether to make a film or not is inevitably political and all films are political to some extent.


I find it interesting that it sounds as though Jake and the other actors managed to turn off from the horror of the torture enacted in the film by the sound of 'Cut!' and simply walking off set. But I suppose that is a crucial ability.



Includes pictures from IHJ.