Dress up Jake Gyllenhaal and Jake reflects on lessons learned with Love and Other Drugs

We have Jake Gyllenhaal Prince Dastan lego, keyrings (my personal favourite), figurines, a statue and now we have a model which, despite being very expensive at $250, has some attractions. You can dress him up - you can also dress him down. Pictures thanks to Kotaku. I'm holding out for the Jake Plushie Prince.


Here is part of an interview Jake conducted with the French Film Studio Live and it's a goodie with some more about Love and Other Drugs (excuse, as always, the (mis)translation): 'I learned of Prince of Persia as a film for the whole family, like a tale that should be read aloud, and it changed my way of acting. I played Prince Dastan as if I were telling a story to a child - and to the child in all of us. I rush around with a sword in my hand, I'm fighting with the princess, I embrace, I fight, I jump from roof to roof, it was so much fun.'


Directors: 'I just finished a movie with Edward Zwick, Love and Other Drugs, and we were two friends, like members of the same team but he was the leader. It was amazing. Then I made a completely different film, and what matters is being able to adapt and do what is expected of you. I'd hope that a director has an open heart. I'd hope that we respected each other. I like a director to be confident, but he can also be vulnerable, and we can all ask: Can I redo a scene a hundred times if it means that the result will be a great movie?'



'Several of the directors that I worked with told me I should do the role because the story interests me more than for the performance itself as an actor. If I'm told I have a choice between being an extraordinary actor or be in an extraordinary film, I'd choose the second option. It's the story and narrative that stay in people's minds. Importantly, this is not me in a movie, that's what we are trying to tell the public.'


The Oscar nomination 'is the dream of every actor. At the age when it happened, I felt that it was premature - but I was thrilled! It helps a lot in terms of one's career. The perception people had of me has changed, but I don't know if that's just due to my performance or the film itself. I remember how totally surreal it was to hear my name mentioned along with all those other amazing actors. What moved me most was to be made a member of the Academy, and to be told that I was part of this community of artists who created such great films.'


If there is a movie that made Jake understand more about the business: 'Curiously, this happened while shooting my last film, Love and Other Drugs. Maybe it happened a bit late! They told me one day: "It starts with blind ambition, you don't know why we do what we do, we think we know, and then gradually we begin to understand what motivates us". With this film, something fell into place, I started to see who I was and what I did, and it was very liberating. Any business is competitive, one tries to find one's own voice... "No, I'll just be me and we'll see where it will take me."'


'Q: Your sister, Maggie, told me that all the films she has performed are fragments of herself. Do you feel that too?' Jake: 'That's beautifully said and it's very true. My brother [the actor Peter Sarsgaard] told me one day there was an immediate response in the theatre, whereas in the cinema, you hear the answer a year after filming. And because we are in the character's skin for a long time, one can not help thinking that this response, positive or negative, falls on us, as human beings - things are mixed. But no, it is only a performance. I think that is why Maggie spoke of fragments... What you put in a movie is true at that time, and corresponds to what we are at that moment.'


Does it hurt Jake that some films, like Brothers, are less well-received than others? 'A close friend's grandfather survived the Holocaust and he often says, very simply: "Things are what they are." It helps me tremendously. I am privileged to continue making films, and what matters is the time to make a film like Brothers. I have no control over the rest. It's the experience on set that is important. Then, the film follows its path. Donnie Darko was a flop when it came out... and now there's not a day when you don't hear about it. Things find their proper place, and we must just agree to follow.'


'Q: Did you feel pressure to sell yourself by making certain movies?' Jake: 'I felt this pressure, it exists, and I've not always responded clearly. But to feel this pressure and to give in to it are two different things. I made some choices that were well thought out, and others which were totally instinctive. I have not always been clear in my choices, but I tried. And I think I try more and more the older I get and I learn to trust my heart. Sometimes it feels wrong, sometimes it hurts, it can be difficult, but if we have enough confidence in our heart, most of the time, down the road, you get rewarded, even if there were painful moments. And that's true for everything in life.'


If you've been popping in and out of WDW today, you may have stumbled across some scaffolding. But now it's all been dismantled and without more ado, but with a virtual vuvzuela fanfare, I'm delighted to unveil the new Wet Dark and Wild banner. It's all courtesy of that very talented Rob of Excuses and Half Truths, who can now add Jake Gyllenhaal banner constructor to his cv. Thanks Rob!


Wimbledon started today, this seems appropriate.



Happy Summer Solstice to you all!

Pictures from links and IHJ.