We know very little about End of Watch except for the fact that it features bald heads, uniforms and cameras stuck to the head and chest of its protagonists. Admittedly, the last is less certain but what we do know is that we don't know when it will be out. We've heard Jake Gyllenhaal and his co-star Michael Pena discuss how it's all filmed from the perspective of the actors but, thanks to Deadline's article on its director David Ayer, there's a little bit more news and perhaps a shift in perspective.
'Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena star as LAPD partners and best friends who navigate their work and personal lives. It started out as a found footage-style film, with the POV coming from everything from the camera mounted on every cop car to security cameras and other surveillance devices. Ayer said it evolved into something not so rigid, which he called a mix of “unconventional storytelling interwoven with conventional photography that creates a portrait of their lives. It’s a cross between Cops and Mean Streets.”
I'm delighted to hear that End of Watch won't be a straightforward 'found footage' film because it's quite possible that audiences are beginning to tire of what's been a popular format over the last couple of years. This mix of two styles sounds more novel and an interesting way for us to get to know characters inside and out. There is some other good news:
'It is Ayer’s third directing effort after Harsh Times and Street Kings, and he’s got a cut that he’ll test with an audience before finishing and showing it to potential domestic distributors before year’s end. The film, which was financed by Exclusive Media, will be ready to be seen by domestic distributors before year’s end.'
In other words, in less than a month.
Thanks to IHJ for the new old pics of Jake during Wonderful WonderCon back in the Spring of 2010. There are lots more there.
There is a possibility that some of you may have spent a good bite out of yesterday lining up outside an Apple store to get your mits on the latest crop of tasty telephones. Jake Gyllenhaal has of course proved his commitment to the brand over the years and was one of the first to grab hold of the iPad, back in those Wondercon (April 2010) days.
He also likes to take his iPad for a walk.
Jake also has other uses for it.
But all this talk of Apple reminded me that I have yet to post the videos that turned up from Jake's visit, along with Duncan Jones and Michelle Monaghan, to the Apple store in NYC as part of the Love and Other Drugs promotion. You can see a snippet of the Q&A itself here but there are other videos of Jake arriving and leaving.
Today we were promised what may well turn out to be the last sunny warm day of the year and so off we went on the motorbike into the Cotswolds. In one village we were surprised to see a river full of baby ducklings - about ten of them. I don't think I've ever seen any so late in the year before. This has been a very odd Autumn. Among the photos below are the Roman amphitheatre in Cirencester, the beautiful village of Bisley and the view from a massive Iron Age hillfort close to Stroud in Gloucestershire.
It may have been warm for much of the day but I can confirm that this all changed on the long ride home and I am still a popsicle...
It seems very fitting that a day after we all got our first good look at Little Jake Gyllenhaal with his big specs and ruffly hair, we can now get to see a glimpse of Jake in one of his earliest roles - that of Leon in Josh and S.A.M. Released in 1993, this film provided the young Jake with his first opportunity to play a baddie. Also making its debut in this film was Jake's floppy hair, as seen in the family photos in The Day After Tomorrow. The glasses are gone which means that a) Jake now had contacts or b) he walked into everything.
There was someone else in Josh and that Strategically Altered Mutant: Martha Plimpton (aka Jake Gyllenhaal's first love). A few years earlier Martha had appeared in Naomi's Running on Empty and Jake told Gala during the PoP promo about his first crush: 'I remember it well: Martha Plimpton. My mother had just started 'Running on Empty' with River Phoenix. She couldn't find a babysitter. So I was at the rehearsals and I was smitten like crazy with Martha. It was the kind of love that probably only an eight year old is capable of.'
Jake also told GQ this year: 'I had such a huge crush on Martha Plimpton. I remember sitting with her. I must have been five or something like that. I mean, she was just strong and beautiful. That is when I remember falling in love with girls.' It would be great to hear from Martha what she thinks about this early adoration from Jake. It's also not known what Jake thought about acting in the same film as Martha a few years on for Josh and S.A.M., although not having seen the whole movie myself, I'm not aware that they had any scenes together.
