Jake Gyllenhaal's response to his Golden Globe nom, new LAOD posters, shoulder popping and much, much more...

In this second post of the day there's a lot to get through so I advise you to settle down in a comfy spot while I guide you through the updates from the day that will be recorded in the GyllenAnnals as The Day that Jake Gyllenhaal was Nominated for a Golden Globe for Love and Other Drugs. More details of that in the preceding post. We've had the nominations (of Jake and Anne Hathaway) and now we get the reactions. Here's what Variety has to say about Jake's response to his Nom (or is that Nomm?):


Jake 'read the news on his iPhone after several phone calls woke him up. "It was almost delivered by messenger," he said, but he would have appreciated a more theatrical method. "I would have loved to have had it delivered by some person in Shakespeare garb." As the subject of clothing, or lack thereof, came up, the thesp talked about all the attention paid to the pic's nude scenes. "There's been so much made about the nude scene, but the most important part of the film to me was the intimacy between the two characters," he said. He's glad for the attention paid to the film. "In the entertainment industry we feel so insular. It's so nice on a day like today, to see how far-reaching something like this is."'

No mention of any Nomination Pancakes this time around (a lesson learned from the Oscars).


This post features two new UK posters for Love and Other Drugs, courtesy of HeyUGuys, In which Anne in particular seem to have come under attack by someone with airbrush issues. Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to seeing them in a cinema here as so far I've not seen one.

Talking of awards, Prince of Persia is among the final 15 contenders listed for the Academy Award for Special Effects. You can read about its chances at Slashfilm.


And as the year comes to a close, Cosmopolitan has chosen Jake as one of its twenty hottest guys of the year - understandably.

We have some new interviews from Jake and Anne, including this audio recording from Robin Bailey in Sydney, which captures a magical sound - the sound of Jake popping his shoulder ala City Slickers in order to compete with Anne's hand farting superhero ability. Jake mentions again his Arctic Circle swimming ambitions.


Thanks to BBMISwear for the above scan from Parade!

Two video interviews have been posted by the Facebook page for Love and Other Drugs - videos one and two - and they are goodies.


Another of Jake's co-stars from the past, Selma Blair (Highway), has revealed to Elle the very touching and personal story that she carries Salinger's Nine Stories around with her every day: "Jake Gyllenhaal gave it to me many years ago because it's one his favourites, and in exchange I gave him a copy of 'Till We Have Faces'. I got this book maybe nine years ago, but I still carry it in whatever bag I have. It reminds me of the friendship I once had with Jake and these amazing stories by this author that I love."

Incidentally, 'Till We Have Faces' is CS Lewis' retelling of the Greek myth of Cupid and Psyche. It may also, perhaps, still be found on Jake's bookshelf. You can read about an interview Jake conducted with Selma back in 2002 here.


Jake Gyllenhaal himself was photographed driving around LA yesterday (13 December) and, I hate to say it, but do we see the first signs of something Sasquatchy? Thanks to IHJ for the picture.

On the road with Pilot

Ten years ago this week, there were jobs going as extras on the new Jake Gyllenhaal movie. But to fill the bill, you had to have a certain look, which went something like this: 'Jeans, baseball caps, T-shirts, flannels and tie-dye. Props such as candles and flowers are encouraged.' While no fee would be paid, the best costumes would win prizes, including snowboards and mountain bikes. If there's any film of Jake's that would require its extras to bring along candles and flowers, it would be Highway.


Back in July 1999, the production crew of A Leonard Cohen Afterworld, as Highway was then known, descended on Seattle to recreate the Kurt Cobain vigil of 1994. While this was a source of excitement for Nirvana fans (and for that rare beast in 1999 - the Gyllenhaalic), it didn't go down too well with the rest of Nirvana: '"The real problem is that the average kid listening to the radio or reading the paper has no idea that we're not involved with this... offering door prizes as a means of getting people to 'look grunge' for the camera." Novoselic added, "It's the same old story, people trying to exploit everything Nirvana stood for -- and continues to stand for -- just to turn a buck." A representative of the Estate of Kurt Cobain also weighed in on the subject, adding, "We are not participating in this film. We find it without merit and boring."'



In response, the film's production told Nirvana's fans '"We are not in any way attempting to recreate the memorial service in any way that denigrates the memory of Kurt Cobain. If anything we're trying to do as much justice to that time as possible. In our script, that memorial serves as the backdrop for major life-changing moments in our main characters lives."


