'Thank you for filming with us!' - A day as an extra on the set of Nailed - Nicole's story

If ever you wanted proof that Nailed is up and running again and Jake is back at work, this should do the trick. Nicole, our eyes and ears on the ground in Columbia, South Carolina, had the amazing opportunity to not only watch Jake Gyllenhaal at work on Nailed but to be a part of the project, as one of its extras.


Nicole answered an advert calling for locals to turn up on set at the State House yesterday (Saturday) in their Sunday best and she was one of the lucky ones. She got a seat in the State House for a big scene involving most of the major characters and was able to observe Jake and David Russell at work. Jake, it seems, held things up by making people laugh - a story we're well familiar with from most of Jake's movies. cameras were banned from the set but Nicole and all the other extras were given a reward:


Here are excerpts from Nicole's account, for which I am very grateful. We are very lucky to share her glimpse into that extraordinary place otherwise known as The Nailed Set. Not only did Nicole get to see Jake, she also got three meals and $125 for a lot of hours spent hanging around - I do hope the money was paid upfront...

'We got to the statehouse around 9:30 in the morning. It turns out it didn't start until about 11:30 (it was a 100 degrees outside) so we got to the set and we went up to the casting lady. My friend's outfit was approved by wardrobe but mine wasn't (I was wearing black dress pants and a nice blouse but it had a weird pattern to it) so the wardrobe lady told me what kind of outfit they were looking for and so I called my mom and she brought me a couple of outfits. The lady approved the first one I picked out. So then I started getting really excited!'


Setting the scene

'There were so many squaw girls (girl scouts) and congressmen and woman. We ate breakfast - they had all kinds of food - biscuits,eggs, and the traditional stuff like that. So then it was finally time to go inside the statehouse! The statehouse is three floors - the first floor is where the parents and extras stayed when they weren't in the scenes. The second floor was where Jake and Jessica were and the their floor is where I was. But it was a balcony so I could see the filming very close below us as we were supposed to be watching them down there. So I was on the third floor where there were rows of seats to sit in. Luckily I was right behind a guy who had a speaking line so if they show him you will definitely see me!'


The scene

'The whole cast is in the scene and Jessica Biel is speaking to the congress. She starts acting 'erratic'. She just starts going crazy and saying all these crazy things. It's kind of hard to explain but she falls on top of this congresswoman and puts her hand up and we are supposed to clap. Before that happened she said something about Romanians. The guy in front me shouts something in Romanian and then later in the scene walks out. So if you see the Romanian guy, I'm right behind him! Anyways, Jake is below the balcony so we couldn't see him until he walked over to Jessica and kinda hugs her. James Marsden and Tracy Morgan were on the same floor as me so they were really close!'


More details of the scene

'From the balcony 3 squaws, Kurt Fuller, Tracy Morgan, Malinda Williams, James Marsden, followed by a couple of other girl squaws, walk in from the balcony. I'm guessing that, since they are all from Indiana, they came all the way to Washington to see Jessica to support her. Jessica and Jake are at the bottom of the balcony. When Tracy and the whole gang walk in, they start waving to Jessica. They wave and smile and James Marsden does all this funny stuff like he blows her a kiss and draws a heart in the air. Then they start waving at Howard (Jake's character) and saying 'Hi Howard!' (At the this point since we were in the balcony we couldn't see Jake because he was right under us.) So then I am guessing Catherine Keener's role (not sure if that was her or not) was the representative at the microphone. Tracy then says 'You let the other hot girls talk, why not Alice' (there were two other women also next to Jessica, whom Jake had something to do with - they called them 'hussies').'


'Catherine Keener gave Jessica one minute to speak. Jessica starts talking crazily and saying 'Do you think its cool? No, it's not cool!' (that she got a nail in her head) and then James would shout 'Not cool'. Then she would fall on a congresswoman and put her fist in the air and everyone would start clapping. Jake finally runs over to her - and he spoke so softly I didn't really know if he said anything - then he helped Jessica up and he had his arms around her and he kept looking at her. Finally, Catherine Keener would say that the bill for healthcare was lost again (I guess that's what they were there for since I found out that Tracy Morgan's character, Jessica Biel's character, and Kurt Fuller's character all have weird injuries - Jessica has the nail in her head, Tracy has something wrong with his butt, and Kurt has something wrong I'm thinking with his private part). Then, as Jake and Jessica are walking away, Jessica faints.'


Jake on set

'Jake was under the balcony, so it was really hard to see his character most of the time but I did see him during breaks. Jake was texting and he also asked about the horse race yesterday. At the end of the day, Jake was helping Tracy, James, and the gang with their lines and he even made the little girls laugh (as well as me). There's a line in the movie where, I think, some people say 'You monster' to Jake's character and they couldn't get it right and Jake starts yelling 'You monster' in funny ways. The director told him to stop making everyone laugh (at that point it was 12:30 in the morning and i know the girls were tired so I thought it was great how Jake, Tracy, James were interacting with the girls and making them laugh). Jake was wearing the exact same suit he has been wearing and they were all wearing the same outfits.'


David Russell

'David, I thought, was in a good mood in the morning. He was joking around with the cast. I didn't see any problems with him today. At the end of the day, I know he was getting tired - he was cussing a little bit in front of the girls but, overall, I thought it was a good day.'


A long day

'Jake passed by me about five times in the hallway. Once, while I was sitting on the steps and he was coming down. We ate lunch/dinner at 7 pm - the food was fried chicken, mashed potatotes, salad, corn on the cob and cake for dessert (I guess you could say it was the typical southern meal). We were there until 1:30 in the morning! The congressmen and women had to stay longer. Jake was still in his trailer so I don't know if he was done shooting for the day.'


Many congratulations Nicole for your big day (not to mention, sharing the big screen with Jake, however briefly) and a huge thanks for sharing your day with the rest of us!

Includes pictures from Nicole, IHJ, Flickr and FitsNews.

Nailed's final push

There are troubles afoot - if that's the right expression. The wondrous thing that is the internet has decided to make hay in the sunshine, leaving WDW in the lurch, with only sporadic connection and little comfort other than about 25 levels of Prince of Persia: Sands of Time to battle through - and that's a lot of demonic sand creatures and scarab beetles, I'm sure you'll agree. My consolation is that this will stand me in good stead when Jake Gyllenhaal wants some advice later this summer on scimitar technique. So, while the going is good, a post...


You may recall that Nailed has had some problems... Well, as sure as day follows night, the problems continue. But there is some hope (again) of resolution. Nailed was supposed to go back to work last Thursday. It turns out that, although the finances were settled as reported, it took longer than expected to get things up and running. Work was rescheduled to begin again today and, according to posters at IMDb, the Nailed trucks and trailers came rolling back into town today and Jessica Biel was spotted in a local cinema watching Sex and the City. Another poster says he is an extra and has been called back for work tomorrow.


But there is no doubt that things are serious and Hollywood Reporter tells us that the shoot has to finish on June 22 or Nailed will lose its stars - we know that Jake has a busy summer ahead. No doubt, Jessica also has plans.


There is also some concern about whether the new financial settlement will cover the project when filming is complete. There is still a long way to go until Nail hits the cinema screens. However, the report is hopeful - the shoot will maintain its Thursday-Monday schedule and David O Russell has '"been an absolute dream, literally the glue that's held the film together," said Persistent Entertainment's Matt Rhodes.'


The worries associated with getting Nailed safely into the theatres make quite a contrast with the growing excitement surrounding Prince of Persia. Let's hope we get to see both Howard Ryder and Prince Dastan in 2009.


Includes pictures from IHJ.

Nailed's nighttime shoots - another report from the set of Jake's film

Many thanks to an exhausted Lisa who just sent me her report from last night's shoot on Nailed, which involved her daughter as one of the 'squaws'. Unfortunately, the scene ended up being postponed but this report gives us a great idea of what goes on behind the scenes of Jake Gyllenhaal's new movie - so much of it takes place at night. No wonder Jake and the other stars have such comfy trailers. And the great news is that it is very likely this very lucky girl scout's scene will involve ALL the stars, and you know what that means! Lisa writes brilliantly, putting us right there in SC, so I'm sure you'll enjoy her report:


'The call time for my daughter's group of squaws was 7 pm last night. I had hoped it'd be earlier, but evidently Russell and his crew are making the most of the daylight and are trying to get in anything involving outdoors scenes while the sun is shining. So interiors are likely to be shot at night.'

'We arrived, did the boring employment paperwork, went to Wardrobe, got the girls dressed, hung around awhile, were taken to the catering tent and hung around some more (thankfully with food and beverages) and waited, waited, waited. The girls (13 in all) became friends and organized themselves into games. If you could harness the energy possessed by a pack of tween-age girls about to 'go Hollywood,' you could put the oil companies out of business. Everyone was tired, but we were excited, too. However.....'


'At approximately 10.40 pm (note the time!), the wonderful production assistant who was in charge of us came in and sweetly apologized that they were NOT going to be able to get to our scene last night. Whatever scene Russell had been filming since before we arrived was going to go on, and on, and on, perhaps into eternity. She did mention that he is meticulous, which made me smile! She told us our girls would be paid for last night (hurrah!), and would be called to come for this scene again when it was rescheduled. She said the scene our girls'll be doing involves 6 pages of dialog (apparently, that's a lot) and ALL THE STARS (please lord, let her not have been exaggerating or babbling out of pure weariness!). The girls will be sitting with Jessica in a council meeting. Since there are so few of them, chances are good that our girls will get actual "face time" on camera. And with that, she helped us finish up and called the vans to take us back to our cars.'


'So, Munchkin and I will be going back, though we don't know when. I did not see Jake but I spent probably twenty minutes total hanging out within 10 feet of his trailer. There was a dim light on inside, but no sign of life. I did not know if he was in the scene being shot or just wasn't there at all. However, what the assistant said made me think if he wasn't in that scene, he was getting some rest someplace till needed.'


'I saw Catherine Keener. She was wearing a pastel skirt suit and bedroom slippers (!) and had her hair in a retro, frosted, newscaster-gone-awry 'do. She was sitting in the doorway of her trailer as we walked to Wardrobe early on. I think she was trying to memorize lines or something; she appeared to have an Ipod with her. We also thought we saw Jessica Biel, all dressed down and coming back from taking her dog for a walk. We saw her enter a trailer, but never saw her come out. I'm guessing Jake and Jessica were taking the opportunity to get some rest. There seems to be so little chance for it in movie-making.'


And here is a message from Lisa to you all: 'Please give my best regards to all the nice Gyllenhaalics who responded so positively to it in the comment section. I really aim to share as much of the experience as I can with other fans of Jake, for as long as they're interested. He seems to attract the nicest people!' I think it's safe to say we're interested! Thanks, Lisa.

Incidentally, I do not believe that these new pictures from Fitsnews (I think from Wednesday) show Jake and Jessica Biel arguing - this looks far more to me like both are trying to convey something through Jake's phone, and possibly Jessica's, all at the same time.


You can see another picture of Jake on set here, along with an extra's account of the shoot inside a church - I didn't know Alison Janney was in Nailed. This film gets better and better!

As for future Nailed shoots - according to IMDb: 'Movie watch: Sumter Street closed today. Sumter Street in Columbia, between Gervais and Pendleton streets, will be closed today until 2 a.m. Tuesday and from noon Wednesday until 2 a.m. Thursday for the filming of a movie, according to the Columbia Police Department.'


And finally - Donnie Darko 2?

I'll come back to this, but it seems a Donnie Darko 2 is on the cards. This will focus on Donnie's little sister's story but the project will not involve Jake (not surprisingly, I suppose, considering the end of the original version) but it also won't involve the driving force behind Donnie - Richard Kelly. Rather humourously, the article states that the film will be directed by Chris Fischer (later becoming Fisher) but I doubt this is the one who likes to cook. According to another report, the only actor to repeat their role will be Daveigh Chase. I think I may give this one a miss.


Pictures from Nicole, IHJ and Fitsnews.

More to Nailed than meets the eye - 'If you're not laughing you're not getting it'

It may not just have been me who woke up this morning with that Monday morning sinking feeling, wishing I had an alarm clock with a more pleasant beep. No, because today it's very possible that Jake Gyllenhaal is back at work. No more late nights down the pub or watching a black and white movie in the small hours with a pizza and a few cans. Now it's all early morning starts and hanging around for hours while the sun sinks into the right position. But I'm grateful because this means we're going to get another movie.


Although, as far as I'm aware, Jake has not yet been sighted in South Carolina himself, his co-star Jessica Biel - now to become a familiar figure to us - was seen eating out in Charleston over the weekend, saying that she would be filming there for a few days this week. Elsewhere, there was a sighting by another IMDb poster of the Nailed production crew hard at work, albeit starless, at WIS News in Columbia where a news segment was filmed. Another report suggests the production will also be at the Columbia statehouse for a few days this week.

In an interesting twist on the post here yesterday about the hard work states put in to enticing film productions away from LA and California, it came to light today that South Carolina almost lost Nailed at the last minute because the Commerce Director, Joe Taylor, didn't agree with the morals of a sexual comedy. 'It actually took maneuvering around the Secretary and confronting the legislature directly that was crucial in landing the film in Columbia. It was so bad that last week the Senate apparently had to have a committee meeting calling members of the Film Commission, the Commerce Department and the film itself to count before it to discuss the film - including the Film's Director.'


It's a strange state of affairs when commerce directors take it upon themselves to make moral judgements about what time of film can be made in their state, to the extent that they would turn the business away. After all the hassle of having to justify his film at the twelfth hour, it makes one wonder if David Russell would bother making a movie in South Carolina again. Read more here.


Speaking of David Russell, there has been some alarm that David has been known to give his actors (ie Lily Tomlin) a bit of a roasting but, with big thanks to Sheba, it's now clear that there is more to the relationship between David and Jake than I first thought. It turns out that both David and Jake studied under Professor Robert Thurman at Columbia and it appears that Russell is at least well known to Jake's mother, Naomi (see below). There is evidence from interviews by both David and Jake that the ideas they developed under the nurturing of Thurman still influence their lives and one can imagine some earnest conversations when the cameras turn off in South Carolina. Bob Thurman is, of course, Uma's father.


When David Russell was asked about his Huckabees film (starring Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin), he came out with some quotes, which are almost worthy of Jake Gyllenhaal himself. For instance: 'All I am saying is that it is good to stretch, it's good to try to push yourself a little bit and talking about the tenth dimension or talking about infinity is, to me, a very useful thing, it relaxes me, it makes me feel more alive. The people that do this are my heroes, I think you have to be a hero to get beyond the conventional shit on a daily basis because it is uncomfortable. So, you may be asking now, like I was, "When does it stop and when does it start? When do you think people can find a perfect balance in their life regarding these things?" I think everybody has to decide that for themselves. If I was running around like Jim Morrison, then you could say that's out of balance. I think if it makes you more open and more relaxed then that is a good thing, ultimately. More open to more people and less uptight about yourself, that's a good thing.'


Just compare all that with Jake's account of what Donnie Darko (never a film to be described in easy terms) means to him. I can honestly say I am none the wiser: 'When I read the script I was in college studying eastern religions - Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, basically - and the issues in the movie were metaphysically similar to things I was thinking about at the time." His course, taught by Robert Thurman (Uma's father), dealt with "ideas of illusion and absolute realities"; similarly, the film shows Donnie in a somnambulistic state, caught between real life and a dream.


'"That half-conscious state when dreams feel completely real is fascinating to me. At the end of the film, you ask: is it a dream or isn't it? Is this a dream that we're living now? Those questions are really interesting because the unconscious hasn't really been explored yet. People think there's not much more to discover, but there is - there's this fourth dimension, or whatever it is."

'It transpires, though, that bonding with the script and actually understanding it are two different things. "When people ask me, 'What does the rabbit mean?' I say, don't ask me, and don't ask anyone else involved, because we have no fucking idea. It's something out of the director Richard Kelly's unconscious and even he has no explanation for it. To me, the film is about that initial entry into what could be adulthood, when everything loses its context and all of a sudden nothing feels solid. The rabbit and the spears coming out of people's chests are almost literal manifestations of those questions everyone asks at a certain point: am I crazy? Does God exist? I was asking myself those questions when I was growing up."'


Getting back to David's Huckabees interview, David discusses how he used the ideas taught to him by Robert Thurman in the characterisation of the film's roles and how his own experiences are there. And relating to Nailed, the sexcom, David is asked how humour fits in with this zen model, to which he replies: 'A Zen monk once said to me, "If you're not laughing you're not getting it," it meaning the whole thing. The humor is the substance in its most sublime form.'


Back in November 2004: 'Last night (11/15) Jake Gyllenhaal was at the Central Library downtown for the dialogue between Robert A.F. Thurman, Buddhist prof, and former student/film director David O. Russell (why do all these people use their middle initials?). Jake was running up the dry-cleaning bills in a white cashmere sweater, plaid scarf, and flanked by his parents. The family was all cozy and commenting to each other during the talk, and Naomi (Mom) asked Thurman a question, but the audience mike didn't work, and Russell ran down to her and handed her his mike (whereupon she said, "Thanks, David.")'


Naomi is proud of the spiritual education both her children have received and is aware of the benefits for their chosen career: 'Both of my kids studied with Robert Thurman at Columbia University and I think they've both been drawn to that. I think they're both very spiritual beings. Both have a real awareness of what's going on around them which is why they're good at what they do because you have to be a real observer to represent things for other people (in acting).'


As for Jake's own perspective: '"I was probably doing it for them,” he says. But his stint as a student of Buddhism has left its mark. “I haven’t really found happiness in material success — wanting more hasn’t brought me happiness. Now I realise that whenever I want something more, it’s not going to make me happy,” he muses. “I’m not a card-carrying Buddhist, but I do try to practise mindfulness.”

I'd better stop there and continue later as this is more than one post. In the meantime, this video shows Professor Thurman speaking up for the rights of Tibet and the freedom of its people outside City Hall in NYC just last month.



Maggie is Interview's covergirl

As previously noted here, Maggie Gyllenhaal graces the cover of the May issue of Interview. The picture was taken in London. Here is a peek.


And finally

I am grateful to Channel 4 for premiering Kinsey on tv tonight but why oh why is the Film of the Week on at 1.35 am? Not all of us have recorders that actually function.

Includes pictures from IHJ.