'Most stunning: Jake Gyllenhaal. Virtually all actors look better onscreen than in life. Gyllenhaal, chiseled and magnetic, is a rare exception. His female counterpart would be the jaw-dropping Bryce Dallas Howard.' Others include 'Most thoughtful: Ang Lee. The soft-voiced, slow-spoken "Crouching Tiger" director wasn't afraid to look into his past or his psyche to figure out why he has one of the most diverse, satisfying bodies of work in film.' By contrast 'Most stuck on himself: Ben Kingsley. Insisted on being called "Sir Ben" and explained in finicky detail the differences between being a classically trained actor and an actor with classical training. Not exactly Gandhi, eh?'
So without doubt (and no bias here, of course..), Jake is the most stunning of film stars, but what is he like? At the very beginning of March, the LA premiere of Zodiac took place behind closed barriers at Paramount Studios and without the presence of Jake. But, even in NYC, Jake may have felt his ears burn. In the first video (which also features interviews with John Carroll Lynch, Chloe Sevigny and others), Robert Graysmith is asked what he thought of Jake's performance: 'I love Jake's performance! Am I the luckiest man in the entire universe?'
In this second video, Chloe is asked if she kept Jake's character in check: 'I tried. He was really a sweet boy, very young, surprisingly, but he had a great spirit and enthusiasm and professionalism and that's all you can hope for... Not an inflated ego, he was actually very... a really nice boy.'
Dining with the Gyllenhaals
According to a sighting, Jake, Maggie, Peter, Ramona, Naomi and Stephen had dinner together on Christmas Eve at Babbo's in Greenwich Village in NYC. Babbo's is run by family friend Mario Batali who is a big believer in having a family experience around the dinner table while enjoying Italian food (with local, handy ingredients) and fine Italian wines. I should point out that I'm writing this post at dinner time and I have yet to eat...
The desserts at this restaurant are legendary so I've been through the menu and selected my favourite: 'Chocolate Hazelnut Cake with Orange Sauce and Hazelnut Gelato $12'. For main course it would have to be the Grouper but without the pancetta (not a very veggie or fishy menu). The wine philosophy speaks to my heart - it encourages sampling and discovery. And there are almost 2,000 to choose from. The wine list is reason enough to make a reservation - a month in advance, to the day.
And finally...
This picture below is irrelevant but I was reading a review of Chris Rock's current tour of the UK and it reminded me of this photograph.
Includes pictures from IHJ.
41 comments:
oh WDW... you know we trust you entirely when you said Jake is EVEN more stunning in person... we don't need no male movie critic honestly stating that JAKE IS THE MOST STUNNING film actor.
but boy... do I love hearing that confirmation one more time :)
it's nice to revisit the Mario Batali video with the Gyllenhaals as guests :)
haha.. you know what? when i watched that "potato peeling" scene in BBM, I thought, "this is someone who can cook", because you can tell from the way Jake peels the potato, so comfortable with the knief... lol.. wasn't Jake supposed to be "pretty good with the can opener" only?
Hi Winterbird - it's so atmospheric at the moment, it's all dark, I can hear the rain lashing down and I have Zodiac on the TV, a glass of Californian red and I'm talking Jake :D
Absolutely, you can't get any more STUNNING than Jake! I love that I've said it over and over and here's a sensible critic agreeing with me :D It's just true. (ooh, this wine tastes like chocolate...)
I love the Batali video too (isn't he supposed to be off doing a cookery tour of Europe with Gwyneth around now?). But remember Jake's parsley cutting wound! A year ago now. Is he an easily distracted chef I wonder or one, like me, who has to have an open bottle at their side as they cook, ala Ellen?
I saw I'm Not There in the end by the way and absolutely loved it! I had no idea Heath was THAT sexy in it. I've been playing the soundtrack all evening until now, when I'm about to rewatch Zodiac with the commentary.
I agree! Heath is SOOOO sexy in there. Kind of represent the vain and wild side of Dylan... but, heath just looks so good.
No Zodiac for me tonight... hubby was rolling his eyes already when he saw the Zodiac Director's cut DVD.. like "do we have this DVD already?". :P of course, i didn't tell him why did i buy "Once"...
parsley cutting wound... that only proves what a serious chef Jake is... i mean, my herbs come in chopped and ready in a bottle!
Good point about the parsley Winterbird - I never need to cut mine either. I made Mr WDW watch the making of Zodiac feature last night and he was giggling through the Jake bits because it's accepted that Jake is part of the family!
Heath looks soooo good in INT! I need the DVD and the pause button...
