Gemma Arterton on Jake Gyllenhaal - 'He's a real softie at heart'. PoP videos, and hi-res Love and Other Drugs poster and images

Prince of Persia DVD. Out today in the UK. Out tomorrow in the USA. Already out across much of the known world. Without any more ado, a clip. Be warned - this is not for the faint-hearted. We have violence and peril. But that's nothing compared to to what we have in the second clip. In that one we have gratuitous ostrich pecking and bare chest - and I don't mean a bare ostrich breast served with sage and onion stuffing, cranberry sauce and roast potatoes.




As if that weren't enough, Disney in the Netherlands has given us one of my favourite scenes form the film. The bit where Dastan tells Garsiv he has his hand on his sword again. And Tus takes Dastan by the wrist. And you just know that Dastan will do what he wants and that means taking the city of Alamut almost single-handed.



To commemorate the release of Prince of Persia into our homes - something we have been waiting for for well over two years - another Q&A with Jake Gyllenhaal from London in May has been released (with AP). And again, there are some familiar answers but it never hurts to bring Jake into the procedings.


'AP: I’m presuming you’ve been offered loads of different action roles before, so what was it about Prince Dustan that really grabbed you? GYLLENHAAL: Well, to me the moment I read the first sequence of the movie, which is the siege on Alamut where he’s (Prince Dustan) jumping around and lighting things on fire and having a good time doing it, I think that was the moment when I thought, ’there’s a sense of humor here.’ Here’s one of those classic characters that’s in the vein of Errol Flynn or Indiana Jones and those are the movies I loved when I was a kid, and I loved watching.'


'AP: So you wanted to have a laugh? GYLLENHAAL: Yeah I wanted to have a good time, and I wanted to know that I was making a movie that an audience could have a good time in too. AP: And had you played the video game before? Are you any good? GYLLENHAAL: When I was eight or nine years old I played the original side-scroller game a lot. And then I took a 20 year hiatus (laughs) and only picked it up when I was doing research for the movie — which was very, very difficult research, it was hard. Three to four times a day I would have to be forced to go and play the video game. People don’t really know how hard it is to be an actor and I can tell you how hard it is; it’s working out every day and getting paid for it and also playing video games. So it’s really been tough, a really tough road (laughs).'


'AP: Did you enjoy the stunts? It’s very different doing them compared with playing the game. I’m actually quite disappointed you’re just sitting there and you haven’t swung through the window onto a horse. GYLLENHAAL: That would be an incredible entrance, I would have done that for you if I could have and we had more time. But no, Mike Newell, the director, had a wire attached to my back and he would just control me ... I would do whatever he wanted. Move to the left, move to the right, jump, fight this guy, win!'


'AP: I want to ask you about the Parkour (free-running) stunts. Are you quite good at that now? GYLLENHAAL: No, I have to say. I saw this thing on MTV called “The Ultimate Parkour Challenge” ... where they brought in some of the best Parkour athletes in the world. And I watched them do all these crazy things, which was actually semi-disturbing to see because they got injured quite a lot and I just thought ’I’ve got no idea what I’m doing, these guys are extraordinary.’ The fundamentals I do know and I can do things, but ultimately I cannot say I’m a card carrying Parkour athlete. I just try to mimic. I did jumps, I did my own jumps and different things but the dangerous stuff was done by the professionals.”'

'AP: Would you return to the role? GYLLENHAAL: Of course, I’d loved playing the role. I loved being a part of the movie. It’s an incredible world, so if that were an opportunity, I would definitely take it.' Source.


For me, Jake doesn't have to leap through the window onto a horse to make an impression - all he need do is open the door and walk into the room.

This video is a new one for me from that extraordinarily special Prince of Persia London red carpet. In this one, you'll be glad to hear, you're spared me jumping up and down in the background.



And finally

Thanks to IHJ, we have the hi-res poster for Love and Other Drugs plus the two other images that so far we had only seen in a small format. They are wonderful.




Includes pictures from IHJ, LA Times and Jordan Mechner.