Many thanks to IHJ for posting the picture below of Jake Gyllenhaal from last night, which is beautiful and inspirational. It merits a second post of the day.
IHJ have also given us new pictures of Jake and Reese driving around Washington DC on 22 June...
...and judging by Jake's outfit (although Reese's is different), one wonders if this was one of those trips to Rita's during which Jake and Reese posed with fans. I googled Rita's and I discovered it sold ice custard. Frozen custard? Can custard be frozen? Is ice custard a good thing?
Talking of food and drink, because there's been a bit of that, during the DC sojourn, there was this account today of Jake and Reese watching the first Nats game on Tuesday. They were 'Tuesday evening at the Potenza bar, sitting close to each other while they watched the Nationals game. Dressed supercasually, the pair drank Rosa Regale while enjoying the Margherita pizza. They later went over to the Potenza wine shop where they purchased a half case of wine.'
(Witherspoon’s fellow star, Jack Nicholson, picked up a to-go version of the same pizza Saturday. After all, if you can’t trust Jack with a food recommendation, whom can you trust?) Today: 'Jake Gyllenhaal is on M St in Georgetown w/ Reese Witherspoon right now. They were just in Hu's Shoes. Both wearing baseball caps.'
The Red Sox beat the Washington Nats last night in DC and Jake Gyllenhaal was there to watch (or chat) looking so hot my eyeballs have melted. No sign of any hat pledging allegiance but, judging by the red t-shirts behind him, Jake was hopefully cheering on his old Boston favourites as they won 6-4. Many thanks to the Washington sports blog for spotting Jake behind the nets.
Updated to add... pictures of Jake on a second visit to the set of How Do You Know? taken last night. The hat is back. This time there are also pictures of Jake with Paul Rudd. And more information on the crossword breakfast here.
PoP sizzles and teases in Amsterdam
At a Cinema Expo Presentation in Amsterdam 'May opener "Prince of Persia" from Jerry Bruckheimer was teased in a sizzle reel.' Let us hope that we see the reel and get our own sizzle teased in the not too distant future!
And finally...
And on an entirely off topic note - I roamed over some local Roman villa remains yesterday evening and thought I'd post a piccie or two, courtesy of the Get Jake to Oxfordshire Tourism Branch of WDW Productions.
Last night was a late one for the cast of How Do You Know? and it included a visit by Jake Gyllenhaal to the set in Georgetown.
Further evidence that the night was a late one comes from none other than Andi Peters, much loved and adored by any child and teen (including myself) of the 80s and 90s who had a thing for Ed the Duck. First, Andi announced that he 'Just stood next to Jake Gyllenhaal whilst queueing in a shop' - this was about 1am - and then that 'The shop was Rite AId, it's like Boots (with food and drink). He bought some Budweiser, I bought protein shakes.' Budweiser.... this from a self-proclaimed drinker of Stella Artois. I fear the world as we know it may end.
Another report has Jake and Reese and others indulging in pomegranate (deep breath) margeritas at the Mexican Oyamel restaurant in DC, which has the most extraordinary menu of tequilas known to mankind. Not only that, the chef gave them his cookery book. A further description, and recipe, of the margarita in question from the Oyamel bar menu: 'Oyamel Pomegranate: A twist on Jose’s favorite with pomegranate, Partida agave nectar, Patron Citronge and Jose Cuervo Traditional $11.00.' I'll have a jug, please. Cheers!
Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon have been spotted all over the place in Washington DC over the last couple of days, in National Gallery cafes, looking at Cezannes and Monets, in restaurants (with Jack Nicholson and the lovely Paul Rudd, no less), watching Angels and Demons(?), drinking Margaritas, and doing crossword puzzles over the morning pastries. This photo helps to set the scene.
We hear 'Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal doing the New York Times crossword together over breakfast yesterday morning at Georgetown's Le Pain Quotidien -- gym clothes, shades, baseball caps (Jake's with a Nats logo!). And then, hmmm, what do you know, they just happened to leave the paper behind ... and they filled it out in ink. And mostly got it right! The Monday puzzle, but still. The movie stars (she's shooting here) seem to have struggled with 57 Down, "Workplace watchdog org." (Answer: "OSHA"; a few more weeks in D.C. and they'll ace that stuff.)' Now, you too, courtesy of an aesthetically pleasing and professional bodge by WDW Operations Ltd, can do the same crossword puzzle... Click and it shall be embiggened to print.
Should you wish to cheat, you can find the answers here. Top 100 Sexiest Men on the Planet
Heat Magazine has this week published its Top 100 Sexiest Men on the Planet list. And despite having had little film exposure over the last couple of years, Jake is on the list, so look below to seek him out. As is proper when presenting a survey, I have included here the entire results for serious and scientific analysis and comparison.
Number 1 is not a surprise in these vampire and twilight days...but I don't agree with the result at all and so I've shrunk him.
