Zodiac - a film and performance to remember and Brothers released in Germany at last!

As the preparations get under way for the Oscars (see below), there are some reminders about of many of the other 'best of' films that never quite got the Academy Award vote of approval for reasons that are beyond fathoming. And probably aren't worth the effort of fathoming.


David Fincher has an Oscar nomination for his astonishing work on Social Network. While this is enormously well-deserved, it has caused some to wonder why an earlier movie of his, Zodiac, was completely ignored by those award-giving committees. While it isn't productive to dwell on such things, what is extremely rewarding is to think back on a film, which, for me, puts crosses in all of the right boxes. And it's good to think that Fincher's Oscar success this year may attract new audiences to another film - Zodiac.



Zodiac isn't just the perfect police procedural movie, for me it succeeds (so much so it's in my top three films that I have ever seen, maybe even the top one) because it excels and surprises in so many ways. Zodiac is a thriller with many scenes of superb dialogue and minute observation; it is a horror movie that terrifies through a distortion of a recognisable reality; it is an elegant evocation of 1960s' and 1970s' San Francisco. Through detail and song, Zodiac reproduces a past time in a memorable way, reminding one of the past through its accuracy and mood.



And then there's the acting. Jake Gyllenhaal's portrayal of obsessive Robert Graysmith is a landmark performance in his career. In the promotion for Zodiac, Jake spoke of the passions that affected his life - family, food, acting, films - and demonstrated once again why he is such a great actor of his generation - he understands fully the roles he plays.


But it's not just Jake here, of course. Robert Downey Jr, in one of the first of his come back performances, and Mark Ruffalo and the actor whose skills Fincher may have appreciated the most, Anthony Edwards. Plus Chloe Sevigny and John Carroll Lynch who had appeared with Jake in two earlier movies, The Good Girl and Bubble Boy.


Aside from the film, which hooked me from its very first scene, there is also a soundtrack to listen to over and over again and a commentary featuring Jake and Robert Downey Jr together - a joy to listen to. Jake - and not just Jake either, RDJ said much the same thing - has spoken of what he had to endure to make this film. Tens of takes for each scene and, as the movie was filmed digitally, anything extra was instantly deleted.


This was a new experience for Jake but, judging by his body language with David Fincher in Cannes in May 2007, all of this was forgiven and a new relationship born. Jake has spoken recently of his pride in working for David Fincher. Without doubt, this will be an experience to look back on and we have been left with an astonishing film.



Brothers

Rather surprisingly, Brothers was finally released in Germany this week (27 January). Can there be any sense at all in releasing a film this far removed from its original debut? At least it ties nicely with Natalie Portman's huge Black Swan success.



And finally...



Includes pictures from IHJ and here.

My review of the wonderful Tangled now up on MovieBrit.

Jake Gyllenhaal: 'I am a fan of the unresolved cadence' - goofiness, snakes and having fun

Jake Gyllenhaal is now, at least for the moment, off Martha's Vineyard and is back in Philly indulging in his regular sport: eating in every restaurant a city has to offer before trying to get from said restaurant to vehicle in less time than anyone can utter those immortal words - 'say cheese!'


One definitely gets the impression that Philly's The Insider is enjoying having all these stars in its midst. Today it reports: 'Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal chose not to walk the line Friday night after having sushi at Morimoto on Chestnut Street. They left out a back door and hailed a cab to take them a block to their SUV's parking space, reports photog HughE Dillon, who saw her as the cab zipped past the restaurant. Thursday night, the couple did the steak scene at Butcher & Singer at 15th and Walnut Streets.' As I have wondered so many times over the years: For someone who likes to cook, Jake sure does eat out a lot.


With Jake continuing to avoid cameras it means we must entertain ourselves again. Tonight, I thought I'd take a look at one of the many reasons for Jake's wide appeal to audiences and people general - that loveable quality of his, Jake's goofiness. From Bubble Boy and This Is Our Youth onwards, Jake has been described as goofy by co-stars and critics alike, and almost every single time it is said with the utmost affection and love for the actor and person who never finds it hard to entertain fans and those around him. With a word, with an expression, with a laugh. With a giggle.


