[Updated] Jake Gyllenhaal in the Telegraph and Jake pulls out of the Ping Pong Tournament amid fears he's unbeatable

[Update] Jake Gyllenhaal interview in the Telegraph. This interview may have taken place a while ago (the NYC Brothers press day) but its good to see the publicity stepping up a pace - or even beginning - in the UK in adavnce of the opening of Brothers on 22 January. But what I most enjoyed was the little anticipation for Prince of Persia: '"Working on a movie like Prince of Persia was awesome," he beams. "It was great fun to be an action hero and to jump around, running off walls and fighting and having great quippy lines. And wearing only half of your clothes, of course!"'


As for the rest: 'The idea of competition, particularly in a creative atmosphere, is always there," says the younger Gyllenhaal with a wry smile. "And, if you don't acknowledge that, you are doing yourself and the process a disservice. That's what brothers and sisters and family are like. For instance, my sister had a couple of years before I turned up, but I have been with her since the beginning of my life, so there is always going to be a great bond, and always a little competition.'


'In the past, Gyllenhaal has often proved something of a reluctant interviewee, so when we sit down together a short while later, I ask if he is more at ease with himself nowadays. "I do feel that," he says. "I really do feel that way. I think that my director on Brothers, Jim Sheridan, started it off. He ignited something, which was like, 'You can be whatever you want or, if not, whatever you are is enough... He walked up to me in the beginning of this movie, and he said [adopts Irish accent], 'Jake, I just want you to know, you're playing my little brother in the movie, so I'm going to have to hate you most of the time.' Honestly, he was like, 'I f------ hate you!' But clearly the process worked."'

'"Because I made Jarhead and Rendition, people might think that I've now done a few war movies, but that's not how I see this movie," says Gyllenhaal. "I think that this movie is a journey, the journey that Tobey's character makes to get back home. It is intertwined with a lot of other family complications – this is a Jim Sheridan movie after all – but mostly it is about what this man does to get back to the people that he loves, and to his life."' Source.


On with the post!

Jake Gyllenhaal yesterday pulled out of the Ping Pong tournament. Reasons for this dramatic turn of events abound. Maybe Mario Batali protested at competing against the Unbeatable Jake Gyllenhaal, maybe Jake protested at it being called Ping Pong and not Table Tennis, or maybe it was because Duncan Jones headed to LA today from Montreal to begin preparation for Source Code and Jake is an essential part of this. I'll go with the latter.


The official site for the charity event made an announcement today: 'Yesterday, Jake Gyllenhaal pulled out of our ping pong tournament. We wish it weren't so, but unfortunately, a last-minute scheduling conflict has gotten in the way.' However, unnamed sources close to WDW revealed today that emails had been sent to aspiring ping pong contenders with the news that '"Yes, it's true- Jake Gyllenhaal has rescinded his offer to participate in our charity fundraiser" and "Jake had to pull out of the tournament yesterday. We're doing everything we can to get him back in, but it's not looking great, which is why we've taken his name off of the site".

When all is said and done I'm sorry because I was looking forward to seeing Jake wield a bat.


His busy schedule may have prevented Jake from becoming the Celebrity Ping Pong Champion of the World but he may take consolation in being hailed as one of the Sexiest Men Living. Obviously there was a typo because a mistake lists Jake only at No 6 when clearly he has even less competition in the sexy stakes than he does in the ping pong. An even graver error lists the pale and uninteresting Robert P as No 2.



There is speculation today that some event called the Super Bowl will include advertisements for Disney movies. It seems reasonable to think that there will be an explosion of people taking a break from judging tupperware to take an appreciative look at the Prince of Persia.


The BAFTA short long list was published today and the complete absence of Brothers from any category is a puzzle, unless it simply wasn't eligible due to its late release here. Neverthless, Crazy Heart was included and Maggie Gyllenhaal gets a possible nomination for Best Actress and may compete against Carey Mulligan. Peter Sarsgaard is also on the Best Actor list for An Education. It's likely that whatever happens, we will have some interest in these awards. It's also great to see Duncan Jones' Moon get some recognition.

And finally, a WDW interlude. I made it into Oxford today and came upon a rather imaginative use for those Avatar 3D glasses.



Includes pictures from IHJ, snowmen pics by WDW.