Jake - 'Are you kidding?... I love the snow'

Two years ago, Brokeback Mountain arrived in the cinemas of the US, and the rest is history - Jarhead was also in the theatres. Amongst the publicity that Jake did for both films was an interview for New York's Z100 (or the Morning Zoo) radio, an interview that survives in a podcast. The interview took place through a phone call in the middle of Los Angeles' night, which might account for a rather sleepy Jake Gyllenhaal.


With all the fun that we've had following the weather of Santa Fe, New Mexico, with its high, snowy hills and ski slopes, I've been wondering how Californian Jake gets on with snow, and in this interview we get the answer. When Jake's asked if he's frightened of the snow, Jake replies 'Are you kidding? When I heard it was snowing over there I wanted to be there right now... I love snow, I love the snow.'



As well as chat about Jake's puggle (I think you can guess what Zoo's name for a cross between a Shitzu and a Poodle would be) and the obvious question about what it was like kissing Heath Ledger (stock answer: 'It was exfoliating.'), Jake discusses what it was like making Jarhead and working with Peter Sarsgaard: 'When you work with your sister's boyfriend, there's bound to be interesting things that happen - for five months, in the desert, even more interesting things will happen.' The below picture shows Jake hugging co-star Chris Cooper.


When asked about his feelings towards the men and women who are faced with fighting a war in real life, Jake responds: 'Being the age they are, the age that I am, with all the questions I have in my life and everything I'm going through, and being able to fight in a war, have the courage to do that, is just amazing to me. I don't really know, and I probably couldn't really tell you, I'm probably not the right person to ask what it would be like. I just think it's an incredible job and what they do is incredible.'

As for how Jake did the Santa hat scene? 'A lot, a lot of practice.' Wouldn't mind seeing those outtakes.


Zodiac is Jeffrey Wells' top film of 2007

It comes as no surprise to me that Hollywood Reporter's Jeffrey Wells has placed Zodiac as his number one film of the year. Jeff has been an advocate of what is undoubtedly my own favourite film of the year (a year at the very, very least) since the very beginning. Good to see I'm Not There on the list as well, although this film has yet to open in the UK.

Here is Jeffrey's list: '1. Zodiac 2. No Country for Old Men 3. Control 4. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street 5. Before The Devil Knows You're Dead 6. Four Months, Three Weeks & 2 Days 7. Things We Lost in the Fire 8. There Will Be Blood 9. I'm Not There 10. The Bourne Ultimatum


Brothers filming

According to a poster at IMDb, Tobey Maguire is about to film scenes for Brothers in Taos, New Mexico (apparently, this is also a great place for snow). The poster says 'I was on set with Tobey all-day yesterday. A little later they're going to film outside of ABQ and later in Taos. The Taliban camp is in ABQ and the heli crash is in Taos. We filmed the heli being hit with rockets yesterday and it was epic.' In another sighting, Tobey was spotted in a local gym with 'a buzz cut', making me very relieved that Jake is playing the other brother, beard or no beard.


Nailed

The Winnipeg Free Press includes a feature today on executive producer Rachel Sane, whom, it seems, was involved with Jarhead, and is currently heavily involved with trying to get the film Nailed off the ground. Confirming that neither Jake nor Jessica Biel has yet signed on the dotted line, the article, and Rachel, give some details to the project's background:

'If all goes as planned, Shane's career may truly come to fruition with the project Nailed, a unique, politically-flavoured romantic comedy by Kristen Gore, whom Shane has known for the past few years through their book club. "It's a comedy about a young woman who, in a very hilarious set piece, gets a nail lodged in her head the moment she's being proposed to," Shane says. "Obviously, it interrupts this momentous occasion for her. "She has a nail stuck in her head and she realizes she doesn't have healthcare," Shane says. The heroine is rendered unstable by the nail in her skull. "When the nail shifts, it touches different parts of her brain, so she becomes really aggressive or really angry or really horny... crazy stuff that happens that brings out parts of her personality that she would never have been able to explore before," Shane says. Eventually, the woman enlists the aid of a congressman who takes up her cause for health care, though it runs counter to the policy of his party.'


'Industry news sources have put Jessica Biel and Jake Gyllenhaal in the lead roles, but neither actor has been signed yet, Shane says. Nevertheless, she is pumped about making the project a reality. "This is the first one I'll really set up in a studio from its conception," she says. "I'm responsible for it." ..."This is a movie that's not just entertainment but has some real social relevance and maybe actually affect politics, or at least popular culture and popular thinking," she says. "It's something I'm going to be really proud of."

