Jake Gyllenhaal and a Molina PoPfest (I got to 'speak' to Alfred today!) - and no TIFFin for LAOD

This morning local time, the organisers of the Toronto International Film Festival announced a lineup of 51 galas, premieres and special screenings. Despite expectations, which were quite raised, there wasn't a sign of Love and Other Drugs in the lineup. While it is possible that additions may be made to the list through August, it's now not looking likely that we'll have a repeat of 2007. However, there are other film festivals to come, notably Venice and London. At the risk of sounding just like myself when we were waiting for Brothers, there is still a chance of some Festival Jake Gyllenhaal. A full list can be seen here.



On a brighter note, I had some fun today when I joined in a LoveFilm live chat with Alfred Molina and was able to tell him - laptop to laptop - that I enjoyed Prince of Persia and An Education. I asked him if he preferred to play fantasy or real life figures, to which he replied: 'Oooh... They're both interesting to do... Fantasy character are much freer'. I did make a brief mention of ostriches. It was a real thrill to be able to engage with a much-admired actor (I did the same with Maggie years ago) and it certainly added a touch of flavour to my porridge and water lunch. This is LoveFilm's picture of the occasion:


Therefore, it's only fitting that this post is a bit of a Fred Molina post, or a Fred Molina and Jake Gyllenhaal post, with some Peter Sarsgaard happily added to the mix. There's a bit of a PoP lovefest going on too...

Alfred on Jake: ''"Jake brings all the qualities the part needs: he’s goodlooking and talented, has a very attractive personality and is very bright," said Molina. "I’m also really impressed by his willingness to just jump in. It can be very easy for an actor in his position to sit back a little bit and play the star and let someone else carry the weight. He has never done that."'


'Molina’s own role is that of a vicious villain, who controls huge parts of the deadly desert. "(Sheik Amar), he's a lovable rogue I’d say! Or at least he’s a baddie who ends up as a reluctant ally of the hero," said Molina. "He starts off and he’s venal and self-centred and he describes himself as an entrepreneur and businessman, but he’s really a con-man and a small-time gangster with a capacity for violence. So he’s not sweet and cuddly, but he’s cheeky and a good talker and has a bit of an edge and some charm to him, and there’s also a part of him that deep down wants to do the right thing."'



Mike Newell: 'What I do think is, I think that most people don't know how to talk and certainly most people don't know how to talk to actors. There may be a slight difference. Above everything else, people don't listen. They don't listen to you. So you get a sense of an actor's potential, what he can do and what he can't do, and sometimes what you want to do is to nudge him into what he can do. Other times you want to say, "You know what? You do that really, really well. Let's do that again, but slightly differently." Fred Molina who played Sheik Amar whom I'd worked with before. He played a very straight-laced London lawyer for me, but very very funny. Now he's playing this loose disreputable stinky desert... We were talking about it and he said, "What do you think he's like?" I said, "Well, I think he's like Arthur Daley." Arthur Daley is a very famous character in this country. He comes from a TV series. He's a guy who sells dodgy cars, and I said, "I think Sheik Amar sells dodgy cars." So you start to have fun talking to them. I don't know why it is. I've always like them. I just like them. I wanted to be one. I was desperate to be one, but I was so bad. I was hopeless.'



'Just like I don't get the chance to make movies like this every day, because they just don't make 'em anymore, these guys don't get to act in them because they don't make them anymore. The opportunities in it are absolutely great. I mean, again, it's a story about Fred Molina, but when do you ever get the opportunity to raise your arms to the heavens and shout at the top of your voice, "Behold the mighty ostrich!" which is a God-given comedy line. It's wonderful. When do you get to actually kiss an ostrich?'



