Catching our eye - Jake, Peter, Maggie

If you're not living on the moon or if you haven't got the internet (which kind of amounts to the same thing), it may have escaped your notice that Jake Gyllenhaal is everywhere on the world wide web today. Jake caught the attention of many by walking across that film set with his three belts and his topless chest - maybe it was the necklace... Anyway, it seems that much of the attention was because some commentators, who seem to recall nothing later than Donnie Darko, simply could not believe that Jake could buff up in such a jaw dropping kind of way.


I was going to post some pictures charting the changing shape of Jake's figure, but instead Sky Showbiz have done it for me. And so here is their look at the 43 shapes of Jake Gyllenhaal. Although they have some of the dates wrong, the pictures are a treat, especially this one - I have been searching for this photograph for such a long time, so many thanks to them for that.


I don't usually post links to such videos, but I've included this video about Jake and his new look because it features a few seconds of film of Jake walking into St Pancras station in London for the Eurostar train to Paris. I love this look on Jake.


Elegy

Jake's prince, of course, will be battling the evil Vizier played by Sir Ben Kingsley, who has just appeared in Elegy alongside Penelope Cruz and the wonderful Peter Sarsgaard. A few days ago I went to see Elegy and I wanted to mention it here to encourage as many of you that can to see this film before it disappears from the few screens that are showing it. (It was particularly memorable because I was interviewed for local TV about whether popcorn should be banned.) Speaking as someone who approaches the works of Philip Roth with some trepidation and not a little fear, I was surprised to see that Elegy was directed by a woman - Isabel Coixet - and I was fully prepared to dislike everything about the self- and sex-obsessed Kepesh (Kingsley).



But instead, despite some wavering, I found myself inhabiting the mind of an ageing man, scared to death that he would no longer be able to pull his young students, a third of his age. It wasn't a particularly engaging place to inhabit - at times it was extremely uncomfortable and skincreeping - but it did mean that when Kepesh met his match in Consuela and he learned his lesson, I melted with him. Peter was a scene stealer as Kepesh's son, who fitted perfectly into society's moulds, except for one - being transformed into a needy child whenever he sees Kepesh. But Peter is so underused. I must say how good it was to see Deborah Harry on the big screen too.


I wonder if Peter has shared with Jake his experiences of working with this formidable and powerful actor, Ben Kingsley. I suspect so.

Best dressed Maggie

Maggie has always appeared to stay true to her own taste in fashion and clothes, not always getting an easy ride for it, but she recently turned many heads with her series of dramatic and completely appropriate outfits for the Dark Knight premieres and publicity events. Maggie made Grazia's top ten list of best dressed women, alongside the more usual figures of Gwyneth Paltrow, Natalie Portman and Kate Hudson.

Heady days for the Gyllenhaal siblings.


With thanks to T for the video link. Includes pictures from links, Contactmusic and About.com.

Peter Sarsgaard's Elegy gala in NYC - Jake Gyllenhaal by sea and ocean

Many of you will know that Maggie Gyllenhaal had a film come out lately - it's done rather well at the box office. But I am also very excited to see that Peter Sarsgaard is about to reach our screens. Although with a limited release, Elegy arrives in theatres on both side of the pond this Friday (August 8). Last night, Peter and other cast members, including Penelope Cruz, attended a screening hosted by The Cinema Society and Glamour at the Tribeca Grand Screening Room in NYC. Maggie wasn't there but it's good to see the spotlight on Peter and his co-stars.


Of course, Elegy also features the dastardly Prince of Persia villain Ben Kingsley - just as Peter's future release An Education stars Prince Dastan's mentor Alfred Molina. Shrinking the world still further, Carey Mulligan appears in An Education and she will also be seen in Brothers - it's all like one big movie sometimes...


Maggie, meanwhile, has been speaking some more about The Dark Knight. This interview with Chuck the Movie Guy includes so many spoilers it should come with a health warning. So please be aware this video is crammed to the hilt with SPOILERS and watch at your own risk.



