There's no denying that it's with a heavy heart that I pick up WDW and Jake again after the last few sad days. But it was Jake who brought Mermon into our lives and I am sure she would want the community to continue to enjoy his work. I hope so. So here's a post recapping a little of what Jake Gyllenhaal has been up to.
Jake made a little video to praise PoP co-star Ben Kingsley for the BAFTA Britannia awards in LA and you can watch that here, if the embedded link below won't work for you. You can read a full report of the rather salubrious event here.
Jake has been hard at work (and being thin) for Nightcrawler. There's an audio interview on the NPR site that you can listen to and download. Among other things, Jake discusses the schedule of Nightcrawler. It sounds punishing and (quite probably) soon to be over:
'Well, this movie in particular ... it's a smaller-budget film. And we're shooting this movie in 28 days, which is a short amount of time to make a film. The only shorter film I've made is 22 days, which was this film called End of Watch ... [where] we spent most of our waking and non-waking time making the movie. You know, it was sort of like a bender the whole time. This movie's very similar. So we push as the week goes on. We start at 6 a.m. on Monday. [Now it's] a Thursday night, and we'll probably go until 3 or 4 a.m. to finish it off.'
This week we've had the rather surprising news that the MPAA have given Nailed a certificate - an even more surprising PG13. Reports that this film might be revived have been as regular as buses over the last few years and I greet each one with a curious mix of a smile and grimace. But the evidence is building that the project might be released in some form at some time, even if it won't be quite the end result we were expecting. If it's a PG13 then it certainly won't be what I was expecting. But, as I have said repeatedly, time will tell.
This post contains photos of Jake Watching the LA Lakers take on the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Staples Center in LA on Sunday night. Thanks so much to IHJ for these lovely smiley pictures.
The eagle-eyed amongst you - well, all of you - may have noticed that I've been knocking together some signage. You'll now find a series of links across the top which will take you to the posts for particular films of Jake Gyllenhaal. It's my WDW Tubemap - it's designed to take you through the last 1400 posts or so to the key movie stops but without the delays and Sunday engineering works. It's a work in progress and other signs will be added in order to direct you to key and/or hot and/or gratuitous Jake posts.
I'm sure many of you are far too busy watching Prince of Persia on the TV to be here, but I do want to give a shout out to Stephanie at IHJ who has spemt many hours doing at least 1850 screencaps for us all, enabling us to savour some favourite moments. I must admit to being intrigued by the hair in this picture from the Making of extra on the DVD. You can also see some clips from the Blu-ray here, including some of the exclusive extras.
To mark the release of the DVD, Sir Ben Kingsley has also been talking about his experience of Prince of Persia and how he approached it in a Shakespearean manner. This modest and generous actor also has this to say about his young co-stars and how he could learn from them: 'I recently read a book that I was asked to do the introduction for. It is a book aimed at the young actor. Over and over again, and I realize how right this is, it says you have to be relaxed in order to act. You cannot act, or paint, or write music if you bring tension to the task. Not that I am a tense person but I found that what I had to do with Jake Gyllenhaal was relax even more because Jake is a wonderful mixture of relaxed confidence. He knows that the best take will be when he is at his most relaxed. Sometimes you think that he is not doing anything but it is all happening. It is lovely to act with him because I have to be as relaxed and loose and free as he is.'
'There is a purity, a kind of religiosity to Gemma Arterton. I know she will hate me for saying this but there is something pure and almost saintly about her - which she kicks against ferociously. The thing about the cinema is that it forces you to be essential and Jake Gyllenhaal's essential quality is the relaxed work. Mine is the struggle between envy and regret and these ideas I have about my character. Gemma Arterton's is this saintly, religious adherence to telling the story. Her concentration is phenomenal; she is uninterruptible on the set. It's wonderful to watch.' There is plenty more here.
Less serious and certainly amusing if you take it with a big pinch of sand, is this 'rewriting' of Jake and Sir Ben by the Guardian. But 'coloured contact lenses'??? Shame on you, Guardian. 'Is that a mystical dagger in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me?'...
Donnie Darko revisited
It was very good to see this video appraisal of Donnie Darko by New York Times Critic, A.O. Scott. It is well worth a watch - not least because it does help to explain the different levels for which this unique film can be appreciated and enjoyed, not to mention puzzled over.
Pictures thanks to IHJ. Sneezes and spluttering from WDW.
Love and Other Drugs now has a release date for the UK - not surprisingly, it's later than the November release for the US but it does mean we get a Christmas Bonus. FilmDates has announced a date of 29 December, although I must say that Wednesday seems an unusual day of the week for a movie release.
