Jake 'Lumberjack Chic' Gyllenhaal's 31st birthday and WDW's Florence Interlude

Jake Gyllenhaal is back in NYC. On average he spends 2.375 days in LA for every 16.816 days in NYC, earning enough airmiles that in 2018 he will be able to travel to the International Space Station and test its nosh in person. Meanwhile, there have been a few details on how Jake spent his 31st birthday on Monday. Unlike last year, it wasn't spent scuba diving with walruses in Arctic waters.

This time, Jake burnt off some calories at SoulCycle in Union Square before heading off to the Peter Luger steakhouse in Brooklyn, where he was joined by his family and Love and Other Drugs mate Oliver Platt. Apparently, the steakhouse is better at steak than cakes because Jake's mum Naomi had to bring her own along. Jake blew out the candles at the bar while dressed in 'lumberjack chic' (aka Sasquatch Swank). More details at the New York Post. It would appear Jake's vegan phase may be in hiatus.

Despite the Lumberjack Chic, or maybe because of it, Jake has made InStyle's list of the twenty Most Stylish Men in 2011. You can find him at No 11. Jake fared even higher in the poll of most stylish man in green trousers.

Picture thanks to IHJ.

WDW Florence Interlude

I'm delighted to inform you that the myriad of Florence photos have been sorted, a selection of which can now be put in front of you. I advise that these photos are best viewed while scoffing a pizza and indulging in a drop of something red. But to be forewarned, the first pic is me on the Ponte Vecchio, a mere stone's throw from the largest bunch of ice-creams I've ever seen (second to last photo). The David in the photos is not the original. This copy stands on the site where the original use to be, just by the Uffizi (second photo), before it was moved to the Accademia a short distance away.

Applause greets End of Watch's test screening, out and about with Jake and WDW's Tuscan Interlude continues

It's one of those good old days when we have a bit of catching up to do with Jake Gyllenhaal. Firstly, End of Watch has had its initial test screening and, thanks to Mermon, we know a little bit about it. One of the lucky people who was there couldn't give much away, as you'd imagine having had to sign umpteen bits of paper, but she did say that there was applause at the end and that it was: 'a mix of Harsh Times, Drive, Cops, and Training Day. Very emotional, funny, and realistic.' Sounds great! And it also sounds nearer...

Thanks to Twitter we also know that Jake was back at Edible Schoolyard this month. A photo has been released of Jake with Edible Schoolyard founder Alice Waters and a bunch of schoolkids who are reaping the benefits of this project.

On 13 December Jake attended a Kanye West and Jay-Z concert in LA where apparently the two stars sang one track ten times. The picture below is courtesy of Jake Weird. There is more information on the star-glittery occasion at the Staples Center here.

While Source Code didn't make the Golden Globes list for some reason known only to single cell organisms, there has been a bit of love for Jake's films this week. As the new Sherlock Holmes film opens, the San Francisco Chronicle has been ruminating on some of Robert Downey Jr's other top movies, including Zodiac. I always enjoying seeing this, quite possibly my favourite of Jake's movies, receiving some love and recognition. Den of Geek has been reflecting on the significance of Source Code for Jake's and Duncan Jones' career and Source Code was among the top 11 films of the year for the Sun-Times. As the year's end draws ever nearer, I am sure there will be more lists with a Jake film on them.

We do like so see Jake in the polls, especially the more outlandish ones. Jake's name makes an appearance in the latest poll from British Airways in which 'Madonna, Brad Pitt, Jake Gyllenhaal, Salma Hayek and Matthew Fox emerged as the top celebrities to spend Christmas with'. Obviously, Jake's a good cook - double bonus - and I'm quite sure he's not above a spot of washing up. It seems appropriate to post another photo of Airport Jake (and Airport Jake Fashion), thanks to IHJ.

WDW Italian Interlude Part 2!