Jake in USA Today: '"The scariest scene in the movie is when Alfred Molina kisses an ostrich," he says. "They are terrifying animals. Anything with a brain the size of a pea and claws that can tear your face apart is really scary." The ostriches left a big impression on the animal-loving Gyllenhaal. "I've worked with wolves in movies (on The Day After Tomorrow), and on this set they treated ostriches like wolves," he says. "They literally told us they've been known to rip off people's faces. So when Fred kisses the ostrich, to me that performance is braver than Robert De Niro in Raging Bull."'



Jake spoke to Cineplex of his fear of speaking in an English accent to the English: 'When I finally got it, which was, uh a few months down the line, which I had done a lot of work to get to - it felt great. I mean, I remember sitting there with the actors for the first day I really felt like I nailed it, because at the beginning of the rehearsal period, Mike Newell, who was our director, would say to me: [adopts grandiose British accent] 'Don't worry my boy, just say the accent. Be confident!' So I'd walk in and be like you know, doing this horrible accent...I think the first time I did it, Ben Kingsley like puked into a trash can... Alfred Molina [who plays Sheik Amar in the film] was like calling his agent, 'Can, uh...is there any way you can get me out of this?' [laughs]'



In this interview with Aint it Cool, Jake and interviewer Quint admit to a shared appreciation of Alfred and regret that he doesn't feature in the footage showed at WonderCon.

Molina also, of course, played Jenny's increasingly sympathetic father Jack in An Education, giving him a chance to play opposite Peter Sarsgaard in some of the most satisfying and enjoyable scenes in the film. There's a report from the set here. 'I don’t think the Brits have got a monopoly on dysfunctionality', Alfred says - that's a relief.



To finish with Prince of Persia, Alfred Molina told the writers of the Destiny book: 'I think it's rather presumptuous of us to imagine that audiences are going to come out of watching Prince of Persua and be better people for it... If an audience walks out thinking that their ten bucks have been really well spent, then we've done our job. If they come out entertained and uplifted in some way... if it makes them curious about wanting to find out more about history... that's even better.'


Alfred: 'I don't think we've seen a member of the human species being quite so emotionally linked with an ostrich... I think we're breaking new ground here.' Alfred had thought that the ostrich he kissed was an Anita but it turned out to be an Alan. 'So I think we did the first sort of gay, interspecies kiss on film. Hopefully, they'll create an MTC Award for that category.'

Jake: 'There's not a single person on this movie who can find a bad thing to say about Fred Molina... He's just great, an actor's actor who adds light and life to the movie. Fred raised the bar, and he's just a lovely man.'



I know that a couple of these clips don't feature Alfred, but they're amongst my favourite PoP clips and I can't resist them! Pictures from Disney (via IHJ) and LoveFilm.

Just posted my enthusiastic thoughts on Toy Story 3 at MovieBrit.

Love and Other Drugs to be a Christmas treat? Persian gifts, and memories from that 'God-given action hero' Jake Gyllenhaal and his PoP cohorts

Love and Other Drugs now has a release date for the UK - not surprisingly, it's later than the November release for the US but it does mean we get a Christmas Bonus. FilmDates has announced a date of 29 December, although I must say that Wednesday seems an unusual day of the week for a movie release.


A week ago, we enjoyed Jake Gyllenhaal answering some more questions from fans and one of the questions was from our very own Silver (Erin)! Silver was promised some goodies which have now arrived and I'm delighted that Silver sent me photos to share with everyone. I wonder if Mrs Wood has received her's...





Conratulations again, Silver! And here is a reminder of the video.



At long last I have finished reading We Make Our Own Destiny which, as you may recall, I took to pieces after having the front cover signed by Jake and the back by Gemma Arterton. As a result, it's now in bits. However, there are gems in those fragments. And here are just a few of them.


Mike Newell: 'I considered lots of actors for Dastan... but Jake has a man-of-the-people quality. He's curious, open, gentle, very tough, and has great comic abilities, and in Prince of Persia he uses all of that. I saw pretty much everything he had made, and thought him a marvellous actor, with terrific charisma. But, what I didn't know about Jake was that he would be an absolutely God-given action hero. He can fight, hold a sword, run, clamber, jump, and a ride a horse as if he were glued to the back of it. And that I didn't expect. I expected the acting and the good looks, but didn't know that he could hold a sword and look like he means it - and that's not a small thing.'


