Jake Gyllenhaal interviewed for Fox9 reveals Maggie's primary job in his life. And WDW on the trail of PoP!

The other day Fox's Daniel Matheson was heard tantalisngly tweeting about his interview with Jake Gyllenhaal. And here is, as my grandmother would say, the proof of the pudding. And listening to it, one gets a sneaking impression that Jake's fiercest critic is his big sister, Maggie. Families. If it's not brothers, it's sisters.



'If you know someone or have a relationship with them in real life, well it's almost like... I've worked with my sister in movies before and when I worked with her... you can't pull anything. They know when you're faking it.' And on being asked if Maggie has called him out: 'That's all my sister does! That is her pimary job in my life.'

Joking or not, it interests me that Jake has repeatedly discussed through the years that acting with people who know him means that he cannot fake it in front of the camera. This was particularly evident in his interviews about close friend and brother-in-law Peter Sarsgaard during the Jarhead days. Jake clearly feels the same need to do right by Natalie Portman and Tobey Maguire, just as he does with Maggie and Peter. A talented and charismatic actor such as Jake clearly could cut corners if he wished but it seems to me that acting with people whom he knows, likes and admires - including a number of directors he takes a paycut to work for - keeps Jake's mind focused and, as a result, his art blossoms.


WDW at WDW - In search of PoP

This part of the post puts me in mind of the BBC's Michael Wood In the Footsteps Of... series. While the handsomely-jeaned Michael went after Alexander the Great, Trojans, Celts and King Arthur, today I ventured into the heartland of deepest WDW to seek out the Prince of Persia. While not underestimating the self-sacrifice of spending a full day at Disney World on a hot and sunny winter's day, I'm afraid to say that I was unsuccessful. And yet there was a taster of what we might find this time next year. Today Jack Sparrow, tomorrow Dastan.


I saw huge Jack Sparrow towels, I saw entire Pirates outfits, photos, posters, bits and pieces - bags, jewellery, books, you name it. I saw frogs in every shape and size imaginable - I think there's a Princess and the Frog movie knocking around. And there'll be plenty of room for a PoP ride. A rollercoaster or a gentle meander through the desert on a robotic camel?




I failed to find a camel. I failed to find the Prince. I did find two ostriches. Unfortunately, just as I was ready to get a picture, my safari truck sped off over bumbs at breakneck speed in hot pursuit of ivory poachers. You know how it is. But all was not lost. I found a clutch of ostrich eggs and did get a picture. The downside is that at that particular moment a white rhino decided to projectile pee all over them. I'm not joking - it was like being back at Victoria Falls. Quite astonishing. Not entirely pleasant. How considerate of me to capture the moment for you.


So I went from Africa to Asia, briefly popping by Australia and dipping into prehistory. I even ascended to nowhere near the top of Everest. Gibbons and love birds (I don't know if they were love birds but they looked past being friendly), giraffes, hippos, even the occasional Nile crocodile and Komodo dragon (plus a massive tapir that was one of the ugliest things I have ever seen), gorillas and flamingos. At least three types of flamingos. Note I'm not mentioning the meerkats because I can see them in Oxford and don't need to be on a PoP quest. But next year, all will be different. Next year, Disney World will go PoP and I can fill my home with utensils, toys, soft furnishings, art, jewellery, clothing, fridge magnets, all labelled with the PoP trademark and bearing the face of Jake. I daresay Jake might gather a few of them himself.





Includes pictures from IHJ and WDW at WDW. And thanks to Stephanie for the help with the video!