WonderfulCon
Another couple of videos have turned up from Jake's WonderCon debut back in April. As well as confirming that there was a lot less Parkour in Brokeback Mountain than in Prince of Persia, Jake also has a choice word for those ostriches or, as they were labelled at WonderCon, Austrians.
While everyone's off in the theatres getting their first good look at the Prince of Persia (today was my fifth look and I've just about taken my eyes off Dastan enough to notice PoP's set in the desert), I thought I'd grab the opportunity to catch up a little bit. This also seems a good time to thank everyone for all the scans, pictures, videos and links that I've received over the last few weeks - thank you! - I realise I've not included everything yet, but I will. If you've not checked out Ted, Lisa and Jake's Amazing Adventure in the last post, please do! Without more ado, because Jake Gyllenhaal's been extremely busy of late, let's get on with the post. And what better way to start than with this...?
Jake was interviewed by Cinematical at WonderCon and the interview has just been released. It is fascinating. Just listen here to Jake divulging that being an actor takes work and hours of training and practice: 'I was at Sundance Writer's Lab many years ago, and I was just an actor there so you would go in and they would have first-time filmmakers who have their script and they would have mentors who would come in – like my year, Katherine Bigelow was there and Ed Harris was there and they have like an acting guru, and Delroy Lindo was the acting guru. You would go and act these scenes out for these first-time directors and they would film them and they would get advice from their mentors. Delroy Lindo sat us down because a lot of the actors were saying, wow, they were like 'put your hand here' and 'do this' and we were like, jeez, they've never directed anything before and they're telling us [what to do].'
'He said it's interesting with first-time filmmakers because if they've written it they'll say 'I've been sitting with this forever by myself; it's been 2D for this long' – and please don't read into the 2D, 3D thing I'm about to say – 'but then it gets up on its feet and it's living and breathing and coming out of someone else's mouth not the way you expected it to'. You always expected it this way and now it's this way, and it's hard not to feel because you have a sense of ownership to let something be created on its own because you've lived with it for so long.'
'So it's interesting because I've translated that now interacting with the gaming world and seeing how everybody has an intimate interaction with this character and this game and what it means to them, and now that it's basically become Jerry Bruckheimer's and he said 'now I'm going to try and put my idea of what a great, entertaining movie is' on it, people are going, 'wait a second!' So I understand that response, but I have always thought, I want to make those people happy. I want them to be psyched for this movie, so the bar has always been high, which is why when I was on set I would have the game on all of the time and I would come in the trailer and I would play a little bit. If there was a cool move, I would bring in the stunt guys and go, 'can we try this?' Because I would always think, we had a great story, but we've got to satisfy the way people see us, and there are many moves in the movie that came out of me playing the game and bringing the stunt guys in. So there was always that pressure.'
[Jake Gyllenhaal is interviewed in this 'odd' video below - eventually! Move those sands of time forward to around the 2:36 mark... and then there is a kind of French, kind of...]
'...When we were designing the wardrobe for the character, it was down to the last hour of shooting essentially, and I was like, 'I don't know if this buckle seems real,' and all of a sudden they would take to coat off and go running and they would have to run it up to there and back to this person and they would muck it up or take it off. You didn't realize what one little choice [impacted] – it had to be approved by this person and this person and 'was it like the video game?' 'No, it's not, but that's okay.' So that was definitely different for me, and to stay creative in an environment where there are so many people to appease.'
'But I really feel ultimately like my preparation was much different. I kind of tend to always start on a physical level; I always ask myself in what form would this character take shape, and how would he be successful in the world that he's inhabiting in a physical way. Like on Jarhead I did that, and on Brokeback our characters were smoking and we were riding horses and I just deteriorated, but on this I went, if he does parkour, because Gary said to me from the beginning he's going to do parkour, I'm going to have to learn how to do it, and then my body and my physicality just changed to do that. But it wasn't different.'
