Glorious mud - Jake Gyllenhaal and Bear Grylls countdown as Jake's band Mumford and Sons play Glastonbury tonight

With Jake Gyllenhaal absent and with his favourite bands Mumford and Sons and U2 playing in The Swamp (aka Glastonbury) tonight, one can't help but fantasise that, as we speak, Jake is ensconced in a pair of floral wellies in front of the Pyramid Stage while chewing on a veggieburger. We are also, of course, well into the countdown to Jake's appearance on Man Vs Wild. And so it seems fitting to present here Bear Grylls' guide to surviving Glastonbury. If Jake has packed English mustard (and waders), he'll be fine.

Back to mud...

Jake was interviewed for Interview magazine back in 2007 by none other than David Fincher. Jake let slip 'If you put me in mud, you'd see how much fun I could have'. With any luck, David Ayer has read this because, if you're meaning a gritty LAPD drama, what could be more appropriate than a mud scene?

Of course, Jake has been muddy in a good cause before. In Bubble Boy, Jake gave the stuntman a day off, and dived into a mud pit for some wrestling with a couple of young ladies. This was slightly negated by Jake being in a bubble at the time.

Showing that Jake has mud on his mind, years earlier he revealed a certain dream: 'Last night I dreamt that I was at a crazy party in Central Park. There was a mud bath and no-one wanted to get in.' Their loss.


Of course, sometimes, it's not mud.

While we're thinking Bubble Boy...


Pictures from IHJ.

Jake Gyllenhaal pipped to the post at Mme Tussaud's, and some memorable smooches

While not being one to partake in commercialised smooching days - I'm quite happy to be wined and dined on any day of the year, not just one - my attention was caught today by news that Madame Tussaud's in London has been polling visitors on which A lister they want to see waxed as a Valentine date. Jake Gyllenhaal was indeed amongst the forerunners but he was pipped to the waxy post by a certain Bruce Willis. This video tells us a bit more. Arguably, one is much better off with the real thing. A perfect excuse to post some favourite pics (the US Open, September 2009).



PoPSugar has been taking the opportunity to recall thirty of its favourite movie kisses and if you take a peek you may spot a rather special one.



This seems like a good time to direct you to my comprehensive Guide to Kissing Jake Gyllenhaal. Please study it closely, there may be a test later...


And finally...

Many, many congratulations for winning the Best Director BAFTA last night for The Social Network. You probably heard my cheers from there.



Includes pictures from IHJ.

Source Code given a 12A certificate, David Fincher sticks by his actors and Jake Gyllenhaal needs more sunnies

Source Code has been passed by the British Board of of Film Classification for its release on 1 April. Rather surprisingly for a film about a train blowing up every 8 minutes, it's been given a 12A certificate, and this is for 'one use of strong language and moderate threat'. This doesn't necessarily tally with tales of models of Jake Gyllenhaal as Colter Stevens in bits and handless but it does at least mean a wider audience as well as the suggestion that the focus is on story rather than gore.


The other news from this is that Source Code will be just 93 minutes and 13 seconds. I could have done with at least another half hour but, again, it may mean tight, edge of your seat plotting. Thanks to friends at Bleeding Cool for the heads up!


Talking of Jake making movies, David Fincher is getting very close to winning, I hope, his Oscar for directing Social Network. Fincher has an interview that appears in the new issue of The Hollywood Reporter and in it he describes the reason for his big fallout with Sony during the production of Zodiac. At the time I remember hearing that it was to do with the length of the film. However, David tells us that it was actually because of the casting. Fincher toughed it out for the actors he wanted. And anyone who has seen this critically acclaimed film would realise that the combination of Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr and Mark Ruffalo was inspired. The fact that this film did so poorly at the box office in comparison to other Fincher movies will remain a mystery long after everyone knows just who the Zodiac was... Fincher tells us that for Zodiac he was told to get 'Russell Crowe and Tom Cruise'.


And finally...