Catching up on some amazing postings, videos, etc, etc! It can't be said enough, WDW, that you are the tops! Thank you. :)
I still haven't watched all the videos yet but I did see the Jake and fam BBM premiere video and it was such a joy to see how close they all are. How they all seemed so proud of Jake and the back rubs and seeing Stephen video taping it for prosperity.
How I crave Gyllenhaal NYC sightings! I have eaten at Babbo a few times and spent a lovely New Years Eve there a few years ago. It is a wonderful restaurant and the food is as amazing as they say. I filled out a comment card and got a very nice note back from Mario himself! Very nice that the Gyllenhaal's spent Christmas there.
Keep the Zodiac and Rendition love coming...right on. Just finished the DVD commentary and Jake and RDJ are just the best. It was like a lovefest from both of them. Robert gave Jake some wonderful compliments on his performance and Jake had some very interesting behind the scenes details. I just wish they could have done the whole thing on their own. They were not given enough time, having to share the track with the three others. They need to do a comedy asap!
Jake stunning....of course. He is beauty inside and out. Good on that writer. ;)
^^ that should be posterity, not prosperity. :p
Get Real Thanks so much for that! Wow! You had a note from Mario himself! Dead impressed :D It looks a great place and the next time I'm in NYC, hopefully this year, I'm going to try and eat there.
I'm glad you enjoyed the videos - don't worry about the others, they're going nowhere. I loved that one with Stephen with the camera.
I'm watching the Jake and RDJ commentary again tonight, right now, I just love it. I agree, more would have been good - never enough! Thanks *)
O gosh WDW today's post sure stimulates the salivary (and etec)glands! Thanks, I guess.
Menu for Babbo's Christmas Eve - ! ! !
A third of a bottle of champers (haha Britspeak) with friends today has made me ready for bed early. Maybe I'll wake up. Maybe Z DVD commentary with Jake and Robert will get me.
Hey Positively Pia - let's get the champers out and enjoy that commentary together :D
Aww bless, everyone loves Jake, don't they? Hardly breaking news, but lovely to hear:)
Due to unforseen circumstances I haven't managed to watch much of the Zodiac DVD yet (and when I did manage to put it on I kept rewinding the bit at the start where he says "Hey, this is Jake Gyllenhaal" *triple mega swoon*) but I'm hoping to rectify that tonight:)
That Chris Rock pic:is that a bald patch on the side of Jake's head?!
OH I saw the report about Jake being the most stunning. Very nice.
I loved that chocolate hazelnut cake too, maybe we can both order it. I have to admit that I was not all that crazy about the rest of the menu, but then I don't have that fancy tastebuds either. I've seen Mario Batali on Iron Chef America and he does tend to cook upscale food.
I have seen that Vid with Mario and Jake and maggie :D
oh btw that was me Trekfan :D
Hey TL - they do indeed - or if they don't they need their head 'examining'.
I've had the same problem with the start of the Zodiac commentary - I have to keep listening to the beginning over, and then over again. I've got to the bit where Jake talks about having to eat too many carrots :D
I've scrutinised that pic - hmmm, not a bald patch, surely, just a bit of stubborn parting. Just look at that dazzled woman in the middle - how can she not look at the man to her right?
Hi Trekfan :) I'm unable to post anything about a Mario restaurant without doing that link! I love to see Jake cook :D The overall menus is pretty red meaty, which is not to my taste at all, but I'm counting on Mario doing a daily veggie/fishy special - care to join me? :D
Mario has wonderful pastas and fish dishes. My fave being the pumkin ravioli and the beef cheek ravioli. Although he has a lot of beef and some traditional Italian dishes that are not my taste either. But overall the food is rustic and comforting as is the restaurant. The deserts are heaven as well.
^^ desserts.
Hey WDW! I'm glad I'm not the only one having that problem with the start of the DVD! I wonder if there's a way I can record it to use as my anserphone message;)
You're probably right about the "bald patch" - not that it would put me off! I think the woman in the pic is using every last bit of willpower not to look at Jake, she obviously doesn't want to end up collapsing in a heap on the floor!
That dessert with the berries (I've forgotten its name already) looks absolutely delicious. I might try making it next time I decide to do some baking, it'll make a change from my pineapple cake "speciality" !
