Jake Gyllenhaal to appear at Comic-Con in San Diego on 14 July

An Enemy is now into its last couple of weeks of filming in Toronto; its last scheduled date is 13 July. The indication is that as soon as Jake Gyllenhaal wraps, he'll be ready to move on. With no time to waste, Jake will  be heading down to San Diego to to publicise End of Watch at Comic-Con on Saturday 14 July.

Bleeding Cool has published the entire schedule for the event at San Diego's Convention Center and it includes:

'Saturday, July 14 – Open Road panel in Hall H at 12:45 p.m. with Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Peña and writer/director David Ayer.'

Good news! We'll have the first opportunity in quite a while to hear Jake talk about his work. If it's half as good as what came out of San Francisco's WonderCon in April 2010, then we are in for treats. Of course, back in 2009 Comic-Con gave us our first tantalising hints of Prince of Persia.

Talking of An Enemy:



Thanks to BBMISwear for the heads up!

Jake Gyllenhaal bound for Puzzle Palace with McG? And all in the line of duty...

Amongst all the twitter sightings of Jake in Toronto, there was one today that stood out by a mile. Hollywood's The Tracking Board tweeted "Jake Gyllenhaal enters Puzzle Palace'. This is the first indication that Jake is about to take on a role in an action adventure described by its likely director McG as having a 'Die Hard tone'.

As McG explained in the Playlist, it's about '"A kid who has to clear his father’s name by breaking into One Police Plaza in New York, which is the most secure building imaginable in a post-9/11 world. It’s a smaller picture, it’s designed for a [Ryan] Gosling [type actor]. It’s not as small and antithetical as ‘Drive,’ but it’s not a big giant over-the-top action picture, it’s meant to be a fun, intelligent action character study.”

We've been saying for quite a while in the comments here that Jake and Ryan may have been going up for similar, if not the same, roles. This is further evidence that there is that Gosling type out there that film makers want and audiences love. This is excellent news. It's also early news, so expect to hear nothing more about it for quite a while. No dates are set. Very little is set.

But does it mean we'll see Jake in a white vest? And will he get a catchphrase? Or not. Clearly, Jake's End of Watch training will stand him in good stead for breaking into a secure police station. Man Vs Wild won't hurt either.

End of Watch

We might not be hearing much yet from Jake himself about End of Watch - that will no doubt come - but his fellow cast members continue to reveal little glimpses. This week actress Cody Horn has been discussing her role in the film to the Hollywood Reporter:

"It's a total guy’s movie. And I got to scratch an itch of playing a tough cop. I was shooting guns, I even got tased!," she says, a little too enthusiastically. She got what? “We had gone to this training facility for a tactical challenge and fitness test where you run, grapple, shoot to become a police officer. To pass the test to become a cop, you have to get tased and get pepper sprayed so you know what it feels like."

Her character, a former Marine turned cop whose dad is the head of the police force, is a real badass. So of course Horn raised her hand first for the tasering. “Then Jake had to do it and then we ended up tasing the entire cast."

Her descripton is pretty chilling. "It feels like it's ripping your bones out of your body and simultaneously hammering your bones with a jackhammer. Cops have to tolerate it for five seconds. They did it to everyone else for one second. But they did me for three seconds because I was screaming so much, I forgot to say 'Stop."

Clearly the cast earned their money on End of Watch. Although there is a tip here - if you get tasered, best to say stop.

Thanks to IHJ for the pictures!

Jake Gyllenhaal goes back to school!

There are rare occasions when it's a good thing when Monday comes round again, when you can't wait to get back to work or school. If my workplace or school were turned into a filmset for Jake Gyllenhaal it's fair to say I'd never leave the place. Not  that I think it would do my work ethic much good... The lucky students of UTSC (University of Toronto Scarborough) are faced with such a dilemma: work diligently, taking only brief respites for a cup of tea and a slice of cake, or get that Jake Radar spinning and track him down. For yes! UTSC has become UGT, the school in An Enemy at which Jake's character teaches.

