Catch up: Jake Gyllenhaal turns Pittsburgh into NYC and Maggie is an Honourable Woman

Good to see you all! I'm back from one lovely long holiday in Cornwall (having returned looking like a radioactive lobster) and now getting ready for another jaunt to Rome. Jake Gyllenhaal is working through his summer, with shooting continuing on Pittsburgh into next month at least.

This report from Pittsburgh shows how the city is being transformed into NYC, complete with billboard posters of Jake's - or Hope's - next fight:

'The former Saks building is being turned into Madison Square Garden for the movie featuring Jake Gyllenhaal, Rachel McAdams, 50 Cent, and Lupita Nyong’o. A banner advertising “the light heavyweight championship” boxing match between Gyllenhaal’s Billy Hope and another boxer hung outside the building. New York City taxi cabs and police cars were also seen on Smithfield Street. The film is shooting in Pittsburgh through early August. The film previously shot in Indiana, Pa., in June.'

If you want to be an extra, there may still be time!

Maggie is making a bit of a splash on British small screens at the moment with the well-received The Honourable Woman. To mark its screening, Maggie was interviewed in the Guardian with this, less that controversial, comment about Jake: 'Understandably, Gyllenhaal discourages speculation about sibling rivalry. "He's one of my best friends and I really adore him,"' Incidentally, Maggie's English accent in The Honourable Woman is impeccable.

Thanks to IHJ for the new stills from Enemy. I love these posters.

I hope you're all having a good summer/winter!

Jake Gyllenhaal catch up - Everest and Enemy

Enemy is now showing to some good reviews across parts of the world, although it's been accompanied by some less good news for Everest. It's release ate has been postponed from February to September 2015. While it will give us the novel experience of a 3D Jake Gyllenhaal, it will be a shame to have to wait an extra seven months. There are more details here. The other Everest news is that it now has two more cast members - Robin Wright and Sam Worthington. This means that Everest will now feature my most favourite actor and my least favourite! This might mean that I have to watch it with one eye closed. More on the casting here.



Talking of Enemy, there is an interview here with its actress Sarah Gadon, which I haven't read as it has spoilers. In this interview with Denis Villeneuve, the director tells us it's perfectly all right to be confused by Enemy. It also contains a great bit from Denis about working with Jake:

'I was looking for an actor, I was looking for a strong actor, English actor — Anglophone, I mean, an English-speaking actor — I was looking for somebody profound, somebody that would have the strength, the ability, the creativity [to take on the role]. And I had seen him in Donnie Darko. I knew that he was playful, willing to do strange things. I knew that he was a strong actor because of Brokeback Mountain. He blew me away how strong he was, I think that is one of the most beautiful performances of the decade, what he did in that film. So difficult and so precise. I love Jake in Jarhead… every time I had seen him on the screen, I was fascinated. I was starting the casting, I learned that he was available, so I took a chance. I just took a chance. I wrote him a big, long letter, sending him the script. And he invited me to drink a glass of wine with him in New York, and we drank the whole bottle, and it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. I think what interested Jake in the project was not so much the story, but the process. What we will try to do with this movie.'

There is another clip from Enemy here.

I am off to Italy for a week tomorrow so I'll catch up with you properly when I'm back! Have a good week!

Eureka's report! Jake Gyllenhaal premieres Enemy in Madrid and Eureka was there to see it!

Nothing gives me more pleasure on this site than when friends and readers get to see Jake Gyllenhaal in person as he goes about promoting his movies. I am so grateful, too, for the time that they take in sharing the story with the rest of us. Last night, Jake Gyllenhaal premiered Enemy at the Palafox Cinema in Madrid and I'm delighted to say that longtime WDW reader Eureka was there! As well as watching Jake introduce the movie, Eureka was also there for the photocall. The photos here are by Eureka - and such good ones, too. No sign of the earthquake that usually hits when I try and take photos of Jake - and the words below are also Eureka's. So, I hope you are sitting comfortably.

Eureka's report

Yesterday was such a busy and fun day for me.

Jake was back to Madrid to present Enemy the movie. From the moment I knew I would have the chance to see him live again I was really excited and looking forward to see him my secod time. Last time and my first time ever was in April 2011. See here and on WDW.