'Ben Kingsley is dramatically trained, traditionally trained, and a lot of British actors are, and as soon as I did the accent, it really did change everything. Because I recognized with a British accent that things become more ornate and humor becomes a different thing, so you don't have to do as much, and your voice translates so much more. I mean, look at me gesticulating right now; I wouldn't do that with a British accent, because you have to have the confidence of your voice. So I kept in my mind at all times that I was acting as if I was telling a child a story, which was so helpful for me. And then I would watch Ben, because there were moments at the beginning of this movie where I would walk around going, what movie am I in? What am I wearing and what is everybody else wearing?'
'But it became so fun and it became very theatrical, and actually I enjoy – it's funny when people say to me 'you're a very naturalistic actor' because I'm like, God, man, I'm loud! Ask anybody who hangs out with me, I'm a loud dude! So it played to that side...' Much more here.
This ABC interview is hysterical! I never thought flipcharts would sound funny... Thanks to a reader for the heads up. If the embedded video doesn't work, you can see it here, but I think I've fixed it...
This video, which I can't embed so just click here, takes us back to Jake filming at Pinewood - I do enjoy seeing Jake interviewed in full costume, now that I know the film. Now it's the American accent that sounds unfamiliar!
Director Mike Newell has been filling us in on some of the finer points of filming an epic in the desert with a huge number of hot and thirsty and sandy cast and crew. At last, along with lots of details about weather scouts, sandstorms and those 14 pesky ostriches, we hear more about Snake Dude.
At the beginning of the glorious PoP mayhem we had GQ - remember the excitement of Jake being seen at the centre of a large and growing crowd in Times Square? Here's a video that sets the scene.
It's been quite a week. After several years of focusing on movies with relatively serious or adult issues, we've not been used to the hoopla involved with the promotion of a huge summer blockbuster. But, if there was any doubt at all that Prince of Persia is going to be huge, it's been put to rest by the events of this week. Jake Gyllenhaal stunned and wowed the crowds and critics at WonderCon in San Francisco last weekend and we can still feel and enjoy the ripples. But this week has also demonstrated the breadth of Jake's movie choices - while we've celebrated PoP we've also listened to Jake enthuse over Source Code and working with director Duncan Jones. And we've even seen some Source Code filming. So I think a recap is in order of what has been WonderWeek.
First off, we have another interview in which Jake reveals that he researched for Prince of Persia by going back to 6th century Persia and living in a tent with Daniel Day Lewis. One gets the sense here that this was one of the final interviews of the day...
In this Reelzchannel set of interviews with Jake and the rest of the PoP WonderCon crew, Mike Newell has this praise for Jake: 'He worked 18 hours a day to make himself into an action here. And he rehearsed the fights, and he rehearsed the riding, and gymnastics and the wall-running and this, that and the other. He worked his heart out to make himself into a really satisfying action hero. And he did it.'
So... what did we get this week?
Jake told about.com that he couldn't help but slip into Prince of Persia Parkour mode on the Source Code set - much to the alarm of the SC crew.
Jake told Destructoid that if anyone pokes fun at his poster he'll 'kick your ass in a dark alley' and 'like it or hate it, it's pretty damn good.'
Hanging on a wire for hours while the crew tried to perfect gaming manoeuvres gave Jake a really bad rash but 'the rash was worth it' and Jake had to regularly take all of his clothes off for the special effects guys to scan him. Moving between the different units meant Jake ate less lunch than everyone else.
Jake channelled Buddha in his preparation for stunt scenes, meaning that his two years at Columbia still have a practical use.
We had two new PoP featurettes: Story and Hassansins and another fan question answered, this time on Parkour.
Jake loves his lego even though it looks like a buffed up Indiana Jones in a mullet.
Jake can't do the water section in the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time game and likes the prince's attitude when you accidentally cut his arm off or hurl him to a painful senseless death on spikes.
They would still be filming Prince of Persia if it were to be in 3D.
Jake was told that he was 'unnnghhhhhhhhhhhh!' and pretty ('I just thought you should know that').
Jake got an iPad but Jordan Mechner doesn't want one.
Jake can happily talk about Top Gun for quite some time.
