[Updated]Tobey Maguire talks Brothers... Jake Gyllenhaal on Jack Twist and Swofford - 'They both come from my heart'

[Updated] Is this a sign that the Brothers' publicity machine is finally getting into gear? Today Tobey Maguire talked to the LA Times about the challenges of playing Sammy. Tobey also discusses Jake's role and the relationship between the brothers: 'Tommy finds himself to be unworthy, unlovable," says Maguire of Gyllenhaal's character, "so he isolates, he doesn't get attached or connected. The older brother is such a strait-laced good guy who's been good at things his whole life, had the attention of their father, ended up getting a great wife and family and all of that. And when I go away, Tommy learns how to show up and he learns responsibility. He learns how to care for people and gets cared for."' More here.

On with the post!

Before we get hit by the full force of the Prince of Persia trailer sandwave - I'm already practising my deep breathing exercises - there's time for a Brokie Sunday post (plus a sprinkling of Jarhead magic). This is prompted by Ang Lee's arrival in London last week for the festival showing of Taking Woodstock. Not surprisingly, on meeting the man himself, some journalists wanted to talk about Brokeback Mountain.


'"I was directing Heath kissing [Jake Gyllenhaal] and I told him that you would never kiss a woman that hard," he told Metro exclusively. "He needed to do it in a heroic Western way, more passionately. I remember seeing Michelle watching while we filmed - at that point they were already 'friends' - and she had a look of concentration on her face because she also thought he should be stronger with Jake."'


When Brokeback was new, Jake grew used to questions on whether it was a career risk to be on the receiving end of Heath's kiss: 'Play a gay man, and you're "a risk. Yeah, we heard that. But if I'm doing a movie that's not a risk - and I have - I'm wasting my time. Everything an actor or artist or writer is doing should be courageous. So it's redundant to think of this as a risky choice, because that's the job of art... It doesn't take much courage to say 'I'm going to be in an Ang Lee movie.' In a weird way, people saying it's brave to take this role kind of belittle Ang, one of the best directors of our times."'


'"I have always felt confident. That's 80 percent of being an actor, and it's what I look at when I scrutinize male actors my age: that ambition and drive and confidence. The last 20 percent of it is experience in life. If you're hesitant as a performer, if you don't believe your own (emotional) choices, there's no reason to be acting, because it's such a powerless job."


"(It happens) all the time that you're about to start a movie and you have no idea what you're doing. On `Brokeback,' I felt that way, but I embraced it. I just asked myself, 'Where am I going now, in this scene? I won't worry about where I'm going next.'" (Interview in the Charlotte Observer, 8 January 2006: 'Sitting opposite him in a hotel suite, you can see why directors won't leave Gyllenhaal alone. He's almost indecently handsome: broad-shouldered, six feet tall, square-jawed in the manner of a cowboy hero, with blue eyes that look gray if light hits them right and a shock of black hair that comes to a peak in the front.')


In March 2006, Jake answered five questions for a 'Wise Guide':

1: What was the transition like between these characters?
Gyllenhaal: There are a lot of physical differences and a lot of differences in terms of intention, but ultimately both of them come from parts of me. In that way, they're the same, kind of. They both come from my heart and it's the same derivation. There's definitely a rage that ("Jarhead's") Tony Swofford, the character of Swofford, had that the character of Jack Twist doesn't. He's much more open and engaged, much less cynical.


2: You went from horseback riding to boot camp. Talk about the physical differences.
Gyllenhaal: ("Brokeback" director Ang Lee) put a set of weights outside my trailer because he wanted me to kind of bulk up for that part. I tried my best, but I didn't do it as well as maybe he wanted. But then for "Jarhead," it was sort of mandatory. So I spent those three months reading, and I started working out like really heavily.


3: What appealed to you about these two roles?
Gyllenhaal: With "Jarhead," it was just kind of like a perfect match. When you get to be a certain age and you're learning how to be a man, there are probably physical, hormonal things and just, I don't know, spiritual things that happen. The feeling of wanting to punch your fist through a wall and not understanding what that is. It's just inherent in growing up. But that's a real, legitimate feeling, and those feelings and that part just coincided perfectly. And there is a resistance in both of the characters. They're not allowed to be their full selves, and I think that I was really drawn to that.


4: It seemed like "Jarhead" was destined to be a blockbuster, but "Brokeback" is the one that captured audiences. Did the reception of the two films surprise you?
Gyllenhaal: With "Brokeback," you're dealing with a genuine love story. I think that's what people have responded to. That's what's so amazing, is that people can watch it as that, even with the quote-unquote political subtext. And with "Jarhead," it's overtly political. People took into that film - unfortunately, I think - they took their own opinions and issues. I love that there are people who loved it and hated it. Both of the movies had that same response.


5: Were you disappointed with how "Jarhead" fared at the box office?
Gyllenhaal: We live in a world where you need initial response, a big jolt. People want to know something was historic immediately for some reason. I've witnessed, with a lot of movies I've been in, a slow crawl and an appreciation as people have had time with it. Even a movie like "Donnie Darko" or something, it's insane how people have responded to that film. Initially, someone could have said are you upset with how it went, and maybe at that time I may have (said) yeah, maybe I am. But I'm not. At all. It's found itself. I'm so proud of it. My mentality has changed.


Articles from WDW dusty archives. As always, pdfs available on request. Includes pictures from IHJ.