This time I won 2 tickets to see the movie and see him presenting it. I took my sister with me. She's not a Gyllenhaal fan. But she was there to support me. And have a fun time.

I arrived really early to the cinema and there was already a queue of photographers and many girls awaiting.

Finally they let the photographers come in and I was let in after asking. Again waited inside the cinema for Jake to arrive. In them mean time some girls commented whether if Jake would come with full bear or maybe clean shaven, had he cut his hair....? Fun to hear all those comments. Others were profesional photographers and were more interested in whether he would arrive on time or not. Cause it was late in the day. Of course I didn't mind the waiting....

Then we heard the cheer outdoors and see the cameras flashes lights. And we knew he was here. When he entered the corridor first he stopped with the TV reporters and spend a good time with them answering their questions. I took some blurry photos. Awaiting for him to move down the line to the photocall spot. He was fully bearded (bad luck for me good luck for others) and with a hair bun. 

When he moved there, one guy organizer warned the photographers (me :o) too) that he had some ailment in his eyes and that they should shoot for photos 3 secs and then stop and then go at it again. I think this can explain why some tweeps commented on him looking sad or tired. Nevertheless he was so charming and handsome as I remembered him. I did my best with the camera. Photo session was so short...... He wore a very nice blue suit and the brown shoes. I couldn't help but smile... Some of you reading this (Gyllenfriends) you know why...

Then I run into the cinema room where my sister had kept me a place. Both the spanish movie producer (Miguel Angel Faura) and script writer (Javier Gullón) were already in the movie theatre stage and introduced themselves. They introduced a video with Denis Villeneuve I captured. Soo funy. And right after the video there came Jake down one of the theatre aisles up the stairs to the stage.

He had really warm and thankful words for the spanish movie team and the producers. And said, as you will see in the video, that is movie was his best work ever.

He moved on to say this was one of the strangest movies he had ever made. And I couldn't help it and yelled 'Donnie Darko' and he replied 'Yes, that one too'. Hey! he replied to me.

[Updated to add a link to the video]

Later he said he did not know which character we would identify more with if Adam or Anthony. Perhaps Anthony was more likeable for us Spaniards and here I went again I yelled 'Yesss', and he laughed, and audience laughed. So yes basically I was the only one in the audince saying something to him. Ha,Ha. Really I felt like I was having a conversation with me. Sounds crazy, but hey. I'm a die hard fan. As many as you are. And my only occasion to interact with him, even if it was in this ackward way and he couldn't see me in the darkness of the room. It sure felt good! Now you all know my lovely voice. ;o)

I won't comment about the movie as so many of you have not had the chance yet to see it. I'll just say is worth to watch but hard to get...

Bye Jake! See you soon in Madrid again.

And I didn't want to end this chronicle without remembering a very dear Gyllenfriend, whom I miss so much and would have been so excited for me like you: Marzena AKA Mermon in the internet.

Thanks so much, Eureka, and here's to the next time!

*UPDATED* Jake Gyllenhaal on Strombo Tonight, plus more interviews and details on the filming of Everest

Updated to add the video!



How wonderful to hear Jake talk about Brokeback Mountain again.

Also, thanks so much to IHJ for this video from the set of Enemy



Jake Gyllenhaal gave the Oscars a miss this year. Although this meant that he couldn't be part of the attempt to break Twitter or to deal out the pizza, it did mean he was free to continue making a potential future nominee, Everest. This Wednesday, though, Jake's appearance on the 'George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight' show airs. There are details here and there are also a couple of clips, which can be seen in this post.

Last week, was featured in a substantial interview with IndieWire, in which Jake talked about his craft and evolution as an actor as well as the impact of his Villeneuve collaborations on his career. Enemy might be getting a small release but it's a loud one, I'm glad to say.

Filming Enemy presented an entirely new challenge for Jake - having to be two people: 'Every day was an experiment in those kinds of emotions. And when I acted with myself, Denis set aside three days for the first time we meet each other to really discover that. We would discover during the day what was going on. We would start on one side and we would shoot that side, and I felt a little more comfortable playing Adam, the professor character, because he was more of a solid guy and so I'd play that. We would just play man.'