By the Sea

In another recent interview, Maggie mentioned her love for the ocean (as well as jewellery): 'Being around water, and in water, makes you feel so good. The ocean is really sexy, and the wilder and wavier the better!' This may have a lot more to do with memories of summers spent on Martha's Vineyard than of off-season ferry crossings over the Irish Sea, but this got me thinking about Jake Gyllenhaal and the sea. After all, Jake once said that his favourite place on earth were the cliffs of Gay Head on MV.


Jake also said (in one of my favourite Zodiac interviews): 'I really like to sail, actually. My family has a house in Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, and we've had it since I was very little, so, I've sort of been on the ocean as a lifeguard from when I was like, 16 to 18.'



Jake has been photographed in, by and, even, walking upon the sea. In Cannes, the sea formed the perfect backdrop for interviews, photoshoots and premieres. In the idyllic setting of the Eden Roc hotel in Antibes, along the coast from Cannes, Jake seemed inspired in some of his most eloquent and thoughtful interviews to date. 'Venice is beautiful, but I never got to do my interviews by the ocean. This is great - it's beautiful' (BBC News).



Stories of rescuing poor swimmers from the attacks of Jellyfish are legendary - appearing with almost predictable regularity at BAFTA ceremonies - as are reminiscences of running along the beach as a teenage lifeguard, Bay Watch style. Speedos stolen for a dare from the Beverley Center no doubt came in handy.



Jake is rarely far from the sea - he doesn't just get to spend non-working summers on MV, plus surfing holidays in Hawaii (while collecting best young actor awards), he also spends much of his time by the warm Californian Pacific Ocean - although if you stand still on Venice Beach for more than five minutes you'll be knocked down by a cyclist and/or rollerblader. Much to contrast with the sand and mountains of Morocco.



It's therefore not surprising that the Oceana charity is close to Jake's heart (as we have previously seen), taking part in annual fundraising dinners. But sometimes the sea gets a little close for comfort.


In one of my most tenuous links yet, in this video Jake mentions the sea - very theatrically.



And finally... A flying visit to NYC?

One sighting has Jake and Reese in NYC last weekend - attending the 'Deerhunter and Black Lips' free concert at McCarren Pool in Brooklyn on Sunday night. If it is true, then this was a very fleeting visit indeed because yesterday Reese was back shopping in LA and, presumably, Jake is back at work on PoP. My ears did perk up at the mention of them being near the beer tent - always the best location at such events.


Pictures from links and IHJ.

New eyes, no regrets - 'trust yourself' and not your director

After a week in which we've been discussing some of the causes Jake Gyllenhaal supports - Rock the Vote, Declare Yourself, Oceana, not to mention John Kerry and the Democrats - it's timely indeed that, with a huge thanks to Stephanie at IHeartJake, we can see a new video of Jake speaking for New Eyes for the Needy.



Jake, like many of us, might not be able to see further than the end of that perfect nose of his but, as he says here, he is fortunate enough to be able to afford the eyecare he needs. As a result, Jake doesn't have to picture himself any longer as that 'crest toothpaste tube with bad eyesight'. Quite the opposite. (One of these days I'll get the courage up to try that new fangled invention that Jake relies upon - The Contact Lens.)


In the aftermath of a film that did much to help bury stereotypes, Brokeback Mountain, Jake, Ang Lee and Anne Hathaway contributed to a video released as part of the Human Rights National Coming Out Day 2006, appearing alongside such figures as Bill and Hillary Clinton, Ellen Degeneres (and many others I can recognise but can't put a name to). As Jake says of Jack and Ennis: 'a story like that is equal to any love story.'



Following on from the Brokeback post yesterday, I found a link to the article I quoted from: Jake Gyllenhaal contemplates the big stuff. I've always been interested in Jake's relationship with his directors and I was intrigued to hear this and wonder what triggered this view and if it now has changed: '"I've learned to expect very little from directors," says Gyllenhaal, leaning his lanky frame into an uncomfortable chair and asking if it's OK to light up the last cigarette in a banged-up pack of American Spirits. "What I say now is, `Trust yourself,' because you can't count on your relationship with a director. Ang was great, though, because he would set up situations and then let me and Heath decide what to do within the space Ang created. He put the camera wherever he wanted, but then he gave us a lot of power to create something, so we didn't leave with any regrets."'


