Monday 28 April 2008

Nailed moves on? Jake 'super well read' Gyllenhaal, and more TDK fun and games

It's possible, according to a blogger's report today, that the Statehouse sequence of filming for Nailed is at an end. The site describes a bunch of suits from the production celebrating finishing that part of the shoot at the pizza restaurant The Whig, on Main Street, Columbia. 'So the new Jessica Biel/Jake Gyllenhaal talkie "Nailed" wrapped up state house filming in Columbia and the producers were in town Saturday night to celebrate, or whatever a celebration amounts to for people with cell phones permanently attached to their ears.'


So it's up to our ears and eyes on the ground in Columbia to let us know if they spot a trailer, a camera or a Jake Gyllenhaal in the neighbourhood during the coming days.

One for the books

Jake Gyllenhaal is a reader and, speaking as someone who has been involved with books for most of their career, I thought today I'd imagine Jake having a quiet evening in his comfy chair, perhaps with a glass of wine balanced precariously on one arm of the chair and a leg thrown decorously over the other.


Aleksia Landeau played Cheryl in Moonlight Mile (the girl who wanted to offer comfort to the grieving Joe). In an interview, she said of Jake: 'He's great. He's super well read. He's very educated and he's got a real thirst to learn both working and outside of work. He's always reading.' Jake's love of reading extended to his choice of names for his dogs, although I must say that Boo is the perfect name for a small, cute dog, irrespective of its literary credentials.


When Chelsea Clinton and Jake interviewed each other for Interview magazine back in 2003, Chelsea, studying in Oxford at the time, asked Jake what he was reading: 'I happen to be rereading my favorite book, [J.D. Salinger's] Franny and Zooey. Have you read that book? CC: I have. Have you also read The Catcher in the Rye? JG: Of course. Many times, actually. CC: How old were you when you first read it? JG: I think I was 12. We went on a family vacation to Hawaii, and my sister gave it to me for Christmas, and I remember I couldn't put it down. You know, my production company is called Nine Stories Productions, which is an homage to J.D. Salinger's book of short stories. After The Catcher in the Rye I read everything he wrote. And now I'm back on another kick, reading them all again.'


'I think now I have an appreciation of the specific more than the broad--the ideas, the sort of Buddhism that pervades all of Salinger's work. You know, I think it's genius that J.D. Salinger doesn't want anybody to make a movie of his book, because there's no way anyone can play it. it is what it is to everybody. I've met many people who actually dislike it. Especially some women I know.'

This led to a rather intriguing discussion by Jake and Chelsea on who has more angst - boys or girls going through puberty. 'I think that male angst, especially in an adolescent boy's life, is very specific. I think girls moving into womanhood go through it earlier and in a somewhat different way. So by the time they're the age where boys start going through it, they've sort of already gone through it, and some people just don't relate.'


'CC: That's interesting. I don't think I've ever encountered anyone who has a vehement dislike for the book. I know people who don't like it as much as I would have anticipated they would, but I've never had the benefit of having to defend why I like it. It's a special experience to read it when you are at the age Holden is in the book. I had to read it in high school, and it really compelled me and my friends to think about where we were in our lives. I would encourage people to read it in the hope that maybe it would have a similar inspirational effect. Did you feel Holden Caulfield-esque while you were making The Good Girl? Do you even agree with your character's interpretation [of the book]?'


'JG: There's something about him that makes me think he's only read that one book. He's so lost that he just sort of takes on this "Holden" persona because he understands it's universal. There's a funny line in the movie where [Jennifer Aniston's character] says to my character, "Your name's Tom?" And he says, "Tom is my slave name. Holden's what I call myself."'

I'm actually finding it hard to finish this post now, because Jake has got my brain ticking - on how we can adopt the thinking of a favourite character in a favourite book and use it as a fireblanket. Before I move on, I have to say that it's never easy to read with a horse looking over your shoulder...


