Jake Gyllenhaal gets some cast mates for his Off Broadway debut, ping pong and Maggie continues to shine for Hysteria

If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet, Jake Gyllenhaal's imminent Off Broadway debut, is getting nearer! Previews start on 24 August before opening night on 20 September. It's quite possible that the butterflies are starting to flutter. But, unlike An Enemy in which Jake plays both the lead and the co-star, there are other people in the play and yesterday Variety announced a couple of them:

'Brian F. O'Byrne and Michelle Gomez will join Jake Gyllenhaal in the Off Broadway play "If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet." O'Byrne ("Brotherhood," NBC's "Prime Suspect"), who won a Tony for his role in 2004 outing "Frozen," will play the environmentalist father of an overweight teen girl who befriends her drifter uncle, played by Gyllenhaal in his Off Broadway debut. Gomez, who appeared in "Boeing Boeing" on the West End, stars at the teen girl's mother. The role of the daughter has yet to be cast.

Design team includes Beowulf Borritt (sets), Susan Hilferty (costumes), Natasha Katz (lights) and Obadiah Eaves (music and sound).'

Michelle Gomez is a Scottish actress, possibly best known in the UK for Green Room a few years back, while Brian F O'Byrne, an Irish actor, is a regular in Prime Suspect and also featured in the US series Flashforward. Could be quite a mix of accents here with the only English one coming out of Jake...

Jake will no doubt be rehearsing soon as only an actor about to have his NYC Off Broadway debut can. But, at the moment, Jake continues to film An Enemy and move between Toronto and NYC. The most memorable recent sighting is the one of Jake 'Playin' ping pong like a madman' at Spin Toronto on Friday night. I'm sure I'm not the only one to be reminded of Jake's near miss with a ping pong tournament back in January 2010.

Maggie, meanwhile, continues to make TV appearances to publicise Hysteria. Last week she was on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. If you're in the US, you can watch it here. Unfortunately, I haven't yet found a link that works on this side of the pond. Maggie did cause a stir looking rather wonderful outside the studio. I do like this retro glamorous actress look of hers.

Jake Gyllenhaal in Toronto as preparations for An Enemy heat up and a catch up with Maggie

Having spent a few days back in NYC, helping to knock the inhabitants into shape by taking over the SoulCycle spin class again, Jake Gyllenhaal is now in Toronto where An Enemy is due to begin filming on 22 May. Tweets spotted Jake at the airport and then in the city where the sets for the movie were being built. When Jake wasn't helping with that (no doubt putting those legendary carpentry skills to good use), he was outside having a smoke. He has also been meeting with other potential members of the cast.

Being in Toronto may come in handy next month for Jake when The Shoes' Time to Dance video is entered in the Scene Not Herd section of the Toronto Short Film Festival. More details here.

End of Watch is released in the US on 28 September. On the same day, Maggie's film Won't Back Down is also released (conflict of interest for relatives). The trailer has just been released.



Meanwhile Maggie's next movie Hysteria, a film that seems to have been around for ages, finally opens in the US tomorrow. Maggie hasn't been able to attend premieres and events due to the recent birth of Gloria - babysitters are so unreliable these days - but in this interview Maggie talks about how she got into character by drinking lots of espresso and gives tips for managing the English accent. No doubt a subject discussed with Jake over recent years. I do hope that the film will get a British release.

Thanks to IHJ for the screencap and to BBMISwear for some of the links!

A perfect day in NYC and Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard in Rome for Hysteria

Let's start with a test: What makes a good day? Winning a tenner (or more) on the lottery? Getting nuzzled by your favourite cat? Sunshine dappling through your curtains and bathing you in unseasonable warmth? A big bowl of hot veggie chilli? Or seeing Jake Gyllenhaal standing opposite you on a train in NYC while reading a script and looking ultra lovely in a white t-shirt? No prizes for guessing which one this lucky blogger Rachel went for. Read her post here. And what a great picture! Rather peculiarly, this event didn't seem to make the day for the chap on the right. Mind you, a Jake Gyllenhaal encounter is best appreciated when you're conscious.

Meanwhile, on Friday, Maggie took Hysteria to the Rome International Film Festival. If there's one thing better than Maggie on the red carpet, it's Maggie and Peter Sarsgaard on the red carpet, resulting in one of my favourite photos of the year, here via Just Jared.

Please note how I'm not mentioning Rupert Everett's jumper.

Pictures from links.

Source Code, the TV Series, and Maggie Gyllenhaal at TIFF

When Jake Gyllenhaal read the script of Source Code and immediately knew he wanted to do it, getting Duncan Jones on board to develop and direct the project, Jake showed he can spot a good thing. So much so,  Source Code producer Mark Gibson has now sold a TV version to CBS. All credit is due to writer Ben Ripley, Duncan and Jake for putting something together that caught an awful lot of imaginations and has spurred a whole TV series of potential sci fi scenarios. The Hollywood Reporter revealed last night:

"Like the film on which it is based, the action/procedural follows three former federal agents who are part of a top-secret program. Each week, they'll use "Source Code" technology to jump into the consciousness of people involved in tragic events. 

Gordon (Grey's Anatomy, Criminal Minds) will produce the project, with Vendome Pictures' Philippe Rousselet serving as a consulting producer. Steve Maeda (Lie to Me, Lost) is on board to write."

Duncan and Jake may have given Source Code the lift off it needed to sell it to the small screen but that appears to be the end of their involvement with it.

My initial reaction to the news was that the premise of Source Code worked very well in a tightly structured and intelligent film but I couldn't see how it could retain its originality and interest over a full series. Especially without seeming to be a remake of the wonderful Quantum Leap, to which the film played homage with its inclusion of Scott Bakula. I'd be interested to know what you think!


Maggie at TIFF

Last night, the gala for Hysteria took place at the Toronto International Film Festival and Maggie Gyllenhaal looked absolutely stunning and happy in a long white lace gown with sandals. You can see video of the event here.

The interview below was also recorded yesterday.

The more I hear about this film, the more I am desperate to see it!






Photos from IHJ and Toronto Life.

A day of Hysteria for Maggie Gyllenhaal at TIFF - a digression

A brief digression this evening to celebrate the today's presentation of Hysteria at TIFF by Maggie Gyllenhaal, Hugh Dancy and (my old favourite) Jonathan Pryce. The gala is tonight as well as the official cast dinner with Maggie. There are some wonderful pictures of Maggie at the press conference here. Please note how I'm not mentioning the dress...

At the press conference, Maggie was asked about working with her husband, Peter Sarsgaard:

“We’ve done two plays together and we just did one this winter. Being onstage with him night after night, we realized that we really respect each other and i really respect his opinion about his work. Even when I have had a great day, I often come back and tell him about it. He’s definitely not a husband who says, ‘You can’t make a movie about a vibrator’ or ‘Don’t take your clothes off.’ I don’t think he would’ve married me.” 

I rather enjoyed this early review of Hysteria over at Collider.

No word about, or photos of, Jake as yet, if he is in Toronto. Looking at all of the Maggie goodies that are coming out of Toronto today, I am reminded about how much I'm looking forward to the release of End of Watch!

Pictures from Celebuzz and CBA.

Jake Gyllenhaal back on location filming End of Watch while Maggie's off to TIFF!

Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena were back on location in LA filming End of Watch yesterday (16 August). At the end of filming there'll be a test to see if you can identify on which day certain pictures were taken. It does of course make the choice of what to wear in the morning that much easier...




Many thanks to IHJ for the new photos.

Maggie's off to TIFF

Maggie Gyllenhaal is off to TIFF. This week it's been announced that her new film, Hysteria, will premiere at Toronto International Film Festival next month. To mark the announcement, a trailer has been released and it is indeed hysterical. Maggie is also once again putting that English accent to good use (while throwing the odd punch or two).



My review of Sarah's Key is now up at MovieBrit.

Love and Other Drugs: 'not all rainbows and butterflies'. Inside account from the CMJ screening

Although we had those wonderful pictures of Jake Gyllenhaal and Ed Zwick posing outside the theatre for the CMJ screening last week, there was very little from inside. But thanks to Queenie Darleen, who sat just across from Jake and yet had a steady hand for photographs, we have an account with photos. Many thanks to Queenie for permission to post the very fine picture below. You can read the full account and see more photos at Queenie's site.


Here's Queenie's view of the film: 'Love and Other Drugs is not a typical romantic comedy, in fact, Jake and Ed said they like to call it an Emotional Comedy because there’s drama, and it’s not all rainbows and butterflies. There’s a lot of funny scenes but there’s sad ones as well— I cried. There’s a lot of nudity and the role of women is very different.' Thank you very much for sharing, Queenie!

Hysteria

Maggie Gyllenhaal's new project continues to grow with some new names added. This is another example of a film in which Maggie (and Jake) appear as the sole American amongst a cast of well-established British actors. Gemma Jones, for example, is an actress I spent my Saturday evenings watching as a small child. She was the Duchess of Duke Street long before she was relegated to Harry Potter's nurse.



Thanks to Queenie for the photo!

I saw RED today and thoroughly enjoyed it. You can read my review at MovieBrit!