Source Code to open the SXSW Film Festival on 11 March 2011 and a Jake Gyllenhaal interview as LAOD opens in Australia

Source Code, directed by Duncan Jones and starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan is to open the South by Southwest Movie Film Conference and Festival in Austin, Texas, on 11 March 2011. The press statement, courtesy of Moviefone, read as follows:


'"We are delighted to welcome Duncan Jones back to SXSW. His debut Moon showed an intelligence, skill, and exceptional use of limited resources that's exactly the kind of filmmaking we love to support," said Film Conference and Festival Producer Janet Pierson. "Source Code is a terrific follow-up; it's a smart, suspenseful thriller, and a perfect fit for our 2011 Opening Night!"'


After the excitement of the Golden Globes nomination, there was little joy for Love and Other Drugs among the SAG nominees announced today - in fact they were a completely different kettle of fish, as Johnny Depp, Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling would also attest. However, there was the news that I Remain by Alanis Morisette, the closing theme to Prince of Persia, is among the 41 songs up for consideration by the Academy for the Oscars. It's quite a list.


Love and Other Drugs opens in Australia today and that means more interviews. In this one from Filmink we hear from Jake: '"It brought up lots of questions for all of us. Anne Hathaway's character being sick is such a huge part of the movie, but we all fall apart. It's just the nature of being a human being. Your body deteriorates, and that's the fact."


'Working on the film has understandably given Gyllenhaal unique insights into the pharmaceutical industry, and whether or not we're an overmedicated society which thinks that everything can be cured with a pill. "Maybe we're all too trusting," the actor suggests. "We're not listening to our hearts. I don't want to make a blanket statement about that, but in the movie, my character says to Anne's character, ‘You're my little blue pill', so perhaps whatever we need in a pill we can get in intimacy instead maybe."'


'Gyllenhaal certainly agrees that love may be the most powerful drug of all. "Yeah, I'd agree, if I'm a human being," he smiles. "I sure hope that I am. If you have it and it's real, then it doesn't matter how long you have it for. You can't really fake that."'


Includes pictures from IHJ, Disney and Fox.

Prince of Persia gets its song, thanks to Alanis Morissette, and Jake Gyllenhaal and The Forgotten Sands

Towards the end of February, we reported that Prince of Persia: Sands of Time was complete except for one crucial element - it had no closing song. Nothing for people to ruin while trampling over feet and bags to get out to check their phone (the exception is clearly Avatar - if ever there was a closing song to run away from that was it). And nothing for us to slump into our seats to after two hours of Jake Gyllenhaal in the sands. All we knew was that 'a very well-known female artist' was being leant towards. Now we know her name - Alanis Morissette - and her song will be called I Remain.


Known to many as the barefoot, skipping and loud-of-mouth God in Dogma, Alanis Morissette is a singer/songwriter who knows how to get her point across with no dilly dallying and has a fine voice to boot. So this is good news indeed and in further good news the soundtrack album is now available to preorder. Give it a couple of months and you too can sway with your partner to 'Ostrich Race' and 'Hassassin Attack'.


The soundtrack's composer is Harry Gregson-Williams, best known for his work on the Chronicles of Narnia, X-Men and endless Shreks.


To illustrate the point that there are other lovely products on the way with which to fill every spare square metre of one's homes, offices and cars, this post's pictures includes some examples.


Lest we forget that Prince of Persia is based on a videogame and not on an authentic chronicle rediscovered in a long-lost royal library, reclaimed from the sands in the heart of the ancient desert city of Susa, a new game is on the way to mark the release of the movie. Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands will be out on the Wii in May - complete with the original PoP game that irritated and enthralled me in equal measure back in another century (the versions for other platforms will be a tad later).



Fitting indeed then that the wonderful IHJ has posted today new old pictures of Jake playing on a PS2 back in 2001 at Sundance. But be warned - these photos come with a Hideous Jumper Warning. Do take care, particularly when trying not to look at the elbows.




Obviously, in this day and age, Jake will be enjoying the new game on the wii, having already perfected his Wii Tennis Serve.


And finally...

In preparation for 9 May, the lovely Gemma Arterton and her shoes took to the splendour of a very wet red carpet for the world premiere of Clash of the Titans in London last night. Apparently, Leicester Square was turned into ancient Greece for the night with lots of men in miniskirts. More than ever, this gives me hope for something quite special on 9 May for the Prince of Persia premiere and I'm not talking scorpions loose in the Square.


Includes pictures from IHJ, links and Amazon.