Nailed is now The Nail and Jake has finished all of his filming.
Jake can sing better than he dances.
Everyone marvels at Duncan Jones's collectors' t-shirts.
Jake called Ben Kingsley Sir Ben.
No-one says Hassansins like Mike Newell does.
Source Code got a day's work outing to Chicago (you can see some more pictures from that day here).
The plot of Source Code is extremely difficult to explain but 'it will blow your mind'.
Links for more and all of this can be found in the posts from the last amazing week and, as we've said here so many times this week, it's not even May yet!
I went to Cotswold Wildlife Park today in search of lemurs - they were all asleep. In compensation, there were ostriches and scratching camels. I did try to avoid them, but there was no helping it - there were meerkats.
We have more pictures today of Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan from Friday's Source Code shoot in Millennium Park in Chicago, thanks to Before the Trailer.
We also, more worryingly, have the news that Michelle Monaghan ate artichokes in that windy city, a vegetable/fruit/mineral I wouldn't wish on anyone. 'Jake had French Onion Soup & Turkey Pastrami Club...and yes he ate the fries'. I know what soup and chips are, which is a lot more than I can say about a Turkey pastrami club. Chicago's chefs have also been having a barney about the best places in which Jake can find a hearty meal in the city. Each would conclude that it's in his restaurant.
There are more Twitter pictures from the locals lucky enought to see Jake in action on set yesterday, including this one, thanks to EmbersFall.
KABC published a WonderCon interview with Jake the other day - and at the end it promised another interview on their On the Red Carpet programme. Today we got it and it's another fine interview. Jake says that he made Prince of Persia for the kids - who will have had little experience of Jake's recent films - and show just how much he enjoyed the Parkour question from the young boy in the WonderCon panel audience. Jake also tells us about his PoP leaps, some with and some without a harness, and how he trusted the trainers completely. Glad to hear it.
And finally... a WDW interlude
Totally off topic but that's never stopped me... Today I took advantage of the first Spring weekend proper to head to the sea and then to Corfe Castle - where I managed to evade the scary horned sheep that chased me around the motte last time I was there. A day of clotted cream, scones, apple cake, ploughmans, real ale and cheese - not an artichoke in sight.
[Update:] Jake Gyllenhaal was interviewed by GeekSugar on Saturday and among the goodies we hear that 'I definitely have had my fun on the Wii' and 'Zelda was super dope'. I have no idea what they means but it's a phrase I will use with every opportunity from hereonin!
'On what drew him to Prince of Persia: There are a lot of things. One was the character, 'cause for me, whenever I choose a movie it's the character. I thought — at least as it was written — [Prince Dasdan] was wry and funny and had a good time, but at the same time kicked some ass. But then I also like the idea that it was based on a video game. I like to do things that people have tried their hand at and haven't succeeded. Maybe it's a riskier thing to do, but I like that. And I knew that there would be a huge audience of people that I would be trying to appease and that kinda turned me on too. And we're bringing it to younger kids, kids who have never played the video game before and never experienced it.'
'On whether he's played the original Prince of Persia, and if he's a gamer: I have played it, but I'm not a gamer in general. I definitely have had my fun on the Wii. Being an actor you have a lot of time on your hands in between set-ups and things so there's always the opportunity on set. A portable gaming device is always fun. I played a lot of video games when I was a kid. I really loved Metroid when I was a kid. I played that game all the time. Zelda was super dope and it may have been one of my favorites only because the casing was gold. I'm not really sure actually if it was the journey of it or that the casing was gold but I loved that game, and traditional things like the classic Super Mario Bros. and Mike Tyson's Punchout.'
'How he feels about 3D in the film industry: Well, I think it's all about intention. Like Jim Cameron made Avatar, and his intention was to use 3D. Subsequently I think people have tried to join the bandwagon without understanding the creative side of what 3D is. Whenever you have a tool, I think someone should become proficient in that tool. I don't think you just add it to your arsenal and be like "I know how to do this." Regardless, Avatar wouldn't be as amazing as Avatar is — although it's extraordinary on a visual level — without a great story. And I think storytelling has lasted thousands of years as a result of the fact that twists, and turns, and unexpected things happen in stories that blow people's minds, and that's what lasts. We want to tell a great story — 2D, 3D, a great story is a great story.'
