San Diego Comic-Con End of Watch update

As we'd suspected, Jake Gyllenhaal didn't join co-star Michael Pena and director David Ayer for the End of Watch panel at Comic-Con in San Diego yesterday. It would seem that An Enemy kept him in Toronto. However, that didn't stop Jake from introducing the film to the SDCC crowd via video and this included three clips. One of them is available for us to watch over at hula. Interesting use of beeps, especially if they make it into the movie itself.

ScreenCrave, amongst its other coverage, has great descriptions of the other two scenes. The first:

It’s POV shot from the front of a police car accompanied by a voiceover. The narrator is Officer Taylor (Gyllenhaal) and he’s giving a monologue about his devotion to the law. “A thin blue line protects the prey from predator, the good from the bad. We are the police.” The car is in a high speed chase with a black vehicle in a residential area.

The police car catches up to the rogue vehicle, forcing it to crash into a yard. The driver and its passenger immediately hop out with guns blazing. At this point, we’re still watching from the point of view of an anonymous the car. There’s a quick cut and we see Taylor and Zavala standing in front of the windshield aiming their guns at the assailants. They let off several rounds killing both men. Zavala walks over to their lifeless bodies, turns them over and handcuffs them. America Ferrera‘s character (Officer Orozco) appears in frame and looks at the damage. She exclaims, “Holy shit!”

The second:

Taylor and Zavala arrive on the scene of a house fire. A woman runs off her porch and screams that her two-year old daughter’s inside. Taylor immediately runs in to save her, with Zavala screaming, “No.” Cut to a scene filled with red lighting and puffs of smoke. Both men are shown crawling on the floor where they find the little girl.

Taylor grabs the child and covers her face with a blanket. Zavala tries to lead them out of the home but they’re stuck. They lose contact with one another because of the smoke. Luckily, they latch on to each other again and escape. The next thing we see is a group of firemen approaching the scene. Taylor and Zavala are on the ground shaking, sweating and struggling for breath. The firemen try to help them up, but Taylor yanks his arm and asks where were they.

According to MySpace: 

The unconventional camera coverage was chosen because David has the philosophy that with YouTube and video games the audience has learned to view footage and come to expect a certain level of reality in ways big studios don’t show. They built cameras to show the POV of the actors. Michael had to spend a lot of time running with one of these cameras strapped to his chest, which was hard because when he started he was out of shape and Jake loves to run.

You can read a full round up of the panel at Collidor, whose editor moderated the panel. Ayer doesn't spare Michael Pena's blushes, calling him fat compared to Jake at the beginning of filming. As time went on, Michael felt more like the 'Mexican RoboCop'. The whole experience, including the training, made Jake and Michael very close and so, no doubt, this charisma between the pair will be something to watch when the film is released. In fact, David Ayer wanted Jake and Michael to appreciate and feel the bond that police officers feel for their partners, a bond that is 'closer than marriage'.

Jake's voiceover to a car chase scene (source): 

“I’m the unpaid bill. I am fate with a badge and gun. Behind my badge is a heart like yours. I bleed, I think, I love. I can be killed. We stand watch together. A thin blue line, protecting the prey from the predators. We are the police.”

You can watch a video interview with Michael and David here at Shockya. 

All in all, End of Watch suddenly got a lot more exciting and it can't come soon enough - 28 September for the US, 23 November for the UK.