Jake Gyllenhaal is back in NYC and doing his best to improve his disguise. According to People 'Jake Gyllenhaal and Zac Efron bumped into each other outside the Solstice Sunglass Boutique in New York. According to a source, the guys both tried on the same shades while shopping separately. Gyllenhaal was there first and was soft-spoken and friendly while browsing the frames, the source says.'


As we know, Jake has been known to text on the subway while wearing sunglasses - something no non-movie star could ever accomplish without years of training for a movie star diploma. Gemma Arterton once teased Jake for wearing his sunnies inside: 'I used to say 'Stop wearing sunglasses indoors,' and he'd say: 'You little commoner'. He, therefore, needs more sunglasses than most. And it does make a change from buying coffee.


Many thanks to ManMadeMovies, IHJ and BBMISwear for the pictures/scans!

Zodiac - a film and performance to remember and Brothers released in Germany at last!

As the preparations get under way for the Oscars (see below), there are some reminders about of many of the other 'best of' films that never quite got the Academy Award vote of approval for reasons that are beyond fathoming. And probably aren't worth the effort of fathoming.


David Fincher has an Oscar nomination for his astonishing work on Social Network. While this is enormously well-deserved, it has caused some to wonder why an earlier movie of his, Zodiac, was completely ignored by those award-giving committees. While it isn't productive to dwell on such things, what is extremely rewarding is to think back on a film, which, for me, puts crosses in all of the right boxes. And it's good to think that Fincher's Oscar success this year may attract new audiences to another film - Zodiac.



Zodiac isn't just the perfect police procedural movie, for me it succeeds (so much so it's in my top three films that I have ever seen, maybe even the top one) because it excels and surprises in so many ways. Zodiac is a thriller with many scenes of superb dialogue and minute observation; it is a horror movie that terrifies through a distortion of a recognisable reality; it is an elegant evocation of 1960s' and 1970s' San Francisco. Through detail and song, Zodiac reproduces a past time in a memorable way, reminding one of the past through its accuracy and mood.



And then there's the acting. Jake Gyllenhaal's portrayal of obsessive Robert Graysmith is a landmark performance in his career. In the promotion for Zodiac, Jake spoke of the passions that affected his life - family, food, acting, films - and demonstrated once again why he is such a great actor of his generation - he understands fully the roles he plays.


But it's not just Jake here, of course. Robert Downey Jr, in one of the first of his come back performances, and Mark Ruffalo and the actor whose skills Fincher may have appreciated the most, Anthony Edwards. Plus Chloe Sevigny and John Carroll Lynch who had appeared with Jake in two earlier movies, The Good Girl and Bubble Boy.


Aside from the film, which hooked me from its very first scene, there is also a soundtrack to listen to over and over again and a commentary featuring Jake and Robert Downey Jr together - a joy to listen to. Jake - and not just Jake either, RDJ said much the same thing - has spoken of what he had to endure to make this film. Tens of takes for each scene and, as the movie was filmed digitally, anything extra was instantly deleted.


This was a new experience for Jake but, judging by his body language with David Fincher in Cannes in May 2007, all of this was forgiven and a new relationship born. Jake has spoken recently of his pride in working for David Fincher. Without doubt, this will be an experience to look back on and we have been left with an astonishing film.



Brothers

Rather surprisingly, Brothers was finally released in Germany this week (27 January). Can there be any sense at all in releasing a film this far removed from its original debut? At least it ties nicely with Natalie Portman's huge Black Swan success.



And finally...



Includes pictures from IHJ and here.

My review of the wonderful Tangled now up on MovieBrit.

Jake Gyllenhaal Part 2: When the right role comes along 'I go after it like a wolf!'

