Sunday 25 October 2009

[Updated] Jake and Stephen Gyllenhaal in NYC - and 'if anyone tries to get into the kitchen with me, I'll kick their butt'

Update: It's been a while, but today we have new pictures of Jake Gyllenhaal - here he is out and about today (25 October) in NYC with father Stephen and a very big bag. Good to see you, Jake! Source.





On with the post...

With all quiet on the Gyllenfront, I thought I'd break into the attic, creak open the cobwebbed WDW archive chest and dust off a parchment from those distant days of 2002. Settle back with a big, fluffy cushion, a mug of cocoa perched on the armchair, and listen to Jake.

The scene is set: '"strangely lovable." That's Jake. Whether impersonating a coal miner's son who dreams of building a rocket in "October Sky" or a demon-ridden teenager in the glorious midnight cult flick "Donnie Darko," Gyllenhaal is unwaveringly lovable in a rummy, I-was-a-teenage-alien fashion.'


'Maybe it's the ungainly tension between the searching billiard-ball eyes, the sprawling piecrust lips and the sinewy track-runner frame. Whatever he's got, he has dodged the generic teen-comedy trap and created a uniquely off-center niche among his peers. And thanks to his character's moonstruck obsessions over Jennifer Aniston and Catherine Keener in "The Good Girl" and "Lovely and Amazing," respectively, he has also become a kind of media poster boy for younger man-older women romances. "Older women have been a lot nicer to me," he admits, sipping cranberry juice through a straw at New York's Bowery Bar. "You know, I like being a spokesperson for that type of relationship. It's not so racy. I don't know if anyone's read Oedipus."'


'"You ask me do I consider myself angst-ridden?" he says, betraying a residue of defensiveness that lingers after two weeks of cockamamie interview questions. "I'm drinking out of a straw. I don't know how angst-y that is. No, I mean I hope it's not ridiculous to say that I consider myself an actor. What I don't feel like people totally understand is that for me as a young actor, the parts that have emotional depth at the age of 20 or 21 are the ones who are 'screwed up,' the ones who have a breakdown the way adults would, the oddballs.'


'"I think Jason Biggs is a genius in that type of film. If I were to go into those, I would not do as good a job. I hope the movies I do will be true to those [particular] times in my life. It's the only way I can believe them. When I had done this recent chunk of movies, I was kind of grappling with these same sort of existential questions. Actually connecting to my mother and father and sister, rather than fighting like an adolescent. Not being happy or creative at college. I found myself in a depression for a little while, and these movies were a therapy in a way."'


'He considers himself more Jewish than otherwise. (His given name was the biblical Jacob and his middle name, Benjamin, belonged to his great-great grandfather.) He wasn't bar mitzvahed, in the traditional sense. "We had this weird cultural mix, a sort of christening bar mitzvah. Hooting and howling with my father, praying with my mother." (Swedish meatballs instead of cocktail franks?) "We had our share of goy white-trash food."'


'Cuisine is actually a big deal for Gyllenhaal, who reads Cook's and Savor magazines cover to cover and spent the better part of the summer working magic with vegetables from his parents' garden. "I'm trying to work my way to great cook status. The first rule in my family is that if you are going to spend money on anything, spend it on food. My dad and mom were heavily influenced by their travels in France when they were younger. Ever since I was born it's been: You get the freshest food wherever you can and you make something out of it.'


'"I went on a road trip with my friends from Boston to Toronto recently and we made this concerted effort to stop at little places with good food. You find interesting people when you find good food, people with an interest in the specific, and the sensual. And when we didn't, we would always be depressed. I just love the meditative, spiritual quality of cooking. But if anyone tries to get into the kitchen with me, I'll kick their butt."'


'Gyllenhaal concedes it's easier on his competitive relationship with his sister now that she is becoming a star. "I feel like we're becoming a kind of a force now. We were taking over the Toronto Film Festival. That was our fascist intention." It certainly didn't start that way. Gyllenhaal recalls when his parents put him and his sister in one of their movies as kids, and Jake's scenes were cut. That, we opine, should have been enough to keep him in therapy for at least 15 years. "It has."'


I have a sudden hankering for cranberry juice. Piecrust lips?


Excerpts from Newsday (September 2002), pdf available on request as always. Photographs thanks to IHJ.

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

I just love today's post - such wonderful insights into JBG, one of the best ever! I haven't even finished reading it yet, but I had to comment because he's so great in it. Thanks WDW and have a great Sunday all! Off to finish reading,

Bertie

BBMISwear said...

I agree with Bertie! I only have a few minutes on line right now so just glanced quickly and will come back later to read from beginning to end...but it seems like a gem of an article!

Thank you, WDW, for sharing old articles with as you often do...we enjoy them so, so much!

Happy Sunday!

:-)

Wet Dark and Wild said...

I'm so glad you're enjoying it, Bertie! It's a fabulous interview - what a likeable young man.I did enjoy spending sunday doing this post - it gave me a big smile. I like the sound of the Boston to Toronto foody roadtrip. I hope you're having a good Sunday too :)

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Hey BBMISwear - posting at the same time :-) I hope you like it. See you later!

Carol said...

I've been offline for most of the last two weeks so just catching up on posts now.