Way back when, Kirsten Dunst said of Jake: 'Talent is such a turn-on. If he looked the way he does when and was a bad actor and not a nice person, I wouldn't be into him. He's just smart, thoughtful, goofy, sweet and not trying to be somebody he's not.'


Emmy Rossum, Jake's lucky co-star in The Day After Tomorrow, recalled of Jake: 'He’s a fantastic guy. He’s very intelligent. It was funny because I was kind of like the only girl on the set. There was Mark Gordon, our producer, Roland, Jake, Dennis Quaid and me. So, he’s like the big brother I never had. So it was really nice. We also work in kind of a similar way. We both put a lot of emphasis on preparation but then we get there and we kind of let it rip and are intuitive in a lot of ways within the bounds of the character and the arc. I think we work really well together.' [Q: Is there a side to Jake that we don’t normally see on screen that’s different about him? Does he pull pranks?] 'He’s quite goofy in reality. I think we were so cold and wet and shivering most of the time that nobody had enough energy to pull pranks after running through that tank 500 times in one day with Roland going ‘do it again’! But he’s very much positive. He has a lot of positive energy.' [Q: So nobody gets that he’s really goofy unless you’re around him.] 'Yeah. Then you’ll get it.'


This reminds me of a review of Jarhead: 'If there's anything stranger than the sight of an oil-slicked horse roaming the desert by the hellish red fires of burning oil fields, it's the casting of Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard as uneasy buddies in the sandy trenches. With their heads shaved military style, they're reduced to acting mostly with their eyes. And they both have great eyes - just not the kind you expect to find among the gung-ho Marines, or "jarheads." Gyllenhaal ("Proof") has soft, goofy eyes, like a shy teen, and Sarsgaard ("Flightplan") has the hooded, keen eyes of a white-collar criminal.' I cherish this description of Peter.


As befits a post that celebrates one particularly adorable aspect of Jake Gyllenhaal, here is a classic peace of Gyllenspeak - referring to Zodiac: '"You know, David said about this movie, it's sort of that you can walk around in a forest and there's a killer snake, and you can live your life in fear of that," he says. "Or you can find the snake. You don't have to kill it, but now you know, okay, I found it, now I don't have to go in that corner and get bitten all the time. And, not to get too abstract about it, but it's that dangerous myth of resolution again, that idea that you go in and slay it and now it's over and you don't need to think about it anymore. Instead of saying, okay, I have to face this and deal with it, whether it's the idea of competition or whatever."'


It seems wrong to quote this particular statement of Jake's without looking at other things that he said in the same wonderful interview (with the Star Tribune in 2007). ''I am a fan," Jake Gyllenhaal says with a slow grin, "of the unresolved cadence."... "I hadn't even realized that until now," he says about his work. "But I guess I feel the idea of resolution is kind of a figment of our imagination, and a myth that more modern filmmakers are trying to dissuade us from. So I suppose I am drawn to the sort of movies that have another angle on the world. Or, if they do leave you with a resolution, leave you with one you've never seen before."'


Of choosing to do the non-serious and goofy TDAT: 'But my instinct takes me to funny places, and fascinating places, and `The Day After Tomorrow' was my instinct taking me someplace I really enjoyed. There are choices you make that people are always going to say you shouldn't have done, but they lead to the other movies you do, so, you know, you should have done them. You had to.'


'"If people want to say I'm brave for doing `Brokeback Mountain,' hey, I'll take the credit," Gyllenhaal says now with a smile. "But bravery is about not wanting to do something and doing it anyway. A story that feels new, that feels alive, with a director at the helm who you know is going to steer the ship in a fascinating, beautiful direction - I always wanted to do a movie like that... I do think it's weird that some people have a problem watching actors having sex on screen but not watching them slaughter thousands of people," Gyllenhaal says. "I think that's a very odd thing. . . . But there are always choices in a career. And maybe sometimes you want to be the guy who slaughters thousands of people, and is a badass and all that stuff. And sometimes it's just better to get on a horse and do a movie with Heath Ledger where you have some explicit love scenes."'


