Shades of Jake Gyllenhaal

This week, the UK's broadcasting laws were changed in order to allow product placement for the first time on (some) British channels. In order to mark the occasion when we shall first see wildlife presenters with designer labels hanging from their binochulars as they creep through the undergrowth and TV chefs more interested in their utensils than their ingredients, I thought I'd join the club and use a celebrity for some product blog placement. I thought about which celebrity to pick and pulled a random name out of thin air - Jake Gyllenhaal.


Jake Gyllenhaal was born to advertise products and we have previously discussed the Jake Gyllenhaal Shopping Catalogue (look out for the soon-to-be-released 2010 issue). I thought it would be more subtle today to focus on one product, even though it does have the disadvantage of concealing one of nature's delights - Jake's blue eyes. Loved by many, feared by others, and copied by some, sunglasses fill (I pleasantly imagine) a considerable part of Jake's bedside table.


It's like another language that we must learn in order to understand the ways of Gyllendom: persol, aviator, pilot, mosley tribes, wayfarer, ray-ban. Until I took the oath and became a Gyllenhaalic, I imagined these eye-protectors were merely known as 'sunglasses' or, if a little exuberant, 'shades'. I am humbled now by the extent of my naivety. I am now beginning to realise that, if you are a movie star and a devastatingly attractive human being to boot, sunglasses are a vital element of one's wardrobe and you can never have enough brands. Sometimes you want metal bits, other days you don't want metal bits. Sometimes you want a dark charcoal, sometimes you want tortoiseshell. Sometimes a gentle teardrop shaped lens to cover your eyes, sometimes a hulking great elephant ear shaped lens to hide your entire head.


It's a well-known fact that movie stars have better vision than us. This must be true because they wear sunglasses indoors as well as outdoors and need them at night as well as during the day. Stars also do not have cases for their glasses, preferring to hook them over their shirt necks.


It's not only Gyllenhaalics who are interested in Jake's choice of sunglasses, designers, shops and consumer sites also like to encourage us. We too can dress like Jake, (and get his sunglasses for under $10). If you're like me and not able to tell the difference between one set of Jake's glasses from another, here is a guide to three of them.


Jake is due to begin filming Love and Other Drugs in Pittsburgh tomorrow and so I hope that the people of that city are now well prepared to identify Jake in all these brands. The fact that Jake's sunglasses are normally accompanied by a coffee will help the unfamiliar Gyllenspotter.


Other news

IGN has released more pictures from the Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus. These include images of Colin Farrell, Jude Law and Johnny Depp as well as Heath Ledger.

Clifton Collins Jr features in Brothers and, in an interview with Latino Review, he had this to say about the director and the cast: 'I play Tobey's commanding officer. I send him out on missions, debrief him, etc. Jim Sheridan is an awesome filmmaker, I mean his body of work are all films that I can literally sit down and study/watch over and over. The cast, of course goes without saying; I was in great company!'


Includes pictures from IHJ. Sunglasses modelled by Jake Gyllenhaal.