“A year ago, Entertainment Weekly spoke to a lot of people for a piece about Heath Ledger. The screenwriter, producer and cinematographer of Brokeback Mountain all talked. You were conspicuously absent. Are you uncomfortable remembering him in public?”
“Yes,” he said, pausing. “Brokeback was painful. Any time you go into pain, I don’t think you necessarily want to go back. But the results of that film, and how the public responded to it so hugely, were worth it. Walking through any kind of pain is usually worth it. As close as we all became making that movie, for all those other people, it didn’t extend much farther than [the movie itself], so that experience of work could be easily talked about for publications. The experience Heath and I had was also shared publicly with all the press and publicity we did. But what we shared as friends, though I respect the interest that so many people have in the mourning and grieving process and how it feels to other people, I feel like — and I don’t mean this in an unkind way — but I don’t think it’s anybody’s business but his and mine. So in that sense, to really respect him — and also the way he felt about his life and his private life and what he cared about, because he was a deeply caring and loving human being — every time anybody asks me any question about him, it would be like he was sitting next to me, and I know he would roll his eyes, because that’s the way he was. It was between us.”
"When I was 13,” he said. “My sister gave it [Catcher in the Rye] to me. I subsequently became Salinger-obsessed. I had never been engaged in reading before. It was primarily the style and the pace of it, and the simplicity of his writing. Of his Nine Stories, my favorite is ‘Teddy.’ It’s an amazing story. Searching for Bobby Fischer is one of my favorite movies. There are themes running through both. Children are very often asked to do more than they should be asked to do at a very young age.”
Family life: "I saw a lot of conflicts, definitely. I witnessed that. Conflict, competition, people pushing each other — it’s all healthy. Jealousy is healthy; envy is dangerous. My sister and I, strangely and beautifully, have worked really, really hard at getting rid of whatever the junk is.” “Was it always a given that you would enter into the film business, or did you think about other outlets?” “In high school I watched my sister on stage in South Pacific and knew I wanted to do that. It looked like so much fun. But there are still times to this day where I feel like there are other things in my heart that I’d like to do.”'
'“My heart has told me to go and take care of other people more so than always focusing on movies. I’d also like to direct movies. I don’t want to be presumptuous at my age, but I feel I’m getting enough information that as I get older and get enough confidence that I can not only be a part of storytelling but that I can also be a storyteller. That’s what we all love: the story.”'
“Your sister had a good story to tell about you making her lousy pancakes on the morning she heard she was nominated for an Oscar for Crazy Heart.” “You heard that?!” Jake exclaimed with his first big laugh of the morning. “They were the worst pancakes I ever made. It was weird. She was staying at my house, and the phone rang at 5 a.m. There are two things it can be at that time: an emergency, or, if you’re in the movie business, you’ve been nominated for some kind of award. I, of course, thought it was an emergency and totally got freaked out. She comes out of her room and I hear her gasp, and I thought, ‘Oh, God, something really bad has happened.’ I came out to the hallway and asked her what was going on. She said, ‘I was nominated!’ And we ran to each other and hugged each other.”'
'“So, Jake, if you were in my position and had to write a 2,000-word profile based on a 20-minute conversation, how would you approach it?” “I would accept the situation for what it was, and then I would hope that the opportunity — if I was interested in the person I was talking to — would come again in a more natural environment. I learned accepting what you have as what you have.” “I’ve always had a problem with that,” I said. “Of course,” Jake laughed. “All you get is 20 minutes!”'
But then later, while filming Source Code, Jake called back - this interviewer had caught his interest. '“Who else among your peers would you really like to work with?” I wondered. “Ryan Gosling,” he said. “He’s incredibly talented. He’s my age, and I really respect him.” “Let me switch gears here,” I said. “If you could experience one exhilarating moment in any sport, what would it be?” “Winning a mountain time trial in the Tour de France,” Jake said without hesitation. “I do love to climb. There’s something physical about it, there’s a consistency and an internal rhythm where you just put your head down and feel the pain.”'