Jake is clearly motivated by the scripts he reads, and/or the books that inspire them - the director is always an important factor for him but he needs to be moved by the written word (although one feels that with the Zodiac script, daunting would be a better word). This was true for Tony Swofford's writing: 'The book spoke to me... Tony Swofford has a certain style, in the same way that Dave Eggers has defined a certain generation of writers, so that when I read 'Jarhead' I really responded to it. I was the right age as all the guys who were going to the Iraq war now, and who were in Desert Storm back in 1990. And there was just something about the aggression, and having a part where you don't have to do hair, no wardrobe or anything. It's just basically you."


It was also true for the short story of Brokeback Mountain: 'I read it and it was beautiful, just beautiful. I knew that I wanted to do it.' Jake told the Independent: 'My agenda is to tell stories that I care about and that move me. And those were two stories that movie me. I didn't go, 'Oh, if I do Brokeback Mountain, it's not gonna put me in a box.' I'm crying after I finished the script and I'm like, 'I will do anything to do this movie.'


So what else have we seen Jake read or heard of him reading? Jake told an annoying interviewer at Cannes that he enjoys the books of chef Jacques Pépin ('He has a very unique understanding of food'). He told another interviewer that he was reading John Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking. And, from the photograph below, a clever reader at IHJ identified the book as Inner Revolution by Jake's Columbia professor Robert Thurman. Jake was also reported to have read Enter the Past Tense: My Secret Life as a CIA Assassin, possibly as a guide for his role in Rendition and, for Brokeback, the actors were all given Farm Boys: Lives of Gay Men from the Rural Midwest. Jake said: 'Before we started shooting, Ang Lee and James [Schamus, the producer] gave us books about first-hand accounts of guys growing up in the Midwest and their encounters with men and their attraction to men, and what that was, and even they didn't understand what it was, or what they were doing.'


The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight egg hunt continues and, thanks to Sheba, we now know that the London section involves something to do with Pall Mall in London at 9pm. More transparently, we also know that five more posters were released today and one of them features Heath.


And finally

During the publicity for Iron Man, Gwyneth Paltrow had something to say about Maggie Gyllenhaal and it's definitely worth repeating: 'Maggie Gyllenhaal in Sherrybaby. She's my favorite, she's the best actress working. I'm obsessed with her. I think she is the real deal.' Never thought I'd say it, but good old Gwyn.


Includes pictures by IHJ, USA Weekend and links.

37 comments:

sheba said...

Yay for Gwynny, something positive about a Gyllenhaal!

Again, your post is deliciously informational, a cornocopia of factoids about Jake and his reading habits, unexpected LOL moments (you know... it is really difficult concentrating on your reading whilst a horse is looking over your shoulder).

*Fangirling* OMGosh, I just love those pics of Jake in shorts and carrying a book, that look is hot and sexy *fangirl off*. His legs actually look great in these particular shorts.

I was so tempted to bunk off work and jump the express train to London and be a part of TDK riddle. WDW, hope you'll having a better day tomorrow than you did today... such possibilities :D

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Hi Sheba! I know, I didn't think I'd see the day when GP would say something good about a Gyllenhaal but here we have blatant adoration - and deserved of course :D

I'm so glad you like the post. It took longer than anticipated as I had such a good time doing it and picking the book pics. And yes, all these different reading outfits ;D

Thanks - hopefully tomorrow should be better :D Jaking always does the trick to help me unwind.

Anonymous said...

Love Jake-in-a-book! Thanks for the theme WDW! Also very nice to hear about TL for Maggie from GP.

I dont know what you mean by "fire blanket" although I know what a fire blanket IS. Please explain or perhaps I missed something as I didnt read all of the interviews, just enjoyed your excerpts.

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Hey Pia - good to see you. What I meant by fire blanket - and I'm not the most literate person in the world and it's been a long day so forgive me! - is that someone like Holden in Good Girl took over the persona of a fictional character (pretty much entirely) and used it as protection and a guard between the real him and the danger outside. I've always found reading more powerful than most other media (except, for me, music) because you can find yourself in it. So that's what I meant by fireblanket - protection and safety.

Jake and books is a very sexy theme for me :D

Anonymous said...