Thanks for delving into the archives for us again WDW:)

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Good to see you Carol! I'm glad you liked the article. I hope things are good with you :)

Gretchen said...

Gyllenhaal recalls when his parents put him and his sister in one of their movies as kids, and Jake's scenes were cut.
omg!lol.awwww poor baby.(btw i want those cut scenes please kthanx.)

but i do think younger brothers are way more competitive with and jealous of their older sisters than other way around.i would know i have a younger brother too.lol.and i observe the same thing with my friends who have younger brothers.

thanks for the article WDW,good evening.
p.s. my word is "pouted".aw.

get real said...

Oh, Jake and his dad are looking really fantastic!! It was a gorgeous day in NYC today so it is so nice to see them out and about. I will now be on the lookout! :D

Great post, WDW. Have been out of the loop as of late and am catching up on posts. :)

Anonymous said...

Matilda's birthday presents in the bag?

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Good morning everyone! Busy Monday...

Hi Gretchen :D It is a very sweet story! It must have been hard for Jake though. I agree about little brothers.

Hey Get Real! I thought of you when saw these! Keep those eyes peeled :D Good to see you and I hope you enjoy the catch up :D

Hi Anon :) I would love to know what's in that bag, it's a whapper.

Have a good day everyone :D

winterbird said...

new pics, yay! both of them are looking good... how come Jake always wear more clothes than his companions? *g*

love the archive too! that's a very insightful great article.

TD said...

Lovely post! Lovely new pics in NYC! Thanks for nice lunchbreak reading.

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Hi Winterbird! I'm loving that coat of Jake's he looks so cuddly in it :) Glad you liked the article. I loved reading it.

Hey TD! Glad you had a good lunchtime with the post!

My word is hettup - which is entirely appropriate!!! Whatta day...

BBMISwear said...

LMAO, WDW, as I am not a big fan of the coat but I LOVE the shirt (which I am assuming you don't love so much)?! Ha Ha! Well...we have to have at least one thing that we don't have in common I guess...LOL!

Jake and his Dad are Lookin' Good! :-) So good to see them out and about.

Finally got a minute of peace and quiet to read the old article and it was fantastic. I would love to know where exactly he went on that road trip from Boston to Toronto! Thank you again, WDW, for sharing such wonderful classic articles with us!

The church scene in Pitt is tomorrow, right? I hope we get some Jake and Anne pics from that scene...security sounds tight but you never know. We need some daring Pittsburgh peeps to help us out here!!

:-)

paulh said...

Jake's scenes were cut? That's hilarious! Fifteen years of therapy isn't all bad. Look what Woody Allen did with it! ;-) But seriously, now that Jake is starring in movies, taking out all his scenes would give you something as disjointed as removing Hamlet from "Hamlet," turning it into "Rosenkrantz and Gildenstern are dead." Jake no longer needs to worry about having scenes cut. The therapy can be continued, though, because of the material it provides. ;-)

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Back home after a very long day - phew...

Hey BBMISwear :-) I definitely do NOT like the shirt! OMG you have such a thing about bad shirts.... ;) I'm glad you liked the article, I'd love to hear more about Jake's food road trip - it sounds amazing - I love that he does things like this.

The twitters are saying Jake's filming with Anne today - I so want pics, c'mon people smuggle those cameras in!

Hey Paul! You are so right! Jake needn't fear about that anymore and any cut scenes -as in Rendition - may well end up on the DVD :D

Sheba said...

There's a video to go with the pics. Those showbiz girls are on the case again. Love their tag-line ;DD

http://showbiz.sky.com/whos-my-hot-son

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Hi there Sheba! How are you doing? Thanks for the link - I like the tagline too - love the Showbiz Gals. I hope you liked the article :D

Sheba said...

Sorry yes. Loved the article with a headline like butt kicking, it is always gonna be good.

Just a little bit shaken at the moment. Long story but my son just saved us as the house nearly caught fire. Just thankful I logged on just to get some Gyllencalm and I get both of 'em :DD

Wet Dark and Wild said...

OMG Sheba! Thank God you and your son are ok. I hope you're able to relax now - that sounds very scary.

Sheba said...

Thanks WDW. So much for scented calming candles *rolls eyes* :DD Yep, coming here always usually relaxes me. I can't wait to see what further fun and mischieve Jake gets up to.

Wet Dark and Wild said...

There is definitely something to be said for unscented lightbulbs. I'm very glad, Sheba, that things are ok and Jake can help you relax :)

Monica said...

Great article, wet dark!

Ricky Gervais will present the Golden Globe. I love him!

Sheba, Thank God is all well with you and your child.
Thanks for the video!

Carol said...

Thanks for the video link Sheba. I'm glad you and your family are ok.

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Thanks, Monica!

Morning Carol :)

Have a good day - new post!

Anna said...

Young Jake. How sweet. I like the bit about drinking cranberry juice through a straw. I can hear him giggle. :D

And the pics in this post really prove that I like him with any hair at all. ;)

paulh said...

They restored the scenes cut from "Rendition" when they did the DVD? Gosh, that film was so grim that I found myself wishing there were some funny outtakes. Anything for a laugh, however fleeting. :-(

Anonymous said...

Glad everything's ok, Sheba.

We defintely need some Anne pics, and Jake and Anne pics. :)

Bertie