Catching our eye - Jake, Peter, Maggie

If you're not living on the moon or if you haven't got the internet (which kind of amounts to the same thing), it may have escaped your notice that Jake Gyllenhaal is everywhere on the world wide web today. Jake caught the attention of many by walking across that film set with his three belts and his topless chest - maybe it was the necklace... Anyway, it seems that much of the attention was because some commentators, who seem to recall nothing later than Donnie Darko, simply could not believe that Jake could buff up in such a jaw dropping kind of way.


I was going to post some pictures charting the changing shape of Jake's figure, but instead Sky Showbiz have done it for me. And so here is their look at the 43 shapes of Jake Gyllenhaal. Although they have some of the dates wrong, the pictures are a treat, especially this one - I have been searching for this photograph for such a long time, so many thanks to them for that.


I don't usually post links to such videos, but I've included this video about Jake and his new look because it features a few seconds of film of Jake walking into St Pancras station in London for the Eurostar train to Paris. I love this look on Jake.


Elegy

Jake's prince, of course, will be battling the evil Vizier played by Sir Ben Kingsley, who has just appeared in Elegy alongside Penelope Cruz and the wonderful Peter Sarsgaard. A few days ago I went to see Elegy and I wanted to mention it here to encourage as many of you that can to see this film before it disappears from the few screens that are showing it. (It was particularly memorable because I was interviewed for local TV about whether popcorn should be banned.) Speaking as someone who approaches the works of Philip Roth with some trepidation and not a little fear, I was surprised to see that Elegy was directed by a woman - Isabel Coixet - and I was fully prepared to dislike everything about the self- and sex-obsessed Kepesh (Kingsley).



But instead, despite some wavering, I found myself inhabiting the mind of an ageing man, scared to death that he would no longer be able to pull his young students, a third of his age. It wasn't a particularly engaging place to inhabit - at times it was extremely uncomfortable and skincreeping - but it did mean that when Kepesh met his match in Consuela and he learned his lesson, I melted with him. Peter was a scene stealer as Kepesh's son, who fitted perfectly into society's moulds, except for one - being transformed into a needy child whenever he sees Kepesh. But Peter is so underused. I must say how good it was to see Deborah Harry on the big screen too.


I wonder if Peter has shared with Jake his experiences of working with this formidable and powerful actor, Ben Kingsley. I suspect so.

Best dressed Maggie

Maggie has always appeared to stay true to her own taste in fashion and clothes, not always getting an easy ride for it, but she recently turned many heads with her series of dramatic and completely appropriate outfits for the Dark Knight premieres and publicity events. Maggie made Grazia's top ten list of best dressed women, alongside the more usual figures of Gwyneth Paltrow, Natalie Portman and Kate Hudson.

Heady days for the Gyllenhaal siblings.


With thanks to T for the video link. Includes pictures from links, Contactmusic and About.com.