Jake Gyllenhaal's great performance - and those 'blasted' ostriches

There's a brief respite while we wait for Moviefone to post their 'Put your questions to' the cast of Brothers video. I'm going to fill it. First off, we have an interview with a very relaxed and laid back Jim Sheridan, who talks about his young cast, including the 'charismatic' Jake Gyllenhaal, who normally plays such 'sweet, kind and lovable characters'. You can watch it here, courtesy of Coming Soon. It's very good. There is also an interview with Jim here.



Good reviews continue to come in. We have the Playlist: 'However, Jake Gyllenhaal arguably has the toughest role of the bunch having to believably shift from a good-for-nothing ex-con to a reliable family man. But not only does Gyllenhaal do it, but he knocks it out of the park. In the early stages of the film, his charming asshole routine is largely lived through his dancing eyes and a perma-smirk etched onto his stubbled face. But when Sam is declared dead, the eyes and smirk are still there but become softer and his attitude, though still somewhat immature, is slowly shaded by the weight of responsibility. It's a great performance.'


The NYMag: 'As to the other two leads, Sheridan has gotten the best performances of their young lives. As much as I like Gyllenhaal, I’ve often found him fuzzy, as if he’s wary of losing control. Is that why he’s so affecting here? The dissolute Tommy turns out to be as tightly wound as his older brother, only too scared to focus. He looks pitifully vulnerable as he the supposedly dead Sam’s family and becomes protective. Portman has the kind of role that turns actresses into dullards: the wife who stands and looks stricken at her man (or men) in paroxysms of rage and grief. But she’s so grounded that as the others carry on, your eyes keep drifting to her. Yes, she’s almost unbearably pretty, but it’s her immediacy that keeps you glued to her face.'


On to that handsome hunk of a Prince of Persia. Ubisoft announced today that a new Prince of Persia game - Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands - will be out next year and, believe it or not, its release will be in May. I know, that didn't come as a huge shock to me either. 'Although Ubisoft did not specify how or whether the new title would tie into the movie launch, the company has strongly pursued a cross-media film and game strategy with other franchises. "The goal is to reach both...core and casual gamers," explained CEO Yves Guillemot on the company's first-half results call to investors. He promised "lots of combat," but stressed the aim of serving beginner-level gamers as well. "We are trying to cover both groups," he said.' Just the thought of the degree to which this game will pull in parts of the film - and Jake - is enought to make me dust off my console. Source.


While taking a look at Gamasutra, do read this other article from them about the sexual politics of the Prince of Persia character. It's a fascinating look at those pointless accusations which have faced both the cinematic and the game Prince - the Britishness, the not very Persianness, the muscles, his geekiness. Our delight in him.


The creator of the Prince of Persia franchise, Jordan Mechner, is releasing on his blog his old journals, charting the development of the PoP universe from the very beginning. He is also publishing sketchbook pictures from his visit to a very hot Morocco in the summer of 2008. We can see a drawing of a hand holding the Dagger of Time - and that is indeed Jake's hand. Jake accomodatingly agreed to be a hand model.



There is also more evidence for the fear that ostriches struck deep into the hearts and minds of all who dared to set foot on set. 'The star of the movie is an ostrich. The entire cast and crew are walking on eggshells for fear of disturbing its delicate temperament. Mike [Newell] refers to it affectionately as 'The blasted bird'.


Includes pictures from links and an ostrich (all right, an emu, but the photographs of ostriches scared me).

PostScript: I have decided that as Brothers won't come to me, I must go to it. Therefore, in a repeat of last year but hopefully with more cinematic success (ie, they're not going to delay the movie yet again), I'm going to force myself to endure some Florida sunshine in order to see Brothers. I may also have the odd margarita and - I don't want to go too far but - I might even risk Space Mountain. I leave Saturday - I'm counting on Brothers proving to be a formidable anti-jetlag device. I will of course be taking you with me - which is vital because this year I'm taking a chance on Universal Studios. We're talking Roller Coasters.