There is a no photo rule on set - isn't there always?... - but that hasn't stopped a little bit of sneaky subterfuge amongst the students. Here is a goodie and there is another one of the set here. There are tweets galore. Jake has also been spotted at Poutinis, the local home of chips and gravy (and there was me thinking that was English fayre).

There are some more new old pictures of Jake, thanks to IHJ, including photos from the 2009 Global Green event in LA. Has Jake ever looked more stunning? Discuss.

There are also more from the set of End of Watch back in August 2011. You know what they say about men with big guns? Big feet.

Keeping up to date with Jake Gyllenhaal and a WDW Peaceful Interlude

All is quiet on the Jake Gyllenhaal front, with filming on An Enemy in Toronto steaming ahead. This week, it's tweeted that the filming has moved to a local school for a few days. Although, Jake's largely managed to avoid being photographed by anything other than the film camera, a shot did emerge of Jake working out, possibly not the best of places for sneaking a pic. Jake is certainly keeping the local media busy with the sightings.

Early last year, Jake hitched a ride on the Mumford and Sons Railroad Revival Tour. We've mentioned the documentary about the tour before - Big Easy Express - but now we have some dates. You'll be able to JakeSpot on iTunes on 26 June. It will be released on blu ray and DVD on 24 July. Thanks to BBMISwear for the dates!

Several of Jake's films have the most amazing and memorable soundtracks - Brokeback Mountain, Zodiac, Moonlight Mile and Donnie Darko to name but four and in no particular order. On 1 August a special re-mastered blue vinyl edition of those most incredible Donnie Darko sounds is to be issued.

WDW Peaceful Interlude

This weekend, we grabbed a gap in the rainy clouds to venture out to Peace in the Park, an open day at the Global Retreat Centre a few miles south of Oxford. They have the most beautiful gardens and as well as enjoying those we were able to listen to music, eat cake and drink tea, with the most marvellous views over the countryside. Lots of red kites about too. We had lunch in a pub with a red kite nest in the tree above us, visited constantly by the calling parent birds. Lunchtime entertainment.

End of Watch to open in UK on 23 Nov, Jake Gyllenhaal and Rufus Wainwright, a WDW Interlude with Aung San Suu Kyi in Oxford

Some good news for the UK arrived this week, distracting us from our rainy sodden drought, in the shape of the release date for End of Watch on these shores - 23 November. This might be a couple of months after the US release but it's not too shabby, especially as this is not necessarily a film that travels especially well across seas. I'm hoping to be proved wrong on that. I'm also hoping for news of release dates for other countries soon.

Last night in Toronto, Jake Gyllenhaal was back in the company of Rufus Wainwright and Jorn Weisbrodt, a week after the concert. This time they ate together at the Harbord Restaurant in Toronto. As it's dinner time in the UK (an I'm hungry) I thought I'd post a link to their very tasty menu.

Lorene Scafaria is the writer and director of the imminent Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, a comedy starring Steve Carrell and Keira Knightly that looks for the bright side of the end of the human race and the annihilation of the planet. When asked about her inspiration, Lorene had this to say: "I was always more interested in the human relationships and the minutia of the people in the films, like 'The Day After Tomorrow' where I'm finding myself more invested in Jake Gyllenhaal's crush on a girl, not necessarily what was going to happen (to the planet)." Clearly, she has her priorities right.

A WDW Oxford Interlude

One of Oxford's most famous annual ceremonials took place today, the Encaenia. Conducted almost entirely in Latin, this 'Parliament of Dons' at Oxford University's most glorious and steeply-seated Sheldonian Theatre bestows honorary degrees on the wise and the good. They were particularly wise and good today. Crowds turned out in their hundreds to welcome Aung San Suu Kyi, and I was among them. These are history-making moments and I don't want to miss them.

Also in attendance were the Chancellor of the University, Chris Patten (whose robes were carried by a pageboy) and another honoree thriller writer John le Carré. More details of the visit here.

Pictures by WDW and Mr WDW.

Happy Solstice everyone!