'I asked him next about his work to help plant trees in Mozambique through a group called Future Forests. “There were trees donated to the forest. I never went to Mozambique,” he said. “But raising awareness is a daily thing for me. Right now it’s transferred over to food. I work with Global Green and their green school initiatives. I’m also starting to work with an organization called Feed, which helps provide for meals in schools.” “Aren’t you also involved with New Eyes for the Needy?” I asked. “I have had really bad eyesight since I was a child. I always wore glasses. Whenever my eyes changed and I needed new glasses, my mother would say that I should donate my old glasses to this organization. So many people who can’t afford to go to an ophthalmologist have their eyesight undiagnosed. A $60 contribution can help a kid get glasses and then be able to go to college.”
'Then he said: “They’re calling me back to the set. I’ve got to go.” “Let me get one more in,” I requested. “Your former girlfriend, Kirsten Dunst, apparently said that you were the love of her life.” “Oh, really?” Jake said. “That’s what I read. Would you consider getting back together?” “I’m going to leave that for next time,” Jake said, and then thanked me sincerely for our conversation. I held the phone in my hand after he clicked off, wondering when that next time might be.' Read more here.
Another interview has been published today and it's a corker: "Even though I do like to have fun, I take everything I do really seriously and the accent was probably the hardest thing for me to develop," he admits. But it was important. "Dry humour and humour in general is so much easier in a British accent."
'"I think I was tired of taking myself so seriously," he says. "In my early 20s I had the opportunity to make a lot of movies and it was a huge honour but I thought acting was only one thing – proving yourself as being the serious and dramatic. Then I started to think, 'Well, who am I really? Am I really someone who's an introvert?' I actually do have a sense of humour and like having fun, so I wanted to kind of move it that way. I think young people misunderstand, thinking, 'Oh, I shouldn't be having fun, I should be torturing myself, that's really acting', but there are so many facets."'
'We're in a suite at London's Dorchester hotel. Looking tanned and relaxed in jeans, T-shirt and sports jacket, he's talkative and self-deprecating, and enjoys showing off the Dastan Lego key-ring he's been given. [WDW fangirl moment: I have a couple of those two!] "It's my job," he says on dealing with the gruelling publicity schedule. "It is a great job and it's pretty easy when it comes down to it. There are days when it's a little tiring with some jet lag but ultimately this is not a hard job and promoting a big, fun, epic, comedic, romantic, adventurous movie is just fun. I'm really excited, I'm psyched!"'
'"I dreamed of it as an eight-year-old boy and if you told that boy that he'd be playing the Prince of Persia in 20 years from then, my mind would have exploded." As for appealing to a new generation of eight-year-olds, he says: "I want those kids, man! Kids are the coolest thing! "God I'm getting so Buddhist now but it's all about the energy of people and I love children, I love the energy of children. That's the reason I made this movie."'
'Given Prince of Persia's themes of fate and destiny does Gyllenhaal, who once dated Reese Witherspoon, believe in 'The One'? "'The one' meaning 'the one great movie', that's what you mean, right? Oh... a lady!" he says in mock surprise. "I believe it's sometimes a daily thing, a weekly thing, where we reincarnate and become different people and change in our days, in our weeks, in our years."'
Interpreter please...
I think we all enjoyed watching and listening to Jake sing to us yesterday, courtesy of ABC. Here is the rest of the interview - and it's smashing!
And finally...
The Mumford & Sons Mascot was back to work again yesterday. Tweets announced that Jake Gyllenhaal was in the audience last night in LA. Singer Ben Lovett was asked recently about his famous (and may I say hot?) fan: 'Yeah, he came down for the last show and he’s a really nice guy. Obviously it’s great that he’s a fan and it’s great that my mom’s neighbor’s best friend is a fan. It’s like, if people like the music it’s good and we’re happy with that. … I guess for the most part I find celebrity culture a little bit strange. And I think that’s partly being British and that’s partly being just ourselves as well. We’re not too into hype and we’re not into “celebrity-ness.” I think at the end of the day it detracts from, certainly, musicians, what they should be doing—writing songs and playing gigs.'
The jury is out on whether Jake was there with Ben Lovett's mum's neighbour's best friend or not.
Many thanks to IHJ for the pictures and scans. US Weekly scans by WDW.