A week ago, we enjoyed Jake Gyllenhaal answering some more questions from fans and one of the questions was from our very own Silver (Erin)! Silver was promised some goodies which have now arrived and I'm delighted that Silver sent me photos to share with everyone. I wonder if Mrs Wood has received her's...
Conratulations again, Silver! And here is a reminder of the video.
At long last I have finished reading We Make Our Own Destiny which, as you may recall, I took to pieces after having the front cover signed by Jake and the back by Gemma Arterton. As a result, it's now in bits. However, there are gems in those fragments. And here are just a few of them.
Mike Newell: 'I considered lots of actors for Dastan... but Jake has a man-of-the-people quality. He's curious, open, gentle, very tough, and has great comic abilities, and in Prince of Persia he uses all of that. I saw pretty much everything he had made, and thought him a marvellous actor, with terrific charisma. But, what I didn't know about Jake was that he would be an absolutely God-given action hero. He can fight, hold a sword, run, clamber, jump, and a ride a horse as if he were glued to the back of it. And that I didn't expect. I expected the acting and the good looks, but didn't know that he could hold a sword and look like he means it - and that's not a small thing.'
Jordan Mechner: 'Any time you have a character who an audience has connected to through another medium, whether it's a novel or a video game, people are going to have strong feelings about it. But I think that if you have a good actor and a good movie, then after the first minute it's no longer an issue. I think Jake is a fantastic choice for the the role. Once you see him in costume and in action, you have no doubt that he can be the prince in sixth-century Persia.'
Gemma Arterton: 'Jake is a naturally humorous person, so we had lots of banter anyway, which kind of fed into what we were doing in front of the camera... We'd muck about on set, and Jake is easy to bounce off in that respect, because he's a funny guy. But at the same time, because he's a good actor, we could get through to all of the undertones of Dastan and Tamina's relationship, so it was brilliant. I was really lucky to act opposite Jake.'
Jake Gyllenhaal on Sir Ben Kingsley: 'Sir Ben Kingsley's work speaks for itself... which of course is why he's here. He's just an extraordinary actor in all respects and all rights, and has earned all the accolades that any actor could or would ever hope to, and we're just lucky to have him in our film. That's how I feel every day I'm working with him. He's incredibly sensitive, and I liked seeing that in someone who's so experienced. He hasn't been hardened to a life of acting in movies and onstage, He's ever learning and ever curious to what's happening, and I really respect that he could be so open to a twenty-eight year old actor who's still at the beginning of his career, and just be kind and giving.'
Jake: 'Every time I walk onto one of the sets in this movie, I just think of all the children that I know and love, and how much fun they're going to have watching this movie... The fact is, I made it for them. And if I'm frustrated about something, I take a look at the sets of Alamut, or the Sandglass of the Gods, and I just think anout how much fun the kids are going to have watching Dastan fight off the Hassansins and doing his jumps and leaps. It brings me a lot of joy to think about that, because I remember how huge of an influence movie heroes had on my life when I was young. Kids today are brought up in a very different world. We're experiencing a lot of hard sruff. So it's really nice to have a movie that's going to be a real escape and a metaphor for them that represents good. It's a nice feeling to be a part of something like that.'
'Mike is just wonderful, so smart and robust... Mike is all about performance and story, and that's his strength. Also his sense of comedy is really wonderful, very dry and British. When he tells me something, particularly in a comedic moment, it's always based in a real place.'
'There's not a single person on this movie who can find a bad thing to say about Fred Molina... He's just great, an actor's actor who adds light and life to the movie. Fred raised the bar, and he's just a lovely man.'
Alfred Molina: 'I think it's rather presumptuous of us to imagine that audiences are going to come out of watching Prince of Persua and be better people for it... If an audience walks out thinking that their ten bucks have been really well spent, then we've done our job. If they come out entertained and uplifted in some way... if it makes them curious about wanting to find out more about history... that's even better.'
Alfred: 'I don't think we've seen a member of the human species being quite so emotionally linked with an ostrich... I think we're breaking new ground here.' Alfred had thought that the ostrich he kissed was an Anita but it turned out to be an Alan. 'So I think we did the first sort of gay, interspecies kiss on film. Hopefully, they'll create an MTC Award for that category.'
Gill Raddings, animal coordinator: 'The camels on set are wonderful. They don't kick, they don't spit, they don't bite, and they don't spook at anything. With a battle raging around them, the camels just stand their, chewing their cud and looking down their long noses at everyone and everything... They can get a little moody...'