And Jake on the actor he has become: 'I've become a lot more obsessed with the specificity of characters and like you said, my work, the choices I make, also being on stage was a really big evolution for me. Getting back on stage last year, I will again next year, to me, being a part of... I don't know... I just feel more alive in what I'm doing.'

'I can't explain it in any way, except the relationships I make with the people I make movies with matters to me the most and how we interact. I'm about to go do this movie about Everest with Baltasar Kormakur, directing the movie, and I know the relationship we have there, like, we will explore. I will listen to him and what he needs and then I'll go into unknown territory for him as a result. I don't now what that's about. I don't know what happened. I just know I went like, "Oh, now's the time." There's no other time but now to go do it. I'm going to make a bold choice and if someone doesn't want it they can cut it out.' You can read the rest, here. 

Jake has also been talking to W about his first cinema crush!

Updated to add: Thanks to Leslie for the heads up for this audio interview with Jake at Q. You can listen to it here.

Everest

Meanwhile, Clive Standen has been talking about filming Everest in the Dolomites: 'We've been working on it for about three weeks now - we've been filming right at the top of the Dolomites at minus 20 celsius and it's tough but it's lots of fun. Lots of men stuck up a mountain and helicopters and we've been doing lots of mountaineering and climbing training. I think it's going to be a good one." He added: "I just finished doing some scenes with Josh Brolin and he's a joy to work with. He's a fantastic actor and I feel really lucky to be a part of this project."' This beautiful set photo is from Clive's Twitter feed.

Everest's producer Tim Bevan has also been talking about the logistics of the film to Empire. Hopefully, we'll hear much more soon.

Jake Gyllenhaal scales Everest - in Italy - and a new NSFW trailer for Enemy

Clearly inspired by the Winter Olympics, Jake Gyllenhaal is in the mountains this week to take part in the filming event. Jake is in Italy to film Everest and, just in case there's any danger of forgetting which mountain he's trying to climb, it's written on his hat.

Apart from being considerably overdressed compared to everyone else, I am rather concerned to see that instead of playing the role of one of the mountain's climbers, Jake has instead been cast as Yeti.

Earlier in the week, Jake was allowed down from the mountain to take a look round Rome, including St Peter's. Apologies for the Mail link. I should like to point out to Jake that he's a few months early - I won't be back in Rome until the summer.

Jake took time out of Everest to appear on the cover of Man of the World. In the interview, Jake talked about the importance of working with certain directors: 'Gyllenhaal says he feels more comfortable working with certain directors. "It's all about a level of commitment—how far will you go for a director you believe in? How far will you go for a story you believe in? I've always worked as hard as I can on everything I've done. But now I feel like I'm listening to myself and realizing that we have a finite amount of time, and how you spend it is really important."

Also this week, a new trailer appeared for Enemy. This one is the Not Safe For Work Variety so hold on...

Many thanks to IHJ for the great pics! There are lots more there.

Two Enemy featurettes and Jake Gyllenhaal talks about the rather bizarre inspiration for the film!

As Enemy gets closer to its limited release, there are more goodies. This week they're in the shape of a couple of featurettes in which I do believe Jake Gyllenhaal is seeing double. Never enough Jakes... Thanks very much to Sonja for the heads up.





Jake also features in a great interview with the Huffington Post this week. This is an interview packed full of Jakisms.

'Huff: Well, yeah, I couldn't imagine watching a movie at home and seeing myself in the movie. Well, I guess that's a little different for you...
Jake [Laughs]: Well, if I put in a movie that I knew what this classic movie and then all of a sudden it was me in it, it would super freak me out.'
Huff: Like if you saw yourself in "Star Wars."
Jake: We all see ourselves in "Star Wars."
Huff: That's true.
Jake: And I speak for everybody when I say that. And I don't usually speak for everybody -- but I speak for everybody when I say that.'

The dubious, wine-soaked origin of Enemy:

'Well, we didn't know how potent the wine was -- let's just say it that way. There were some moments that happened in our conversation. Not only did we connect and just sort of have an amazing discussion, but this woman turned to me at one point who was sitting next to us with her husband and she said, "I hate to interrupt your dinner, but I just want you to know that everybody always says that you look like my son. Can I show you? You are an exact duplicate of my son." And I was like, "Oh, okay." And she showed me this picture and Denis was like, "It's crazy! You look exactly alike!" And we didn't, in my opinion. But, it was the movie! How you could you not do a movie? Unless Denis planted this woman there [laughs].'