'"I've known Jake for a long time," says "Zodiac" co-star Mark Ruffalo, "and it was fun to see him really kind of stretch his wings with somebody like David Fincher. They were tough scenes and they took a lot of building, but I'm really happy with it. I think it's a really wonderful performance from him, one of his best. As much as he was put through the wringer, I think it really paid off." "Yeah, we did tons of takes, and it wasn't always easy, and at the time I claimed that I wasn't the kind of actor who could do that," Gyllenhaal admits. "But I learned from David. And I talked to him the other day and he's so kind to me, and he said, `Now you know you can do anything if you put your mind to it.' And the fact that he said that to me - I mean, he's a really tough critic. And after all we've been through? I'm just amazed that somebody like that would say something like that, to me. It's very cool."


'"The opportunity to be young in the business and to be open to learning a lesson from someone like David Fincher, or Ang Lee, or Sam Mendes?" Gyllenhaal marvels aloud. "I just have a tremendous respect for them, and maybe that comes from my dad being a director and maybe it just comes from knowing the process of filmmaking, but it's just exciting to be a part of their visions. This might sound weird coming from an actor, but that's more interesting to me than the performances I give. I don't know that I'm good enough yet to move a mediocre story to a better place. But I know I can help a great story along. And that," he says with a smile, "is one thing I've resolved."'


You'll notice, if you look to the sidebar to the right, that the WDW Channel is being rebuilt. If there are any video requests, please let me know.

Includes pictures from IHJ and article from WDW Archives - as always, pdfs supplied on request in return for chocolate.

Jake Gyllenhaal - 'the new punk rock movie star'

I'm sure many of us are familiar with the video of Jake Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard in which they discuss the true meaning of a Jarhead - something to do with a bamboo shoot - and warn us that 'Jarhead' must never be used in the plural. So I was very happy to come across another interview from the same British press junket. There is something about watching Jake and Peter strike sparks off each other and, as can be expected, there are some very funny bits, including something about Troy and cowboys, and Swoff and Troy ('Is that Alan Troy?') being 'friends out of wedlock'.



There is also a fuller discussion of how the movie Jarhead plays with the concept that soldiers learn about war from movies - ironically, in this film, the marines learn that movies (Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket, The Deerhunter) can never prepare them for the reality of being a soldier-in-waiting. I hope you enjoy the interview.


As I'm taking a trip down memory lane, I thought I'd take a look at an event that took place back in the golden year of 2004. On 2 June, Jake was given a New Power accolade by Premiere magazine, in the Forbidden City restaurant in Hollywood. This annual event, which was hosted by Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner, celebrates 'hot film industry innovators under the age of 35'.


Jake's award was presented to him by Mark Ruffalo and, according to Fashion Wire, Jake had this to say about the event: '“I know you guys came to see me tonight, not Tom Cruise,” kidded Gyllenhaal, whom presenter Mark Ruffalo crowned “the new punk rock movie star,” “This award means a lot to me because my girlfriend and my sister already have one. But it really does look like a penis. Oops, sorry ‘Premiere.’” Here below, is a picture of Jake and Mark with the award so you can judge its appearance for yourselves...



I liked the detail provided by Variety that 'guests and presenters including Naomi Watts, Mark Ruffalo and Marlon Wayans enjoyed cosmopolitans, cartons of Chinese food and free back massages.' All at the same time? What kind of an awards ceremony was this?? Variety also tells us that the event lost power for a while.


Incidentally, Mark Ruffalo had originally played the part of Warren in This Is Our Youth, the role that Jake took over. In the Daily Mail back in 2002, it was reported: ''I'm a little scared to be doing theatre in London,' Gyllenhaal confessed to me recently. 'I met Mark Ruffalo and he admitted he was nervous about anyone else playing Warren in This Is Our Youth, but he was happy to pass on the torch,' he said. In fact, I also bumped into Ruffalo in Los Angeles, and he was choked about not coming to London. 'I'm too old now, otherwise I would have jumped at the idea,' he told me. 'Jake has my blessing, though, and I might try to get over to see the play.''