Anthony Bloom, avian coordinator (about the birds in the palace scene between Dastan and Tamina): 'One bird has a vocabularly of colourful swearwords, and another, named Peppy, speaks soliloquies in a thick Scottish accent... I just hope they don't start talking during Jake Gyllenhaal and Gemma Arterton's dialogue.'
Chad Oman, executive producer (on Dastan and Tamina's leather water bottle): 'It took five weeks of constant work to make that one bag, with elaborate stitching and beadwork.'
Sir Ben Kingsley: 'Everywhere our eyes looked, we saw the most exquisitely carved walls, drapes, ramparts... And in Morocco, nature itself, the camels, thousands of horsemen, the dust. Our sets are so detailed that even if you're pausing, like I am, half-way in a line and just breathing in, the amount of energy and information you're breathing in is extraordinary. Hours and hours of work have gone into this environment for you to act it. It's really uplifting, and it honoured our craft to such a degree.'
Penny Rose, costume designer: 'As anyone can see, Jake Gyllenhaal has a superb body... And we felt it was relevant to show elements of it without a kind of full-on torso. So we start the movie in his battle armor, which was painstakingly made in real leather - with all the ingredients and accessories - by a wonderful Moroccan craftsman. It is a big wink at the video game, because we felt there had to be an identity from the first frame, so audiences will recognize aspects of the look from the games. For riding and stunts, we had a plastic replica, much lighter, but you can barely tell the difference.'
'For Jake's second costume, the inspiration for his coat came from an old piece of textile we picked up in an old antique fair... I particularly liked the work on it, thought it had a very good identity of its own. So we remade it by hand and turned it into a coat, bound by leather. Jake loves what we call the 'spiral coat' because it's really light, he can really move in it. He's got a white linen shirt with handstitching down the front and on the cuffs, plus a sash and a belt, and a nice necklace. Jake wears boots and knee protectors with this costume.'
'But I think Jake's favourite costume is when he's disguised as an Indian palanquin-bearer for a very large Mughal in King Sharaman's funeral procession. It's metallic-embroidered red silk from India, and I must say that Jake cuts rather a dash in it, especially with the matching headdress.'
Greg Powell, stunt coordinator: 'This movie has been an adventure... We've taken nearly every stage at the studio, plus half of the Moroccan desert. It's been great fun. Jake is capable of doing it all himself, and we only use his stunt doubles when it's absolutely impossible for safety reasons.'
Ben Cooke, fight coordinator: 'Jake has to fight convincingly with two swords and a dagger, in addition to the parkour and free-running elements, and that's a lot to learn. But Jake's done it... He's rocked the party. When he gets in there, he knocks it out. We'll have him fighting, jumping, falling, sometimes up on rigs that are forty or fifty feet up in the air. Jake's all for it.'
Jake: 'I learned at the foor of people who have designed some of the most insane movie fights you've ever seen... We did a ton of fight rehearsals. I remember the first one that we did, just learning how to do simple moves, starting with a strike and parry, and slowly moving on to much more difficult choreography. It's sort of funny, because by the time we were on day ninety-eight, I walked onto set, and Ben Cooke says, 'Okay, mates, you're gonna parry him off, turn around, then he's gonna come around here and swipe under your head,' and I was like, 'Okay, no problem'. It's amazing how you start to take it all for granted once you've gotten used to the process.'
David Belle: 'Jake certainly had me convinced... I've seen his work, his movements in various scenes, and I have no doubt.'
Jake: 'My DNA now has the Moroccan desert in it, because I've definitely breathed in my share of sand... I grew up in Southern California, and the weather and topography of Morocco are actually quite similar, so it wasn't too rough for me. I had shot here before, but I'd never actually gone as far into the desert and seen as much of Morocco as I did on Prince of Persia. It's a really beautiful country. There were times, on off days, when I'd just drive and drive, just amazed at the landscapes and the culture. Moroccan people are the sweetest, kindest people, and the hardest workers. I'm really going to miss them a lot. I just think Moroccans are wonderful people.'
Mike Newell: 'The English are supposed to have this special thing for the desert, because England is so small, green, and wet... and the English can breath free when they get into vast, dry spaces. And it's true. The desert is a very beautiful and mysterious place to be.'
Conclusion: 'That final night in Erfoud, with a charter jet due to arrive the next morning to ferry the company to London, vigorous drums and music permeated the air at the crew hotel as a Berber ensemble played. An adorable eleven-month-old camel named Mounis - that looked like a cartoon character, with his ever-smiling face and long eyelashes - made the rounds being petted and having photos taken with the crew.'