Jake might not have been at the BAFTAs on Sunday but Maggie was a surprise presenter. Here she is on the red carpet.

Thanks to IHJ for the rather delicious Enemy screencap!

A second trailer for Enemy and Jake Gyllenhaal, Maggie and Peter Sarsgaard at Pussy Riot NYC fundraiser

If there's one thing better than one trailer for Enemy, it's two trailers for Enemy. With huge thanks to IHJ, here is a second trailer for Jake Gyllenhaal's next film, out (although not too widely) on 14 March.



It's mean a while since we've seen Jake with Maggie and Peter Sarsgaard but last Thursday all three attended a fundraising event for Pussy Riot and the Voice Project at the Spotted Pig restaurant in New York City. Maggie was one of the hosts. I'm very glad to see Jake and Peter were there, too.

Last week, of course, saw the terrible news of the death of Philip Seymour Hoffman, just a couple of days after the announcement that he was to direct Jake and Amy Adams in Ezekiel Moss. Yesterday (7 February), Jake, Amy and Michelle Williams were among the mourners at the private funeral. Details here.

Enemy trailer and new ghost story movie news for Jake Gyllenhaal and Amy Adams

Hot on the heels of the new Enemy poster this week, we now have the first full trailer for Enemy. We've had bits and pieces of tasters before but this give us much more. It might give you the shivers. Of course, the bonus, is Multiple Jakes.



There is also movie news! Early days at the moment but Deadline has announced that Jake Gyllenhaal is to star alongside Amy Adams in Philip Seymour Hoffman's directorial debut Ezekiel Moss. Set during the Prohibition, 'The story follows Iris (Adams) who, emotionally fragile by the recent loss of her husband, manages to scrape by to provide for her spirited son by running a boarding house in a small town overrun by religious fervor. Their lives are forever changed when she begins to fall in love with Ezekiel Moss (Gyllenhaal), a mysterious drifter who has the divine ability to channel and physically inhabit the spirits of the dead.'

A ghost story! What do you think? I have to say I love the sound of this! And with the lovely Amy Adams, too. Talking of whom, above is Jake with Amy during the 2011 Oscars (thanks to IHJ).

Note: This post was written a few hours before last night's dreadful news about Philip Seymour Hoffman. One can only offer one's sympathy to his family and friends. Not surprisingly, plans to discuss Ezekiel Moss in Germany have been shelved while decisions are made about the fate of the film.

A new poster for Enemy, an Everest update (filming in the UK) and Prisoners is out on DVD in the UK on Monday!

The excitement for Enemy is building! Today we have another new poster for the film which is really rather wonderful. You can click on it to embiggen it. This is from the twitter for @A24Films which today tweeted: 'New ENEMY one-sheet is a beauty. Opens in NY 3/15, exclusive premiere on @DIRECTV 2/6'. This is over a month before its theatrical release and is not too far away at all!

Director Denis Villeneuve talks about the poster at Entertainment Weekly today: 'The poster for the film is an equally disorienting visual that ignores its leading man’s celebrity. “Enemy for me is really an artistic piece,” says Villeneuve. “It was done with no compromises, a real act of cinema. And I think the poster reflects that idea, that it’s about exploration of identity. Sometimes, it’s very healthy to make cinema with just art in mind and you don’t think about the box-office. What I love about [the distributor] A24 and the poster they came up with is that it totally reflects that.”' To go with it is a video interview with Jake Gyllenhaal from TIFF last Autumn.

Many thanks to IHJ for recently uploading new still from Enemy, including one which features one of my favourite sights - Jake on a motorbike. Perhaps not showing Jake at his best but it'll do me... There are more images there.

Everest update

An interesting snippet can be found in a new article about Everest this week. 'According to Nepali Times, “Lama and a group of 12 real-life Sherpas are off to Val Paradiso in Italy to do the outdoor part of the shoot in a make-believe Mt Everest. After that Lama will go to Pinewood Studios near London to film his role of the rescue inside a Ecureuil simulato The movie will be shooted in a studio not in actual Everest. None of actor will visit Nepal in course for shooting.'

So outdoors filming in Italy and the rest in the UK and none in Nepal at all!

And finally...

Meanwhile, a note to all readers in the UK, remember Prisoners is out on DVD and blu ray on Monday (3 February!).

Happy New Year! Jake Gyllenhaal back to Toronto and news on Enemy and Everest

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful turn of the year and are coping with the return to work and/or the weather.

The snow and ice might have prevented the red carpet event from taking place in Toronto yesterday, but Jake Gyllenhaal and Denis Villeneuve still made it to up to the city for Canada's Top 10 Film Festival. They took part in an In Conversation... with TIFF's Cameron Bailey, which gave Jake the golden opportunity to give us an update on his hairyness. Thanks very much to IHJ for the photos!

Prisoners continues to gather interest. This means new interviews appear all the time, including this one with Screendaily.

Ben Stiller has been demonstrating what a man of good taste he is with his recent comments about Jake following a screening of Prisoners: 'I find Jake Gyllenhaal a very interesting young actor - very dark, handsome, magnetic. I like him.' We like you, too, Ben.

Enemy has also progress. It now has a release date in the US of 14 March, so not long at all. Hopefully, the rest of the world won't be far behind.

Everest, meanwhile, is due to start filming in just a few days, on 13 January. We hear that 'Filming for Everest is expected to mainly take place in Val Senales, Trentino Alto-Adige, Italy. Everest will hit the big screen on December 19 in the US, while the UK does not yet have an official release date.' That's what I call a birthday present!

Jake Gyllenhaal and the SAG Foundation plus a new Enemy poster

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! I also hope that you managed to avoid spending most of it bedbound with flu, unlike yours truly.... But as one year draws its curtains and another one peeps around the corner, Jake Gyllenhaal has a message for you about the work of the SAG Foundation. It's good to see Jake's charity work continuing unabated. Please note, though, how I'm not mentioning the hair...



Thanks so much to IHJ for the video and for the accompanying portraits.

From Canada we have a new Enemy poster - and I like it a lot..

As a reminder, this was the earlier version:

There is also a new video from Hitfix of Jake talking about Prisoners.



Enjoy the chocolate!

Jake Gyllenhaal to be part of Canada's Top 10 Film Festival and an award nomination

Jake Gyllenhaal is heading back to Toronto. On January 5 Jake and Denis Villeneuve (director of Prisoners and Enemy) will be appearing in conversation with Cameron Bailey (TIFF Artistic Director) as part of Canada's Top 10 Film Festival. You can read the details here and, if you're lucky, buy tickets to watch Jake in conversation for 90 minutes! I've had the privilege of watching something similar and I can guarantee that it would be unforgettable. And funny.

This does, of course, mean that the Toronto International Film Festival is rather chuffed by Jake's work with Denis and it is a huge honour for Enemy that it has been listed in its top ten for the year.



The other good news this week is that Jake has been nominated for an award by the International Press Academy! The award nomination is for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and is for Prisoners. While we know only to well how unreliable and tipsy the awards season can be, this can only bode well. It also continues the acclaim that Jake has received for Prisoners and Enemy this year.



Thanks to Sonja for a link to this great interview with Jake in Movie.com. It would seem that blockbusters aren't on Jake's mind right now. Jake also admits to being rather intense when he's at work: 'But I am focused when I work on something, and I think my tendency of late has been to move towards darker material.' It's good to see a mention of Bubble Boy but it looks like a comedy could be a way off still.

Thanks to IHJ for this photo of the cast and crew of Nightcrawler on set in LA. Love this. There are some great new photos up from Elle Man China (one is above) so do take a look.

I'm off to Florence and Tuscany in the wee hours of Saturday so I will see you soon!

A catch up in words, videos and images - Jake Gyllenhaal honours casting directors, talks Prisoners and Nightcrawler and The Hand

Jake Gyllenhaal and his hand have been busy over the last few days moving between Los Angeles and New York City, attending more honorary events and screenings of Prisoners.

Firstly, here's a great video of Jake discussing Prisoners and much, much more with Gold Derby editor Tom O'Neil.