I liked Jake's comment about Holden only having read the one book, that's a great observation :)

Nice post tonight what with Vanity Fair and bookshops 'n' all.

I really didn't understand what was going on last night so it was good to have that cleared up too :)

Hope you are chilled and look forward to seeing you soon *

Anonymous said...

O thanks thats what I figured!

I had a crappy day, too, on the phone all morning with corps and corpses, knockin' on every door to wend my way through the madness of the modern world -

"I saw by your face that you hate the world. . . . I hate the world, too. . . "

not really. I won most of the battles, but who's paying me for my lost time?

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Hey Nouskie :) Feeling much more chilled after some time thinking about Jake and the page. Really looking forward to seeing you soon - not long now :D

Oh Pia - that sounds terrible - glad you came out on top. I was definitely in the mood for some escapism this evening.

Anonymous said...

Horse picture is a hoot. One of my favorites. what's he reading, Jos. Campbell Hero With A Thousand Faces, I bet. Kinda beat-up copy, been lyin about in a manger, maybe.

Escapism on a dark and rainy nite; pea soup and a peanut butter sandwich I think.

Xenia said...

Jake literally inspired me at least to buy an extraordinary book as Infinite Jest by D.Foster Wallace (he was carrying it with him under his muscled arm while heading to a lunch with Sam Mendes during the Summer 2006) even if I haven't finished it yet...man it's HUGE! :)

Thank you for another wonderful post WDW, Jake and books truly is a sexy theme!

Oh and Heath's dreadfully psychopatic Joker never misses to give me the shivers...

sheba said...

Evening Peeps. I get what you mean about the fireblanket. Literature can open up so many worlds, so many possibilities and even unexpected moments of clarity. Jake talks about the line from The Good Girl - I think that just about one of my favourite line and LOL moment of the whole film - completely out of the blue. Jake played Holden perfectly and I understood that CITR was the only book Holden had read and kept regurgitating into his own stories (even the ones given to Justine), screenplays, comics, novels etc......

TDK clues are exciting and it appears that a box will be opened once the clues are deciphered (you've got to be there in London to do this). Just found out the code 35 90 48. I don't think I can get into all this deciphering now - I'd probably end up like Greysmith ;D

Nicole said...

I hate that they won't be filming at the statehouse anymore! now it will be harder to find Jake..unless we find out where they will be filming next

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Hi Xenia! I know those pictures with the book and I was searching for them tonight and couldn't find them. That's a help if I know they're with Sam. That book looked hard going to me. Unfortunately or fortunately Jake takes up so much of my time he's left me with very little opportunity for reading!

Heath's Joker is extremely sexy :)

Hey Sheba - Graysmith, jake and I are all proud of your sleuthin and are relying on you to decipher the next clue!

I find Holden difficult to grasp - I should give him another go.

Hi Nicole! Who knows if this is true or not - they could still be round there. They're supposed to be in Columbia for 10 weeks so hopefully you can find them. Look out for road signs directing crew to the sets - they always do that in London and Oxford. I'll keep listening out for clues to where they may be.

paulh said...

I think I've been the only Gwynneth Paltrow admirer up to now: she did a fantastic job of acting in "Proof." What actor would want to play an almost totally unlikable character?

It took guts for Gwynneth to say that about Maggie G. For what it's worth, "Sherrybaby" is in the collection at my library. I wish Maggie a long and successful career. I can see her doing some of the kinds of roles Susan Sarandon likes when she gets a little older: someone with an edge, but totally gutsy and somewhat noble. Susan blew me away in "White Palace." Maggie had a remarkable blowing-up scene in "Great New Wonderful," and she almost lost it because of the tension in "World Trade Center."
When I see those pictures of Maggie sitting with her father in Paris, I see real character on her face. Maggie can do *anything." She can make a huge difference in the film world.

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Hi Paul :D I know there are other fans of GP here, so you're not alone. She's one of these people where I keep trying to like her but something happens to block it, even though she's made some films that I really love - Shakespeare in Love being one of them - I adore that film.