I get back home after a workout at the gym and what do I find but pictures of Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon going home after a workout at the gym? And while my workout has left me looking like a complete wreck of a human being with distressed hair, severe leg cramps, and in dire need of a stiff gin and tonic, Jake and Reese look as fresh as daisies dancing in a cool summer's breeze. I'm clearly not doing it right. Jake also has a new hat. Please note how I'm not mentioning the matching gym outfits.
These pictures at last prove true several days of twittering. Jake has been spotted, with and without Reese, in various Starbucks, cafes, restaurants, theatres and launderettes (I might be making that one up), predominantly in NW Washington DC and especially in Georgetown. Off topic but many years ago, I spent some hours on set with Tom Hanks in Georgetown. He put a young English girl totally at ease, sitting me in his special chair to watch him film the same scene over and over and giving me my love of the movies.
MY favourite sighting was posted at Jake-g-fans: 'I was working at the Georgetown farmer's market in Washington D.C., and then he was there buying vegetables. He bought $25 worth of cherries and strawberries and greens from our stand. And he was so sweet and gorgeous and conscientious and amazing and ohmygod, I SWOOOOOON. I was like, "you look just like Jake Gyllenhaal!" And he was like, "ahh, about that. That's me." And I almost fainted. But then I wouldn't have been able to sell him cherries! He walked around for a long time going from stand to stand. I wanted to ask him for a picture or autograph but I could tell he was trying to be low-key about it, so I didn't. But I wanted to! And he was asking tons of questions about the vegetables because apparently he loves to cook and HE COULD NOT BE MORE PERFECT.'
This is such a good sighting and almost makes me forgive Jake for buying, and presumably eating, cherries, which are the most horrible, horrible excuse for a fruit and which make me feel giddy just at the thought of them.
Off topic (again) but today in Oxford I noticed that filming was taking place at one of the colleges. It turns out the college had been taken over by Bollywood! I took two steps backwards.
One of the many remarkable aspects of Brokeback Mountain, and the credit for this belongs as much to Ang Lee as it does to Jake Gyllenhaal, is how Jake was transformed from cityboy to cowboy. It wasn't easy for Jake, who had to get used to a lot more than just riding a horse that might throw him off in an instant.
'Yeah, I was naturally out of place there. I mean you're naturally out of place when you're a city boy anyway. As I walked into those bars I felt uncomfortable just as Jake. I'm not the kind of guy who walks into a bar and takes four shots; I'm just uncomfortable sitting at a bar. So it helped the idea that Larry and Ang and Annie were trying to tell with their story. You don't need to do much.' (Empire interview)
Cowboy bootcamp beckoned. '"He's a city boy. You could never make him look like a cowboy," the director laughs. He sent both Gyllenhaal and Ledger to cowboy school, although the Aussie actor came to the movie with a full set of skills, the thought of which inspires more chuckles from Lee. "Heath was always bored." The training was a necessity for Ledger's co-star. "He needed a lot of work, riding horses and doing chores, like moving back fences – spending half a day doing that – wood chopping, sheep tending, giving him splinters and bloody hands, and all that. Just rough him up," Lee notes.'
'From the director's standpoint, it was necessary for Ledger to take part in these sessions, as well, no matter how dull he might have found them. The idea was to bond the actors together, experience that became valuable when they started rehearsals and began discussing their characters. "What's their body language? How much Heath allowed the other person to come close to him," Lee explains, citing a few examples.'
One gets the feeling from many interviews conducted by Jake about Brokeback that Heath Ledger was an enormous influence for Jake on set, making him feel more comfortable when so clearly out of his element. Jake described one of his favourite scenes in the film: 'one of the best scenes in the movie for me is when Heath goes to the truck and punches that guy and gets thrown across the road, that makes me cry every time. Cos, one, I know it was the last day of shooting for him and he asked our wrangler, who is the guy who he punched, "Let's really fight; I really want you to beat me up" and he really got thrown across the cement.'
This is such a good interview, not least because it contains the immortal line: 'I've gotten so much flack about not getting naked and I am so open to getting naked'. Very good news.
Ang Lee had his own learning curve to climb, to get author Annie Proulx on board: 'Lee smiles as he jokes about how he pursued Annie Proulx in Wyoming and over dinner, persuading her to allow him to make her story into a movie by taking part in a regional delicacy. "I was very afraid of her," he says. "She’s very authoritative and serious. We were having dinner and she ordered some Rocky Mountain oysters and started smiling. I could tell what it was. I know there are no oysters in the Rocky Mountains," he continues, adding that the mood at the table became friendlier as the night wore on. "She said women are not supposed to eat them, and started smiling again. After a couple of drinks, she really loosened up," he says, laughing. "I guess she thought I was all right as the director of the movie." Lee says he was pleasantly surprised by the flavour of the bull’s fried former pride. "They’re pretty good. Lots of protein, I’m sure."'