This week we also heard a little bit more about the mirror attack and Nightcrawler thanks to Movie.com:

"We were working a scene and it was an intense scene, and I just went for it," he told us. "It's going to be in the movie, too, which is pretty awesome. The feeling that you left it all out on the field, ya know? That you even put a little of your own blood into a project." In the film Gyllenhaal plays a young man caught up in the seedy, underground world of freelance crime journalism, and while his mirror-punching exploits will indeed make it into the film, he added that you may not see his character punch the mirror in the shot, but you will see it shatter.'

"It's so hard to explain this character," Gyllenhaal said. "He's all over the map in this way that is so fun to play. We were experimenting a lot because it's such a brilliant screenplay -- probably one of the best I've ever read. Dan Gilroy wrote it, and [the character] is sort of a modern version of a real entrepreneur. This sort of personification of this idea that success is the ultimate goal regardless of anything. He's charming, and at the same time calculating. Why he is all these things is definitely underneath that [mirror-punching] moment in a way, but he's just so complex. It was real fun to play as an actor."

Thanks to IHJ for the photos from last Monday's Casting Society of Artios Awards which honoured casting directors. Jake clearly enjoyed his speech:

“It’s really nice to see casting directors get up here and be more nervous than I’ve ever seen them before,” Gyllenhaal told the packed International Ballroom at the Beverly Hilton. “Now you know how it feels! It’s perversely wonderful to watch you shake. I’m actually kind of getting off on it.”

Jake also said: 'On behalf of me, my sister (actress Maggie Gyllenhaal), my brother-in-law, who's an actor (Peter Sarsgaard), my mother and my father. We could not have done it without you.'

On 22 November, Jake took part in a special showing of Prisoners for the Envelope Screening Series. You can watch the video here. At the screening, Jake talked a little about Loki's characteristic blinking tic: "I get these strange instincts when I'm reading something," Gyllenhaal said. "And one of those things in this movie, when I read the script … I had this feeling of this blinking. I don't know really where it came from. I try a lot of things with Denis. He allows that. It is why he's so extraordinary. He creates a space that's safe, which is why I think he got such incredible actors to be a part of this process." Gyllenhaal added: "His love of actors and his ability to say, 'I'm going to give you the space to create in there; I'm not going to manipulate you in the wrong way,' I think made us all come along." When Gyllenhaal pitched the idea of Loki's tic to Villeneuve at a diner, "[Villeneuve] said, 'If we use it enough and it has a reason, if we find a reason for this, then I love it.' And we did."'

And finally

We've had this before but IMDb has released the trailer for Enemy on YouTube this week and so it seems like a good time to show it again:

Here is a brief clip of Jake at the recent Oscars' Governors Awards:

Jake Gyllenhaal in the movies - Prisoners, Enemy, Nightcrawler and The Good Girl

Jake Gyllenhaal is a man of three films and in today's post there's a little bit from all three - and a fourth. Firstly, there are some new stills from Enemy, both in front of and behind the camera.

There are also some new images from Prisoners, including a wonderful on set photo of Jake with little Erin Gerasimovich, the talented young actress who plays Anna Dover. Incidentally, Prisoners topped the UK box office not only for the first weekend of its release but also its second!

Jake is currently filming Nightcrawler in LA with first-time director Dan Gilroy. Variety has this from its producer: “We really had no choice but to shoot this in Los Angeles, because it’s set in L.A and it’s a quintessentially Los Angeles kind of project in that the city is very much a character in the movie,” said producer David Lancaster. “It’s a similar situation to ‘Drive,’ where it’s essential to set the movie in L.A. And we also got the tax credit.” Thanks to a very fortunate spectator we have our first view of Jake (in pink) in character - a currently unnamed character.

I'm still waiting for the the podcast of Jake and Hugh's London Apple event but iPlayer has captured their interview with Edith Bowman for her BBC Radio 6 show. Their bit of the show begins at about the 2 hour and 37 minute mark. Jake and Hugh also appeared on Steve Wright in the Afternoon on BBC Radio 2 and you can listen to some of that here. They also appeared on the Lorraine Show and that is here.

Jake recorded an interview with Neil Fox and that's available to listen to in two parts here.

Apologies if any of the links don't work for you due to region. This is a most annoying irritation.

