Jake Gyllenhaal's gift to science and hotness studies - The Hot Poll results are in!

The Hot Poll is closed. In this special supplement of the journal Jacobus Gyllenogia, I have asked my cousin Dr WDW to provide us with the benefit of his sharp analytical grey cells and so shed light on what the results reveal about our planet. I'm sure you'll agree that this is taking science one great leap further than launching rockets just to gather a bit of dust. Over to The Doctor.


'For the sake of this analysis, I have thrown myself into the role of Gyllenhaalic and donned that mantle of Jakedom. It was not as difficult as I had expected. The opinions of 76 people was sought - a group of people drawn from across the Gyllenspectrum - and, as my cousin had warned me, Jack Twist (Age - 19-39; role - cowboy; Trait - a hopeful romantic and good with animals; Quirk - facial hair) was the clear leader on the Hotness Scale. A massive 75% of voters selected Jack Twist as their clear favourite - it is possible that this number may even have been higher if it were not for people feeling sorry for some of the other roles.




Hotness here doesn't just mean blue eyes hidden and active under a black hat, or long legs squeezed into the tightest jeans and boots, it also means love, romance, tragedy and hope. Even with a moustache, even in a purple shirt tucked into the jeans and even with sideburns that graze his knees, Jack Twist is the epitome of hotness to a great number of Gyllenhaalics. It's not hard to see why.





There is another side to Gyllenism and his name is Douglas Freeman (Age - late 30s; role - CIA pen pusher; Trait - a good listener; Quirk - a very good phone). Douglas drew 27% of votes and was second, demonstrating graphically how clear above the others is Jack Twist. While it is true that Douglas strove during Rendition to put something right, to do what was right, it is scientifically feasible that Douglas is number 2 on the hotness scale because he doesn't wear much in bed, wears a suit that hints at the body of an athlete below, and because he has deepness in his expression. If Rendition had been set in Greenland, it is arguable that Douglas would not have been number 2, but fortunately it was about Middle Eastern torture and terrorism and not about the threat currently facing polar bears, belugas and migrating geese.







Not surprisingly, Anthony Swofford (Age - about 20; Role - hairless sniper; Trait - lost; Quirk - musical) was number 3. Again, hot climates may be a factor, supported in this case by Christmas accessories and a large weapon. Yet, Swoff, as he is known to some, also has an enquiring brain, demonstrated by his reading matter and his knowledge of Stevie Wonder hits. He's also sporty and can polish his buttons. Hot, clever, sporty, tidy, has a big weapon - no wonder Swoff was number three in the list.






Finally, for this part of the study, we will take a look at the two roles that share fourth place with 21% of the votes each. Firstly, we have an enigma, Hal (Age - 26; Role - mathematician; Trait - geek and nosey; Quirk - good at running, not so good with women). Although a fellow scientist, Hal was unable to make chemistry with Gwynnie but this mattered less to viewers who enjoy that other benefit of modern science - the fast forward button. Hal was in a band and that is scientifically proven to increase hotness. Unfortunately, he was a drummer.





Hal's partner on the Hotness Scale is a very different kettle of fish - Dastan (Age: 20s; Role - rogue prince; Trait - likes climbing walls and slowing down time; Quirk - enjoys being wet). An early medieval persian prince, Dastan again enjoys the benefits of living in a hot climate while being able to cool off with fountains around every parapet. We have yet to see Dastan being put through his hot paces, but initial reports suggest chest exposure, leaping, fighting, banter, camels and an accent. All of which will raise the Hotness Scale.






Other Jake roles were not far behind, notably Time Traveller Donnie, Crossword Puzzle Fanatic Robert Graysmith, Wet Sam and Bad Boy Turned Good Tommy. Room for further analysis, I think. Thanks to everyone who participated in the study and made it possible. Clearly, the ramifications will be felt for some time and any film director is welcome to contact me who wants to know how best to draw the Hotness from Jake Gyllenhaal and give his Gyllenhaalics what they want and deserve. Back to WDW.'




Thanks to The Doctor and thanks to IHJ for heating up the scale further with some new old black and white studies in movie stardom.

Conflict, instinct, no regrets - Jake Gyllenhaal and Jack Twist

It might not be a Sunday, my usual day for Brokeback posts, but after a stormy day of thunder, lightning and flooding rain (seriously, TDAT had nothing on today), I'm in the mood to wallow in Jake Gyllenhaal reminiscing about the choices - conflicts - that have shaped his career, leading him to Jack Twist.