Get Real - I believe the desserts and the 2000 wines could make up for a lot! This could be the place for a NYC get together :D
Hey TL - that's a great idea about the DVD opener - I've played that over and over tonight... Yummm, pineapple cake - one of my favourites. I reckon Jake would like that :D With my baking skills I can only offer him flapjack :\
Ok, I'd just like to put it on record that Jake is welcome to come round and sample my,ahem, world famous pineapple cake ANYTIME;D My carrot cake's not bad either, if I do say so myself, but after Zodiac Jake's probably had enough carrots to last him a lifetime (I just watched that bit):D
Hey TL - I'm still stuck on that bit as got sidetracked by looking for pictures of Jake in a tux with his tie undone :D I can do flapjack with chocolate on it, or banana cake? Jake might like that... :\ I do a very good veggie sausage stew...
Lol! That's as good a reason as any to get sidetracked:D Veggie sausage stew sounds yummy! So that's sorted - you take care of the main course, I'll sort out the dessert and we'll keep the flapjacks as back up in case we're so distracted by Jake that we burn the lot! Actually, on second thoughts,Jake's the Master Chef, I say we let him do the cooking and we just sit back, drink the wine and enjoy the view;D
Great idea TL - why should we do all the work when Jake's a whizz in the kitchen? We can just supply him with wine and make all the appreciative noises as we dig in :D I could have trouble sleeping now - guess I'll have to listen to more commentary (like the bit where Jake complains about driving that revolting bright orange car)
You're all amazing - I don't do cooking, at all. I do no cooking. OK, I cooked pasta for hubby *once* in September and he was full of praise even though there wasn't enough. But it was like the dog reading the sermon, you know. Hub chops his own parsley without incident.
A visit to Babbo might be on the cards next time we're in NY - I can lie about it being anything at all to do with Jake :)
Yes, Jake is the purtiest in the flesh as we all knew.
I like Graysmith and Chloe S. a lot.
Nite WDW and all here. *
Hey Anouska! Jake likes pasta, so you don't need to be able to cook anything else ;D this is starting to sound like one of those "dream dinner party guests" conversations - us lot here and Jake, perfect! All we need is a venue. I say we have it at mine, as long as Jake stays behind to help me with the washing up;)
I haven't watched the bit with the orange car (you're right WDW,it is vile, but very 70s). Off to watch the rest now, night everyone xx
Night Anouska * We may have to add NYC to our plans! You might not be a cook but I can imagine you're a whizz mixing the cocktails ;) I love Robert and Chloe :D I need to sleep - but I have whiskey to drink and the commentary to watch/listen to.
Hey TL - I ay live in a studio apartment but there's plenty of room for Jake ;)
I love the idea of coming up with a dream evening meal - I'm gonna thing on that one...
The car is vile. It even makes my car (called Percy) look good. Jake wasn't so keen on the multi-tasking of acting while stopping the car from rolling down the hills of San Francisco!
Some random thoughts and reactions:
--I have never eaten at Babo's and don't even know where it is. I probably couldn't afford to eat there in any event.
--But don't worry about me. Every Saturday I cook and eat a five-course Italian meal, though some of the individual courses are not Italian dishes. Usually there are calzones for the antipasto course, and Italian greens for the salad course. Today I had a tuna-cannellini-pepper antipasto, and spaghetti with chili sauce, and a green salad. The second (i.e., main) course was turkey chowder, which is not Italian. Neither was the apple-mango crisp for dessert.
However, I have made tiramisu and various kinds of cheesecake in the past..... Biscotti are beyond my skill level. :-( Whenever I try to make them, I end up making apple calzones instead. ;-)
--I am happy to learn that "Zodiac" has received a WGA nomination for screenwriting. I really feel very strongly that David Fincher should be nominated for Best Director. Nothing less!
Hi Paulh - that sounds delicious and a lot better tha my attempts at Italian cuisine - although that is my favourite type of food and I wish I did it better. Looking at Babbo and other restaurants in the US just shows me how expensive London is. Prices of places like Babbo's seem so reasonable here for a good restaurant. I'm certainly with you on the matter of Fincher getting a best director nod. He truly deserves it :)
everybody across the pond is sleeping, it's about time for me, too.
Zzzzzzzzzzz?
WDW, Jake in tux with shirt open and bow tie hanging loose? Quoting Jake from Letterman show: "give it to me"
I love how Jake hates to be constrained. I feel that Zodiac script asked alot of him in this respect. Commentaries fascinating. More, in the morning.
G'nite everybody in the EST time zone!
I was quite literally raised in an Italian kitchen, sitting under the table banging a wooden spoon on Grandma's collander! LOL!!! I think I must have learned to cook by osmosis, I don't know when, but I know how!
Mario's got a much more sophisticated palate than I ever experienced. My cooking is Neopolitan based. Italy is very regional and things from one place are very different from another.