Thanks so much to IHJ for the wonderful photos. Do take a look at the gallery as it is overflowing with scans of recent interviews in the media.

And now for the fourth film. This wonderful interview from 2002 when Jake was promotion The Good Girl alongside one of my very favourite of Jake's co-stars, Jennifer Aniston, is now available to watch again. Marvellous.

Jake Gyllenhaal, Hugh Jackman, Prisoners catch up and a glimpse of Enemy

It's a week now since that glorious day in London and Jake Gyllenhaal is back in the States, possibly hard at work on Nightcrawlers. His visit to Europe lasted just a day but Hugh Jackman has been doing great things, whizzing around and making a lot of people very happy. Last Friday Prisoners opened in the UK, which meant that at least I was able to see it and read some of these articles about the film. I didn't want to be spoiled any more that I had to be. I was nervous about Prisoners, I'll be honest. I'm not good with films on that kind of theme but I was completely blown away by it! Its acting, photography and directing were second to none and I was riveted to it for a fast and speedy and thrilling two and a half hours. I know many people have yet to see it in Europe so I don't want to say much but what I can say is that I agree that Inspector Loki is a career-best performance by Jake. He is to be congratulated, along with Hugh and Denis and everyone else involved with the film. I am chuffed and proud!



So, here are a few more videos from the Prisoners promotion. There is a lot more out there and it'll take a while to catch up - at leisure which is a good thing. There is also this interview from Empire.







I loved seeing these snippets from the Apple event! They give you a bit of an idea of what it was like





And thinking ahead, here is a clip from Enemy.

Enemy - first trailer and poster and more Jake Gyllenhaal on the box and in the papers as the UK visit gets closer!

As Prisoners opens in the US, it appears that its success has given its sibling movie Enemy such a push that its worldwide distribution grows ever likely. As a result, we finally have a a teaser trailer.

There is also a poster (here via IHJ). It does little for my spider issues....

It is quite possible that Jake is on a plane to the UK as we speak. He's appearing at the Apple Store in London tomorrow evening (very excited about that!) and will also be doing a live webchat with Empire Magazine at 12.45 pm. Yesterday, Jake graced the cover of the Guardian Guide (I managed to pick up a copy in a country pub restaurant). You can see my scans below and also read the interview here. There is another interview in the Washington Post.

Thanks so much to Stephanie for new videos of Jake's TV appearances!

The Queen Latifah Show





The Katie Show











So an exciting day tomorrow! I can't wait to see Jake and to tell you all about it! Wish me luck :)

Exclusive report on Jake Gyllenhaal's appearance on the Queen Latifah Show and at the Prisoners LA premiere. Plus Jimmy Kimmel Live and more!

**Jake Gyllenhaal is on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart tonight (17 January) - 10pm, Comedy Central**

Yesterday was a big day for Jake Gyllenhaal and for his fans, this time in LA. Jake recorded his appearance on the Queen Latifah Show in the morning and then on Jimmy Kimmel Live before walking the red carpet for the LA premiere of Prisoners. I am so pleased to have a report from WDW reader and an old friend of mine, Dani, who attended the Queen Latifah recording and them went round for the premiere. Thanks to her for taking the time to write such a long report.

Dani's report of the Queen Latifah Show

'Jake came out to thunderous applause and a whole lot of screaming - a good bit of it coming from me. They had a cluster of seats right on the floor right in front of where Jake sat. But I did get the first row of the regular seats. He wore a nice gray suit and a crisp white shirt. Along with THE SHOES! They don't seem so bad in person. Maybe that's because nothing about Jake could be bad in person. You know that more than anyone. Even the beard didn't bother me even though I worried that it might have tripled in length from the last pictures we saw. We know how fast he can grow that thing. His hair was thick and beautiful even though this current style he's wearing is not my favorite. He said we were the most colorful group of people he had ever seen, referring to all of our bright colors.'

'Jake had an easy rapport with Queen Latifah and told her how much he admired her talent and ability to do everything. He said he had always wanted to tell her that. He told some stories - not the dart one from Letterman - but one most fans have heard before. About his 13th birthday and how his parents made him spend it feeding the homeless so that he would understand that not everyone has a privileged life. It was nice to hear him talk about it. He also told a funny story that must have been planned because Latifah asked him about being popular in school and Jake went on an on with a Thesaurus worth of words describing how popular he was while behind him on the screen was the picture of him as a boy with the thick glasses and spikey hair. So he ended the story by saying that in truth he "was a stone cold nerd."'

