[Updated] Jake Gyllenhaal: Movies and stories 'can move people and change lives. They've changed my life'

[Update] Tweeters are now putting Jake in Pittsburgh! As so often happens, the first clues emerge from a city's coffee house. 'Quad Americano?' translation please... Great to think that soon Jake, fully caffeined, will be back in front of a camera.

All those movie journalists who can't decide between the extravagant beauty of Venice's Lido or the accessible enthusiasm of Toronto's Yorkville have now reached crunch time. Closer to (my) home, the movies for London's festival are about to be announced. One could be forgiven for thinking it's festival time! There may be no Jake Gyllenhaal at TIFF, VIFF or maybe even LIFF this year but I'll take this opportunity to meander down that bar-lined, theatre-decked, red-carpeted, fan-enraptured memory lane.


Let's go back to TIFF 2005, when Jake did more interviews than someone who gets interviewed a lot because he had not one, not two, but three films doing the rounds. All credit to Jake that at any one time he knew which film to talk about, which director to praise and which co-star to extol (or avoid mentioning at all). This interview from the Detroit News (December 2005) has been dug up from the muddy WDW archives. I like how the article starts: 'Jack Twist is a tall drink of water, a young cowpoke with dreamy eyes who rides rodeo when he can, herds sheep when he has to and plays awful harmonica by the campfire at night. And, oh yes, Jack's in love. With a guy named Ennis.' Here are some more exerpts.


'But Jake Gyllenhaal, who plays Jack opposite Heath Ledger's Ennis, doesn't see the gay angle getting in the way of audiences appreciating "Brokeback Mountain." "Maybe I'm naive or something. I grew up in Los Angeles and that might make me naive," he says. "My two unofficial godparents are a gay couple. I grew with my friends who, when I was 15, 16, were coming out. Maybe I took it for granted. "I understand that people have a response that's either pro-pro or con-con and I get that, but no... I have a feeling we're going to be surprised at who responds to this movie," says Gyllenhaal, who turns 25 on Dec. 19.'


'"I had been given the script by my agent when I was 16, saying, well, there's a gay cowboy movie. And I had said I don't want to go anywhere near that," Gyllenhaal recalls. "But then when Ang came on to it, I just knew what type of movie he was going to make," Gyllenhaal says. The result is frank, passionate and almost devoid of soppy sentiment. "I just knew he was the type of filmmaker who would get that and walk that line," Gyllenhaal says. "And that was the only way the story should be told... Heath and I were very, very clear about how we wanted both these characters to be portrayed. You do see these two men kissing, they are being intimate together, but there's a real aggression and a real masculinity from both of them," Gyllenhaal says.'


'His eyes flash as he remembers a scene where Jack and Ennis are reunited after a few years apart. "He throws me against the wall, I throw him against the wall. There's a real love and a passion between them, too, and a fearlessness that comes from the two of them," Gyllenhaal says. "It's not like what you would consider some sort of quote unquote gay kiss. It's very complicated and more interesting."'


Of the Brokeback, Jarhead and Proof triptych: 'How did he land three such films at once? "I don't know," he says. "Either really good representation ..." and then he breaks into laughter. "I did make a deal with myself. I had worked with a lot of directors who were first-time directors, and I had a lot of success working with those directors. And then I just said I kind of want to hold out for those stories that really moved me and those filmmakers that I would be thrilled to work with," he says. "So I held out... It seems all this just happened (in theaters), but it took three and a half years and six months between projects. There was a lot of free time in all of it," he says. "I took my time, I said, I'm going to try for these things, and if I don't get them I don't get them."'


'Ask him if he's ready to be a movie star, and his answer is concise: "Yes." And then he breaks into laughter. Did he take specific classes for that? "Yeah, I've got my degree on the wall," he says, laughing on. But then he gets serious. "I know it sounds strange. I've been auditioning for like 12 years now for things, and even though I'm like really young, it has been since I was 13 years old. And I just feel like you get the hang of it, you understand," he says. "I feel like when you look at (stardom) like it's just another lesson in your life, when you have that perspective on it rather than it's something that you want or you've always dreamed of or any of those things, then I think you're ready... I've been taught since I was a young kid, growing up in the family I grew up in, movies and stories of any kind are powerful and extraordinary. They can move people and change lives. They've changed my life."


'Of course, with great power comes great responsibility. "(Being a movie star) just gives me a power that I hope I can do good with, that I'm not going to abuse, that I'll appreciate. And I feel mature enough now to deal with it," Gyllenhaal says. "Yeah, I'm ready."'


Includes pictures from IHJ. As always, article available as a pdf.