Halloween

It's that time of year again... Kate Hudson (who was also given one of the New Power awards with Jake in 2004) has held her Halloween party again and details are just emerging. While we have photos of Gwen Stefani dressed as a fried egg (and her husband as bacon), we are so far spared photos of Jake and Reese in costume. And that is just as well, because according to OK! 'Also invited, and dressed as cats, cheerleaders and other ghoulish figures, were Jake Gyllenhaal, Reese Witherspoon, Dax Shepard, Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen, Sean Hayes, David Spade, Lukas Haas and Jennifer Meyer.'

NOTE: It now looks like this could be a false report, and OK! combined party lists from this and previous years - for reasons only known to them.


Includes pictures from IHJ.

Happy Birthday David - Jake Gyllenhaal and David Fincher on how to paint a picture

Today is the birthday of David Fincher and, as someone who has justifiably been descibed on more than one occasion as a Fincher Fangirl, I cannot let the day pass without a Zodiac post. The UK and Europe - or at least those parts of it without multi-region DVD layers - have still to wait until the end of September before they get their Director's Cut edition of Zodiac and this is yet another indication of the way in which Paramount has (not) promoted this fine film. Nevertheless, despite or because of his well-publicised foibles - such as the take fetish and microscopic attention to detail - Zodiac is a film Jake Gyllenhaal et al should be rightly proud of.



David Fincher's compulsion to have every scene perfectly realised has been reflected upon and groaned about by more cast members than Jake and this was exemplified in the DVD extra in which Jake is shown repeatedly throwing down a book in his car until, after about 40 takes, he got the angle just right. It did make me happy that Lisa discussed this outtake with Jake during the Ted and Lisa lunch with Jake back in April - it's a favourite moment of mine, amongst many.


Chloe Sevigny reflected that Jake grew frustrated by David's attention to background details until Jake began to do what comes naturally to him but surely is an abhorrence to David Fincher - he improvised (or made up his lines), thereby prolonging the process even more for himself and everyone else.


Most famously, Jake was quoted as saying that David 'paints with people' and 'It’s tough to be a color.' Elsewhere: '"There are two very difficult dreams that you learn a lot from as an actor," Gyllenhaal says. "One is a Shakespeare and the other is a David Fincher. Someone said to me, 'He paints with people.' The word 'perfectionist' is oversimplifying it."'


Robert Downey Jr, in the commentary to Zodiac, shared the joke with Jake about the takes they endured and also said: 'I just decided, aside from several times I wanted to garrote him, that I was going to give him what he wanted. I think I’m a perfect person to work for him, because I understand gulags.'


And again: 'We promise you that in the course of filming Zodiac no animals were hurt," Downey says with a laugh. "That's where the humane behavior ended. No ego was left untarnished. We're doing a scene and I realized after we'd done it about 40 times, I was tied to the mast. Dave's like, 'Everything that Downey has just spent the last six hours doing? Let's delete that, go to lunch, and start over.' But that's the shit, dude. It's — Fincher.'


Nevertheless, despite all that, despite the extra long shoot, Jake's fondness for his Zodiac director, who got out of him such a performance, was very evident by the time Cannes came along and there was chemistry: 'The screening of the 158-minute film was full and well received, with star Jake Gyllenhaal the main attraction at the light-hearted briefing afterwards. The star may have bridled on the set at the perfectionist director's demand for take after take, but whatever their past differences, they were all mutual admiration.'


'One two-part question posed asked Fincher if he felt Gyllenhaal was one of the best acting talents of his generation -- Fincher said he was -- with a follow-up to Gyllenhaal about working with co-star Robert Downey, Jr. Gyllenhaal at first deflected the question: "I'm sorry," he said. "I was still thinking about being one of the best talents of my generation."'


Not all directors are the same and no two films are the same - thank heavens - and so Jake must have expected to learn a great deal from a director who pushes technology to its limit and knows exactly what he wants and will fight studios to be allowed to express that: 'But as we’ve worked together I feel like he really does like actors, and he knows what’s really good in acting, too. I have a real, real growing fondness for David and his relationship to actors. To work with, though, we do on average 30 takes, and we do have up to 80. But I also think that’s great, too. Every director seems to have a different, especially when they’re really great, a real personality and style of making their film. And they’ve all been so different and so wonderful in all these different ways. I just hope that I’ve taken in as much as I can from them because who knows when the opportunity will come again to work with people like that. I don’t know, it’s kind of amazing.'



