Nailed needs men, Tom is my slavename, and the Joker leaves his mark

The Nailed production may have gone underground - in a manner of speaking - but it's still going on full steam ahead, judging by today's call for more extras. Now they want 'adult males and senior citizens', for scenes to be shot this Thursday. Another site elaborated - the project needs men aged 30-80. I guess that rules me out then.


I saw in your eyes that you hate the world. I hate it too.

Last night's post led to a discussion of The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger and Holden so I thought I'd include a little about The Good Girl here.



One reason why Jake Gyllenhaal took the role was because Maggie fell for it: 'When Jake was approached at the Sundance Film Festival for the role of Holden, his sister urged him to consider it... 'I told him to take that person seriously,' recalls Maggie Gyllenhaal. 'The script is so smart and (director) Miguel Arteta is so awesome. We're good critics for each other, in a way,' she adds. 'I think that he, more than anybody, can see in my work what is honest and maybe dishonest and vice versa.''

The role of Holden was difficult to cast, Miguel Arteta said, because 'You need a guy whose sadness you can really believe in the beginning, and you can believe how deranged he gets by the end of the movie... It was hard, but Jake has the range.'


Jake has sometimes spoken about how he is not too good at auditions but his approach for the Good Girl audition was different and, one would have thought, not promising. ''In a real actorly moment, Jake got really wrapped up and he picked up a chair and put a hole in the wall, just threw it against the wall,' says Arteta. 'And Jennifer and I, who had heard about the new paint job, we just turned to Mike in horror. Mike was like, 'He should get the part, but I hope he pays me back for our wall.''

In this interview, Jake also mentiones The Catcher in the Rye: 'It was actually the first book I related to when I was young.'


Incidentally, The Good Girl featured Jennifer Aniston's very first love scene. Brad Pitt, her husband at the time, had joked 'Be nice to the guy. He's just a kid!', while Jake kidded(?) 'That's the only reason I did the movie' (People, 2002). Of Jennifer, Jake said 'Audiences will be blown away by Jennifer. She really goes further as an actor than she ever has, and it was a blast to do this.'


Interestingly, Jake has on several occasions compared his experience of filming Brokeback Mountain's love scenes to diving into a pool. Jennifer described her Good Girl experience in the same way, saying of Jake and herself: 'We met each other and adored each other right off the bat. It was easy. As for the bedroom scene, we just bit the bullet, man, it was quick. Miguel (Arteta, the director) had it all set up and ready to go. It was two takes and we were done. You just dive in fast and furious as you can. Like diving into a cold pool' (Seattle Post, 2002). Jennifer told the Sun 'He's so young it felt wrong - like doing it with a child... I was shaking.'


Jake and Gwyn

Also yesterday we heard Gwyneth Paltrow talk about her admiration for Maggie Gyllenhaal. To repay the compliment, here Jake is asked about what it was like for him to work with actors and directors of such a high calibre: 'In some ways it's overwhelming but in other ways it's exactly the kind of steps you want to be taking so you can learn from people who are at the top of your profession. I've always thought that Gwyneth Paltrow is one of the best actresses around, and I think that Ang Lee is one of the most intelligent and sensitive directors. So these are great moments for me and I'm lucky to be getting these kinds of chances when I haven't done that many films yet. But I'll make the leap as long as I don't blow it! (Laughs)'


The Joker leaves his mark

Last night some lucky people who were able to decipher some mindbending 'clues' that would have baffled Zodiac hunter Graysmith himself saw a new trailer for The Dark Knight. Not only that, some of them walked away with movie reels marked by the Joker himself. One witness to the London viewing has put pictures on his site, which show the Joker's mark on the reels. I find it all mesmerising but also, seeing Heath's face like this, on these reels, it's very chilling. But thanks to the blogger for sharing his experience.


Includes pictures from IHJ and links.