Filming continued in Las Vegas for eight days. Of course, this wasn't Vegas at its shiney best. This was the trailer park from which the two heroes had to escape: 'After all, as one character observes, "Las Vegas in the day is like a showgirl without her makeup."



But filming for Highway didn't just attract attention in Seattle. It also drew stares in the small town of Wilkeson in Washington, which was taken over by the film for two days that summer. It didn't just get attention because the scene involved cutting the top off a perfectly decent car, but because Jared Leto's girlfriend at the time, Cameron Diaz, who sat and watched the scene from across the street. A 'quick-thinking neighbor dashed into Wilkeson Grocery, the town's general store, grabbed its rental copy of "Mary," and persuaded Diaz to autograph the box. It now sits in a place of honor on a shelf behind the checkout counter ... right next to the box for the store's copy of "Prefontaine," which bears Leto's autograph.' I hope that now at least they would stop to get a Jake signature.


'Wilkeson seemed to be taking the filming in stride. Crowds were small at Chuck's - just clumps of people really, looking on and occasionally taking snapshots. One young woman asked Leto, Gyllenhaal and Blair to pose for her, and with a smile they complied.'


'Why the roof amputation? "Road trips are best done in convertibles," said Guy Riedel, one of the picture's two producers.'


This post is dedicated to Pilot's many devotees - and one in particular (I think she knows who that is). Includes pictures from IHJ.

Jake interviews Selma Blair for Interview Magazine in 2002

In 2002, Jake Gyllenhaal starred in Highway along with Jared Leto and Selma Blair. I did some searching around and found that, just as David Fincher interviewed Jake for Interview magazine in October, Jake interviewed Selma for the same magazine at the end of 2002.


The interview shows a real warmth, demonstrated from the very beginning as Selma sets the scene by saying that Jake is talking to her (presumably by phone) while she is 'lying on the ground, talking to you with my dog licking my ear. My windows are open, it's sunny and I'm happy. I just wish I saw you more.'

Amongst Selma's answers to Jake's questions about her new projects, there are glimpses of Jake, just as we had peeps into David Fincher when he interveiwed Jake. For instance, Jake's excitement at seeing the band that opened for Selma's boyfriend at a gig in LA: 'JG: Seeing as you're in Los Angeles, did you check out your boyfriend Jason's [Schwartzman] band, Phantom Planet, at the Troubadour when they played? SB: Yeah. They've gotten so good. Actually, you have to see the band that opened up for them. They're called the Like-- JG: --I know! The Like is fabulous. SB: You know them? Wow! I was trying to get into the Troubadour last night to see them again but I couldn't. JG: I was there last night. It was sold out.'


One thing Jake said really made me think. You'll be well aware that in so many interviews Jake says something completely off the wall. It makes us laugh and love Jake more but sometimes I wonder where these thoughts come from. In this interview, Jake owned up to dreaming up words which he would then try and get into interviews (I've done a very similar thing but with Brokeback or Jake quotes in meetings): 'JG: Here's a good story for you: Yesterday I was doing a press junket, and at the beginning of the day I told the publicist who was guiding me around, "I'm going to get two words into my interviews by the end of the day--angora and mauve." Sure enough, by the end of the day, angora and mauve had been used in at least two interviews. SB: How did angora come up? JG: They asked me what the movie I was plugging felt like, and I said, "Angora."'


And the interview ends. 'JG: You know, the nice thing about you is you aim to please--which is why I'm so endeared by you. SB: Aww. JG: And because you tell me you want to have sex with me all the time. [both laugh] JG: Not like that. No, no. You say it in a much more loving way. SB: I don't really say it like that!' Jake describes Selma as: "this beautiful, random, crazy woman. We met making a movie together and we spent most of our time fake humping each other. From there, our friendship formed."


I've paid for this article and it won't let me link to it at the moment, so please bear with me.

Includes pictures from IHJ.

Edited to add: There are new pap pictures of Jake and Reese eating out at Madeos on Friday night. The pictures were taken of the pair inside the restaurant and so I won't be posting them - they're far too intrusive and I believe everyone should be allowed to eat in peace. If you want to look at them, it's your choice and they're here. Talking of which, isn't it time for that Bloody Mary you promised me?