[Updated] Jake Gyllenhaal - 'lovable' becomes 'edgy' (and lovable)

It probably doesn't come as any surprise to you that Jim Sheridan is a man with a sense of humour - or should that be half-man/half-fish?: '"I called up the only person who could direct this movie and, within days, Jim was sitting on my deck talking about the project," producer Ryan Kavanaugh said before Sunday's School of Visual Arts screening. "About an hour into the conversation and, mind you, this is the first time I met Jim, he reaches into his coat pocket, whips out a pair of swim trunks, gets butt-naked, puts on the swim trunks and runs into the water and body-surfs for an hour. It was then that the ride of 'Brothers' began."' Source.


It is possible that this is also an indication that the Pacific Ocean has more going for it than the Irish Channel?


Therefore, we should also not be surprised that Jim Sheridan cast Brothers with an eye on playing games with us, the viewers, by not giving us quite what we expect from Jake Gyllenhaal and Tobey Maguire: '“I wasn’t consciously trying to make my movie different,” Sheridan says. “I was only trying to answer questions in the original movie that were interesting to me.”'


'Jim Sheridan’s version of the film is — typical of his work — more family-oriented, focusing on how surviving a painful and spiritually challenging POW experience could change a soldier to the extent that his family can barely recognize him when he returns home. In the film, that soldier is played by Spider-Man himself, Tobey Maguire in a creative casting choice that works simply because audiences would never anticipate that Maguire would go through such brutal psychological changes. It was a casting decision made specifically by Sheridan to play with audience expectations. “That’s why we cast Tobey, so that no one would expect it,” revealed Sheridan.'


'That casting approach was also applied to the role of Maguire’s ex-con brother who is surprisingly played by the typically gentle Jake Gyllenhaal. “Jake is often thought of as the lovable centre-of-attention character,” said Sheridan. “I found it interesting to cast him as the edgy ex-con just to play with that image.”' Jake lovable? Let me think about that for one tenth of a tranosecond. Source.

[Update from the SFGate:] '"Where the movie lives and dies is in the relationship between the two brothers," says Sheridan, who says Maguire and Gyllenhaal deliver in roles that are more grown-up than what they customarily play. To look convincing as a prisoner of war, Maguire dropped 25 pounds from his already thin frame. "He is a vegan, so as far as I am concerned he doesn't eat anyway. He ate less vegan," said Sheridan, who worries about Maguire's extreme diet having a long-term effect. As an actor "Tobey likes to control a lot. That is the way he lives. He has a cook that cooks for him. His world is very controlled. Even when acting, he is not the kind of guy who would get loose. He's quiet and pensive and thinking about things." By contrast, Gyllenhaal is a "free-wheeling actor. He is always looking around. He has three or four things going through his head, and normal stars just have one." It would mean trouble, Sheridan believes, if a director told Gyllenhaal to just stand there and hit his mark. "The way he lives in a scene is to be half there and half out there looking around. I found it completely fascinating."'


Jake may also be something of a surprise (though a well-rewarded one) to some in Prince of Persia. This was addressed by Jerry Bruckheimer in a new, short interview: 'Q: Jake Gyllenhaal doesn’t seem like an obvious choice to play the titular Prince of Persia, how did he come to be cast? Jerry Bruckheimer: First and foremost, because he’s a great young actor who’s already proven that he can play almost anything. Jake is also very athletic, and for his role as the Prince he put on a lot of muscle and worked out every day both before and during the shoot, which was very physically demanding. He’s really a perfect choice as the Prince, and a few people who have seen test screenings of the film have responded very enthusiastically to Jake’s performance.''



We have more fan pictures from the set of Love and Other Drugs, demonstrating very clearly that Jake attended the Brothers cocktail party very definitely dressed as Jamie Reidy. Many thanks to Bob and Michael who took the trouble to post their pictures.



To finish off today, how great is it that after all this time there is a new video - at least to me - from that shiniest of red carpets, Cannes and the Zodiac premiere. Hearing that music, seeing Jake, David, Chloe and Mark, brings it flooding back! Here's the clip.


Includes pictures from IHJ, Inquirer, Bob and Michael.