Jake Gyllenhaal back in LA and remembers his perfect 8 minutes making popcorn and building spaceships - more SC interviews

Now that the Rapture is over or at least postponed until the Autumn, Jake Gyllenhaal has made his way back to the West Coast. Yesterday (25 May), Jake was spotted at a bank in Beverly Hills, wearing just the right shorts to display new Nike. Pictures can be found throughout the post and more at IHJ.


With many thanks to Mrs JG, we have some new scans and interviews from Jake's promotion of Source Code in Germany, where the film opens next week on 2 June. These scans are from the Austrian magazine Seitenblicke. The interview itself is very similar to the one from IN we featured yesterday. Clearly, it's from the same junket. I am very grateful to Mrs JG for her excellent translation:

'Seitenblicke (SB): What would you do in real life if you knew you had only 8 minutes to live? Jake Gyllenhaal: (JG): Ironically something I do almost every day anyways: I would call my family. Most likely I would joke and laugh with them. And hopefully I would not be annoyed as it sometimes happens when I talk to my mom or my sister – you know, sometimes family can get on your nerves a bit! (Laughs) In any case it would be important for me to go with a smile. I am a Buddhist, well not frenetic, just a bit, I like the attitude. And Buddha always smiled so a last smile would be really important for me.'


'SB: If you could get into another man’s body, not for 8 minutes but a whole day – who would it be? JG: Oh boy, that’s a tough one. The movie is not about body switching. It is more than that. But all right, let’s play this game: I would use the possibilities to do something good. Just imagine: I could prevent the deadly attacks on John F. Kennedy or Martin Luther King! What would happen if I could warn Abraham Lincoln: “Hey, you better don’t visit that theatre!” (Laughs) What influence might that have on the course of history? But then I would immediately be gone again. I don’t believe I can lead an entire nation! I just would want to warn these luminaries.'


'SB: What else was appealing in shooting this movie? JG: This is a man who was a hundred percent sure who and what he is and he is basically reborn and has to come to terms with his new identity. That was fascinating for me. Then really everyday life is quite similar for us. Through the experiences we make our personality changes over the years. Well and then there’s the story with the girl… SB: Which was appealing too? JG: Sure. After all my character, who keeps taking on this other humans identity over and over again, has to try and get a date with the same woman 8 times! (Laughs) And even that is a reference to reality: sometimes that happens. And if you do ask a woman out on a date – that can feel like walking through a mine field. That takes a lot of courage! (Laughs)'

'SB: Do you regret something in your past? Is there something you would like to be able to change? JG: Oh, I regret a lot of things in my life. That’s what happens when you turn 30. But every mistake I made has also made me a better human being. Without these mistakes I would not be who I am today. That’s why I would never ever want to go back and change the course of things.'


'SB: Do you believe in fate? JG: Yes. I do see it from a spiritual perspective. The fate of the world runs by a higher plan which is anchored within each one of us. We can only try to listen to it – and by that listen to ourselves. And hopefully that will allow us to make the world a better place.'

'SB: How was it to turn 30 a couple of months ago? Was it something special or just a birthday like any other? JG: Somehow it seems to be a big deal for everyone. (Laughs) And naturally it was important for me as well. A turning point. Sometimes I think back to the time when I shot “Donnie Darko” which turned into a cult movie and made me known. Ten years have gone by since, a decade. Back then I was 20, unsure and didn’t really know who I really am. I have learned a lot since. It’s overwhelming what has happened since, a real privilege. I have matured and gotten self-confident. Your twenties count like dog years. For every real calendar year you make experiences for a full seven years. I am really curious what the thirties will hold in store for me.'


There is another Austrian interview which you can read here. It has some appealing anecdotes from Jake, most noticeably this account of Jake's most perfect eight minutes (thanks again to Mrs JG for the translation): 'I have given a good television interview in that time frame. No, that was a joke. One of the most amazing events for me was watching popcorn in the microwave. It did not matter how old I was - I was always surprised when it came out popped. These eight minutes I could see happening again and again. How can these small grains of pop and taste so good?'

Jake also talks about how as a child he liked confined places and how he found 'the sense of isolation inspiring' from small rooms. 'I would climb up and paint things on the walls inside and act as if it were a spaceship.'

Thanks to IHJ for the pictures and to Mrs JG for the scans.