As for Maggie, she is a wonderful actress - I own Sherrybaby too. I don't find it an easy film to watch but Maggie is mesmerising. I also have World Trade Center on DVD because of Maggie. I'm really looking forward to seeing Maggie doing a lighter role so bring on July 18 and Rachel Dawes :D

You're right. Maggie - and Jake - have real character and it shows through on their faces and in their roles.

Xenia said...

Hey WDW, these are the pics series I was talking about:

http://www.iheartjakemedia.com/thumbnails.php?album=859

:):):)

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Xenia, thanks! I've been looking for those pics :D I hadn't connected the picture of Jake with Sam with the pics of Jake with the book.

The other pic I've been looking for is the one of Jake carrying a Jamie Oliver book - if anyone can help me with that,I'd be very grateful :D

Anonymous said...

I apparently have loads of posts to catch up! And shall spend tomorrow morning doing so... I just glanced through them tonight... good look there, WDW :)

btw, if miso-marinated cod tastes anything like miso-soup, then I am all for it!! plus I am big on "marination" :P

oh yeah, i remember someone did some kick-ass photo-magnifying thing and discovered that Jake was reading David Foster Wallace's novel (infinite jest?)... I was so excited about it! I don't read Wallace's novels, but I love his essays like "a supposed fun thing i'll never do again" and "consider the lobster", plus he's a huge fan of David Lynch, I love that man (err... David F Wallace and David Lynch)... and Jake, heh!

oh my... that TDK poster... i can't wait to see it now.

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Hey, welcome back Winterbird :D Hope you had a good time! I've read bits and pieces of Wallace - I remember too when it was found what Jake was reading here. I have a real weakness for that brain of Jake's :)

That TDK poster is soemthing else...

Anonymous said...

Hi WDW..and everyone. I had to comment..because, whilst I like "Franny and Zooey", "The Catcher in The Rye" is my favorite book. I read it for the first time in high school and have read it over and over again at different times in my life at various ages..it is amazing how the book is different everytime I read it. I was pleased to see that some of Jake's reading habits and mine were the same!! I suppose he gets a lot of reading done when he is on location sans friends, pets, and family. Thanks Kate for all the luscious photos of Jakey and his books...your site is the best!!

Michele

Anonymous said...

Hi, all! (Waves to WDW!) Very interesting post...once again.

I went thru a period where I carried J.D. Salinger around the way some people carry a Bible! I read Franny and Zooey and Catcher several times, also Nine Stories more then once! Salinger was a very fascinating guy. I was always on lookout for articles about him. Didn't leave him behind 'til I reached my 30's! I was convinced Holden and Franny were real people, which, in a way, they are.

Books have always been important in my life.My father introduced me to Lewis Carroll, Wordsworth, Tennyson, Keats, & Shelly.Dickens was our all time favorite. I need books as much as I need oxygen!

"Iam big on "marination" :P"

I am big on marination as well. In fact,I spent a lot of time in marination,but that was long years ago, in my misspent youth!

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Morning everyone:D

Hey Michele! I read Catcher in the Rye so many years ago - maybe I should give it another go. I'd have tought there'd be plenty of time for reading on a set.

hi Bobbyanna :) I should get you to draw up a reading list for me. My knowledge of literature seens to stop about 1880 but I am pretty good with 16th- and 17th-century stuff ;D

have a good day everybody :D

Ruby said...

ah Jake and books. Interesting post WDW. I'm so glad I am finally getting my house redecorated and organised so that I can unpack the many boxes of books that have been in the loft and understairs cupboard since we moved in over three years ago! I'll then have to start re-reading them all. :D

Paul, I loved White Palace. Susan was great in that. She picks interesting characters - strong but with weaknesses :)

I think TDK is going to be the first Batman movie where I want the villain to come out on top and kick Batsy's ass! :D.

Anonymous said...

Another excellent post, WDW! Well-read and erudite Jake is very sexy, love the pics of him in the bookshops and reading, and hearing about some of his favorite books.

KeepCalm+CarryOn said...

I'm with you there Rubes,big style!