Includes pictures from IHJ.

Jake's Giant Leap, and Jake and Zodiac make the lists

After the excitement of the last day or two, there's some catching up to do today. Not least of which is the suggestion that the Moon Project - my own personal favourite among the films Jake Gyllenhaal has in store for us over the next couple of years - has a new name. How long it will last as the name is anyone's guess, as it's not particularly original, but I suppose it has a better ring to it than Unnamed Moon Project (or UNP). Accoring to the New York Times, we can now call UNP Giant Leap. In the absence of a suitable Moon Giant Leap Project photo, one from the days of Moon Light Mile must do.


Jake and Zodiac on the 2007 lists

Coming to the end of the year as we are, this means we are entering the season of lists. Jake is on a couple of them. Empire has listed its 100 Sexiest Movie Stars and at No 32 is our own Jake looking very much like he should be No 1. 'That cheeky smile, those sleepy eyes, that difficult-to-pronounce surname… There’s some damn fine genes in that there Gyllenhaal family. With those classic good looks and impressive acting chops, there’s little wonder his fans refer to themselves as "Gyllenhaalics".' So we get a mention as well. It also includes a reference, yet again, to the Paul Newman story. To see this story from a slightly different perspective, have a look at this little Celebrity Fact or Fiction video from MSN.


The No 1 spot is occupied by one Angelina Jolie while No 2 is Brothers' Natalie Portman. Daniel Craig is the highest placing sexy man at No 3. A little odd finding Hermione, or Emily Watson aged just 17, on the list at No 26.

The University of Calgary's Gauntlet magazine has listed its top 10 movies of the year. No 3 is Zodiac: 'Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey Jr. anchor an excellent investigative piece into the identity and motivations of the infamous Zodiac killer that terrorized California's Bay Area during the 1960s. Based on a book on the subject written by Robert Graysmith (played in the film by Gyllenhaal), Zodiac maintains suspense despite the outcome being known to everyone with a library card or access to Wikipedia.' No 2 is 3:10 to Yuma and the No 1 is No Country for Old Men.


Zodiac's musical montage over blankness

The Guardian today has a feature on Randall Poster who has been responsible for compiling the soundtracks for such films as Heath Ledger's latest I'm Not There and Zoolander. He also worked on Zodiac and this is what he has to say about one particular 'blank' scene, which has now made it onto the special Director's edition, to, I think it's fair to say, a mixed reception. Fortunately, we don't have long to wait to see it ourselves.


'I've worked on movies that are $1m or less, up to budgets of over $100m. They always clip my budgets, so I never have enough. In the original cut of David Fincher's Zodiac we worked on a musical montage sequence that would cover the passing of time, during the 1970s. We worked on that a long time. It was fun to do, and it was fun to scare the studio into thinking we were gonna spend $2m on a montage of music over a black screen. We did it so many different ways, with so many different songs, but it was more like a parlour game. I remember at a certain point we were building towards the disco era. I don't know what Fincher did with it, or whether it'll be on the DVD, but it was fun to torture the studio with it.'


Includes pictures from IHJ.

An evening of poetry, good company and fine wine with Stephen Gyllenhaal

Last night, Ruby and I were fortunate enough to enjoy an evening with ten poets, providing shelter in more ways than one from the winds and rain of December London. As a happy appreciator of good conversation, literature and fine wine, I would have enjoyed Thursday evening whether or not Stephen Gyllenhaal had been there. But he was there and he made the evening magical by bringing a little bit of Hollywood sunshine into Marylebone High Street.

Not everyone knew before the gathering, including some of the other poets, that Stephen had two such famous and well respected children, and their discovery added to the buzz. A lot of people, not just myself, got a thrill from telling Stephen how much we admired Jake and Maggie and he seemed to enjoy hearing it, saying he would pass on all the good wishes. All of the poets received a good reception but Stephen's was especially warm, not just because he had voyaged such a long way, but also because his enthusiasm for poetry and his pride in his inspiration for the poems he read last night - his children and family - were catching.


