A troublesome path - Nailed and UMP take a step

Although we must now wait longer than it is reasonable to expect any Gyllenhaalic to have to wait for Jake Gyllenhaal to bear arms (and, hopefully, chest) as the Prince of Persia, some comfort and not a little relief can be taken from the news today that Nailed might still be a goer.


According to Hollywood Reporter, David Bergstein, the man responsible for ThinkFilm and Capitol Film, still holds that Nailed will have an early 2009 release, even though other films in their production line have been cancelled or sold - or just not spoken about. Nailed may seem like the one bankable asset that should be held onto at all cost but even so there is still debate about just how much work still needs to be done on the film, and not just in post-production: 'Bergstein said the guild problems have been resolved and that the movie only needs two days of pickup shots; others said scenes crucial to the film are missing. In any case, additional days were funded and the film will arrive on schedule in early 2009.'


The article makes for complicated and painful reading and shows how one man managed to antagonise much of Hollywood while winning a ranking position on the unions' hitlists - a co-founder of ThinkFilm says that recent events at the company have broken his heart. we remember that in Toronto employees lost theior jobs. If Nailed does make it to some screens early next year, it may well be by the skin of its teeth.


And with an eye on Jake's future projects, last night the Possible Dreams auction took place in Martha's Vineyard. The event was attended by Doug Liman who saw his lot - a visit to the set of the Unnamed Moon project - go for $8,500. Rather intriguingly, the winning bidder has also been offered the opportunity to help write the script. 'Mr. Liman said he had already talked to winner Mr. Burstein, whose son David is a young filmmaker, about sitting in on the writing process for the film at Mr. Liman’s home as a part of the dream.'

This suggests three things: 1) UMP will happen; 2) we shouldn't hold our breath; 3) Doug may need more help with the script than he's letting on - so time to start sending in some ideas.


Apparently Doug has been involved with the auction for several years: 'For Mr. Liman, whose father gave dreams for several years himself, the annual fund-raiser is unique. “People who come to the Vineyard are committed to it not being a playground for the rich and famous,” he said. Last year Mr. Liman paid for a day’s horseback riding with Clarissa Allen of Chilmark. “It was the most magical day I’ve ever had on the Vineyard. It was truly irreplaceable. No one but her could have offered that ride,” said Mr. Liman adding that Mrs. Allen secured permission from up to 20 neighboring residents in order to plot the course of their ride. “You don’t get to do that even if you’re a billionaire. It’s access to something truly unique that’s not doable anywhere else,” he said.'

You can see some pictures of the event here.


Perhaps not surprisingly considering how few teens went to see Rendition, Jake did not win the Teen Choice Movie Actor Award. The award (and surfboard - that'll look snug on the mantelpiece) went instead to an actor I've never heard of but teens clearly have, Channing Tatum. But now you can vote for Jake in that regular summer event, the Hello Magazine monthly vote for most attractive man. This time, Jake is up against the likes of Christian Bale, James McAvoy, Hugh Jackman and Colin Firth - so no competition there then - and, at the time of posting, Jake is in the lead. I'm sure I'm not the only one to recall the bloody battle aginst Jon Bon Jovi back in 2006 (which we won, of course).


And very many happy returns of the day from everyone at WDW to IHJ's gorgeous Stephanie!! Happy Birthday! So who's hidden the cake...?

Pictures from IHJ.