Tour de Force: Jake Gyllenhaal looking back and Moscow: 'I'm the boss!' and the love between an action hero and his horse

Today I thought I'd take a break from all the sport by watching a different sport, in addition to a bunch of other sports that I've been hooked on for the last two weeks. That means cycling and the Tour de France which kicked off today but not in France. Someone said to me this week 'If you don't have a bicycle you may as well be dead' and, while I would argue with the validity of that assertion, it is indeed true that you cannot race the Tour de France without one. Lance Armstrong began his final Tour campaign today (although not for the first time) and one can't help but wonder that if indeed this is the last Tour then maybe at least the final scene can be added to the Lance Armstrong Biopic.


During the last four years we've heard no end of rumours connecting Jake Gyllenhaal to the Lance Armstrong biopic. And that isn't surprising because, in 2006, when Lance was following rather than competing, Jake not only accompanied (from a bit of a way back) Lance up the hilliest stage of the Tour, he also spent much of the summer with him. Along with another candidate for the Lance role, Matthew McConaughey.



The three amigos spent so much time together, a play was written about them. But the movie and cycling worlds are fickle and before too long Matt Damon was the name mentioned, even Rob 'The Pale One' Pattinson and Chris 'beam me up Scotty' Pine got a look in. One fact remains, however: Jake Gyllenhaal is indeed a cyclist and he has the spandex to back it up.


Back in 2006: 'Jake Gyllenhaal talked to the press about his new buddy Lance Armstrong while in the French Alps with the cyclist to watch the Tour de France. "We became friends just recently, a couple of months ago. He's a pretty straightforward guy. He called me the other day and said like, 'You want to go riding?'" Gyllenhaal recently started riding as training for a film, and of his ride with Armstrong through the Alps, the Proof actor said, "When we first started riding it was pure adrenaline that kept me going. Then, up the hill, across the way, you could see him like a plane in the sky, he was moving so fast... I just learn from Lance every day, the tips I get. I have never pushed myself so hard as I do with him." Gyllenhaal also joked about his other mutual pastime with Armstrong - beer drinking - saying, "That's been the primary training." Next on the agenda, Armstrong is taking the actor to his seaside villa in Nice.'


Obviously I'll make a good cyclist because that's the kind of training I'm an expert in. Jake has spoken of that year to New Weekly: 'Q: How did you get into it? JG: My best friend is a cyclist and he had a tandem bike. One day he was like, "Let's ride." I got on the back of the bike and we were riding and we just started pushing so hard, working together on this tandem bike. It was so much fun. I just remember that one ride — from then on I started riding. Then I guess Lance Armstrong heard that I biked and so he called me one day: "You want to go for a ride?" Q: There was this phase where there were always photos of you, Lance and Matthew McConaughey … JG: [Laughs.] Yeah. Well, then I had to go to work. We all hung out during summer, then we all had to go to work.'


'"The rumour started because Lance and I are friends". When asked about Lance, Jake praises his friend "But what has impressed me most about him is what he has done for people." "What is it that Lance Armstrong has done for people?" You can almost hear the pause and the sharp intake of breath: "He's motivated them! Thanks to him millions of people have started to think about themselves and tried to find out what's inside them."'


More recently, this year, Jake said: 'Lance Armstrong said to me, “Just break a sweat once a day.” Break a sweat once a day — and not out of stress — and you’ll stay healthy for the rest of your life. And I think that’s really true. Find something to get your heart-rate up, that’s what I did with this. But it’s good also to get paid to do it. That really helps.'

As a keen supporter and campaigner for LiveStrong, I wish Lance Armstrong all the best for the Tour, as tomorrow it leaves Rotterdam and heads on to Belgium.


Moscow!

Jake Gyllenhaal is enjoying the delights of Martha's Vineyard and I can't say I blame him - the island is gorgeous (even though the sea there frightens me as that's where Jaws was filmed...). But after posting the pictures yesterday from Moscow, I have to revisit that place because Jake and Gemma both shone there. I visited Russia several times in the mid-late 1980s, during the Gorbachev years and just before. There were adventures. There were long journeys by train through snow and ice with steaming tea, burning vodka and dashing guards. Not surprisingly, I love the place. I remember sitting to watch the Moscow State Circus while a child behind plaited by hair and watching the Bolshoi Ballet with an American marine who'd snuck out from the embassy.



Jake took part in a number of interviews in Moscow. I'm afraid that my Russian is extremely limited (although at one time I could work my way around a menu). But here are some of the things that Jake said in one interview:


'Well, I don't want to make everyone sad, but nobody knows how much time he has left on Earth. So you should get everything out of life. Therefore, wherever I go, I like to get into a little trouble. For instance, when I went to Moscow, I thought - we must see the sights, but there are places that tourists don't see. I'd like to see more than that. I also love to climb mountains, for example.'