I read an amazing book, called HEAT by Bill Buford, who sometimes write for the New Yorker about food and chefs and restautrants and cooking. He apprenticed himself to Mario at Babbo's and wanted to learn to be a chef. Eventually he travelled to Italy to study. That's essentially what the book is about. I loved it. And I learned a lot about Mario. Mario LOVES his wine. And he is a prodigious eater!
The guy from the Charlotte newspaper definitely has an eye for beauty. I'd say "stunning" is a pretty good word. Yeah.
Morning (just about here) everyone :D Up sooo late again watching Zodiac.
Morning Pia - definitely - Jake found so much about Zodiac constraining, including those shirts. It's interesting in the commentary when Jake talks about a couple of scenes where he was able to relax more and be more himself - or those chances when Robert revealed more Jake-like characteristics.
Bobbyanna - that sounds wonderful! I bet you'e a bloody good cook. Although I've spent a little time in Italy, mostly when a student, most of my 'knowledge' of Italian food comes from some of the wonderful Italian restaurants around here, which of course take their influences from everywhere including local English ingredients. Always set off with a hearty Italian red. Mario's food appears quite heavy too me but I would love to know mor about it and his wine vision (I love cookery programmes and books about food). I'm going to see if I can get hold of that book by Bill Buford from Amazon today. You've inspired me!
Errr to get back on topic (not that it's possible to go off topic here), a quote from Alison on This Morning to Jake: 'You're quite fit in real life.' That seems to support the Charlotte observation - as if it needs supporting :D
Have great Sundays :)
Hey, all. RL has kept me from posting, but NOTHING keeps me from reading! WDW, you are a gem. All this talk of Jake's being "stunning" in person reminds me of a little story about him I read a while back -- the one of Jake at a doctor's office and a pregnant women saw him and said, "You are better looking in person," and Jake said, "And you are very pregnant in person." Cute!
Funny about prices, though. NYC looks inexpensive to you but it's outrageous to me from here in Colorado! LOL
I've been spending the last few evenings savoring all the extras on the Zodiac DVD. Fascinating. The interviews of people involved in the investigation make the whole thing even more mysterious. Love it! I do wish there were more Jake and RDJ, of course.
Good to see you Beckela! I love that story - Jake always seems to know what to say. Maybe he's getting used to people telling him how gorgeous he is in real life :D
As for prices, I think there are few places more expensive than London unfortunately. It just means that when I go to the US I feel like I can treat myself :)
I still have some bits and pieces of the Zodiac DVD to watch so that's my afternoon taken care of. Have a good Sunday *)
Have watched the group commentary of Zodiac. Did I really hear one a the guys say Mark R was hung like a horse? Did the comment about Chloe (in phonebooth) that she "gives good parka) refer to her role in Brown Bunny?
nothing has yet contradicted my originial sense that portrayal of Robert G was constrained by his presence. a common difficulty with biopics, I should imagine. I have just begun Fincher's commentary.
Lovely to have Zodiac Jake in my bedroom DVD player at last - :) :)
Beckela, I lovd Jake's comment to pregnant woman. He is kindly as well as stunning -
Does anyone know who the lady is in the pic with Chris Rock and Jake? Is she with Chris?
Just curious, because she is so petite and pretty and smiley. :D
Hope everyone is having a pleasant Sunday.
I must re-watch the potato peeling scene in BBM. To observe Jake's vegetable technique you understand, not for any other reason, nonono. ;-)
Hi Pia! I can see I'm going to have to give the commentary closer attention :D I've not heard the Fincher one yet, let me know what it's like. I want to watch a couple more features this evening.
Hey Ruby - I admire your investigative techniques and dedication to the cause. I don't know who the happy lady is - she looks lovely and what a great place to me :D
WDW, you really have to get HEAT, by Bill Buford!!!! You have to!!!!
If you like books about food, etc., you will love it.
I think that's Sasha Cohen, the Olympic champion ice skater. :)
Hi, Bobbyanna. I love to conjure up an image of you sitting under grandma's table, banging her colander with a wooden spoon :-) .
What keeps me going is the thought of making my next Saturday meal just a little better than the previous one. I'm at the point where they're all pretty good. It would be great to keep on getting better, though.
Is there really someone named Sasha Cohen? I thought the reference was to the guy who played Borat.
Thanks Bobbyanna I thin I'll love it :D
Hey Gho - that's so impressive! Thanks :D
Hi Paulh - I do like that image too and I wish I had Bobbyanna's gift :) Have a good night :D
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