Pictures with thanks from Silver and Disney, via IHJ.
The Son of the Prince of Persia is back. 'You have beautiful dark hair like your mother' Jake Gyllenhaal aka Dad Dastan tells him, while evil Uncle Nizam continues to test his hapless nephew, stating that the union of Dastan and Tamina poses no threat at all. It turns out that this Son of Persia was also the one who asked Jake at the London Press Conference why he was so afraid of Austrians. Continuing with its bounties of richness, this video also gives us the opportunity to hear Jake speak in an English accent in German - a rare feat, I'm sure you'll agree. Bravo to Daniele Rizzo.
Mike Newell would have only one word for it - and I think you know what it is...
Talking of accents and Jake's adaptations of Britishness (so much so that he's now stopped talking about hockey and is talking non-stop instead about soccer and watching the USA lose to England in South Africa on Sunday), in this interview brand new and beautiful bride Gemma Arterton talks of Jake's dry British sense of humour. I sense that Jake was able to give as good as he could get. Possibly. Jake also has some nice words to say about his feisty foe and Persian partner.
Never one to be tied to just two or three countries alone, Jake also has - I fear this isn't news - a Swedish connection. In this interview (thanks to Herman for the link), Jake says that he is keen to visit Sweden with his sister, not having visited before, but that he is no stranger to Sweden in the kitchen. But I get ahead of myself... the interviewer had first spoken to Jake ten years before, in those October Sky days when the interviewer had paid the bill for lunch.
'I remember the interview... You asked in particular about what my favorite group was from Sweden.' And in 2010 Jake has to make a sorry admission - he no longer drives a Volvo: "'No, now I drive an Audi', he says, and my German colleague cheers.' 'I'm very interested in cooking. As soon as I arrive in a new city I like to visit the local market. I buy lots of cookbooks, too, including several different Swedish cookbooks... I love meatballs.'
'I made these to be added to tomato sauce to be served over pasta. You can also make these in smaller sized meatballs to be served as an appetizer.
1 1/2 lb ground beef vegetarian mince 2 slices white bread, crust removed 1/2 C pecorino romano 2 or 3 garlic cloves minced 1 tbs fresh parsley chopped 1 tbs fresh basil chopped 1 tsp kosher salt 1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper 2 eggs beaten
Preheat oven 375F. Gently mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly, but don't crush it all together. You do not want to compact the mixture. Make about 12 meatballs. They will be around 2 inches in diameter. Place on an oiled baking pan and and bake for 15 minutes (20 if you are not going to add them to sauce). Add to tomato sauce and simmer a few minutes before serving.' There's lots to chew over here, not least the mysteries of the American measuring system for cooking. I think I need Jake to pop round to explain it to me.
In this same French interview, apart from saying that he blushes like a virgin when he talks about love (deep breathes... take a moment... continue...), Jake does state 'I have no favorite dish. People who choose a particular dish are not as good a cook as they say. They should be able to create an exquisite dish, whatever the recipe.' I feel that once Jake experiences my kedgeree he may change his mind on that one. As for the love comment... 'When I speak of love, I blush like a virgin. But I'm convinced that a relationship can be sustainable if it's with the right person. But in the meantime, I continue to live, work and play sports. (Laughter.)' Sounds good to me!
In this interview, Jake also talks about his Moroccan Prince of Persia diet and - again, I fear this might not be news - it's chicken and vegetable tagines or, to mix it up a bit, vegetable and chicken tagines. 'On the set in Morocco, I continued to lift weights. I ran back to my hotel every night, and I created a diet composed mostly of tagines of chicken and vegetables. I love it. (Laughter.)' There's that British sense of humour again.
** Update: Prince of Persia overtakes SATC2 at the holiday box office! **
Thanks to the photographic team of USA Today we have proof of that fine age-old adage: 'Nothing sets off a brick wall quite like Jake Gyllenhaal'. Photographer Robert Hanashiro describes the background to the fabulous photo of Jake that adorned the front page of the newspaper last week. When faced with the option of taking photos of Jake in the basement of the El Capitan theatre against an Alice in Wonderland backdrop, Hanshiro took the risky decision to move to a brick alley. The results are stunning. You can read all about it here.
Pictures from USA Today.
We've seen the cast of Prince of Persia take the Gyllenhaal Spelling test - and largely fail. Today the cast has a go at the PoP Movie Quiz. It is spoilery so you may want to wait until you've seen the fim but otherwise enjoy seeing how bad Jake is. Not that the others are much better, mind you. When asked how many times Dastan and Tamina kiss in the film, Sir Ben Kingsley slips into character and asks would Nizam care? Possibly not.
