Thursday 26 August 2010

Love and Other Drugs: 'So. Much. Skin.' and Jake Gyllenhaal 'is everything'. And then there's Anne.

Yesterday, another test screening took place of Love and Other Drugs, this time in New York City. I'm hoping that they're working through the alphabet, in which case Oxford must be next. Fortunately, thanks to the power of Twitter, we have the opinions of a member of the NYC audience and, not unexpectedly but definitely pleasingly, there are some more good words for the film and for Jake Gyllenhaal. And yet again there are warnings of large amounts of naked skin or, as the Tweeter put it: 'So. Much. Skin.'


Here are the other 140-letter reviews: 'LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS was actually quite hilarious, and SO fucking sexy. Hathaway bares all, and except for full front, Gyllenhaal does too.'

'I always like Jake, but after this movie... damn. He is everything. Too bad it got all movie of the week in the end, but still solid.'


'It's refreshing to see a rom com with characters who don't act like utter idiots for sake of a stupid plot. Real people with good acting.'

'So. Much. Skin. Worth if for that alone. And it's really the antithesis of every dumb Aniston/Heigl shit Hollywood shoves at us.' [With apologies to Jen for that last comment because, as we've been discussing in the comments to the previous post, Jen isn't what's bad, it's some of the roles that she's taking.]


So, while I mull over the idea of an intelligent, funny and well-acted romantic drama that includes lots of sex and bare flesh - takes a breath and continues - I thought I would take a look at some of the things that Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway have said about each other since those days of Brokeback Mountain.


Just after Anne finished filming Brokeback, she recalled to an Australian film site (the site is now gone but I posted it here a couple of years ago) how her friends reacted to knowing she was to kiss Jake: '[Excited] Kissing Jake Gyllenhaal was great! I’ve had all good experiences when it comes to on-screen kisses. I’ve had a really good legacy of on-screen kisses. They’ve all been wonderful! Who was the best kisser of all? I don’t have to answer this… [Thinks for a second] But it was definitely Hugh Dancy, my co-star in Ella Enchanted!' (I believe that Maggie will be playing opposite Hugh in her forthcoming vibrator movie!)


'Q: Did you hang out with Jake much after the cameras stopped rolling? 'Well, we hung out together with other people. Jake and I never really hung out one-on-one, but we’d go out in groups of people. The thing that is great about Jake is he’s really, really intelligent so he’s really fun to talk to.' Q: Were your mates really jealous of you? '[Excited] Oh my god! Both guys and girls alike were so jealous when they found out. A lot of my friends are people who I met at college and so they recognise that he’s a really smart guy – and that’s something that gets them very excited.'


'Q: Can you tell us a secret about him? 'Ooh, what do I know? I can tell you that he’s such a funny joke-teller. Oh, and he does accents better than anyone I’ve ever met.' Q: What’s his best impression? A gay man ordering a drink. Trust me, it’s hilarious!'


And Jake's memories of those days: 'Annie and I had been through a lot together during the filming of Brokeback Mountain. I was still struggling with the separation from Kirsten Dunst and Annie heard my whining for hours and comforted me. We know each other so well now that the love scenes for Love and Other Drugs were in the can after a day. I play a pharmaceutical spokesperson, who fell in love with a woman, played by Annie, who suffers from Parkinson's disease.'

When Anne confirmed to The View that she was to star opposite Jake in Love and Other Drugs - way back in June 2009 (just showing how fast the whole thing came together) - there was a bit of a muddle between Jake and Joaquin Phoenix, which is completely not justified (despite the rate at which Jake's beard is growing).


In October 2009, we actually got some video of Anne and Jake on set - not necessarily at the same time.



And then there was the business of the merkin - a very memorable component of the publicity for Brothers during November and December of last year. If you don't know the full history behind the merkin now, shame on you...





The results of the first screenings back in February suggested that Anne burnt up the screen (Note: many of these early reviewers have been male).


During WonderCon and the publicity for PoP, Jake was keen to talk Duncan Jones and Source Code because, understandably, this project was newer and fresh in his mind. But he did have this to say in the Italian magazine, Nick: 'The film is about a Viagra salesman who happened to meet this wonderful woman who is ill with Parkinson's, that Anne Hathaway plays with absolute tenderness. The director is Edward Zwick, whom I have admired since the days of Glory'.'


But now, as we wait for Love and Other Drugs, you've got to wonder how could there not be such chemistry between the two leads? They share so much, as photographer Henney Garfunkel recalls: '"I shot Jake in Toronto in 2005. He was there for Brokeback Mountain and there was alot of buzz around him," Garfunkel remembers of a playful Gyllenhaal. "Anne Hathaway, Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams were all in the room while I was shooting and someone came in and told them they had just won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. They were all jumping up and down."' You'll find two of the pictures below.



Includes photos from IHJ and links.

41 comments:

Claire said...

Love the unscripted clip - it shows Jake in a natural light, just talking and messing around. I'v seen the merkin interview before but it's still so funny!

Yet again there is reference to his kissing *sigh*...

Roll on LAOD!!!!!

CS

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Hi Claire! I love these videos :D I know we've seen them before but I fancied doing a recap and getting it all together. The thing it showed me is that LAOD was so fast! Like Rendition too. It's interesting how some projects take an age from first rumours to fruition (if we're lucky) and some are there before you know it. Rendition, Love and Other Drugs and Source Code were so fast - Zodiac was so painfully slow and longed for! And Brothers and PoP took their time due to delays. Of course, others seem still no further on than they were a couple of years ago. Here's hoping Jake's working on something now that will be here before we know it - I kind of think it might!

BR said...

You know what I like best about this post (besides the merkin, of course)?

The photo of Heath. Brilliant!

Also, have to add, watched Zodiac for the first time the other day...very impressed with Jake's performance. Watched it on the back of Jarhead, and I couldn't stop smiling. Both are fantastic movies.

TD said...

I love that large B&W group shot of the BBM Four, its like a family photograph, frozen in time.

Never seen the polaroids before - they're great! I'm not sure but I think Henny might be a woman?

TD

Anonymous said...

I love the clips. I don't think Jake or anne will ever get away from BBM it will always be a part of them.

I can't wait for LAOD Has there been any release date mentioned for Source Code?

sweetpea

Monica said...

With the exception of videos of Jimmy Kimmel, this post is great.

Once I was watching Johnny and June with my brother and he said that Joaquin Phoenix and Jake Gyllenhaal should play brothers in a movie. hahaha
Unfortunately my brother does not like Jake.

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Hi BR! Glad you liked that pic - it seemed like a good way to close a post that has a history. Ooh, glad you got to see Zodiac - love that film. I think it could be my desert island movie (so long as I got the disc with the extras). There are three films that make the hairs stand up on the back of my neck as they start: BBM, Zodiac and Donnie Darko.

TD, that's why I just love that picture :) It is like a portrait from those times. It's one of those pictures I feel I should keep. I love those polaroids. You could be right about the gender - I have trouble telling them apart! I amended (or blurred) the post :)

Loved the Digging up Britain programme tonight. It's hard to make so little visual evidence exciting but they managed it.

Hey Sweetpea! I do like how BBM and LAOD are both part of the story for Jake and Anne. The only release info we have for SC is 'early 2011'. Maybe I should ask Duncan on Tuesday!

Hey Monica! OMG Joaquin and Jake should definitely not play brothers! I like Joaquin on occasion but he's just too leftfield for me.

Wet Dark and Wild said...

PS sorry you didn't like the Kimmel videos - I love them :) Nice tattoo.

LadyEkster said...

You're getting better and better at making me squee with just the post title. First 'Emergency Arm Post', now 'So Much Skin'... aaaaah! And let me take a bow at your ability to write coherent sentences after reading those tweets. You have no idea how many spelling mistakes I made in this message before hitting Publish. *blush* Blame my overimaginative mind and blame you, Jake.

The Moviefone Unscripted vid is so sweet and cool and perfect and... oh wait, I wasn't there with them. But it's awesome. I actually bookmarked the 2009 post in which you first embedded it so I could easily find it again. *big grin*

Slightly off-topic: I caught the tv-ad for PoP again this evening! I saw it twice, once on MTV and once on a movie channel, both during primetime. Yeah!

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Hey Lady Ekster! Love that you have WDW bookmarked :D It is such a good video - I love it. That's fantastic about the ads - PoP is now no 11 on the ProIMDb movie list so clearly we have buzz - excellent!

Anonymous said...

Oh WDW, this is getting too much.

SO. MUCH. SKIN. EVERYWHERE!!!

I'm losing the ability to function properly.

When will LAOD come out, WHEN??

Ah, the agony...

