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.