WDW's LA Roving Reporter; Jake Gyllenhaal tells us to fear the 'cute and cuddly'; AccentGate and much, much more

Prince of Persia opens tomorrow in the UK and not surprisingly that presents me with a challenge the size of a great big Alp. I cannot even think about how to think about how to put all this stuff in one post. So, instead of fretting, I'll grab both swords by the hands, leap off a collapsing rooftop or two and thrash the post out, mercilessly, like Nizam. Jake Gyllenhaal was seen out and about in LA yesterday, looking rather hot and helping a lady to put stuff in her car - whether she wanted it put in her car is another matter. This post includes pictures of that, amongst much, much more.


Firstly, a WDW LA Roving Reporter was there at the Prince of Persia Hollywood premiere on Monday night, noticing Jake Gyllenhaal's premiere red socks. She also noticed that the event organisers tried to rid the area of bees by spraying them (making them cross in the process). But despite the onslaught of galvanised wasps, the reporter did get a good look at Jake, in rather cramped conditions. A reminder of how small an area it is outside the Chinese Theatre. Many thanks to her for taking pictures and sharing them with us!




Ostriches: Jake Gyllenhaal has had his whole understanding of wildlife turned on its head by these outwardly pleasant and sociable birds. Hence this statement in E! 'It's important to admit your fears, Marc," he said. "They seem like very innocent birds but I'm told they could get very, very violent. You always have to watch your back. It's those things you find cute and cuddly that you just never know about." Oh, as for going up against Sarah Jessica Parker and Sex and the City on opening day, Gyllenhaal mentions Carrie Bradshaw & Company's trip to Dubai and Abu Dhabi. "But If you wanna see people who really know how to ride a camel," he cracked, "then you really should see Prince of Persia."'


Also in this interview, in addition to claims to being able to sing, we - horribly - learn that Jake hurt his hands and shoulders in this film. Not that he got a lot of sympathy from the hardened stuntmen. This actually reminds me of an interview with Mike Newell in Time Out London (see scan below), where Mike says of Jake: 'I'd known Jake for a long time because I'd known his parents and worked with his sister, but I'd never worked with him. His face is his fortune. He looks like he has one layer of skin fewer than anyone else; he's tender and vulnerable in a way that a lot of people aren't. But then he made himself into an action hero. I saw him do it, step by step.'

This Time Out interview also provides fascinating insight into what it's like for a director to work with Jerry Bruckheimer. Quite extraordinary.


Working with a feisty Brit: In Look (see scans), Gemma Arterton has this to say of Jake: 'Yes, he's absolutely gorgeous. Prince of Persia propels him into Brad Pitt status. he has a lot of time with his shirt off - which is great for us ladies - so he wanted to look great. He took it really seriously, training in the morning and the evening. I prefer to go home, veg out, watch TV and try and forget about the day... We took the piss out of each other: I used to say 'Stop wearing sunglasses indoors,' and he'd say: 'You little commoner.' I like that. I don't like it when it's serious. Often you go on film sets and you just meet the person that day in make-i[, then you have to kiss them and it's weird.'

In this video for MyMovies - Jake has something in turn to say about sharpshooter Gemma. He also describes in that the Jerry Bruckheimer factor: 'Don't worry, Uncle Jerry's got you!'

The hair: Jake Gyllenhaal went into prince of Persia knowing that a Jerry Bruckheimer movie almost by definition requires Bad Hair Days. Just ask Nicholas Cage. And that gives Jake the perfect opportunity to try his hand at a Nic Cage impression...



Jake tells the BBC: 'I've buried the hair - it had to go.' Making it sound a little bit like French textbooks the night before an exam. Jake also has this to say: 'It's a really hard job being a sex symbol [laughs]. I don't think people realise what real strength it takes and that it's a day in, day out pride-swallowing siege. I spent three months learning the accent, hundreds of hours learning the choreography for the sword-fighting - the technicalities of this role were pretty intense, but they were fun while I did them. Since I was an eight-year-old kid I watched Indiana Jones, The Goonies and ET. If you'd had told that kid that he would be the Prince of Persia I think his head would have exploded. It's been a dream since I was a kid.'


'As I get older I'm finding that I want to have fun and be taken a little less seriously. And I wanted to fulfil the dreams of those movies I loved watching, like Robin Hood with Errol Flynn. There is a sense in this movie of what it is - entertainment. People keep saying 'what a great romp', which I've never had anyone say about a movie I've been in. Brokeback Mountain - what a great romp! I've never heard that before. This is just doing something that you'd never expect yourself to do. I'm not afraid [of a franchise]. It would be an honour. I think about kids saying 'you're the Prince of Persia!' That, I wouldn't mind being locked in to.'


Accent: We've heard Jake's PoP accent described (in rather local terms) as NW5 (Sir Ben Kingsley) and Dagenham (Essex - by Mike Newell: 'Sir Ben is utterly sweeet, but he doesn't know his London postal regions worth diddly s**t".)' [This is a video below, just click on Sir Ben.]



In this same BBC feature, Gemma offers her tuppence worth: 'Jake is a brilliant actor. They were thinking outside the box with him but knew he could do it. He takes the work seriously but not himself. We had jokes on set which helped with our relationship in the film. His English accent is Estuary - I think he based it on me! I think it's the best English accent I've ever heard an American actor do on screen. He'd speak in it all day.'

I would insert a joke about the Estuary region here if I had no fear of people from it...



Meanwhile, Sir Ben calls Jake 'physically perfect'. 'Jake is delightful as an action hero. He is physically perfect, exuding confidence in a likeable way. I don't think there was a wasted or frivolous moment on set.' I will relish Gandhi all the more now.


Music: Jake talks to IGN some more about his love of music: 'music is my main influence' - something I'm sure many here would empathise with. As well as talking about Vampire Weekend, Mumford and Sons and The Temper Trap, Jake also gives a pub to Die Antwoord a South African rap band fronted by Ninja! Jake said visit the site, so like the obedient Gyllenhaalic that I am, I did. Here it is.

Jake Gyllenhaal Stars Interview - Music

Future projects: in this other IGN video, Jake talks about Love and Other Drugs - a 'dramedy' (I can honestly say I have never heard that word before) and Source Code, which will, if he told us about it, 'warp your brain' and that 'Duncan [Jones] is a visionary.' I can definitely echo this statement: 'If you haven't seen Moon, you have to see Moon and it's so good - and he's doing it again.'

Jake Gyllenhaal Stars Interview - Upcoming Projects

And finally, the SportsCenter video on the previous post has gone, but now you can see it here:



As I mentioned, Prince of Persia is out tomorrow here - so if, like me, you're off to see it and you want to talk about it, my review's at MovieBrit. I want to know what you think! I'd like to keep all spoilers away from WDW but they're more than welcome at MB.

Tonight Jake is hosting a screening of Prince of Persia in LA and over the coming days he'll pop up over US and Canadian shows - list to follow tomorrow.


Many thanks to the LA Roving Reporter for the premiere pictures, IHJ for the Beverly Hills pictures and to myself for the scans :) Thanks to Jake too.