Jake if you were a decent guy, you wouldn't torture us with these sexy trailers and arm muscle teases, you'd do a nude photoshoot immediately and satisfy your demanding fanbase.
Just saying.

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Jake, please listen to Lena and do what she suggests - thank you :)

Carol said...

Great post WDW:)

"Skin so much skin" I don't think I can stand the wait for LAOD the more I hear about it.

I love the polaroid of Heath. Nice way to close tonight's post.

A little bit off topic here related to BBM. Has anyone else seen the new Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow video parodying BBM. It's for their new song Shame. I like the song but I'm not sure what to make of the video. I think it had a bit of a Carry On movie feel to it for those here who know what I'm referring to.

I'd love to get other people's opinions on it.

BR said...

Hi Carol. I haven't seen the video yet, and frankly, I'm a bit scared to. I think I will get really really angry. BBM is almost sacred, in my eyes (the short story and the movie) and I think it's in such bad taste to base a music video on it.

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Thanks Carol! I wanted to close the post like that as Heath was there when Jake and Anne began their career together. I thought he should make an appearance now :)

Ahh the video. I thought for a second about putting it in the posst and then I thought not. Speaking entirely personally so my opinion matters only to me I find the video absolutely diabolically horrible. I've bought my fair share of Robbie albums over the years - and, even more drastically, driven across Milton Keynes hopelessly lost in the dead of night to get home from one of his big gigs - but this video is all about his promotion and to my mind is totally taking the piss out of the spirit of BBM. It's a cheap laugh. There is always humour to be found in everything and I will always laugh at myself but this feels shallow. I'm not keen on shallow. So maybe this hit a nerve. Unlike the Carry Ons which just made me laugh. Appropriate title for the song.

Ooh I have whittered on!

LadyEkster said...

Jake if you were a decent guy, you wouldn't torture us with these sexy trailers and arm muscle teases, you'd do a nude photoshoot immediately and satisfy your demanding fanbase.
Amen to that. Oh, and a video of the shoot too, please. After that he will have my blessing to leave acting and become a fulltime director. *grin*

Has anyone else seen the new Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow video parodying BBM.
I have. It was premiered tonight on telly with a lot of blah blah about Take That and Brokeback. In the end, the only thing I took away from it was: whoa Robbie, you're getting old man! ;-)

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Posting at the same time, BR! And I see we totally agree - I saw some of it with the sound off and that's as close as I'm getting to it. It'll be some time before I blow the dust off my Robbie CDs. Maybe I'll just give 'em away.

The video mocks Ennis and Jack stealing glances at each other from under their hats - it's not an affectionate parody, it's a spoof.

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Hi Lady Ekster! Yep, old - and tired. Unlike Jake :D

Carol said...

I agree with you both WDW and BR.

I took another look at it and I think it's terrible. I'm even more disappointed because I like the song and was delighted that Robbie had reunited with Take That. It completely makes a mockery of BBM and everything it is. Shame on you Robbie, Gary, the record label and everyone else involved in it.

BR if I was you I wouldn't even bother looking at it. To be honest I wish I hadn't.

Sorry for the rant but I really hate when wonderful things like BBM get made a mockery of in a cheap way.

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Hi Carol! I do think it's a real shame as I've enjoyed the music over the years and some of those songs store great memories for me, but I can't even look at a video like that. It would've been so much better if they'd done something original to celebrate their reunion, not taken the piss out of something they're not.

I am rambling on but I feel better for the rant!

mermon said...

Hi!
It's such a "rich" post! I'm so happy that people liked LAOD, that is not shallow like other romantic comedies. And that is a lot of nude scenes. :) I was waiting for this kind of movie with Jake.
Kimmel's show - I watched before and I liked it. It was nice to see it again. So funny. Jake looks handsome, relaxed. I like "the towel story" and when he talks about big sandwich he pronounce very correct polish word "kiełbasa". :)
And merkin's story is also very funny. I would like to see a picture of them in those merkins. I would die from laughing.
Moviefone unscripted - very interesting and funny again :) I'm sorry I repeat it so many times but a lot of staff involving Jake is just funny. I like the three of them. I like "Brothers".
I didn't see this "Shame" clip, I couldn't find it, but I don't think I would have like it. BBM is too important to me.
And WDW - Donnie Darko is one of my favourite movie ever. Since the beginning - Jake on the street and on a bike - till the last second. And music is just great.

LadyEkster said...