'On if he's caught the action genre bug, and if he liked doing his own stunts: I kinda am, yeah. I kinda am. I was [excited to do my own stunts], I mean that's the reason to do it. You're making a movie based on a video game, It's gonna be physical, and if you don't do it, how lame is that? I really had to ask myself, "Are you ready for this? Would you learn how to do Parkour, would you learn how to sword fight for real?" And I tried to be game for everything. I really tried to be. And I was. I did it even though sometimes I didn't succeed at it all the time, I tried each one of the things.'
On with the post!
It never rains but it pours delights over here in Prince of Persia Gyllenland. Hot on the heels of Jake Gyllenhaal's triumphant debut at WonderCon, we have two new TV spots for Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. We have a little more accent, more snakes, more dagger and a lot more sand. The music stands out more here, too, and I like it. If this film doesn't rush headlong into the theatres soon, I swear I could...well, pop.
A couple of pictures here from the clips: Our world could end and Is that all you got? All of the WonderCon panel is now available to watch in HD on YouTube thanks to The Network. You can see all of the six videos here, including the wonderful moment when Jake appears on the stage under the spotlight of 4,000 pairs of eyes. Here are the final four.
Jordan Mechner has described his rather unreal experience of attending WonderCon in the company of a movie star, a legendary film and TV producer and a much-respected director (I wonder if Jordan got an iPad like Jake...): 'I’ve been to Comic-Cons before, but this WonderCon was a new experience for me. Being flown in by the studio for one day to take part in a Prince of Persia movie panel felt a bit like visiting a parallel universe — one from which parking, waiting in line, negotiating crowds, showing ID, figuring out where to go next, and other ordinary aspects of flying and attending conventions have magically been eliminated.'
'Instead, I was whisked along with Jake Gyllenhaal, Jerry Bruckheimer, and Mike Newell from car to plane to car and from one place to another with such efficiency that all I saw of the show and conference center were underground parking garages, service elevators, corridors and backstage areas — only to suddenly emerge on stage in front of 4,000 people. Feeling the energy of that crowd was a rush I won’t soon forget.' Do visit Jordan's blog for his wonderful sketch of Jake on the plane on the way to WonderCon.
Jake has also been talking about the experience: '"It's so great to hear everybody cheering after the clips," Gyllenhaal told Moviefone. The 'Persia' star and first-time Con attendee was unintimidated by the raucous crowds. "That's the scary thing, people are seeing a little piece of this movie that's just been our own for so long. Granted, 2,000 people worked on it [laughs]. It's great to hear people get psyched, and see the sea of cameras and people."'
Outstanding.
Jake has been spotted last night returning to Canada. Source Code, or at least one unit of it, is leaving for Chicago on 7 April. However, the news that they wanted to hire doubles may suggest Jake may be continuing to film in Montreal for the week. We shall see!
Many thanks to IHJ for the new WonderCon pics - there are plenty more there!
No time for eating Easter Eggs or biting the heads off cute little chocolate bunnies this Easter Sunday, no way! And all because Jake Gyllenhaal has been doing what he does so well - taking centrestage to talk with charm and passion for his new movie while flirting the socks off the very receptive audience. 'We love you Jake!' cried some. 'I love you guys!' Jake replied. And with a beaming and proud Jerry Bruckheimer, Mike Newell and Jordan Mechner looking on, you could see brilliantly well why Jake Gyllenhaal was the perfect choice for Dastan, Prince of Persia.