I regret to inform you that the WDW Italian Interlude continues. This time it features Lucca - a beautiful walled Tuscan town which is built on the footprint of a Roman settlement - and Fiesole - a small hilltop town outisde Florence with the most wonderful Roman and Etruscan remains, including a theatre complete with vomitorium. Essential for bad theatre, I'm sure you'll agree.

Lucca's main square isn't square, it's round and that's because it was originally the Roman amphitheatre. When we were there it was taken over by a film crew that seemed to spend an awful amount of time not doing very much (and seemed to follow us around like a bad penny). Trees grow on towers in Lucca.

Fiesole sits high in the clouds, making it a very atmospheric sport for some Roman drama, followed by a dip in the bathhouse.

My review of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is now up at MovieBrit.

Jake Gyllenhaal in Japan's Screen ahead of Friday's Source Code's release and Duncan presents SC to BAFTA tonight

If you live in Japan, you don't need me to remind you that this Friday your long, long wait for Source Code will end at last. Finally, you'll be able to acquaint yourselves with Colter, aka Jake Gyllenhaal, and see for yourselves why the film attracted so much interest, for Jake and for director Duncan Jones. With many thanks to our good friend in Japan Mayumintolor, here are pictures of Jake's appearance in the magazine Screen on 21 October.My Japanese is a little rusty so I can't make out what it says but I think on page 1 is says 'Jake is hot'.

Tonight, Duncan is hosting a screening of Source Code in London for BAFTA members, followed by a Q&A. One hopes that something very important will come out of this - votes.

Talking of votes and following Jake's appearance in some curious polls, it's become clear that it's time we had another poll on WDW. At the moment we're in the process of having a poll on what poll to do. So, if you have a preference, an idea, do post a comment.

Catching up - Jake Gyllenhaal victim of yet another bizarre poll

The Indian Summer is about over. I can tell because my head is about to blow off my shoulders thanks to a horrible cold. Nevertheless the Gyllenworld continues to turn with sightings of Jake Gyllenhaal in the theatres, coffee shops, trains and gyms of NYC. With thanks to Susan for the heads up, it's very possible that Jake will continue his stay at least until 26 October when Grassroots, the film by Jake's father Stephen, will screen at Jake and Maggie's old college Columbia University. The photo below is suitably theatrey, showing Jake in London in those This Is Our Youth days.

While Jake's eyebrows could win prizes - as I'm sure you'll agree looking at these new old photos from IHJ - Jake has been slightly less successful of late in the awards although, judging by how little Jake has been in the public eye in recent months, I think he's done pretty well. Jake didn't win a Scream, thanks to some show called Doctor Who (never been the same since the Tom Baker days). But who cares about that when you have another of those glorious polls that demonstrate that Jake is on our minds.

In this latest poll, Jake has been voted as one of the favourite celebrities to squish up to on a flight. It doesn't specify which flight although, obviously, a transatlantic flight would be far preferable to a hop across the English Channel during which you're lucky if you get a biscuit, let alone the chance to snuggle up to some unsuspecting movie star. The poll also seems to presuppose that we're all flying First Class, which is fine by me. Jake got 21% of the vote (although how many people voted is as big a mystery as why the veggie option on a flight is always tikka misala).

Something to consider while on that transatlantic flight, in first class, with tikka masala and a handy moviestar to comfort one through those turbulent bumps, is the sad fact that Jake Gyllenhaal is now, like me, slightly over 25 years old. The fact that actors such as Jake and Leo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire made such an impact on the big screen while so young (can one believe that Jake was younger than 25 when he played Jack Twist? Remarkable), begs the question of who are the youngsters making a similar mark. The NY Mag has been having a ponder. Many thanks to Mermon for such an interesting link.

Thanks to IHJ for the pics!

LumberJake, CheeseCake Jake, LoveFilm LoveJake and a WDW Filmset Interlude

I hope you're sitting comfortably - we have a lot to get through this evening so no time for slacking, let's get on with it. First off, Jake Gyllenhaal is in New York City today and is he shaven? No. Is he on a train? Yes. 'I just rode the 1 train with Jake Gyllenhaal. Sporting a lumberjack beard.' I think from on, as long as the Face Pet lives, he shall be known as LumberJake. More on The Beard later in the post.