After a break for jogging and while Jake Gyllenhaal irons his shirt, collects his dry cleaned suit and ponders over which shoes to wear for tomorrow's Golden Globes, here is the second part of the sensational and lengthy interview conducted with Scott Feinberg. In this part Jake covers the 'teenage in transition' roles, the big movies of the mid 2000s, living privately in the public eye and his pride in Love and Other Drugs. As before, there are times when words are unclear and/or muffled and I've done my best and so, as previously said, any mistakes are mine and not Jake's. Over to Jake:


Teenager in Transition

'I just remember being pretty confused! There was a lot coming at me and I didn't... and I think that was what Donnie Darko was born out of, Bubble Boy was born out of that - the question of confusion of adolesence and growing up and being out there on my own for the first time. And even the movie Highway that I did with Jared Leto which never came out at the the theatres. The Good Girl really. All of these characters came out of, I think, a sense - I think I have always tried to just,... but I guess I just learned from the lesson of the moment... where I was in that moment I think, that I kept on questioning...'


I care very deeply about what I do and I think that leaves me very vulnerable in a lot of ways

'It's funny but I've seen over the past five years the image of an actor really sort of change. What an actor does and what people expect from them. Being outside scrutiny, and the internet and all these things - you have to maintain integrity (laughs). There are a lot of different things that changed since 2005 to 2011, you know what I mean? In terms of what it is to be an actor and what young actors think it is to be an actor. There are people acting all the time, all over the place, themselves, really. For me, I think I saw, there was definitely a phase in there with Proof and Jarhead and Brokeback Mountain - those came at me in way that was just like kismet. There was just a real... being at work with those movies. And yes the beginning, trying to find a real ease in the acting process and I think that ease translates maybe into being an adult.'


'And then with Brokeback and what Brokeback became, that was... all of us in that process, that was overwhelming. I see that a lot with people involved in movies that are such... and become these huge things in culture and that happens, it does happen. I think there was a little bit of searching after that for me. I was like, Ok, there's Rendition and then there's... I did Zodiac, which was, looking back on it, particularly the honour to be working with David Fincher and Mark Ruffalo and Tony Edwards and Downey, and seeing where Downey was, that was a really special time. There was searching in that, for me that's what it feels like when I think of that.'


'And then even with Prince of Persia there was a search in there, figuring that out. And then I think when I did Love and Other Drugs there's a... to be there's a real clarity actually, just knowing the character, finding a character that, a real character that I fell in love with. And for the first time... there are a couple I'd say - Donnie Darko and Jarhead and Brokeback, even October Sky, there are a couple of characters in there that I felt sure about and when my instinct comes up like that I go after it like a wolf! I mean I really do! And I did with that. Imagine me with... that for me was Love and Other Drugs. That, that marks the beginning of something else for me and that's why I feel so proud of it and that's why the character and the role I feel... I feel at ease with it. Like when the movie came out, there's usually a lot of... I like to think that they're only there... I care very deeply about what I do and I think that leaves me very vulnerable in a lot of ways to some people's responses but with this one, with Love and Other Drugs, I was like I didn't really care... and that's the beginning of another phase for me, which is different than I've ever felt before.'


I'm just as guilty of being interested in the people that I admire

'I approach all this stuff with great trepidation because I always feel that I never know how my words will be interpreted which I think is the weird irony like I said of being an actor because ultimately the only thing I see that I want to see from actors is vulnerability and I want to see them open their hearts. And when somebody tries to do that in their work and other people know very little about what's actually going on and tend to paint a very, very simple picture. I'm not necessarily sure why that happens but I think it's just... we're all part and parcel of it, do you know what I mean? I'm just as guilty of being interested in the people that I admire or somehow I find as interesting as the next person. I do happen to be a part of that, of some people's interest.'


'But I think, to be really honest, which is hard to be, I think it is kind of really... I think for a while there I thought it sort of impacted my life in a way and then I realised like, you know,... I'm a very private person. I try - the irony about all of this is that I really try to be a very private person and I definitely am, in choosing what I want to do, giving up that privacy, which is already confusing (laughs). But I think that... I think what I've noticed is that it's so hard for anybody, whether they're under scrutiny by a photographer or by some tabloid, or whatever, any journalist, whatever you might do, it's hard for anybody to find themselves, really their true selves. It's just frustrating when people have intentions and the intentions are... They've made it so, so simple when it's a so complicated, fascinating, extraordinary thing. And that's what I see movies moving away from too - it's harder and harder to have people make movies about complicated, fascinating... because that's not what's being consumed as much but actually it feels like maybe there's talk about it this year, that maybe people are really wanting that. That they really do want that... I realise, as I said, that it can be seen like 'Why the hell are you in these things every week?', they might not like that.'


