UK trailer for Source Code gives us nothing new but Jake Gyllenhaal reveals much in an excellent new interview

Source Code now has a UK trailer which, albeit a little shorter, seems extremely similar to the previously released and excellent US trailer. Nevertheless, I'm never going to turn up my nose at a new trailer and so I've spent some time trying to spot the differences. Thanks to my good friends at Bleeding Cool for posting the trailer.



What I can tell you is that interestingly there isn't a single new scene or moment in the UK trailer. Instead, about 24 seconds of plot has been removed (Vera Farmiga's description of Colter's alterego Sean Fentress) and some moments of extra clips of Michelle Monaghan and Vera Farmiga. No more 'He is now you'; no 'concentrate on the passengers' and no '8 minutes and I blow up again' (in a rather fedup voice). Here is the US trailer again for comparison.



Time Out has a feature on Jake Gyllenhaal today, in which it sounds as if the scub adiving with walruses may have been put on the backburner. ‘I was thinking about scuba diving in the Arctic with the walruses and killer whales – seriously! I was thinking about doing something that scared me and that freezing cold water with huge sea creatures sounds kind of scary. I’d like to mark the time by doing something frightening and then something that deeply comforts me, being with my family and friends and the people that have surrounded my life over the last 30 years.’Sounds sensible to me - if Jake fancies doing something scary and challenging, he could do worse than Christmas shopping in Oxford in the snow...


Here's the rest of the interview, which includes the very intriguing news that Jake has more of an eye than ever (possibly that's not a real phrase) on directing in the future. Not that he plans to give up on his dayjob... But what beats all is this answer Jake gave about why he's done so many different types of role in his career, a topic that has fascinated me:

Q: 'You’ve spanned many different genres and roles in your career. Is this a conscious decision? ‘Yeah, that’s how I work, even in a take. I never do the same take twice, It’s something that frustrates certain actors. Maybe it’s an issue of trying out different corners of my mind. I love my audience and I try to make movies they haven’t seen before, explore something that hasn’t been explored before. Sometimes work is work and you just show up but I feel more and more an obligation to listen to what I believe in.’

I love this: 'I love my audience and I try to make movies they haven't seen before'.


On working with Anne Hathaway: ‘Definitely, we learned a lot about each other. Being naked together is intimate, but less so than being emotionally intimate. She had a tough time sometimes and I would have to guide her through and vice versa. Anne is a very serious actor; she played a woman with early-onset Parkinson’s and she may have taken her character Maggie’s struggles into the process. A lot of it was me saying, “It doesn’t matter if it’s any good.”... You can’t really be worried if anything’s going to be good. I think worry is the stupidest emotion – there’s nothing you can do about it.'


Differences between Jake and Jamie: 'I found myself being a little more adventurous. But Jamie has an obnoxious and manipulative confidence, and it seems embarrassing to me to walk up to somebody and to lean in and try and sell something. Essentially what my character is doing in the movie is avoiding his feelings and I try not to do that.'

Q: Do you believe that one romance can change your life? 'I do, yeah. You can meet hundreds of people and you can have an amazing time, an interesting time and learn something, but every once in a while there’s someone that comes along and you’re just: pouff!'

The future: ‘I’d love to explore other aspects of the film industry. I grew up in a family who told, wrote and directed stories and I’d like to move in that direction. When you’re writing, you can come up with all different ideas, and when you’re directing you have power over different elements, not just one. I see the future in creating not just performances but hopefully whole stories... I have a number of things that I’m developing. That’s probably where the future is for me. I mean, I’m not gonna quit my day job; I’d like to see how it goes.’


Q: Which genre would you choose to direct? 'I love stories of family and relationships, but I do love sci-fi, because sci-fi gives an opportunity for so many elements to come into play and the ability to look at reality from any angle and let your imagination go wild. I have quite an active mind.’

Source Code: ‘Yes, with Duncan Jones [‘Moon’] directing, about a man who wakes up on a train who is not in his own body and has to figure out why. We had great fun coming up with all the ideas. That was thrilling. Some people find great comfort in context. I find great comfort in variation.’

Christmas: ‘We have a family Christmas. We all get together and spend time with my niece [daughter of sister Maggie] and just deal with all the wonderful complications and love that is my family.’


Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway were interviewed on Nemone on BBC 6 Music this afternoon. Interestingly, the interview was sandwiched between songs picked by Jake and Anne by Kings of Leon and Mumford and Sons. Jake and Anne were both asked about their albums of the year - Jake picked, not surprisingly,Mumford and Sons 'Sigh No More' plus Laura Marling. Anne went for Yeah Yeah Yeah and Karen O. Do keep an eye on the members section of the forum later.

Includes pictures from IHJ.

My review of The King's Speech is now up at MovieBrit.