Love and Other Drugs draws slightly nearer and along with it comes more tales of its creation in The Pitt (aka Pittsburgh). Ms Blair recalled this today about her experience on the set of LAOD: '"In the world of extras, it was a step up," she said. She and another woman spent a day with a photographer taking Polaroid photos and wearing early 1990s clothing. She doesn't know where the pictures will be used, but she guessed they could appear as decorations in Ms. Hathaway's apartment. Later, she was an extra in a scene in a North Side cafe, and she spent the entire day sitting near Mr. Gyllenhaal and Ms. Hathaway. That was exciting, but the highlight, she said, was splitting a piece of cheesecake with Mr. Gyllenhaal at a meal that day for the cast and crew. "If nothing comes of it -- if you don't even see me in the movie -- it's totally worth it to have a chance like that," she said.' Source.


At this point I have two points to make - 1) I don't like cheesecake at all but 2) Jake, if you ever need anyone to share a cheesecake with I am willing to make the huge sacrifice of eating as much of it as you don't want because, as a Gyllenhaalic, I am selfless. But just don't offer me an artichoke. I have to draw the line somewhere.


LoveFilm LoveJake

LoveFilm have produced their top ten of Jake and it makes for some interesting reading and you may want to disagree with the choices - or omissions. The ten listed are: City Slickers, Donnie Darko, The Good Girl, The Day After Tomorrow, Brokeback Mountain, Jarhead, Zodiac, Rendition, Brothers, Prince of Persia. Full details here.


Clearly, it is impossible to confine Jake's best movies to a top ten list - and this problem is only going to get worse - BUT, if you have to have a top ten, should it include City Slickers at the cost of Moonlight Mile? And what about October Sky? And where's Bubble Boy and I can hear some people lamenting the rejection of Piilot. There is only one thing for it - don't confine Jake Gyllenhaal to a Top Ten. I'm sure I read that once in a medieval legal scroll.

Thank you to everyone who tweeted this to me today - it's great that you were thinking of me!


THE POLL

The Should Jake Shave poll is closed and the results are in! Please pardon me for a moment while I put on the white coat, protective feet coverings, laser pointy thing and flipchart...

178 people voted - a lot more people than are usually polled for anti-wrinkle cream and catfood surveys as you'll agree. This may come as a surprise to you but it seems most people want the Face Pet ritually slaughtered. To be scientific, 124 people or 69%. This actually came as a surprise to me. I thought it would be slightly higher - 99.9% for example. But 40 people, a whapping great 22% said no, don't shave, Jake!


Obviously, this group requires more detailed study and then it may be revealed that they all hail from the Cult of the Beard and live in the wilds and devour berries and squirrels and wear a belt of leaves around their nether regions. Instead of speaking with voices as we know them they 'caw caw' through the woods and birds and butterflies flock to them as one of their own.


4 voters (2%) cannot decide. Admittedly, if one has to have a beard it could be a lot worse as can be seen here.

An admirable 5% (or 10 voters) haven't even noticed that LumberJake has a beard. This is either a very good thing or a very bad thing, depending on their glasses subscription.


Jake has until Saturday to shave for his New Yorker on stage interview in NYC. He knows our thoughts, now there is nothing to do but wait. At some time the winds will drop, the waves will calm and the moon will shine through unbroken cloud. That time will come, my friends, and then we will look back on the Face Pet Epoch with the wisdom of advancing years and know that we had to go through it to get through to the other shaven side. And we will laugh and we will sing.


Right! That's the preamble over - on with the post!