'There is something that I would love... I love that people understand that it's a funny thing, I think, in the end and you hear about celebrities getting upset at the photographers and I understand why! (Laughs) I don't know what it is but it's just a real... it's made it impossible for people to be totally honest because when you're honest it's manipulated.'


Love and Other Drugs

'When Annie came on the project, as what happens when anybody who's a great actor, they're looking for the reasons for why their character exists. That's the first real question you always have to ask and sometimes actors I think can fit themselves into something that's the way they've been given weight to, they can create weight themselves. Sometimes the weight's already there entirely written by the writer and they just show up and read their lines and somehow the story creates something even deeper than you could have imagined. But in the case of Annie and that role, it wasn't as much and I made a decision, which was great advice from a lot of different people who had read the story, that the strength of the script was always - and I believe the strength of the movie is too - is its love story and all the rest of it, not that all the rest of it can go away, but in a way it could.'


'And what I think mattered the most as an actor is going towards the thing that works. Its seen for any created thing, that anybody who has any great success in the movie business, moving towards the thing that works and that is the most honest. And when Annie came on, she was like 'what the hell is this girl doing here?' I don't understand. Is she just like a thing... to create sympathy?' And we worked on it to make it a real love story and we just started cutting things, that the story used to be a story about this guy who goes through a journey and then it became a love story.'


'And I think it really was born out of Ed, Annie and I all deciding that that was something... At any point along the way me, or Annie or Ed could have said 'I'm out of here. No, this isn't the story I wanted to tell.' I could have said I wanted to be that guy who learned something and Annie could have said this character isn't developed enough and if it's not about her I'm out of here, and Ed could say any number of different things. But I think we were all on the same page with it and Parkinson's is what she deals with and I think the movie deserved a trememdous amount of more weight than it had been given initially in the script. So we just went that way and I hope that answers your question.'


Thanks

'It means a lot that you like the movie. To me, Annie, Ed and I tried so... we tried so hard to make something special with this movie and the fact that people respond to it makes me... how much hard work was put into it and how much we care about these characters. It means a lot, thank you.'


Personally, I am delighted to hear Jake mention Zodiac. It sounds that now Jake looks back on that as an important part of his career. I'm thrilled with David Fincher's success with The Social Network, including victory at the Critics Choice Awards. And so good luck to Jake and Anne for tomorrow night's awards!

Includes pictures from IHJ.

Jake Gyllenhaal on the Beeb, Zwick and Fincher on what audiences want, and Jack and Ennis, a highlight of the last decade

This new BBC interview with Jake Gyllenhaal proves three things a) Jake only has to say 'Really? really?' and the most hardened interviewer will wilt and whimper; b) the Dorchester has lovely tea services and c) the BBC should most certainly know how to spell G-Y-L-L-E-N-H-A-A-L by now, ok Auntie Beeb? Thanks to CBS we have an embeddable version. Otherwise, you can see it on the BBC.



Love and Other Drugs opened in the UK on 29 December and, despite this being the season for big family movies (eg. Litte Fockers, Narnia and Gulliver's Travels), it was the third biggest taker at the UK box office, which is testament, I think, to the appeal of Jake and Anne Hathaway together. Congratulations are due (and hopefully will be rewarded with more movies featuring this partnership).


Despite the success of Love and Other Drugs, Ed Zwick is part of an interesting article in the Telegraph today that examines what we the audience wants from our movie-going experience (after all, it's certainly not a cheap activity) and what directors want to give us. While some, such as Zwick, argue that the biggest movies now are not so much about good character acting as a dazzling effect, others, like David Fincher, put it that the role of the director is to make the audience feel uncomfortable - to challenge what we expect. This is not a world away from Jake's oft-voiced creed: 'It’s important for me to make choices that make people feel uncomfortable'.


An intriguing argument, although my own opinion is that it depends how often you're able to go to the cinema... If you're only able to go a couple of times a year, you may want something a little more escapist. However, if you're fortunate to go frequently, as I do, then bring it on.



We are in a new decade and so amongst the reviews of the Noughties is this article by the LA Times that considers the top film characters of the last ten years. It's of no surprise to me that among the list is Jack and Ennis:

'The tent. The look. Ennis and Jack (the late Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, respectively) struggled to maintain a forbidden relationship in "Brokeback Mountain," which won Oscars and racked up box office dollars. The lead actors' performances bled into mainstream consciousness as Jack's line "I wish I knew how to quit you" entered the general vernacular.'

I like to think that in another ten years, when critics look back on the twenty tens, that there's another landmark role by Jake to cherish. I think it's very possible. One at least.

Wonderful pics of Jake and David Fincher at Eden Roc, near Cannes, 2007, thanks to IHJ.

Jake Gyllenhaal talks about Brokeback's Reunion, Heath, and what he learned from David Fincher and Donnie - plus Jake's on a Train and Zwick on LAOD

With big thanks to Nathaniel R, who did a great job of catching every word, we have more snippets from Jake Gyllenhaal's Saturday night out. This time, we have some of Jake's miscellaneous comments about past movies and there is some great stuff. You can read it all here, but here are some of my favourite bits, and there isn't one that didn't make me stop and think. Thanks to Nathaniel, who wanted WDW readers to see it, for the heads up! Before I start, I must say how much I agree with Nathaniel's comment that David Fincher was the star of Zodiac and that 'you can see his smudgy auteur fingerprints on every painstaking frame'.


On Donnie Darko: 'It really marks, more than any other movie I've ever done, figuratively a time in my life. And that movie -- before we started shooting, I had been having a rough time figuring out what was up, what end was up. Jason Schwartzman was supposed to play that part. They had financing, they were ready to go and he dropped out and I stumbled upon it and out of the director's desperation got the role. It really matched somehow somewhere where I was in my life. I remember it premiered at Sundance and my mother, father and sister came up to me afterwards crying and realizing that I had been saying something to them with that movie -- how lost I was. How did I do it? I don't know something about talking to that rabbit. It just seemed to comfort me at that time.'


Lost - watching, trying or not trying to understand Donnie Darko is something that has filled my last ten years and it brings this film home to me in a way I've not experienced before - just by hearing that Jake stumbled upon it and that it marked a time in his life. Comfort in speaking to the rabbit - I can understand a little of that too.

'When you think of cult films a lot of time's there's a bit of a wink. I don't think that was our intention at all. It's a deeply serious movie to me... Whether you're experimenting with drugs or not there's a moment where you go 'Whats real? What's not?' There was no thought of result. Any time I've ever done anything with the thought of a result its been a bad thing.'


In addition to talking about the difficulty of filming love scenes, for the first time in quite a while, Jake discusses Brokeback's reunion scene: 'It was about more than just kissing. The scene in Brokeback Mountain where Heath and I see each other after a very long time. This has been hard for me to explain for years. We had very little to do with that scene being as powerful as it is. It was powerful when you read it in the screenplay. It was powerful in the short story on the page. What we do when we had that moment together is filled with -- it's filled with moments that people have had that have nothing to do with us. We just basically went up and slammed our mouths together. You know what I mean? We were the instruments for something that was much bigger than both of us.'

Jake's performance in Brokeback: 'I think I do have regrets about it, about things, as every actor does. When I see Heath's work in that movie it's just transcendent and amazing and as a fellow actor to me I just always admire him. I hoped that I could be as good as. So I watch it and I always see that.'


In my opinion - and I am a completely biased and awestruck admirer of David Fincher - Zodiac was a vital step on Jake's acting journey, albeit not necessarily always a pleasant one. Although, having said that, since the filming days, David and Jake have never shown anything but affection for each other. In hindisght, Jake can see that Fincher knew what he could get from Jake and that is indeed what Fincher got. Firstly, Jake describes the scene where his character finally sees the man he believes to be the murderer: 'We shot that twice. David didn't like the first store we shot in. That was again multiple takes. The funny part of that is John Carol Lynch played by dad in Bubble Boy so that look is filled with so much more than just 'hunter and hunted.' I was desperate for you show a scene of me and him crying in a car and me in a bubble.'


One of the best scenes in Zodiac is the final cafe scene when Jake explains his theory to Mark Ruffalo's character. Since the first time I saw this movie I have admired Jake, who hasn't always had a good time learning lines, for this scene. 'That was the third time we shot the scene. We shot each of our takes close to 50 times. So... 150th take? Now I see what David wanted. I watch it and I'm like 'Now I know.' I didn't know what he wanted. What I've been learning -- this is what happens when you start when you're 15 years old -- no one is going to hold your hand and when you're 15 you need that. As I've gotten older and worked more and more I've realized how much I have to be prepared and there for the director so they think 'Jake's got my back I don't need to worry about him.' I think I had a misunderstanding for a long time -- because I grew up in a family off filmmakers -- that we're all supposed to collaborate. The truth is an actor is supposed to show up and do their job and know their job to a 't' 120% and be ready to go. Discover on the day but be ready to go. When I watch that I see myself learning.'


And that, for me, is one of the most marvellous things I have ever heard Jake say about his journey to be the actor he has become.

Read the full account here.


Another blogger has recalled watching the Q&A on Saturday: '[Jake] was completely charming, interested, and really smart. They talked about his mustache in Brokeback Mountain quite a bit, and Jake said that he actually won an award for that mustache. (No, seriously, an online award given out every year to best mustache). We found out that Jason Schwartzman, a close friend of Jake's, was originally supposed to play Donnie Darko. (WHAATTT?) He talked about sex a lot, and we discovered that there is a lot of nudity in his new movie - probably the best advertisement ever. It was over way to soon, and was completely surreal the whole time. He seems like a very cool guy who really doesn't comprehend how immensely talented he is. I wish I knew how to quit him. (How could I resist?)'.


Jake's on a Train

Last night Jake was seen and photographed on the 3 Train in NYC, which covers Manhattan and Brooklyn, and, for all the world, he looked like just another commuter, albeit an irresistibly hot one. Jake appears to have separated his movie and private self this year to an admirable degree and, while the glimpses such as this put the smile back on my face, it is good to know that Jake has achieved this.


Someone else tweeted today: 'Jake gyllenhaal's beard almost ran me over today on a LES sidewalk. A dude w/ porcelain face+thick beard is off.. like the guy on KnockedUp. But as we can see how Jake is making his way around the city, relatively left in peace, you can see how the Face Pet may be coming in handy. It almost makes me want him to keep it.... Until Love and Other Drugs comes out, of course.

To satisfy my own personal curiosity, can anyone tell me what 'a LES sidewalk' might be? It's all pavements over here...

Ed Zwick interviewed in Chicago

In this video, Ed Zwick makes an appearance in the Fox studio in his home town of Chicago and he has a lot to say about his funny and sexy stars. If the embedding below doesn't work for you, you can see it here.



Includes pictures from links and IHJ.

Jake Gyllenhaal on how Heath Ledger always inspires him to want to be a better actor - and some fun and games

I know I hide it well, but Jake Gyllenhaal is my favourite actor - yes, he is. My affection for Jake Gyllenhaal may be lowkey and rarely mentioned but, as is well documented, my favourite director is less of a secret - David 'is it really possible for a director to be this hot and sexy and talented and tall all at the same time?' Fincher. And so, you could have knocked me down with a feather when I saw the new old photos on IHJ today, which not only show Jake and David sharing a joke at Eden Roc in May 2007 (the 'too posh for credit cards' hotel that they stayed at during the Cannes Film Festival), they show Jake and David roaring with laughter.





They also show Jake's a dab hand at Charades...



... and Hide and Seek.


The photos also prove true that well known adage - do not let a man eat when he has just put on a clean shirt. At least he's not trying to lick it off... (knowing aside to Mr WDW).



Open, friendly, bright eyes...

In this German interview, we are blessed with a new picture of Jake from when he was in London for Prince of Persia and I can only say that I have stared at this photograph much longer than is polite. What a stunner! And I like the introductory description: 'athletic, toned, not an ounce of fat, but not too muscular. Not a giant. He is very polite, friendly, has good manners. An open expression, friendly, bright eyes.'


Q: Were you surprised that they offered you the role?
JG: Sort of. At first glance, I'm not the obvious candidate for the role. That was the exciting thing.

Q: Had you longed for such a blockbuster role?
JG: Yes. No, really. I've long wanted to have a role in an action movie. I grew up with movies like ET that are now classics that have changed the film industry. They inspired me, which I loved. When I started making films, I was just cool. With age, I also wanted to have more fun and go back to the things that I loved as a child.


Q: Do you have a favorite action hero?
JG: I love Indiana Jones. He is THE action hero for me. Because he suffers, and is frustrated, and there's humor - but in the end he comes through.

Q:There are scenes from Prince of Persia which remind me a bit of Johnny Depp's Captain Sparrow from "Pirates of the Caribbean" ...
JG: Oh, really? That wasn't intentional. But I hear you. I take that as a compliment.


Q: What's your next film?
JG: After this I played a pharmaceutical representative in the mid-90s who sells Viagra.

Q:Are you still single?
JG: Yes, I am.



Q: But you plan to start a family at some point?
JG: Definitely.

Q: What does the ring on your finger say?
JG: I've had that a long time. It says Carpe diem (seize the day). It's a kind of reminder. (He laughs)


Q: Do you think that your fans will react with surprise or shock at the action hero Jake Gyllenhaal when for many of them they have the image of the gay cowboy in "Brokeback Mountain" in their heads?
JG: I hope both. I always hope. I enjoy criticism just as much as compliments. Of course, such a great movie isn't aimed at the whole audience. Many of the gamers who played the original Prince of Persia may have asked themselves: What type of guy is in this movie? And I think if some people have an image of you, who you are, what you act like - and then he does this, then at least it gives him an opportunity to change the attitude of many.


Q: Your friend and "Brokeback" co-star Heath Ledger died in 2008.Has your view of life changed since?
JG: It sounds kind of funny that what I had focused on so far that had become so important, became even more important in my life. I refer to my work. It was even more important because I felt that what Heath had done was so extraordinary and inspiring. So I always want to be a better actor. On the other side of me as a human being, it was clear that it's just my job. I think that - mainly in the film industry - there are people who think that they will never grow old, never die. Heath has gone from us much too soon. I've noticed a distinction between work and life.


Source and more here.

This week on MV

Sightings show that Jake's visit to LA was indeed a fleeting (business?) trip and he was quick to return to MV. On Wednesday, he went to the weekly film festival viewing along with Peter and Maggie: 'On Wednesday, Caroline Kennedy, "Jarhead" star Jake Gyllenhaal, his sister Maggie Gyllenhaal and her husband Peter Sarsgaard checked out "The Tillman Story," Amir Bar-Lev's documentary about the death of pro-football-player-turned Army Ranger Pat Tillman that hits theaters this month. The film, which looks into the military's cover-up of Tillman's death from friendly fire in Afghanistan in 2004, was hosted by Russell Baer, a soldier in Tillman's platoon, at the Chilmark Community Center in Martha's Vineyard. And a source at the screening tells us that Jake, hung around "to meet Baer" after the screening.


More recently, Jake was seen at Nancy's restaurant in Oaks Bluffs yesterday. This is one of the many restaurants that BBMISwear and I managed to experience in our short stay on the island (we stayed in Oaks Bluffs) and we were there as it reeled from the visit of the first family the evening before, an event which was plastered all over the local paper. We kept our visit lowkey...

Many thanks to IHJ for the new old pics, other pics from links and WDW.