A reader kindly posted a link here recently to a reminiscence of the Director's Guild Awards Dinner and Ang's nomination (and win): 'All of the honorees from film and television were present, with actors from their projects presenting them. Ang Lee ("Brokeback Mountain") was introduced by the quiet, softspoken Heath Ledger and the charming and gregarious Jake Gyllenhaal. They talked about what an honor and a privilege working on the film had been and how Ang's direction helped them grow as actors. When Heath and Jake introduced him, they both started to tear up and gave the director hugs when he reached the stage. The soft-spoken director took a moment, looked back at them with a smile, turned to the audience and said, "I don't know, guys. That felt kind of gay to me."'
Another report tells us what Jake and Heath said. '"Ang Lee is fierce in his timidity, his humbleness and his respect for everyone around him," Gyllenhaal said as he presented the diminutive director with a medallion in honor of his nomination. "He's frustrating and so damn wise." Ledger was equally generous with praise, thanking Lee for "introducing us to these delicate characters." "It took a delicate man to tell this story, and that's you," Ledger said. "I don't know about you," Lee said with a laugh, "but that feels a little gay to me."' Below is a visual reminder.
Finally, in a joint interview with Matt Damon, Heath recalled his own challenges on Brokeback: 'I mean, look, it was kinda like signing up for boot camp for I don't even know how many weeks I was out there, 15 weeks or something, but it was tough. It was a lonely experience, but it was definitely a real sense of accomplishment once I finished. It scared me s**tless. I was absolutely – I had so much fear for the project and the story and, you know, had to be brave. I definitely came out thinking, 'F**k, I can do anything' you know? It was a beautiful story, a beautiful script.' Q: Can you elaborate on what scared you? LEDGER: You know, the idea I had to make out with Jake Gyllenhaal for one, which, just wasn't the easiest thing to do.'
'DAMON: You found making out with me pretty easy though. LEDGER: It was dark and I was drunk. (Laughs) This was daytime and there was a lot of lights. (Laughs) You know, so that, it was just I had to do some things I've never done before. It was also like the aging process, I had to age from 18 to 40 and do that subtly. And there's not a lot of change between the age of 18 and 40 really. So I decided to do it in my accent. I staged my accent in pitches, so it was higher when I was younger and deeper when I was older and I tried to make it subtle. I've seen the film and I think it's, I'm not sure whether it's the most brilliant film I've seen or just the worst film I've seen. I've just come to terms with the fact now that I cannot transport myself when I watch myself in movies any more. I just think I'm crap in anything I do.'
And it turns out Matt was pretty close to doing the project himself: 'That's a beautiful script, Brokeback. I read it years ago. In fact, I was gonna do it years ago. Gus read it and wanted to do it after Good Will Hunting and I read it and I loved it. But I was going off to do Ripley and then All the Pretty Horses. So I said, 'Gus, I'm going to do a movie about, quite frankly, a guy who's gay, and then I'm going to do a movie about a cowboy. I shouldn't then just do a gay cowboy movie.' (Laughs) But I loved that script, I loved it. Larry McMurtry [wrote it].'
But, just as it was meant to be, Jake and Heath and Ang made Brokeback together and made it what it is and what it always will be. To give the last words to Heath (from the Tonight Show) '"It's a gorgeous script and God Jake's cute," said a smiling Ledger.'
One expects an actor to know how to express himself with his body but even so, the artistry with which Jake Gyllenhaal puts his hands and fingers to work when put before the camera is spellbinding.
Whether it's to animate a funny anecdote, to emphasise a passion, or simply as part of a self-portrait, Jake's enthusiam in interviews and press conferences pours through his fingertips.
As David Fincher says in his Zodiac commentary (for the scene when Jake translates and writes out the Zodiac code in the San Francisco Chronicle office to Avery): 'We had to retouch the knuckles of this scene because Jake's hands are very hairless and pretty. The double that we had doing a lot of the writing and drawing had much hairier hands, so we went back and retouched the knuckles so Jake wouldn't feel like we'd done him a disservice!'
Sometimes with rings, more often without, with an occasional freckle and despite nails sometimes chewed, Jake's hands and fingers are beautifully expressive and reflect perfectly his animated conversation and gift for communication. I hope that soon we'll enjoy this again.
As for the most perfect example, look no further - I need only say Jakes on a Plane.
Tent don't look right
Last night was Pet Shop Boys night in the O2 arena, or Millennium Dome. If there was a theme it was cubes Dancers and set wore boxes of colour. It wasn't an emotional show - the duo didn't connect with the massive audience - but it was perfectly choreographed and executed and it was a work of art. As for the Dome, I didn't know what to admire more - its construction with the great orange/yellow struts or for its array of restaurants. It even had dodgems...
And finally
Thanks to PlayUSA, my copy of Confessions of a Shopaholic arrived today and so time to settle down, with the pause button handy, to this.
This post is dedicated to Gretchen and all other lovers of Jake's hands. Includes pictures from IHJ.