An interview from the Hartford Courant, published on Christmas Day 2005. '"In every creative thing, I have an initial instinctual response... When I read this, and knowing Ang Lee was going to make it, I thought I had to do it. Then I thought about it some more, but I had no fear about it."'


'Although it is Ledger who is being talked up as an Oscar nominee, Gyllenhaal provides the story's more obvious emotional center. Both men pursue conventional lives by marrying and having children. The softer Gyllenhaal has one toe of his boot peeking out of the closet. He seeks paid male companionship south of the border and has other dalliances, while the tension of desire stays coiled in Ledger's jaw throughout. The pair's passion evolves into a 'Same Time, Next Year' rendezvous in the woods. It's a furlough from society's expectations on the pretense of a fishing trip.'


'"I don't believe necessarily that these two characters are gay... They have a homosexual relationship, but I don't know if they're gay." Reminded that Jack constantly seeks relationships with men, the actor backs off. "I think that's true in the story but that's not how I thought about it... I think he's just somebody who's dying for that same connection, like when we look for somebody who looks likes the person we just broke up with when they've broken our heart. He's looking for someone who feels the same, like when Ennis turns his wife around and has sex like he would with Jack."'


'Gyllenhaal stares out at the smog draping the skyline. "You could argue that my character is openly gay. I feel like he's having a more literal response to the love affair." The conversation turns toward the belief in some circles that everyone is bisexual on some level, one of the notions bandied about since the film knocked out audiences at Toronto and Venice festivals last fall. "I don't think so... I think that relationships are relative and sexuality is relative. Everybody has different interests and perversions. Everybody's different. I think what this movie does is deconstruct any idea of sameness. What's similar in all of us is that we're different."'


'All three of the principals -- Lee, Gyllenhaal and Ledger -- sought redemption in Brokeback. Lee's attempt to imbue 2002's The Hulk with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon artistry failed critically and financially. Ledger (A Knight's Tale) has said he deliberately tried to tank his career so he could rebuild it on his own terms. And Gyllenhaal found his try at blockbuster filmmaking on The Day After Tomorrow unsatisfying. "I always have conflicts... Whatever happens in the process of making the movie, as long as it's a collaboration and, even if there's fighting or whatever, as long as everyone is in, that's OK. Chris Cooper once told me, 'Don't regret anything in the process because that's all that you have as an actor.'"'


Includes pictures from IHJ. Article from WDW's Dusty Archives (as ever, if anyone wants a pdf of the article, just email me).

Getting Nailed back on track, MOMA surprises and a Jack Twist

Following the good news that Jessica Biel has been in the studio doing the voiceover for Nailed - a sure sign, one would have thought, that Nailed will have an end and that end will be on the big screen - there have been some more references to the project. And, while Nailed has clearly been troubled for its actors, one gets the feeling that its stars feel nothing but affection and loyalty for it. For instance, Jessica Biel was in the Independent last week, to publicise her new Noel Coward movie Easy Virtue and this is what it said:



Jessica 'is involved in Nailed, the new film from David O Russell. Biel plays a waitress who becomes unhinged after she gets a nail lodged in her head. The shoot was suspended just three days away from completion when financing fell through. The movie is still incomplete, and it's left Biel in limbo. "I will stop my schedule to finish it, no matter what I'm doing," she says, "But it's been a really bizarre experience." Still, her recent roles have convinced her she's on the right path. "It's hard to find roles like Easy Virtue or Nailed," she says. "Complicated, interesting stories and interesting women... the bar has been set so high, I feel spoilt. It's the best..."'


Jessica's Nailed co-star Tracy Morgan has also been talking about Nailed, as part of a rather colourful interview for tattoo magazine Inked. Here is an excerpt: 'You’re working on the movie Nailed with Jake Gyllenhaal and Jessica Biel. It had a pretty rough shoot. There were reports it was shut down. "Yeah, it was one of those things, man. Unprecedented. The movie was shut down seven times. But it was incredible." Director David O. Russell has a rep for being … difficult. "Yeah, well, he has his process. I love him. He was cool with me."' The rest is bleeped out...


Talking of Jessica Biel, she was one of the stars in attendance at the gala celebration of director Baz Luhrmann at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC. Also there were Peter and Maggie and, although almost always I've enjoyed Maggie's independent spirit with her fashion, I can't say I'm happy at all with the choice of outfit on this occasion, and this goes beyond fashion. Real or not, vintage or not, this is certainly intended to look real and it also looks 'designed to shock'. Maggie is heavily involved with many good causes and so, to me, this seems more incongruous than ever.