You might think that most movies are filmed in Hollywood or Pittsburgh - but you would not be correct. Oxford is not just boatraces and gown-wearing students chucking flour, eggs and squid over other gown-wearing students. It has more filmcrews than you can shake a tourist at. I once saw Brad Pitt when I popped out for a sandwich. This week it became apparent that a certain movie may have moved in to town, X-Men - turning back the clocks by 50 years. It was something to do with the cranes, the big white trucks, the security, the catering lorries, the cameras and lights and the radio reports that gave it away. Bleeding Cool had a lot of success yesterday. I got to see them clear up - obviously a vital stage of the shoot.


And so, not having had any success there I went round a few corners, past a few more beautiful old buildings, and suddenly I was on another filmset. This time, Oxford had gone back in time by about 40 years and there was the beautiful, extremely talented and feisty Duffy (in changing coats) shooting her latest video. Having seen An Education film in Oxford it was rather nice seeing its theme singer in the town as well. It all makes a change from Harry Potter and murder mysteries.



Pictures from IHJ and WDW.

Love and Other Drugs to open AFI Fest! PoP DVD is No 1! Jake Gyllenhaal goes into a subway!

I don't want to shock everyone but there's actually some news in this post. Not the news that 94% of all WDW readers are waiting to hear - that Jake Gyllenhaal has shaved off his 'Face Pet' - but it's almost as good as that and there's more than one bit of it. Firstly, it's just been announced that Love and Other Drugs is to open the AFI (American Film Institute) Fest in LA on 4 November. Rather nicely, Jake's previous co-star Natalie Portman's film Black Swan will close the Fest.


''Ed Zwick and Darren Aronofsky honor us by premiering their films at AFI FEST,” said Bob Gazzale, President and CEO of the American Film Institute. ”As alumni of the AFI Conservatory, both men symbolize a perfect fusion of the Institute’s national mandate to educate the next generation of storytellers and to honor the artists and their work.” David Lynch, who serves as the festival’s Guest Artistic Director, is also a graduate of the AFI Conservatory.'


'“AFI is where it began for me, and where I return as often as possible, to teach and to learn,” said Edward Zwick. “I’m honored to open the festival, and to join Darren, David, and so many alumni for whom this marks a kind of coming home.” “As an alumnus of the AFI Conservatory, it’s always a thrill to partake in the wonderful festival AFI puts on,” said Darren Aronofsky. “The fact that we get to show at my favorite theater in the world, the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, adds to the honor.”'


It's been quite a while since we've seen one of Jake's films at a festival, let alone opening one and this is quite an honour. It can also do nothing but contribute to the Oscar buzz and general excitement surrounding the release of Love and Other Drugs - at least in the US. Beyond those shores there's still not much thought being given to it as yet. Please may that change, oh Fox.


News No 2

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time was a huge international success but in American theatres it did relatively poorly. However, today comes the news that the DVD and Blu-Ray release has completely trounced all of its competition. As the Hollywood Reporter... er... reports 'According to Nielsen VideoScan sales data, "Prince" sold nearly twice as many copies its first week in stores as its nearest competitor, Summit Entertainment's "Letters to Juliet," which debuted at No. 2 on the First Alert sales chart.'



Prince of Persia has topped the DVD, the Blu-ray and the rental charts this week meaning that more than a lot of people are enjoying Jake Gyllenhaal and Dastan in their homes. It's a great thought and something for the critics to notice although many of them probably won't. I think I should make it clear that, accidentally, I did buy two copies.




News No 3

Jake Gyllenhaal got on the NYC subway today.

He was seen going into a subway station and was reported as looking hot despite the accompanying beard. I rather like the sound of Jake making his way about a city just like everybody else and I should point out that we have a very good public transportation system in Oxford - brand new doubledeckers on most routes - that is just waiting for Jake to test it.


You may have noticed that a new poll has appeared on the right of the home page - this is the result of the issue that is dividing Gyllendom to an extent not seen since Hatgate of 2009. At the close of this poll, Jake will be left in no doubt as to what he should do with his ever-increasing facial fuzz.

News today was unexpected and so I must put away my laser pointer, flipchart and white coat until tomorrow. Until then, some more transportation photos.






Includes pictures from IHJ.