The event, which was a charity event for Oxfam, was hosted by Canadian poet and Oxfam poet in residence, Todd Swift (pictured below), who revealed some amazing facts about Oxfam's poetry readings in that particular shop. The meetings had taken place regularly for four years but would end that evening - in four years there had been 20 meetings and 110 poets. The book shop itself was special, as I'm sure Ruby would agree, and its shelves had been browsed by many familiar faces over the years, including Paul McCartney. Todd called it a 'truly resonant space' for poets.


One of the driving forces behind the readings has been to promote creative writing in everyone: 'This night is all about being possible' but the number of poets, ten, would make this particular evening take on an 'impossible theme'. Each poet would have a restricted amount of time except for the two who had travelled the most, Alistair Noon from Berlin and Stephen Gyllenhaal ('that's how it's pronounced') from Los Angeles, who would each be given an extra five minutes, with Stephen beginning the second half.


The long shop was packed, with some people standing at the back. The atmosphere was friendly and chatty, helped a little no doubt by the steady flow of wine and the warmth inside set against the driving rain outside. We heard some memorable poems - Ruby and I were both especially affected by Susan Grindley (pictured below), whose poem 'Soon she will be joining my dead' played havoc with my mascara. This poem begins

'My aunts, variously gracious
and flustered, will welcome her with tea.'

and ends

'My first love will tell her
how he came to die so young.

My father will ask her to tell him all about me.'

Please read the rest.


Another poet we enjoyed was Luke Kennard, hugely talented and so young. He made everyone laugh with his ode to the murderer, making sure that the murderer did not forget that he was a murderer. 'He likes my jokes.'

Stephen is a born performer, walking back and forth, gesturing wildly or precisely, a natural actor. He also swears - a lot. He's animated and is a great communicator, through conversation, poetry, hand strokes, hand shakes and broad smiles. In his introduction, Todd said: 'People think it's Gyllenhaal' (with a hard G) - 'They're wrong!' cried out Stephen to a big laugh. Todd then told those who didn't know that 'these loins' had 'created so much talent', namely Jake and Maggie who are going from strength to strength. Todd called Stephen's poetry funny and passionate and it really was.


Stephen began by talking a little about 'this strange family, backlit', surrounded by microphones and living in Hollywood. Of poetry, he said: 'Poetry dismantled me... It's so precious to me, so important to me.' 'Sonnets are wild!' 'I'm not a particularly sane person'. Stephen read, with great emotion, The Man and Photosynthesis, about the Hollywood Hills and feeling safe (but 'poetry fucked that up'). He also read Grammar, a beautiful poem - 'a tiny space - to my son - the rhythm and the rhyme.'

'The beauty of what's you I knew when you arrived
In blood and tiny fingers, reaching blindly at it all'

Stephen introduced another poem for Jake, 'At 25', by remembering Jake's own visit to London and his appearance on stage in This is Our Youth. Stephen recalled how Jake had not done theatre since high school and he was known for never knowing his lines. 'I was so terrified every line he was going to forget' and back stage, Stephen 'burst into tears'. Both this reading and that of Maggie's poem 'Watching You Strip/My Daughter' were too emotional to describe in cold words here.


Stephen fininshed by reading his latest poem – the 'first fucking poem I've written in a while', called, I believe, Tree surgeon.

I'm grateful to Stephen for putting up with my excited questions, for being open and for being so friendly, warm and generous with his handshakes and armpats. I got an autographed copy signed to me and poetry, but I came away with much more than that. And again, I'm proud of the warm welcome the Gyllenhaals can expect to receive in London Town.

Tomorrow, we'll be back on track but I thought a poetic interlude can never be a bad thing. For copies of Stephen's book (which Stephen told me he does want to find a way to sell directly in the UK), please visit here.


Pictures from WDW, Todd Swift and Claptrap. Poetry extracts by Stephen Gyllenhaal and Susan Grindley.

Jake - 'It's a little bit of a tease'

Yesterday I posted a link to an interview Jake recorded for Capital Radio during his flying (swimming) visit to the UK in October. In it, Jake mentioned that he was an active member of the American Civil Liberties Union. One way that Jake is guaranteed to raise funds for a cause that he believes in, as well as create a moment to treasure for the lucky winner, is to auction his time on set during Brothers and to share a lunch. One such auction is over and now another one is beginning.


'Actor Jake Gyllenhaal has generously decided to auction a second chance to visit the set of one of his upcoming movies AND have lunch with him, with proceeds benefiting the ACLU of Southern California! The winning bidder may bring one guest to share in this experience! The winner of this auction lot will visit Gyllenhaal on the set of Brothers, filming in Santa Fe, New Mexico through mid-January 2008.' The auction ends 14 December.

Today the auction begins for the kites we mentioned a few days ago, which are being sold for the Afghanistan Relief Organization. Originally we thought that these would be designed by the stars, including Jake and Reese, but it looks like they're just signed. However, it's definitely kite flying season and, if you want to fly a kite, you may as well fly one with Jake's name on it - but, whatever you do, don't let go. The auction ends 15 December.


Rendition interviews

Here is another video interview with Jake talking about Rendition, this time with Heather Newgen for Coming Soon. Of interest in this interview - aside from the good looking fella in the blue shirt - is when Heather asks Jake if it had been challenging for him as an actor to play a character, Douglas, for whom there is no escape whatsoever. Jake responds 'I think that being in the middle of the action without much to say or to do, just to observe, is what I... it kind of gets me off - I like that struggle and that's why I liked the role... It's a little bit of a tease.'


To provide another perspective, here is an audio interview with Peter Sarsgaard, in which Peter discusses his experiences of working with such great actors as Meryl Streep: "Listen, I get excited to work with actors who are good... I'm more nervous trying to act with someone who's not gonna, you know, hit the ball back."


A tribute to Brokeback costume designer Marit Allen

The Daily Telegraph has published an obituary of British costume designer Marit Allen who died on November 26. Among other projects, Marit was the designer of the iconic wardrobes of Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist. 'Marit Allen was the only costume designer to have worked on more than one of Ang Lee's films. She worked with him on Ride with the Devil, Hulk and, in 2005, Brokeback Mountain. For Brokeback Mountain she, Lee and the cinematographer, Rodrigo Preito, studied Richard Avedon's book Photographs of the American West. Marit Allen said: "Heath (Ledger) was deeply involved with his character. He worked with his clothes, using everything he wears to convey Ennis' repression - the jackets, done up; the cowboy hats, to hide behind. Between him and Jake (Gyllenhaal) the hats became an integral part of what they were doing."' It's difficult to imagine how the clothes worn by Jack and Ennis in Brokeback Mountain could have been more evocative of time, place or character, or how any actor could have used the clothing - especially the hats - with any more feeling for their characters' questions and struggles than Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger.


And finally

Thanks to those of you have sent in or who are working on your Jake highlights of the year, and photographs - keep them coming to wetdarkandwild@googlemail.com, so that we can show Jake what a fabulous 2007 he's given us.

Includes pictures from IHJ and InStyle.

Jake - 'It's amazing to me the things that people say about movies I've been in'

When Jake Gyllenhaal popped over to London, ostensibly to do the Jonathan Ross show, he was one busy gorgeous movie star. In addition to a full load of video and newspaper interviews, Jake also did the UK radio shows. We've already heard a couple - most notably the sweet and funny interview Jake did with Heart Radio - but here's another one. This interview was recorded with Jodie Ross for London's Capital Radio. Although too brief, there are some great moments here, and these are my favourites.


By the way, to illustrate this post I am using the new/old pictures that I Heart Jake have wonderfully and thankfully just posted for us all, knowing as they do, how we are all missing Jake at the moment. These pictures were taken in June 2006 - in NYC with Maggie and then in LA.


When Jodie asks Jake if he already knew about the practice of extraordinary rendition, Jake shows how well informed and aware he is - up to date with the news. In addition to listening to the radio, 'I read the newspaper pretty avidly, not just the cover but three pages in.' He is also an active member of the American Civil Liberties Union. Jake says 'It's always important to have a good time on set, to joke around and enjoy yourself in any job you do', but that the subject matter of his own scenes in Rendition, unsurprisingly, didn't let itself to jokes. Instead, the effort went into looking after Omar Metwally, and providing a cathartic release for them all. They would let him 'out of the chains', sit him down, feed him, give him drink. All the time aware that this torture really was going on in the world whilst also trying to stay apart from it.


Jake is asked how he deals with the rumours surrounding himself and Reese Witherspoon (this interview, of course, predates the Rome Film Festival) and Jake remarks how strange he finds it that actors are automatically linked together. 'It's amazing to me the things that people say about movies I've been in, parts I've played, things that are going on in my life that are either similar to the parts I've played or are not at all. But I think everyone always has to laugh these things off.'


On a lighter note, Jodie reminds Jake that he has been listed in Elle's Top 10 sexiest men and has been named as America's hottest bachelor by Interview. After protesting, but then hearing the names of the publications, Jake jokes 'That's legitimate, I guess... OK, I'll take that!' Jodie asks Jake why he is the hottest bachelor in America: 'I just have so many wonderful qualities... I'm just a great, great sexy bachelor.' But when asked how he feels about the Oscar buzz surrounding Rendition, Jake replies 'sceptical'. He laughs but I don't think he's joking.

Listen to the rest by going to the link on this page.


19 December - let's celebrate

As we all know, 19 December is Jake's birthday - always a special day, and so, to mark it, I'd like to celebrate Jake and his Gyllenhaalics by commemorating some of our own favourite, maybe personal, Jake moments of the year. This has been an incredible year, with two outstanding films released, a new relationship revealed, a new film begun. Then there are the Film Festivals and the red carpets trodden, the TV interviews and those funny moments of pure Jakeness - Jake swimming the Atlantic, fending off Gooberballs lady (I still maintain that was not me, despite rumours to the contrary), his friend desperate to catch the ball at the Red Sox game, the baby poo, the cooking, the modern dance movements - and so much more! There are funny quips or serious moments of reflection.


I could go on and on but I would love to hear which moment pulled a string in your own heart or tugged on your funny bone. I'd also like you to pick your favourite picture - this doesn't have to be from 2007, it can be from any year. It could be from a film or it could be Jake out and about, in the street or in front of the cameras. You could have taken it yourself perhaps. Through your favourite memories of Jake for the year, we can celebrate his birthday while looking back on an amazing year. I would love to hear from you so please email me at wetdarkandwild@googlemail.com (the link is at the side); whatever your language, wherever you're from, let's show Jake what a time he's given us in 2007.


The picture above is dedicated to Positively Pia and her new arrival. Pictures from IHJ.

So what's going on in Santa Fe? And Zodiac's Satellite nominations

A few little snippets of information and hearsay are making their way out of Santa Fe and the set of Brothers through to the outside world, and especially to this bit of the world which is rather missing Jake Gyllenhaal. We know very little but according to witnesses, students or lucky paid extras, the house where much of the film is set has been built at the soundstage at the College of Santa Fe. Extras have been taken on to join Tobey Maguire in the Afghanistan warzone, children (or at least one) have been hired to play Tobey and Natalie's youngsters and, by looking at IMDb, the castlist is growing almost by the day (which isn't hard because just a few days ago it had a grand total of three people on it).


According to the news site Santa Fe New Mexican, last Thursday filming took place at the Green Onion in Santa Fe. The Green Onion is, by all accounts, not only a fun sports bar, it is also the only Irish pub in Santa Fe. But someone who saw what Jim Sheridan had done to the place for the movie, had this to say: 'Driving down St. Michael's last week, La Mitotera was shocked, shocked to see the Green Onion had vanished. Or moved? Or something? Then she realized that the building had been painted a darker color, had a snazzy American flag in its satellite dish and was now something called Tommy Phelan's. A little slow on the uptake, she took another look, noticed the lights, cameras and action and realized that Santa Fe's favorite sports bar was preparing for yet another close-up in the movies. Brothers was filming inside the Green Onion (and outside obviously judging from the paint job) just as North Country had done in the past. It had quite the patriotic feel to it, what with the flag and the red, white and blue!'


As for offduty hours, a poster at IMDb saw Jake and Tobey at his gym in Santa Fe, while last week, the 'brothers' were also spotted at a party at the Cowgirl, for the Santa Fe Film Festival. Now the Cowgirl's a place that sounds like fun.


One of the 'new' actors attached to Brothers is Ray Prewitt who plays 'AJ Owen'. Ray's site Fancy Catfish has a description of a rather intriguing underwear scene with Jake and Natalie. 'Hollywood will call you to send in tape for one of those q-rated roles and you will get to be in your underwear with Jake Gyllenhaal and Natalie Portman. oh, did i mention it was just me in my underwear. just me. in my underwear. them? fully clothed. me, underwear. yep. oh yeah, Jake makes fun of my body too. yep. yeah. hairy underwear ray. yep.' Gotta wonder.


Zodiac's Satellite nominations

The nominees for the Golden Satellite awards have been announced and, while there is unfortunately no mention of Jake, Zodiac has pulled three nominations. Brian Cox has been nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, James Vanderbilt has been nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay and Harris Savides has been nominated for Cinematography. The awards themselves will be presented on 16 December.


Includes pictures from Santa Fe New Mexican, IHJ and American Cinematographer.

Jake on Zodiac 'an odd love letter to the destruction of these people'

With Jake away in New Mexico, combining filming with visits to the Santa Fe Film Festival, it gives me a chance to be indulgent and focus again on one of my favourite events from a great year - Cannes. Seven months later, on a cold and wet December Sunday, it does me good to remember that hot sunshine, blue skies, white tents and red carpets.

Jake Gyllenhaal à Cannes (Hebdo Cinéma)
Uploaded by Rubyowen

Jake, along with the rest of the Zodiac party, stayed at the fabulous Hotel du Cap in Antibes, providing a stunning setting for some of the best interviews we've seen from Jake this year. It's interesting to read, though, what this glamorous scene, with its fragrant gardens and views over the sea, for the journalists who were shepherded over to do the interviewing. Andrew Pulver recalls the experience of interviewing David Fincher for the Guardian in the Cannes equivalent of Fort Knox (you can read the interview that resulted here).


'Upon reporting to Warner Bros' office in central Cannes, I and two other journalists, are led to a minibus and driven for 20 minutes along the winding coast road. After negotiating a couple of posts manned by headset-wearing security types, our driver is given a punchcode that then enables him to get the bus past yet another security point blocked by a retractable metal villa. Half a mile down another narrow lane, we are deposited outside the gate where a couple of official-looking women are waiting.


'These, it turns out, are from Warner Bros, and they lead us, moist and perspiring from our trip, into the airy enclave within. We wend our way through a jasmine- and acacia-scented garden, with your correspondent, at least, feeling like a chimney sweep about to be presented to the town beadle. Suddenly we come out on to the rocky coastline, and it's back to business.

'A dozen or so plastic marquees (the kind you might set up for a beach barbecue are scattered along the shoreline. (The Med, not having a tidal flow, doesn't really have much in the way of sandy beaches.) We three interlopers are corralled in the "hospitality" tent; we are candidly told by our minder that "we don't want you wandering about". A map on a nearby table reveals that each tent has been assigned a specific purpose: "Jake Gyllenhaal photo/TV" or "Chloe Sevigny print". I am led towards the tent designated "David Fincher print", and sit down. I am left alone for 10 minutes while Fincher is called down from the hotel itself, some distance away.'


At this site, you can listen to a podcast during which Jake is interviewed by Ambrose Heron about Zodiac, which, rather strangely, Jake describes as an 'odd love letter to the destruction of these people, if that makes any sense.' He goes on to describe the experience of working with David Fincher and expresses his admiration with his director for pulling the ensemble together. 'It takes a lot of balls from a filmmaker to establish three lead characters and then leave some of those lead characters out of the film for long stretches of time.' This interview is worth listening to if only to hear Jake say Tsotsi.


You can read more about David Fincher's impressive attention for detail here. 'I wanted it to be a movie about people, and I wanted it to be about the '70s in San Francisco that I knew growing up. So when in doubt, I would reference old photos and go, like, "Yeah, that's about how many Volkswagen Bugs you'd see on the street, so that's what we'll do."'

As for the surreal aspect of Cannes, we've read this before, but it seems apt to remember it here - an account of the Zodiac press conference.


'[The press conferences] are usually presided over by Henri Behar, a veteran French journalist with swept-back silver hair who looks out from the podium at his fellows with what seems like ill-disguised disdain, and they generally amount to a search for a sound bite in a tide of banality. The stars and directors of the films are shamelessly flattered and they seem to do their best, but illuminating answers are at a premium. Do you think that Jake is considered one of the most promising actors of his generation? someone asked David Fincher, director of the serial killer movie Zodiac of his star Jake Gyllenhaal. Gyllenhaal, sitting alongside, responded with a creditable show of self- mockery and he had fulsome, if impenetrable, praise for his co-star Robert Downey Jr. Working with Robert is like working in the eighth dimension, he said. He tells a Chinese journalist: “I love your shirt”.

'Perhaps none of it is supposed to mean anything anyway since much of the time the press conferences seem to be about establishing a mood rather than conveying information. Even so, the spectacle of journalists applauding, asking for autographs and taking pictures with their mobile phones is a strange one.'


Pictures from IHJ and Just Jared.