Brokeback Opera shelved and a Jack Twist

Remember the Brokeback Mountain opera, scheduled to open on Broadway? It's become the victim of the 'credit crunch' and has been shelved. An opera based on the life of Walt Disney has also had its resources removed.


However, there is some good news - the Jack Twist cocktail has been developed, which, not surprisingly features a shot (or two) of Jack and a twist of lemon. If you add advocaat, you get a Jack Nasty. How much do I love this picture below...?


Includes pictures from IHJ and links.

Jake on Brokeback Mountain: If there's love, that's all that matters

Today may be a wet, dull and rather chilly day in England, nothing very special at all one would think, but to Brokies the world over 24 June IS a special day. Today marks the 40th anniversary of the day that Annie Proulx brought Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar out of the wilderness and back together for their reunion. This has inspired me on a very enjoyable task - to furtle through my collection of Brokeback bits and pieces to look for little treasures.


Brokeback Mountain was a highly anticipated piece of cinema, not only in the US but also in the UK, where enough time had passed since the release of the film in America that expectations were soaring of a controversial and unique depiction of love where most of us, including the protagonists, would never expect it. It showed us how love could be found high up in the mountains and meadows, in glorious wide open scenery, but that it could still smoulder on in small towns, depressed homes and cheap motels. This love affair was almost like breathing - like taking in a big breathe of clean, cold, country air and holding it in for as long as possible.

'Cowboys in Love' was a popular subject for the media, not least because of the leads - both beautiful and interesting actors - and the director, whom, one may have thought, couldn't have seemed further away from America's West. Oscar expectations were high and so coverage was intense. Today, I'm focusing on one example of that interest, found in The Arts and Books section of the Daily Telegraph (Saturday 10 December 2005).


The Telegraph article focuses on an interview with Ang Lee. In these early days after the film's release, Ang seems unaware of how successful Brokeback Mountain would be, financially and socially. He is asked if he was worried about the film's gay element hurting its commercial success: "With this kind of budget, I don't feel much pressure. It was very modest - just over $11 million. It's a love story I believe in. I think it will make its money back, and you just feel lucky to have made this movie." As for why he made the film: "I read the last paragraph of the short story and I got choked up. It's a story I didn't quite understand, but because I got choked up I felt there must be something there."


The interview concludes with an interesting and amusing titbit about how Ang works with American as opposed to English actors: "There's no question that American actors are the most comfortable with cameras. English actors are brilliant with speech and dialogue, but they don't like it if you move your camera around. It freaks them. If you put your camera into a position where it seems it's spying on English actors, they seem to thuink it's rude!"


The Telegraph article is under no illusion about one of the main reasons for Brokeback Mountain's success: Jake Gyllenhaal. 'There is something of the old-time movie cowboy about Jake Gyllenhaal. Tall, muscular, with blue eyes and an intense, deadpan stare.' I can feel my heart beating faster...

Some familiar quotes, and others less familiar, from Jake are used to show Jake's path to Brokeback Mountain and how he made Jack Twist his own. "Yeah, I grew up very, very well-off in many ways, but that doesn't stop me being angry and being able to use the anger in a movie, I hope." During filming of Brokeback, "If I walked into the make-up trailer first thing in the morning and realised Heath was being a pain because he was exhausted and I was a little pissed off with him because of that, then I would take that into our love scenes. I just decided that whatever I was feeling, I was going to incorporate the real stuff into the scenes."


This is a love that refused to die and Jake was able to draw on a whole array of emotions: "What's special about Brokeback Mountain is that it says that whether it's heterosexual, homosexual, if there's love, that's all that matters, and it will last, no matter how scrutinised or abused it is." His own relationship had recently ended in whatever circumstances: "I'm 24 years old and my relationships are going to be incredibly dramatic just by the nature of what they are. I'm at an age where I don't know totally who I am, so how can I know who I am in a relationship? Society gives us these ideas of what love is supposed to be and how we're supposed to act and the movies say very simply, guy gets girl, guy loses girl, guy gets girl again, and I have subscribed to that idea and I think a lot of young people of my generation have done the same and have been led to a lot of unhappiness."


Includes pictures from Focus Features and IHJ.