Hi WDW,sorry I went AWOL for a few days,my get up and go just got up and went ;-)

This was such an interesting post and fills me with guilt because it's such a long time since I finished a book and yet I used to be an avid reader(my Mom and Dad swear I'm short-sighted now because they caught me so often reading with a torch under the bedclothes when I was meant to be asleep.

My husband loves another of Jake's favourite books,"To Kill A Mockingbird" maybe because he read it when he was younger. I think that books that really grip you when you're young,finding your way,and your emotions very close to the surface, stay with you as "friends" forever.

In the last couple of years I've tried "TKAMB" several times and not being gripped by the first chapter, I gave up on it. These days,if a book doesn't really reel me in from the off, I just find myself quite literally losing the plot and thinking about "real life" concerns.

I feel quite sad that reading isn't the escape from reality for me that it once was. I really must read "Catcher In The Rye" though because I love "The Good Girl"so much, adored Holden as Jake inhabited him and was desperate for Justine to just throw caution to the winds and leave with him.If I read the book and got into Holden's psyche even more,GG would probably break me up even more than it does already. Time for a revisit, I think.

Boo is indeed a great name for a really cute little dog,WDW,but I remember laughing at a small ad,read out once on a favourite topical radio show of mine,which said something like "Lost. Black and white female cat. Extremely timid. Answers to the name of 'Boo'!" That must be the only time I've laughed rather than cried at the "Lost and Found" column.

And as for Heath and TDK - just requires all the superlatives you can think of. I have just seen a clip on Youtube of the latest TDK trailer which just knocked me for six! Even with the dubious quality of a pirated (tut,tut) filming of the cinema trailer, the film as a whole, and Heath in particular,are going to be just unbelievably brilliant. It was compelling to watch because Heath's embodiment of evil is both chilling and so damned hot in equal measure,deformed and devilish yet so,so seductive...and heartbreaking to watch because it is one of the last masterly performances we'll ever have from someone we love and admire so much.
Sometimes I hate the world.....

paulh said...

Maybe WDW stands for "Well-read, dark, and wise." ;-)

Anonymous said...

I hope that "Nine Stories", as the name of Jake's production company, is a sign of fine films to come.

By the way can someone enlighten me as to why actors initiate their own production copanies early in their careers? Do they begin to invest moneh in these?

Salinger is almost ninety, now, assuming he's still alive if not kicking.

I printed out the Jake and Horse and Book photo to add to my fridge pix. Its darlin'

Its dark and rainy with temps below freezing tonight, gotta haul in my pansies for a fwe nights. Brrr and grrrr.

Yhanks everybody for lively comments! And I like the concept of fire blanket, WDW: Jack and Ennis were fireblanket for me sure enuff.

Anonymous said...

p.s.
"I think TDK is going to be the first Batman movie where I want the villain to come out on top and kick Batsy's ass!"

Yeah, Batsky, why so serious? :D :D

BirdGirl said...

Another great post WDW.

I just love a well read man. And it is always good to see a pic from the VF shoot.

I didn't read Catcher in the Rye until after seeing TGG. We never had to read it in school. I didn't care for it when I first started reading it but I grew attached to the character after a while. All in all I found it very moving.

Today I have a little more love for GP. She clearly has good taste in actresses (and men).

Anonymous said...

Nothing sexier than Bookreading Jake! A man with brains, talent and looks...swoon. These pics are just beautiful. Like a lot of you I truly love books and am a fan of Salinger.

Good quote from Gwyneth! Maggie is amazing. Wish she had also given some love to her former co-star Jake.

I do want to see TDK for Heath, Maggie, Chris Nolan, etc. Great poster.

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Hi everybody got home, soaked through to the skin - harrumpf :( Thanks for the comments - what an interesting discussion, wish I could have been here. I apologise for all typos here and in the post tonight as I cut my finger today and I'm plastered;D

Rubes! glad to hear you can shelve your books at last. I had to give away my books when I moved into such a small flat - sob. Mind you, at least that way they don't remind me that I've no time to read any of them. Love the Batsy comment :D

Hey Bertie :D I'm very pleased you liked the literary post.

Good to see you Nadine - I do hope you're feeling much better :) We miss you when you're not about. Like you, I a booklover with no time to finish them, but unfortunately I can't do this site and find time to read in the evenings.

I heard about the new trailer - supposed to have had quite an imapct on the audience. Role on July 18 and yet what a reminder that Heath won't be there to enjoy the fanfare. Nevertheless, that will also be a good day.

Good one, Paul!

Hey Pia :D Hope you're warming up a bit there. It's so wet here. It is strnge about movie youngsters having production companies - I wonder if it's a money and investment thing to some degree.

Hi Bird Girl - love the Vanity Fair shoot. It was a real task to watch that again to get the pic... Not! Yep, me too, about GP, a little more love today.

Hey there Get Real! Reading Jake is a Sexy Jake, yep, definitely. I can imagine Jake in a pub talking earnestly about the latest book that grabbed his imagination and wanting to share it.

Ruby said...

'By the way can someone enlighten me as to why actors initiate their own production copanies early in their careers? Do they begin to invest moneh in these?'

I dunno. I guess it's partly investing the money while they are earning it ('cause you never know when the offers will dry up) and for tax reasons maybe. Like holding the money as a business asset is more efficient that as a personal asset or something.

Just musing. I have no idea about this stuff and I'm never likely to earn the kind of money that warrants canny tax efficient investments. :)

ugh, it's wet. :(

Anonymous said...

Thank you WDW for the report about Jake and his being a voracious reader. I love reading too. I wonder if he has the time for it now.

I am going to look for that book "Farm Boys" this is the first time I've heard that they were given this book while filming BBM. I know that Heath was inspired by his friend Adam Sutton to do Ennis. Adam is a real life cowboy in OZ and wrote a book about his experience called "Say it Outloud"

thanks again

Trekfan

Anonymous said...

I think an actor's own company can be useful for negotiating. Maybe when considering a role, Jake can ask that a certain amount of capital be allocated to his company for some aspects of marketing a film or distributing a film or used in some way during the making and selling of the film.Total speculation here.

He may not actively be producing yet, but it MIGHT definitely figures in to some part of the filmmaking process from a business perspective.

Let's say his publicist works for Nine Stories, and Warner Bros Pictures has to pay Nine Stories for that PR function. This also allows Nine Stories to start establishing a "track record" in the business, setting up the possiblity of future partnerships on other stuff.
I really have no idea!

WDW! You know you are the leading intellectual here ;D!!! I have this really huge "gap" in my literary education. I read the some of the ancients.Shakespeare's a dear good friend. Marlowe, Francis Bacon, etc. Even Beowulf, and Canterbury Tales, Boccacio, etc.

But I'm more comfortable from the 18th & 19th century,on. History and English Literature were my most favorite subjects in school!

For the longest time, I wanted to be an archaeologist! Still have dreams of going on a dig...close to civilization...indoor plumbing!

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Hi Ruby - that's what I was thinking too but really I have little idea and I'm sure Jake has someone sort it all out for him :D

Hey Trekfan - Farm Boys sounds like something I'd like to read too. I didn't know that about Adam Sutton - thanks :)

Hi Bobbyanna! Nothing intellectual about me, I fear, although I do try now and again. But the names Beowulf, Canterbury Tales etc just have such a grip on me. Old and Middle English poetry and tales have always been my favourite - so vivid and colourful. The world seemed to look different then. I think that's why I enjoy film so much - the colour it puts on things.

I am a big fan of 18th and 19th century literature though - I love Bleak House and Fielding.

I've been paying the price today for my ten years doing field archaeology - my knees have gone rusty with the damp!

Anonymous said...

Knees? What are those??? I have no knees left! My favorite nun, Sister Basil, used to read all that stuff aloud to us. She was huge and and a huge voice as well.;)

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Hey Bobbyanna, you looked like you had knees when I saw you :DD All right, so I can't compete on knees... I've got a cut finger?

I love to have poems read to me :D

paulh said...

I'm ready a big, fat, thick book by Colleen McCullough. It's "Antony and Cleopatra," and it's very lively. The Roman mindset was so very different from our own.....