Fincher, in turn, wanted Jake for the role right from the very beginning. He enjoyed Jake as Donnie Darko ('I really liked him in Donnie Darko... and I thought, He's an interesting double-sided coin. He can do that naive thing but he can also do possessed.') but he was also encouraged to hire Jake by Jennifer Aniston, who, at the time, was married to one of David's most favourite actors, Brad Pitt.


In the UK MTV Zodiac special, David and Jake shared an exchange, beginning with David: 'Jennifer Aniston cast this movie because she was saying 'Oh my God! Jake! You'll love him. he's fantastic! He's so charming, he's so great!' Jake: 'She can be one hell of an influence.' David: 'I had seen Jake in Donnie Darko and I'd seen Jake in The Good Girl and I liked that he could be part of something that was dark without having to play dark.'





Of course, back in October 2007, David interviewed Jake for Interview magazine and the interview, conducted over the phone, revealed much about both. At this site, you cah hear a snippet from it.


David Fincher never stood much of a chance of awards success with Zodiac - the release date was pushed from pillar to post due to David's fight to keep everything in the film. Let's hope that 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button', with Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, fares better and has the fates behind it (not to mention the studios).



Happy birthday, David - you're truly a gem and thanks for the Cannes smile. Includes pictures from IHJ and Just Jared.

No wish to escape from the Gyllenembrace

With tongue firmly in cheeks, yesterday we were reflecting on the hazards of having a passion for Jake Gyllenhaal - following the tall and unlikely story that an employee at Ealing Studios was given the boot for proclaiming her undying lust for said actor. Quite apart from this inspiring some poetic types to retell the story through limerick, it also made me want to take a quick look (yes please) at one of the mighty weapons that Jake has in his arsenal. A short time ago, we looked at that formidable piece of kit - the kiss - so it seems only right to illustrate today's post with another of Jake's masterly techniques for reducing us all to mush - The Gyllenhug.



The Gyllenhug is not something to be treated lightly. On the set of Zodiac, David Fincher saw fit to warn fellow crew memers about the hug, as reported in Total Film back in 2007. When Jake approached cinematographer Harry Savides, Finched warned 'Watch out... You'll get a hug'. Fortunately, the arrival of a tray of Starbucks saved the day.


But David Fincher is not immune himself - he too has fallen slave to Jake's hug. As has another director, Gavin Hood.



Fellow Zodiac castmembers have also succumbed, including Robert Downey Jr but, most especially, Mark Ruffalo, who has been hugged at awards ceremonies and at fortuitous meetings in the street. In addition to the encounter outside the NYC restaurant (notable for being decorated with giant pencil crayons), GQ magazine, way back in February last year, recorded that Mark had been in Hugo's restaurant when Jake arrived and Mark did not escape the resulting clinch.



The awards ceremony is a convenient and very suitable venue to hug Jake. The exchange of awards makes hugging entirely apropriate and desirable. The best example of this is when Jake presented Jennifer Aniston with her GLAAD, leading to not just the type of hug that makes one forget one's in a packed out theatre but also to a little sway.


But premieres and the euphoria that goes with the red carpet is another very popular place for a hug and close embrace.



But Jake doesn't just need a formal occasion for a hug - the street provides ample opportunities, especially in NYC and LA. However, it is worth bearing in mind that the majority of people that Jake hugs in the street know him. But not always...




If the street is too open for an embrace, there is always the outdoor seating area of a restaurant.


It is a well known fact that people especially want to hug gorgeous, sexy young actors when they are holding a little cute puppy. While it can be argued that the little cute puppy can be used as a convenient excuse to hug said gorgeous, sexy actors, it is perhaps a useful tip to store away. However, having said all that, the hugging evidence below is confined to family - and the puppy may be receiving more hugs than anyone - and so maybe this tip does have its limitations.



And then there are the people lucky enough to work for Jake and/or to be his friend, because the rewarding hugs seem frequent, freely given and heartfelt.





What can be said with no fear of contradiction is no-one can resist.


Includes pictures from IHJ.