Having given it another look, I think it's not even about parody and mockery. They seem to not care about the message of the movie, taking the piss out of it is not the priority - attention is.
This is nothing more than a sneaky, very clever marketing trick. There was a lot of buzz around Take That getting back together, so generating attention for Robbie's own new production needed even more. And though it's revolting that they used Brokeback for it, their strategy is definitely working - the video is all over the internet already.

Anonymous said...

Hi WDW and y'all,

Found this quote by Anne Hathaway about the BBM love scene with Jake:

---

Anne Hathaway let Brokeback Mountain co-star Jake Gyllenhaal fondle her boobs for real on the set of the Oscar-winning movie, to make the scene as realistic as possible.

But the actress has hinted she had to tell the actor off for trying to make their kissing scenes "a little too realistic".

Hathaway - who played Gyllenhaal's onscreen wife in the gay cowboy drama - tells British radio station Heart FM, "There was this scene in Brokeback Mountain where I get my kit off and I'm in the car with Jake Gyllenhaal and he's touched my shoulder and he's touched my stomach and he's touched around my back everywhere except for, you know, 'the girls'. So the director yells cut and we go behind a screen and I'm putting my clothes back on and Jake comes up to me and says, 'Annie, the thing is, the scene, in real life I would, so can I?' I just turned to him and said, 'It's okay Jake, yes, you can touch my boobs.'"

But Hathaway suggests Gyllenhaal became a little too amorous when it came to kissing: "Sometimes you work with actors, and they can be lovely guys, but they have kind of dodgy instincts when it comes to kissing in scenes. They want to try to make it look a bit too real if you know what I mean."

---

Well, to be honest, judging from his eager, protruding tongue in the LAOD trailer, he still hasn't lost his "dodgy instincts". ;-)

cheers,
lemniscate

mermon said...

Anonymous! As I remember - this "dodgy instincts" it was not about Jake, I read that he came to her before a car scene and said " No tongues" and she was surprised because that was the line she used to say to male actors. And then she said in interview about other guys with dodgy instincts.

Anonymous said...

Hi Mermon,

My apologies for suggesting Jake has "dodgy instincts". He's a professional.

As his big sister Maggie once said: "You can't believe everything your read on the Internet!"

cheers,
lemniscate

BBMISwear said...

Oh I just love love love all the BBM talk! I was reading through the comments from the last post and got such a *sigh* type feeling with all the mention of BBM (and I loved this from Olympia: "I love those boys and think of them everyday still after 4 1/2 years. I can't believe it'll be 5years soon." - I hear ya sister!! *heavy sigh*

Then I got to this post and WOW!! I enjoyed all the Jake and Anne talk, pictures, etc - thank you WDW!! I've always loved Anne and partnered with Jake I love her even more. I've also always loved those Polaroid pics of Jake and Heath. Great to see them again WDW! And the merkin talk - I love the merkin talk!!! (Sorry for the over use of the word 'love' tonight - I guess I'm squeeeing a bit here - LOL)! I am sooooo looking forward to the talk show circuit for LAOD - can you imagine?! If it got as interesting as it did when Jake was only mentioning it briefly while promoting PoP I can only speculate what it will be like when he's focused on it - whooowheee! Bring it on!!!

Speaking of LAOD talk...I am so envious of these people seeing the early screenings of it. It seems like the studio is doing more of this type of thing than usual, doesn't it? Maybe Oxford is after New York in the alphabet, WDW, but Boston is after New York when one travels east so maybe we're next?! (Which means Oxford is next after Boston because, honestly, any further east from Boston puts you into the Atlantic ocean as we well know)!!

It's been a joy to keep popping back here when time allows and fun to 'meet' all the new peeps that are posting here - keep it up newcomers!!

Until next time... :-)

BBMISwear said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
paulh said...

Great post!

Sorry it's been so long since I last posted.

Jake and Anne had great chemistry in BBM, so I would expect more great chemistry in LAOD.

And what is happening with Nailed?

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the heads up with advice to avoid the Take That video with a BBM theme. I'll definitely be taking your advice, and won't look at it.

The optimist in me is hoping that the music video may draw some more people in to watch the real BBM, and they can undertake the healing journey that BBM can be.

Those Kimmel clips and Unscripted gave me a good laugh today. I usually learn something on WDW's blog. Today it is the word 'merkin.'

And so much good buzz for LAOD, yay.

Cheers

Tui

sass said...