I must thank those who have been sending me interviews and features from all corners of the globe for Prince of Persia. Many thanks to Linda for this scan from the Mexican TabascoHOY. You can read the article here.
A feature from Brazil (with thanks to Monica) contains a lovely snippet about Jake's set companion Atticus, who is truly a Hollywwod dog. Please excuse my poor translation: 'The interview with Jake Gyllenhaal was amazing. The guy is a family man. The actor spoke of his father (Stephen) and his actress sister (Maggie) more than the movie. He said he loves to cook, goes to the market to select ingredients for the dishes. He has a dog that accompanies him to film sets. On the set, the dog, very playful, has learned the codes and he makes no sound when you hear 'Shoot', coming back to life at 'Cut', when he runs into the scene to try to knock over the good guy from Brokeback Mountain.'
In a German interview with Gala.de, Jake confirms that Atticus is his companion on set. He also says that cookbooks fill his bookshelves and they are his obsession. [Well, I've got lego and a veritable Prince of Persia library on mine...] Jake says that 'If I'm in a strange city, I ask first when the market days are.' This seems like a good point to tell Jake that Oxford's market is on a Wednesday.
'I like to cook, grow my own vegetables and it's nice to sit comfortably with friends at a table and chat. I am a good listener.' Jake also owns up to his Martha Plimpton crush. Jake admits that he was never so proud in his life as when Maggie was nominated for an Oscar and he sat in the audience. He also says that the ring he is often seen wearing these days says 'Carpe Diem' or 'Seize the Day'. 'This is my life motto.'
Intriguingly, this interview begins with a suggestion that the keys were lost for this interview at the Dorchester and Jake had to break in, ala Dastan. My German is too rusty and so updated to add a translation from my good German friend Uli (no doubt still celebrating Germany's Eurovision win on Saturday...): 'In the posh London hotel, The Dorchester, Jake breaks open the door to the interview room - much to the horror of the staff - because the key is missing and then, during the "Gala"-Interview, made his cool Princeof Persia-Barbie [ie, action figure] climb over glasses and through the flowers on the table.' Thanks Uli!
There is another fine interview from DigitalDVD in Germany. Jake talks again about how proud he was of making his first big jump onset and that he took a photo of himself afterwards. Jake says here that he's thinking of making it his screensaver. [Something else Jake and I have in common!]
Jake's favourite scene in the movie is one of mine for sure: 'The fight scene with Asoka. Asoka followed me on a horse. He has a spear in his hand and he gallops behind me while I run before him and he comes closer and closer. I run into a small tunnel, I jump high at the end, then up the wall and get him out of the saddle. The Parkour here is very smart and cool.' [Again, my rusty German.]
Jake also suggests that he may have been a bit hasty in running away from the ostriches... and gives some interesting detail about his costume. 'From the beginning, Jerry Bruckheimer said that this character must be a real person, and must not be a cartoon. I worked with our costume designer Penny Rose for how Dastan's clothes should look. Behind every piece of clothing lies a story that is not necessarily told in the film, but I know it. At the beginning of the film I wear this one jacket. If you look closely, you can see some things that hang down on this jacket. We came to the conclusion that these were pieces of hair from women that he had courted earlier, perhaps, and later Dastan had attached them to his jacket.'
'I love Morocco, I've shot two films there. Overall, I have spent four to five months in Morocco, I traveled everywhere - Marrakech, Erfoud and Ouarzazate. The Moroccans are lovable, generous and full of life. The country has a wonderful culture and an extraordinary history... I've eaten a lot of tagine. I love this stew. Just great, in fact I have eaten nothing else. And so I stayed in shape. Do you want to know my secret of how to stay fit? it's the tagine diet.' There is much more to read so do take a look.
But may the last word rest today with Sir Ben who is again insisting that Dastan has a northwest London accent. '"We [Jake and Sir Ben] discovered each other while filming, and that's one of the delightful things about what we do," says Kingsley. "No day's the same. No film's the same. No cast is the same... His accent is impeccable," Kingsley notes of the Los Angeles native. "I can tell you what street in Northwest London that boy comes from. I can tell you what school he went to. It's a very accurate accent."' I lived in NW London for years (NW3 to be precise) and I can honestly say it definitely wasn't my street.
The Independent reports today on Prince of Persia's success across international box offices this weekend, beating SATC2 soundly into second place, and good to read that PoP opened top in another country today, Australia!