'There were plenty of Jake facial expressions that we have come to love over the years but my favorite was after he was presented with all of the eye glasses the audience had donated - of which he was genuinely appreciative - Latifah said that Macy wanted to donate hers also. Macy being the singer Macy Gray who was appearing as a guest DJ, playing all kinds of cool music during breaks to keep the audience revved up. We really didn't need anything. The surprised look on Jake's face and his joyous shout out 'Macy', was like any fan reaction. Who knows how much of all of this will be in the final show. It took two hours to tape what will end up being about 45-50 minutes after they edit. I am just thrilled I got to hear everything Jake had to say. His segment was over way too fast.'

Dani's report of the Prisoners Premiere

Dani was with me back in 2007 when we went through the rather odd experience of the LA Zodiac premiere. It was move from its public address to behind close barriers at Paramount Studios, leaving us to peer through the gate. It was a very peculiar night but also one of the most memorable I've had (you can read about it here). I'm so glad that it worked out for Dani on this occasion.

'I thought it just wasn't in the cards for me to ever see a premiere of one of Jake's movies. I decided to drive back to Beverly Hills from Westwood one more time before heading home. That would be The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences Building where they hold screenings for the Academy and special events. I had been there before in 2008 when I saw a screening of Brokeback Mountain with Diana Osanna as the guest speaker. In the 30 minutes since I had last passed by, a line of people wrapped around the block had emerged and the front entrance was definitely set up to receive arrivals for the premiere. Unfortunately, the fans had to stand across the street on the other side of busy Wilshire Boulevard.'

'From the time I finally got there, I only had to wait about 40 minutes before the stars started arriving. First was the director, Denis Villenueve, then Paul Dano. There were some other celebrities not in the film like Jeremy Renner. But the crowd was mostly waiting for Jake. As the black SUV approached I could see Jake sitting in the front seat next to the driver. I was praying a bus or some other monster vehicle traveling down the street was not going to block my view of him. It worked in my favor because I had a clear view of Jake when he emerged from the SUV. Immediately the crowd started yelling his name and I had my first experience of yelling JAKE! JAKE! He turned around and waved at us. Next thing we knew, the cars on the four lane busy boulevard seemed to part like the red sea and Jake, escorted by a police officer, dashed over to us. Everyone rushed at him, even to the point of risking life and limb by stepping into the street where cars had resumed moving forward. Jake said to step back so that we wouldn't get hit. Well, one girl said later that he said it directly to her, but I would like to think Jake cared about all of us. Anyway, this is when it sucks being short. So many tall people forced their way in front of me. I was still able to see Jake's head because I was about two feet away from him and he was taller than most of the people in front of me. But I didn't get a close up picture or get to say anything to him. Still, it was an unforgettable thrill and all it cost me was 14 hours of my life and a half of tank of gas. I would never do this again for anyone but Jake!'

Thank you,  Dani!

Jimmy Kimmel Live

Actor's Studio

This screens next week on 19 September but some quotes follow from Bravo:

"It felt like losing a family member, and it still does to this day." - Gyllenhaal on Heath Ledger's death

"It's a huge compliment..." - Gyllenhaal on his sexual orientation being questioned after "Brokeback Mountain"

"She's so sharp and smart and...courageous. I admire her courage, behind the camera and in front of the camera." - Gyllenhaal on working with Anne Hathaway

"The way you behave with everybody is more important than the work that you do. It's essential. It is everything... generosity and kindness and patience will get you so far. That's the biggest lesson I've learned." -Gyllenhaal's biggest piece of advice

"...My sister is, probably the reason why I do this, is somebody who I admire more than most anybody in the world, and she drives me f**king nuts sometimes... - Gyllenhaal on sister Maggie Gyllenhaal

Enemy

It appears that Enemy will be shown across the US after all. Details here.

Interviews

Interview with Jake in the LA Times

Jake's interview with VMan

Thank so much to IHJ for the new pictures from yesterday.