I love you for posting this though I haven't the strength to read it...up to late...tomorrow I will devour it and slowly!

Uli said...

Good morning!!
It makes me so happy to see all this great reviews from the test screenings coming in!!
And thanks for bringing back the Merkin inteview on Jimmy Kimmel. Jake was so incredibly cute when talking about his merkin and his crabs... :D :D :D

Hm, of course I had to look up the Shame video now and, um, err, I am almost afraid to say it... Maybe I am a bit thick when it comes to noticing mockery, but I thought it was actually kind of sweet... And the ending was cute :D :D I didn't necessarily think that it fits perfectly for the song, but I didn't feel that it was mocking BBM... But that's obviously just me :-/ :D
I can't remember who came up initially with the Brokeback reference and put that label on it - was it Robbie Williams/ Gary Barlow and their people or was it "the media"? (or is that the same? :D :D) Cause I think people who haven't seen the movie wouldn't even think of Brokeback...

mermon said...

Good Morning WDW, and everyone!
I found that "Shame" clip at last and I have to admit that I like it! I don't want to hurt your feelings, I love BBM with ENDLESS LOVE, but for me they don't mock from a movie, They just use good idea from a movie to bring attention. They did it quite nicely and after watching clip I have a need to watch a movie again. It brought memories. :)
And looking at those two guys I can tell how good, wise, great choice Ang Lee made taking Jake and Heath to play parts. They were just fantastic, the only ones. I can't imagine anyone else. It wouldn't be a success! Robbie and the other guy that just imitation. They try but they just are not Jake and Heath.
If this clip makes anyone to watch BBM - maybe for the first time - it's worth.

mermon said...

It's me again.
I like the ending of the clip as well, Uli. It's such a "Shame" they didn't jump! Jake and Heath did!:)

Wet Dark and Wild said...

orning everyone - Friday at last! And the sun's come out :D

Great to see you all here - catching up on the conversation - I'm interested to read other opinions about the video - wouldn't do for us all to think the same!

Unfortunately I can't chat individually with you all at the mo due to work nonsense but had to say hello and also say that I now have the image of Jake's LAOD trailer tongue in my head!!

Great to see you Paul, I've missed you! Hope things are good with you.

Back later :D Need to find chocolate...

TD said...

Oh WDW, have you seen the 'Shame' video?? Imitation being flattery an all, I think its lovely! Especially the end - (I bet Jake'll like it better cos they didn't jump! Lol)

I wouldn't know a TThat song if I heard one and I don't like RW at all, but he's risen a notch in my estimation [putting him at -272 degrees, one above absolute zero].

TD

Anonymous said...

Uli, you're not the only one who thought the Take That video was OK. You all know how much I love BBM and how important it is to me but I found it rather funny and sweet and I didn't feel they were trying to ridicule BBM. And I agree, the BBM references are rather subtle, I think people who haven't seen the movie wouldn't recognize them.

Thanks for reposting the Moviefone video, WDW. The part about the merkin kills me, Jake's reaction when he realizes he and Nathalie aren't talking about the same type of merkin is priceless. I thought he was gonna fall off his chair! :DDD

I hope works gets easier and that you found chocolate. :)

Olympia

Just Fan said...

I think Anne and Jake would make a good couple in real life. Who knows what the future will bring?

Crossing my fingers for LAOD's success.

The BBM cast pic is great. All good looking people. :)

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Hello everyone! What a crazy day but finally it's (the work part) over. They wore me out - thank heavens for Peroni.

I've enjoyed catching up - lots of diverse opinions on The Video, which is good.

I found chocolate, Olympia!

Right, I have stuff to post, so I'll shut up and get on with it!

Abby14 said...

Alright I've been creepin for a few days here and desided to finally post. ;) I can not wait for LAOD. Looks like an amazing movie. If I had known Jake was going to be a few hours west of where I live (I love in CO) I don't think I would have been able to breath during those days he was here lol.

Here's to hoping we get candids of him back in LA soon and without that animal on his face he calls a beard. ;)

Abby14 said...

^Haha I what I meant to say was "I live in CO" not "I love in CO." Believe me, I don't love CO lol.

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Hi Abby! And welcome :D I'm so pleased that you delurked and said hello. Chuckling at poor old unloved CO! Yep, I'm hoping we'll get another sighting of him soon and then a rush of photos, maybe providing the evidence we need that the beard got too itchy and had to go!