Jake Gyllenhaal gets some cast mates for his Off Broadway debut, ping pong and Maggie continues to shine for Hysteria

If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet, Jake Gyllenhaal's imminent Off Broadway debut, is getting nearer! Previews start on 24 August before opening night on 20 September. It's quite possible that the butterflies are starting to flutter. But, unlike An Enemy in which Jake plays both the lead and the co-star, there are other people in the play and yesterday Variety announced a couple of them:

'Brian F. O'Byrne and Michelle Gomez will join Jake Gyllenhaal in the Off Broadway play "If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet." O'Byrne ("Brotherhood," NBC's "Prime Suspect"), who won a Tony for his role in 2004 outing "Frozen," will play the environmentalist father of an overweight teen girl who befriends her drifter uncle, played by Gyllenhaal in his Off Broadway debut. Gomez, who appeared in "Boeing Boeing" on the West End, stars at the teen girl's mother. The role of the daughter has yet to be cast.

Design team includes Beowulf Borritt (sets), Susan Hilferty (costumes), Natasha Katz (lights) and Obadiah Eaves (music and sound).'

Michelle Gomez is a Scottish actress, possibly best known in the UK for Green Room a few years back, while Brian F O'Byrne, an Irish actor, is a regular in Prime Suspect and also featured in the US series Flashforward. Could be quite a mix of accents here with the only English one coming out of Jake...

Jake will no doubt be rehearsing soon as only an actor about to have his NYC Off Broadway debut can. But, at the moment, Jake continues to film An Enemy and move between Toronto and NYC. The most memorable recent sighting is the one of Jake 'Playin' ping pong like a madman' at Spin Toronto on Friday night. I'm sure I'm not the only one to be reminded of Jake's near miss with a ping pong tournament back in January 2010.

Maggie, meanwhile, continues to make TV appearances to publicise Hysteria. Last week she was on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. If you're in the US, you can watch it here. Unfortunately, I haven't yet found a link that works on this side of the pond. Maggie did cause a stir looking rather wonderful outside the studio. I do like this retro glamorous actress look of hers.

Sarah Gadon on comparing Pattinson and Gyllenhaal fans on Twitter and Maggie talks about Gloria

A brief little post this evening, in the absence of news. The twitter sightings of Jake Gyllenhaal (and his beautiful eyes) filming around Toronto continue. There is even a photo of the set which, apparently, is pretending it's Washington DC.

Jake's An Enemy co-star Sarah Gadon also appears in the new cinematic release Cosmopolis with Robert Pattinson. In an amusing interview today she discusses her method of comparing her co-stars, Jake and Robert and it has a little something to do with us:

'"It's interesting," Sarah mused, "every time I get a new co-star, I sign up for Twitter and I get all their fans. And so it's kind of interesting to compare Pattinson fans and Gyllenhaal fans. You get to see what kind of fans they draw".'

No pressure then...

Gloria

Meanwhile, on Tuesday night, Maggie made an appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, during which she revealed that the name of her new daughter had been inspired by watching Patti Smith sing Gloria! You can watch the interview below or, if this link below doesn't work for you, here.

Jake Gyllenhaal and Rufus Wainwright in Toronto

Jake Gyllenhaal continues to accrue airmiles as he flies between NYC and Toronto where he's filming An Enemy. On 8 June Jake was back in the Big Apple where he was snapped leaving a restaurant...

...but last night (Monday 10 June), Jake was back in Toronto to watch old friend Rufus Wainwright play at the Luminato Festival. Tweets were excited (there were glimpses) and they continued when Jake and K'naan were spotted waiting for a table later at Terroni. There was even a photo. A little bit more info here.

Updated to add that Jake's An Enemy co-stars Sarah Gadon and Melanie Laurent were also at the concert. Thanks to Mermon for the link.

Jake has regularly been spotted at Rufus concerts over the years and it's now almost five years since that most momentous of nights when Jake actually joined Rufus on the NYC stage to do the speaky bit in Between My Legs. Rufus plays Oxford almost every year. This year will be the third time I've seen him play here and every time I can't help but take a look at the wings... Time for a memory lane trip.