Even though most of us are, unfortunately, a long way away from the streets of San Francisco, we're fortunate in that we can share in the excitement of WonderCon on Saturday 3 April thanks to a number of good people, including our Intrepid Roving Reporter! I'm glad to say that not only did she survive seeing Jake 'delicious' Gyllenhaal in person yesterday, she was also able to record some of the Prince of Persia panel - no mean feat I can tell you:
The Roving Reporter reports: 'I was worried I wouldn't get in (they have very strict Fire Marshall rules on capacity) - it was also almost pitch black and they were showing a preview of a new TV show. Couldn't find any seats so hung along a side wall with a bunch of other folk. Lights came up and they started a Q & A with the TV show folk. Moved further down near the front and managed to snag an end seat. As you'll see, I was quite far from the stage but they had two huge screens either side and I was right in front of one. Lots of signs and we were also told no video, photos etc. but nobody took a blind bit of notice and it wasn't enforced at all - I think they were more concerned about the bit of exclusive PoP being recorded rather than the rest of it.'
'Jerry and Mike were this first two out and they spoke about the film and Jake (boy, do they ever LOVE our boy!) They also mentioned that Jake was backstage...that's when I sent the I'm here message. They then showed the first clip which was almost ALL Jake - lights came up and then Jordan and Jake came on - The audience went mad, clapping, cheering and quite a few fangirls shouting out "I love you Jake", etc. and he says "I love you guys too"
To set the scene, here are some of her pictures from the event. How much do I want to look round those stalls...?
We're also lucky that friends HeyUGuys made the trip over from the UK and recorded videos of the press conference and the panel. They also made my evening with an exchange of emails which made me feel a part of it, so thanks to them! Here are their videos.
We have three more little clips from the panel here:
So... what have we learned! From the press conference we hear from Jake 'Now I wish that I was British as I feel that I'm proficient enough with the British accent' and 'Occasionally I would throw out the British accent at the dinner table'. Jake was, however, surrounded by so many British accents that the accent could move around England's counties a fair bit, until pulled back by Mike Newell, whose accent Jake clearly enjoys!
The press conference and the panel demonstrates that as Jake grew in confidence, and when the trainers were more confident with Jake's abilities to hurl himself around, the stunts and fights got more 'dicey'.
The panel witnessed a classic question (there was one word in it which I couldn't quite catch and so I was glad of Uli's help with the translation): 'I wanted to know how difficult it was getting into shape and getting all tanned because you started off like Bubble Boy, all adorable and bubbly and now you're like Unghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!' Jake: 'It was so much fun. What can you do when you get paid to get tanned, get in shape...' The questioner again: 'You're pretty, I just thought you should know that.'
There were some classic Jakisms that we have come to love and expect. 'I keep the dagger of time and will use it if this press conference has any weird questions.' 'We worked very closely with a guy named David Belle who invented Parkour. It took a long time to find him cos he has no email address or phone number. So we went over the streets of France in a helicopter looking for people jumping off of buildings and we snagged him and brought him over to Morocco.' Dastan 'also likes to jump off of things. He also likes to fight with his fist and with his sword and he also likes princesses.'
'That's how I trained for the movie too - it was just me and a baggy pair of pyjamas.'
We wanted 'to see if we can run over that donkey and then we would or we wouldn't successfully run over a donkey. No! Not like that! I didn't mean it like that!'
On working with Jerry Bruckheimer: 'It was a little louder, a little bigger, and a little more fun'.
After the panel, it was time for the WonderCon cocktail party... And a look at what everyone in San Francisco wanted to get their hands on yesterday (and the iPad's not bad either).
But it wasn't all Prince of Persia, Jake also took some time out to talk about Love and Other Drugs briefly ('which is awesome and I'm very proud of it') and Source Code: 'I'm shooting a movie right now with a guy named Duncan Jones who directed the movie Moon with Sam Rockwell, which is an amazing movie. We're having an amazing time and that movie, a scifi movie, will blow your mind.' The video is below.
Many thanks to everyone who brought us all into WonderCon with them and thanks to IHJ for the superb photographs (there are many, many more to enjoy there) and to the Intrepid Roving Reporter for sharing her adventure with us! Thanks too to HeyUGuys for the videos and pictures. I don't now about you, but I'm ready to see this film right now!
Happy Easter! PS - I'm not ruling out any updates... Talking of which:
