Jake on becoming an action star: 'I'd never want to do anything if I looked at it like that'

This holiday weekend Indiana Jones is the film to see. Four years ago, over Memorial Weekend, another blockbuster was released to great public anticipation, largely due, perhaps, to some impressive CGI. Many filmgoers may well have left the theatre with Jake Gyllenhaal on the brain - I know I did.



When The Day After Tomorrow opened in London: 'The premiere was met with a climate change demonstration, plus a one-man protest on the roof of the Odeon cinema by a man dressed in a Superman costume. Writer and director Roland Emmerich, who also made Independence Day and Godzilla, said he would not be making any more disaster movies. "I know this will be my last disaster movie," he said.' Until 2008 and 2012, that is.


A few days earlier in NYC: 'If you sit on the steps of The Museum of Natural History to catch some sun on Tuesday, and notice how spanking clean everything looks, thank the producers of The Day After Tomorrow. At the premiere of the global warming/ice age-themed film, machines spewed soap bubbles all over Central Park West, soaking attendees and baffling passersby. Ruining their shoes on the sopping white towel of a carpet along with stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Dennis Quaid were Kirsten Dunst, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Saarsgard, Al Franken, Ja Rule, Chelsea Clinton and Ian Klaus, and Susan Sarandon, whose daughter Eva Amurri held hands with an unidentified handsome date. We can’t imagine the environmental effects of the dry white gook coating the front of the museum and surrounding trees. We asked a staffer what exactly it was. “Oh, you know. White stuff.”'


After the premiere, there was quite a party: 'After the screening in the museum's Le Frak theater, about 1,000 guests moved to a party in the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life. The party itself was toned down compared to the large-scale arrival event. Restaurant Associates' catering included passed hors d'oeuvres and a buffet with pesto ravioli and a cubed watermelon and goat cheese salad. Pretty decor including white lilies and roses recalled the snowy demise of thousands of Manhattanites in the film—a quiet bit of irony amid the festive party with dance music and martinis.'


You can read an interesting account of what it was like to attend the NYC premiere here.

As for the 'white stuff' that stood in for snow during the filming of TDAT, Jake told Entertainment Weekly, 'Whenever I sneezed, it looked like a mixture of...well, never mind. It was disgusting for months after.' Incidentally, I did enjoy this article's account of the wolf scene: 'On the massive Montreal set, star Gyllenhaal, late of such very non-actiony films as ''Donnie Darko'' and ''The Good Girl,'' gets his cheeks pinked and bangs frosted, then begins an odd chase scene around the freighter, as he flees from...nothing -- the wolves will be added later. After a few takes, Emmerich remarks to his young actor that he's terribly fleet of foot. Gyllenhaal grins beneath frosty eyebrows and replies in perfect movie trailerese, ''Faster's better: Bigger...faster...funnier!''


'The film's cast and crew, for their part, seem pleased (and slightly puzzled) with ''DAT'''s environmental side effect. ''I can't believe a movie has to be the warning,'' Gyllenhaal says. ''I mean, fly into Los Angeles one day and look at the smog.'' ...and Gyllenhaal is remarkably unruffled at the possibility of becoming America's next action star: ''I'd never want to do anything if I looked at it like that -- I'd be like, F -- - it, I'll just stay home,'' he says. ''I'm really tired of people taking big summer movies too seriously, you know? We should all have a little fun.''


Jake and Reese out in LA and Brentwood over the holiday weekend

Because it is a holiday weekend after all, it's not been surprising to have had torrential rain all day, almost up to TDAT proportions - well, not quite. And it turns out it's not only raining in England. There is holiday weather in LA too. With grateful thanks to IHJ, we have new photographs of Jake and Reese out in LA this weekend, not only once but twice! The second set were taken outside Katsuya restaurant in Brentwood. Thanks, Stephanie.







Pictures from IHJ and links.

One hell of an adventure

A highlight of this holiday weekend is the return of Indian Jones to our theatres, which, more than ever, puts me in the mood for the advent of a new adventure hero on to the big screen - Prince Dastan, Prince of Persia. Instead of hat and whip, we'll have silks and scimitars, and instead of tanks and trucks, it'll be chases by parkour, with almost every inch of the landscape - urban and rural - utilised with high energy and power. And right at the centre of all the action and the source of the energy will be Jake Gyllenhaal.



Last year, Latinoreview, that great source for all things PoP, published a preview of the Prince of Persia Sands of Time script. There are light spoilers but there is also great enthusiasm for the script's faithfulness to the spirit of the highly regarded games. The verdict is that this is 'one hell of a script' and that: 'Prince of Persia is one hell of an action adventure script which will be sure to thrill general audiences and fans of the game. I can’t wait.' Neither can I.




The preview also mentions that big element of the game and movie - Parkour - for which Jake has been doing all of the physical training to stunning effect (with hopefully that ankle injury well healed): 'What is also super-cool about the script is the use of PARKOUR. Parkour is a physical art of French origin, the aim of which is to move from point A to point B as efficiently and quickly as possible, using principally the abilities of the human body. It is meant to help one overcome obstacles, which can be anything in the surrounding environment — from branches and rocks to rails and concrete walls — so Parkour can be practiced in both rural and urban areas. The Prince of Persia games utilized Parkour and it is cool to see it intact in the script and a part of the storyline... Parkour is finally going to be given a worldwide audience with Prince of Persia. Because of the incredible athleticism and shape you have to be in to practice Parkour, I would think that narrows down the choices to play Prince of Persia’s lead character – DASTAN.' The choice has, of course, been narrowed down to one (Thanks to a reader for the link).



Despite a WDW reader reporting that archaeological excavations of a royal burial at a Persian palace had revealed evidence of spandex and the possible remains of a Nike swoosh, there has been speculation about the garb that Jake will be wearing this summer (setting trends no doubt). Here are some ideas (thanks to everyone who sent me pictures).






It's encouraging to see that a shirt is clearly not considered necessary by many. And I'm liking the armbands, the swathes of fabric and the concentrated expression (although I'm not so sure of the goatee). I'm also not so sure that this look is practical for Princess Tamina, although the prince looks appreciative.


Another update on Nailed (again)

This is becoming a regular feature at WDW - an update on the problems hampering the Nailed production and a prediction on when work will resume. According to Hollywood Reporter: Capital Films' 'head of business affairs, Ray Reyes, said a high-profile commercial bank and bond company were on board Friday, working "feverishly" to close the deal... Production is expected to resume Thursday. Reyes said the financial problems are a result of a financing deal that fell through... "Obviously, five weeks into production was not how we planned to do this," he said. "Things didn't work out as originally planned with what we were doing and we had to fall back on a contingency plan. The whole chapter will come to a close, thank goodness, when we close our loan."'



'Despite the setbacks, Reyes said the project has only lost a few days and while a shutdown was not expected, he said it comes at a time where the producers were rearranging the production schedule anyway. A source close to the production said it already was planned to start a Thursday-Monday production schedule - rather than Monday-Friday - following the Memorial Day holiday because many of the scenes being filmed are in public buildings, including the state capital.'


So, all in all, this sounds quite promising (again) and it also means that Jake had better put his feet up this holiday weekend, because next weekend is going to be a busy one on set (hopefully...).


THINKFilm, of Capitol Films, has some big films on show at Cannes but, according to this report from the film festival, 'the company's presence at the festival so far has been reserved, almost timid.' Not surprising.


Includes pictures from IHJ.

The Curse of Nailed - On, off, on, off, on, and off again.....

It's the end of another working week and that can mean only one thing in the world of independent film making - Yep, Nailed is off again... For the third time in almost as many weeks, the plug has been pulled on Nailed - for the second time by IATSE - because wages are not being paid. According to Nikki Finke, there 'are no plans to resume filming until next Thursday at the earliest' and the film is already more than a week behind schedule. But incredibly and fortunately 'both co-stars Jessica Biel and Jake Gyllenhaal are hanging in even though these shutdowns are a major pain in the ass for them and Russell and everyone else connected with the movie.'


The Prince of Persia is not due to start filming until July, but schedules will inevitably tighten and breathing space lost. It's like watching traffic lights, trying to keep an eye on the filming of Nailed. Hopefully, Jake, Jessica and David are stoical and can find something to laugh about over an evening pint. Jake at least has the compensation of knowing that the Prince of Persia is unlikely to be laden with similar troubles.



I was sent this picture today (thanks!), which presents an alarming picture of what we - and Jake - may expect from Prince Dastan in terms of pantaloons.


Includes pictures from IHJ and FITSNews.

Nailed back on schedule? Shopping on Main Street, 17 May

According to the Columbia Star, Nailed is back in production, with all financial assurances in place. There's an interesting line at the end of this article: 'Movies, like construction projects, can't get financed without a completion bond, so there's an industry-standard likelihood of seeing Nailed in a local theater within the year.' Let us hope that's the case.

Jake forgets the first law of shopping

Many thanks to IHJ for tracking down high quality versions of these pictures from 17 May and Jake Gyllenhaal's break from the troubles of Nailed back to LA - in this case on Main Street in Santa Monica. I love to see Jake shop but he clearly didn't read our advice to him the other day regarding his previous shopping experiences, and he forgot to take his shirt off. The interesting caption from the photos says that Jake and Reese had attempted 'to join two different yoga classes, without success'. So two classes turned Jake Gyllenhaal away? That would never happen here.



Incidentally, I once lost a hire car on Main Street, Santa Monica, and since then I have always recommended photographing one's vehicle.




I will admit to having had my curiosity tickled by this sequence of photographs.




Pictures from IHJ and Posh 24.

Every inch the charismatic prince - Jake goes PoP and escapes 2012

It is clear that for some, Jake Gyllenhaal is an unlikely choice for the role of Prince Dastan in Prince of Persia. One can only assume that these commentors come from the gaming world and have had little experience of the cinema since the days of Donnie Darko. Clearly, not enough people saw Jarhead. But a lot of people will see the Prince of Persia.


The news that Jake will indeed be the Prince of Persia was broken by Hollywood Reporter, who gave us some background: 'In the fantasy adventure, Gyllenhaal will play Dastan, a young prince in 6th century Persia who must join forces with Tamina (Arterton), a feisty and exotic princess, to prevent a villainous nobleman from possessing the Sands of Time, a gift from the gods that can reverse time and allow its possessor to rule the world. Doug Miro and Carlo Bernard, Jordan Mechner and Boaz Yakin wrote the script, which is based on the games created by Jordan Mechner. Bruckheimer is producing, while Mike Stenson, Chad Oman and Patrick McCormick are executive producing. Bruckheimer praised Gyllenhaal as "charismatic" and has high hopes for Arterton, who tested for the role. Bruckheimer declined comment on the "Persia" budget other than to say, "It's not one of our smaller productions." Production is set to start in July in Morocco and England.'


Variety added more from Bruckheimer: '"He's a wonderful actor," Bruckheimer said. "He's someone I've been watching for a long time and somebody I've always wanted to work with."'


While we know Bruckheimer for the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, British director Mike Newell has directed some gems over the years, including Dance with a Stranger, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Donnie Brasco and my own personal favourite Enchanted April - all of these films have been characterised by fine acting, attracting to more than one project actors of the calibre of Miranda Richardson for example. And just as Maggie Gyllenhaal is to act in a future film directed by Sam Mendes, Jake will now be acting for one of his sister's past directors - Newell directed Maggie, Julia Roberts and Kirsten Dunst in Mona Lisa Smile, back in 2003.


And as for the nonsense that Jake doesn't look Persia enough....just remember this and I think this picture says it all.


However, a note of warning: not even that most follically gifted of actors, Jake Gyllenhaal, can be expected to grow the locks modelled by the videogame Prince of Persia by July. This means two possibities: we will either be spared the long hair or we should brace ourselves for pictures of Jake in extensions.


The other film

Almost at the same time that Disney was announcing that it had its Prince, Columbia Pictures was telling Variety that it had chosen its lead for 2012, the forthcoming disaster pic by The Day After Tomorrow's Roland Emmerich. Fortunately, and that's putting it mildly, Jake's name is no longer associated with this and, instead, the leading man is another unusual choice - John Cusack. The other leading name in it is Chiwetel Ejiofor. (This actor always reminds me of when I was watching the BAFTA coverage back in 2006 and Jake was interviewed on the red carpet - he told the interviewer that he had given an award to Chiwetel and was proud of the time he had taken to make sure he pronounced it correctly, obviously well aware that some have not given him the same distinction.)


These choices, for 2012, Prince of Persia, Iron Man and The Dark Knight, may suggest that studios are looking for something a little different to entice savvy audiences into the theatres. In some cases, this may be desperation while, for others, it could be a fine move, and give familiar genres an unfamiliar twist. It's also interesting - at least to me - that both PoP and 2012 have fast turnarounds (if the strike holds off in the case of 2012) - both begin filming in July and have release dates exactly a year on.


Talking of familiar - here is the plot of 2012 from Hollywood Reporter and quoted here: 'Cusack is in talks to play divorced dad, writer and sometime limo driver Jackson Curtis, who goes on a heroic journey to save his family. [Chewetel] Ejiofor plays Adrian Helmsley, an idealistic science adviser to the president who also becomes a hero.'


Includes pictures from IHJ and Slashfilm.

Update: Jake is the Prince! - Comedy Jake: 'I'd like James Franco's head.'

Typical... I publish a post and what happens while I do it? Yep, Disney announce Jake Gyllenhaal IS the Prince of Persia and Gemma Arterton is his princess! This is great news! You can read all about it at Variety.


On with the post... (with a quickened pulse)

Jake Gyllenhaal is currently - hopefully - filming the comedy Nailed and while there has been some doubt on whether this film will be actually funny (the heroine has a nail in her head and another leading player chokes to death on a cookie), there is no doubt that Jake is a funny guy. Anyone, even the most tightly pursed-lipped viewer, who has ever seen a talkshow with Jake on it or listened to one of his film commentaries, has to accept that Jake can tell a funny story with impeccable timing and delivery and has been waiting for a chance to display his comic touch on the big screen. Bubble Boy was funny to many, including this appreciative fan, but Jake has grown so much since then and he is ready to do an adult comedy and we are ready to laugh at it.


Not everyone has expected Jake to be quite as funny as he really is. Could anyone have believed that Jake's Saturday Night Live would have become a modern classic, featuring on DVDs and in endless repeats. We even got to see it, eventually, on UK TV but without my favourite meatball sketch, something that remains a sore point. So for a funny reminder, do enjoy this:



Away from the strict comic format of shows such as SNL, Jake has been funny on no end of talkshows, knowing just how to tell a tale, right down to voices, expression and, allegedly most importantly, the pauses... My favourite without doubt, even making me literally cry with laughter on a crowded rush hour tube, is Jake's Gooberballs story on the Rendition Letterman, back in October 2007.



And Jake tickled Jonathan Ross with his swimming.



Jake doesn't just entertain on talkshows - his commentaries are priceless, especially the one that he did for Bubble Boy, which alone makes the DVD an essential buy. All those of you who have yet to hear the commentary in its entirety can listen to a few minutes here:



It's interesting to note - not to mention peculiar - that some people have been surprised by how funny Jake is. Take this article for example, which announces with great incredulity that 'Jake Gyllenhaal is funny!' As the writer notes, we are ready and waiting for Jake to make us laugh.


We are well accustomed to the banter that is exchanged between Jake and those closest to him, especially Peter Sarsgaard. In this Rendition interview, for example, Jake had a laugh by insisting that he and Peter were dating and when discussing the beards both men were sporting: 'Peter is merely doing it for vanity—he’s really vain and full of himself (laughter). We all know he’s a bad actor, so he needs to cover himself up. I, on the other hand, am doing it for a role (in “Brothers”).'


Bubble Boy has not been Jake's only go at a comic role. In This Is Our Youth on the London stage, Jake played Warren and the reviews for his comic performance were exemplary, and the role was, of course, rewarded. Check out some of the reviews here. The Financial Times had this to say: 'As Warren in the American playwright Kenneth Lonergan's new play This Is Our Youth, Jake Gyllenhaal creates one of the great late-adolescent characters of recent drama. He's gauche, accident-prone, sweet. He keeps escaping from the clutches of a father who beats him to those of Dennis, a drug-pushing friend who bullies him. He hasn't yet made it successfully with a girl, and he likes blowing his own assets and his father's on drug experiences. Even his humour is clumsy. Trying to make conversation with a girl, he says dopey things such as: "Like, I've never begun the cigarette scene myself, but I hear great things about it."'


'The sweetness in him comes hand-in-hand with honesty. He doesn't hide the child he has been; he has no clue about what kind of adult he might be, if he should even live that long. But he's so spontaneous that wit just bubbles up in him. He's an adorable, heart-catching blunderer. But he doesn't really blunder about his feelings or his heart: he's firm about the things that matter to him, and he grows firmer as the play proceeds.'


'This Is Our Youth is set in Manhattan in 1982; it's a kind of theatre cousin to Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, set in the era of sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll. As its two acts take Jake through one evening and the morning after, we begin to see him just starting to grow up, just starting to get a life of his own. It's extraordinary from how many sides we start to see him during the play, and the peaks and troughs to which his experience takes him. Gyllenhaal's performance is perfect - and so rounded that it takes a very long time till you even begin to like this Warren, let alone to realise that he's the central character in the play.'


'I love his body-language: stiff, gawky, artless. When in doubt, he tends to grin: a grin that's apologetic, simple, sincere. His Warren's an enthusiast, or wants to be. There are things wrong with both Lonergan's play and Laurence Boswell's production, notably anachronisms. New York girls surely did not use the adjective "jappy" as early as 1982; none of us used those telephones; and did anyone back then talk of "chilling out"?'


'Dennis is a vain pretty-boy narcissist, but Hayden Christensen demonstrates that side of him so early on that the character has almost nowhere to go. Even so, Christensen handles his very long Act Two speech, helplessly revealing Dennis's absurd self-contradictions, extremely well. And Anna Paquin catches brilliantly Jessica's assured/confused contradictions, taking her to the cusp of vivid caricature without ever sacrificing credibility. It is depressing to read in the Garrick Theatre's Really Useful programme that David Garrick was a famous 17th-century actor. But it's dazzling to read there that this is Gyllenhaal's stage debut. His performance enriches the whole West End.'


Finally, Jake has come out with some very funny liners in interviews, which can only make one chuckle and puzzled all at the same time. I like this one, where Jake is talking about the insecurities he suffered on the set of Brokeback Mountain because his head was too big for the hats: 'In the movie that I'm doing now they all made special hats for me. Heath has a fine-sized head. We just did a make-up test the other day and they were all bringing our make-up in and stuff and it was like the hats were the special moment. 'Jake's special hats are coming; they're coming in!' I felt so insecure because of it... Just don't mention special hats!.. I'd like James Franco's head. That'd be a good head!' [James Franco played Harry Osborn, or the Green Goblin's son, in the Spider-Man movies.]


And then there is quite possibly my favourite of all Jake's quotes, taken from InStyle magazine, way back in 1999: 'There are three things I'll never do again: eat Play Doh, run with scissors, and keep my ice cube collection in a shoe box.' Following that advice, one need never go wrong.


Whether or not Nailed turns out to be funny, we can count on many more comic gems and turns coming our way from Jake through the course of his career.


Includes pictures from IHJ and the Seattle Times.