After falling in love with the story and filmscript of Brokeback, Jake realised 'I ought to call those people who called it "the gay cowboy movie" and scold them. It's so much more than that.'


Elegy

It only seems right if I'm posting videos to include here the new trailer for Elegy - a film starring Peter Sarsgaard and Sir Ben Kinglsey, who, having worked with Peter, will now take his place as evil Vizier to Jake's prince in The Prince of Persia. Yet again I hear the refrain, 'It's a small world after all.'





Includes pictures from IHJ and links.

Jake Gyllenhaal - Maggie had the special gift

The thought that perhaps Jake is currently in New York City visiting his sister Maggie and her family has made me think more about the happy and enviable connection between Jake and Maggie. So today I've been inspired by new photos of Ramona's father, a very merry looking Peter Saarsgaard, on set in Vancouver and by an article written to promote Proof which contains a brief interview with Jake, recorded while filming Zodiac, and his co-star Gwyneth Paltrow. So, perhaps with Peter away, Jake is doing his bit - but without the organic diaper thing.



The film Proof has themes as old as life itself - sibling rivalry and the driving need to prove oneself to parents and oneself. Gwyneth Paltrow and Jake are the children of performers, writers and directors and both took on the family business as children and had grand ambitons. It is this that Jake (and Gwyneth, although not together) discussed in an interview made while filming Zodiac in Los Angeles and published in September 2005 .



Jake admits to growing up wanting what Maggie had in abundance. She perfomed in school plays and "I remember watching her onstage and saying, 'That looks really fun'... Even at the dinner table, she would be rehearsing for something, and she'd be in the middle of spaghetti and get up and do a little dance. And naturally, I wanted to do that."

Not for the first time, Jake reveals that he began to perform while at home and that the reason for this was: "Attention, you know? What you want from your parents." Jake took to acting very quickly, not surprisingly, "especially as a kid". "I remember feeling more comfortable than a lot of the other kids that were doing it, ... Growing up around sets and watching people do it, well, why wouldn't you? A lot of it is just feeling comfortable. And once you feel comfortable, people want to nurture it more." But, when Jake won a major role in The Mighty Ducks his parents wouldn't allow him to do it and you sense that this ruling devastated Jake as only a young child can be. "It killed me at the time," he said. "I was really, really upset and hurt. But I remember quickly forgetting about it. So I think it was a good choice in the end." You can just imagine what that house was like at the time!



Although I think it's clear that Maggie and her little brother were fiercely competitive as children in their performance for attention from their parents, Jake is at pains to point out that they get on well, but nevertheless "There was a long time where I felt like my sister had the special gift, and I was always trying to match it, ... I feel equal now."

But, interestingly, Jake suggests that things wouldn't have run so smoothly if Maggie had instead been an elder brother. "We're lucky that we're different sexes," he said. "And I'm sure Gwyneth and her brother, they're lucky in that way, too." You can compete but you're not competing to be the same.

Whatever the potential hazards of two very talented and gifted siblings growing up together in a house with high-achieving parents, who had to combine being supportive in their children's choice of career with the broader concern of setting them on the right path, it's clear all's good now. As Jake said recently, Maggie and her family, his parents, and his friendships are the most important part of his life.


Peter Saarsgaard is a big part of that family although he often seems to be away working on another movie - recently, of course, filming Rendition with Jake. At the moment, Peter is in Vancouver filming Elegy, in which he plays the son of a teacher (Ben Kingsley) who finds himself falling for student Penelope Cruz. Whether called for by the plot or not, Peter was snapped throwing himself heart and soul into a rendition of Singing in the Rain, umbrella and all. More photos here.




Talking of films... the city of Chicago is bracing itself to be plunged into turmoil as the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight arrives in town this weekend for intensive filming. All leading characters are expected in Chicago so, sooner or later, Maggie and Ramona will be leaving NYC, so what next and where next for Uncle Jake? I hear Chicago has some excellent restaurants and let's not forget Heath...

A big thank you and hello to Jantoinette!

Pictures from IHJ and here.