Tonight the Palm Springs International Film Festival begins with a gala, during which Jake Gyllenhaal will present friend and co-star Natalie Portman with a Desert Palm Achievement Award. If you live in that timezone (or simply cannot sleep) you can watch livestreaming of the red carpet here. Other recipients of awards tonight include, I'm delighted to say, Carey Mulligan, Colin Firth, Danny Boyle and David O'Russell. David Fincher will be presenting his entire Social Network cast with the Ensemble Award.
So while we wait for new pictures of Jake tonight, looking all lovely and gorgeous on the red carpet in the desert, there's time to take a closer look at Jake's Jumper at LAX yesterday.
Back in August, we reported here (in what has become known as my 'Ugly Fish' post) that 'Bicycle adventurer Kevin Foster, while signing books this week, suggested that a movie of his cycle ride along the Great Wall of China may be about to become a reality and Jake Gyllenhaal is a possible for the role (with Kathy Bates as the mother).'
Today there was an update in which it sounds as if Jake and his management are indeed interested in this role which, you may well agree, would suit Jake all the way down to his cycling socks. 'A screenplay has been completed and the Chinese government has tentatively offered $25 million to partially finance the film. That's roughly half the movie's budget, Foster said. The trick now is to fill out the rest of the proposed budget, choose a lead actor and start filming as early as 2012, Foster said... The key to the project is to find the right actor to star in the film, Foster said.'
'The targeted actor? Jake Gyllenhaal, star of "Brokeback Mountain" and other critically acclaimed films in recent years, is Foster's favorite. "It's a great fit," Foster said. "Jake is 30, my age when I rode on the Great Wall." Gyllenhaal's management company has taken an interest in the story and passed it on to the actor, who is interested in the project, Foster said. The Gyllenhaal possibility will put traction behind the idea, Holland said.' I can certainly see that this is just the type of film that would interest Jake and so this could be one to watch.
Includes pictures from IHJ.
My review (with spoilers) of 127 Hours is now up at MovieBrit.