'When we shot one of the swordfights, John Sio, our operator, said: "Jake, don't think about anything, it's just a fight, wave your sword", and he always followed me with the camera. In the middle of the battle I had... And John got a sword in the face. It was rubber of course, but I remember being terribly frightened when he fell on his back. We stopped shooting, I told him: "Oh, forgive me, forgive me!" And he said: 'Damn, that was fun! "This shot went into the film. Now that was unexpected.'

'And the worst day was when Alfred Molina kissed one of the ostriches on the neck!'


'Oh, I have, oddly enough, very much in common with the horse. Much more than with anyone else. We became close friends. Incidentally, afterwards, he went with me to Los Angeles, and is now living in West Hollywood. We ... I don't even have the words to express what I feel! He always supports me in everything. He is my best friend. If we say that there is someone special in every life, then that is my horse - he easily saved my life. He has carried me through everthing, and still supports me. I taked to him yesterday by phone, incidentally. I said: "I'm in Moscow!"... This is a special relationship, thanks for the question!'

Source Code: 'Well, there are lots of explosions in the film. We do a lot of fights. A very dangerous fistfight... Duncan Jones, the director of the film, is very good with psychology and amazing in science fiction. So the film has a strong dramatic feel, it's not just a thriller. Instead, it's clever fiction heated with napalm, which will satisfy any fan of action games.'


Who was the boss on PoP: 'Actually, I think Jerry... But in terms of interaction with the actors from scene to scene, the boss - Mike... They always worked together, I saw that. But it's still a Jerry Bruckheimer movie. He's a big producer, people go to watch his films... But in my opinion, I'm still the boss!'



Includes pictures from IHJ.

Jake climbs another mountain - on two wheels

I've been meaning to do this post for a few days now, but everytime I sit down to do it, something else pops up. I'm not going to let it this time, because this is about Sporty Jake and, if there's one thing I love, it's Jake being Sporty, especially in spandex.


When I returned home from the London Live Earth extravagaanza last Saturday, I was wedged into a train with people with stepladders and steps, which wasn't particularly pleasant actually. But it turns out that I was sharing the train with what seemed like a large proportion of the million or so people who turned out on to the streets of London to watch the Tour de France set off not in France. Of course, this reminded me of last year and the excitement many of us felt when, out of the blue it seemed, Jake turned up in France to watch parts of the race with friend and Tour de France legend Lance Armstrong.


In fact, Jake prvoved his own cycling credentials by accompanying Lance up the Tour's most famous climb - l'Alpe d'Huez - setting, Jake laughed, the 'record for actors'. False modesty indeed, not many of us could cycle up an Alp, especially not that one. This was presented in the media as Jake's other mountain, as opposed to Brokeback of course. Jake arrived in France in the centre of Lance's controversial and infamous battle with Floyd Landis, but Jake proved a worthy distraction and maintained that he would cheer for whomever he wanted - even Landis - but he wouldn't let on who for. However, Jake's respect for his friend after seeing him in action, steaming ahead of him on the Alp, spoke volumes in terms of admiration: "I am speechless. Obviously he is extraordinary when you watch him from afar. Seeing this and then watching riding on the bike. It is unbelievable."


It was also clear that Jake and Lance were having fun outside of the race and Lance was no doubt enjoying being able to act like a spectator. The two were seen together at the Igloo nightclub: "Lance Armstrong and Jake Gyllenhaal made their way in around midnight, both wearing baseball caps pushed down tight on their heads. Women said Armstrong's name in heavily accented French as he walked through the crowd, hitting the second syllable harder than the first. As the two men found a spot to talk in a back corner, Brewer shifted into a different mode, setting up a defensive perimeter to keep the crowd back and give them a little space. I had a short conversation with Armstrong, and then headed back out in the crisp night air alone and walked across the mountain to the Club Med."


Back in the hotel, Lance was "back from a run and looked fit enough to compete in the race he once dominated. Yet telltale signs that those days were over were scattered on every side: from the cold beer and plate of pastries sitting on a table nearby, to the collection of friends, including actor Jake Gyllenhaal, who gathered around a TV set and insisted on switching channels in time to watch Tiger Woods win the British Open." Now you know me, I can forgive Jake anything, BUT watching golf may be a step too far. I'll move on...


Jake said in a Discovery podcast, preserved in the Miscellaneous Video section of the Media part of IHJ, that his Tour de France experience gave him a succession of pinch-me moments, not least because of his helicopter trip above the course. It also allowed him to see firsthand - perhaps a little close for comfort - the adulation of a sportsman, with people hurling themselves in front of their bikes to get close to their hero Lance. It must have been extraordinarily exciting for Jake to have been part of one of the major sporting events, especially one that he is so good at himself, enabling him actually to take part in an extremely difficult part of it.


This video gives you some flavour of what it must have been like for Jake. Many of you will remember it from last year, but it doesn't hurt to pay it a revisit. If the video doesn't behave, you can also reach it from this page.

Pictures from IHJ and Kreutz Photography.