Good job to all the Toronto tweeters for being on active Jake Spotting Duty!

Talking of rock and roll, my review of Rock of Ages is now up at MovieBrit!

Official poster for End of Watch released - 'Every moment of your life they stand watch'

Summer may have decided to pack its backs and go away on holiday for the foreseeable future but there is light amongst the gales and rain and it comes in the shape of the release of the official poster for End of Watch. Good to see Jake's name at the top of a poster again.

The image is via Fandango and the End of Watch facebook site.

Jake Gyllenhaal rushes back to set and a WDW Interlude with added bunting...

Never one to let the dust settle beneath his feet, Jake Gyllenhaal is back on set in Toronto filming An Enemy. It looks like he's still in a rush.

In an interview with the Toronto Standard, another star of An Enemy, Sarah Gadon, has been talking about whether or not she would like to read the novel by José Saramago on which it's based before shooting. Her answer may be a teeny spoilery so be warned:

'I am curious. Sometimes I am wary of reading the source material before I craft my ideas about a character. Because I find that I don’t want to be couched and confined by that description because I’m a person and I will ultimately bring more to that character than a character description. When Denis was showing us some of our camera tests, there was a shot of me pregnant and standing in this lighting he had devised. He said, “This, you can’t write.” And I think that you can’t write certain things that you can show in film. That’s clearly my defence of cinema, and my argument for why it’s a singular artform.'

WDW Jubilee Interlude

This weekend, in the UK we have been celebrating the Queen giving us an extra day off work - that and the fact that it's her Diamond Jubilee. It was difficult walking around Oxford yesterday without stumbling into a street party. They became especially easy to stumble into after a few pimms. We visited a couple yesterday, the first being at one of our very favourite pubs, where we were entertained with the most delicious little cakes and Oxford University's Gilbert and Sullivan singers, who were superb.

Secondly, we went to a street party in Jericho, Oxford, which, for some reason, was attended by an awful lot of pirates. This party included barrels of beer and a full line-up of singers, no doubt rivalling the Queen's Concert. We didn't stay too long due to fears that all that Hook Norton ale might make me pass out.

And it didn't even rain...

Jake Gyllenhaal relaxes in NYC after a busy week filming An Enemy in Toronto

Jake Gyllenhaal is not one to hang around between scenes on An Enemy. This weekend, Jake decided to pop back to NYC where it is hot and sunny instead of hanging around London in the pouring rain to watch a 1000 boats for the Jubilee. Possibly a wise decision. Yesterday Jake was seen out and about in the city with a friend and smiles were the order of the day.

It sounds like Jake could do with the rest. A tweeter on the An Enemy set mentioned this week: 'Spent the other night on a camera car with Jake Gyllenhaal doing 70km/h along Lakeshore shooting a car crash sequence' and then mentioned 'JG having a Bale-esque moment'. Sounds like long hours.

Thanks to IHJ for the new pics!

My non-spoilery review of Prometheus is now on MovieBrit.

Jake Gyllenhaal busy in Toronto working on his cinematic 'existential crisis'

Jake Gyllenhaal's working visit to Toronto has most certainly caught the attention of the local media. The Toronto Life has been mapping Jake's movements across the city as well as keeping an eye on where his character's clothes are from. The photographers can barely keep up with him and even the commentators are commentating on the fascination of the Toronto's dailies with Jake's movements (if  you pardon the expression).  Rather fittingly, we have new pictures of Jake on set on 31 May with co-star Melanie Laurent.

Another of the co-stars Sarah Gadon briefly mentioned An Enemy while in Cannes: '"The way Jake describes it,” she says, “it’s about a man having an existential crisis who leaves his mistress for his wife.”'

In the light of Jake's upcoming NYC stage debut, you might be interested in this article about the risks producers take in casting stars in their plays. Thanks to BBMISwear for the link.

There are other pictures here.

I put up my non-spoilery review of Prometheus on MovieBrit today.