Jordan Mechner: 'Any time you have a character who an audience has connected to through another medium, whether it's a novel or a video game, people are going to have strong feelings about it. But I think that if you have a good actor and a good movie, then after the first minute it's no longer an issue. I think Jake is a fantastic choice for the the role. Once you see him in costume and in action, you have no doubt that he can be the prince in sixth-century Persia.'

Gemma Arterton: 'Jake is a naturally humorous person, so we had lots of banter anyway, which kind of fed into what we were doing in front of the camera... We'd muck about on set, and Jake is easy to bounce off in that respect, because he's a funny guy. But at the same time, because he's a good actor, we could get through to all of the undertones of Dastan and Tamina's relationship, so it was brilliant. I was really lucky to act opposite Jake.'


Jake Gyllenhaal on Sir Ben Kingsley: 'Sir Ben Kingsley's work speaks for itself... which of course is why he's here. He's just an extraordinary actor in all respects and all rights, and has earned all the accolades that any actor could or would ever hope to, and we're just lucky to have him in our film. That's how I feel every day I'm working with him. He's incredibly sensitive, and I liked seeing that in someone who's so experienced. He hasn't been hardened to a life of acting in movies and onstage, He's ever learning and ever curious to what's happening, and I really respect that he could be so open to a twenty-eight year old actor who's still at the beginning of his career, and just be kind and giving.'


Jake: 'Every time I walk onto one of the sets in this movie, I just think of all the children that I know and love, and how much fun they're going to have watching this movie... The fact is, I made it for them. And if I'm frustrated about something, I take a look at the sets of Alamut, or the Sandglass of the Gods, and I just think anout how much fun the kids are going to have watching Dastan fight off the Hassansins and doing his jumps and leaps. It brings me a lot of joy to think about that, because I remember how huge of an influence movie heroes had on my life when I was young. Kids today are brought up in a very different world. We're experiencing a lot of hard sruff. So it's really nice to have a movie that's going to be a real escape and a metaphor for them that represents good. It's a nice feeling to be a part of something like that.'


'Mike is just wonderful, so smart and robust... Mike is all about performance and story, and that's his strength. Also his sense of comedy is really wonderful, very dry and British. When he tells me something, particularly in a comedic moment, it's always based in a real place.'

'There's not a single person on this movie who can find a bad thing to say about Fred Molina... He's just great, an actor's actor who adds light and life to the movie. Fred raised the bar, and he's just a lovely man.'

Alfred Molina: 'I think it's rather presumptuous of us to imagine that audiences are going to come out of watching Prince of Persua and be better people for it... If an audience walks out thinking that their ten bucks have been really well spent, then we've done our job. If they come out entertained and uplifted in some way... if it makes them curious about wanting to find out more about history... that's even better.'


Alfred: 'I don't think we've seen a member of the human species being quite so emotionally linked with an ostrich... I think we're breaking new ground here.' Alfred had thought that the ostrich he kissed was an Anita but it turned out to be an Alan. 'So I think we did the first sort of gay, interspecies kiss on film. Hopefully, they'll create an MTC Award for that category.'

Gill Raddings, animal coordinator: 'The camels on set are wonderful. They don't kick, they don't spit, they don't bite, and they don't spook at anything. With a battle raging around them, the camels just stand their, chewing their cud and looking down their long noses at everyone and everything... They can get a little moody...'


Anthony Bloom, avian coordinator (about the birds in the palace scene between Dastan and Tamina): 'One bird has a vocabularly of colourful swearwords, and another, named Peppy, speaks soliloquies in a thick Scottish accent... I just hope they don't start talking during Jake Gyllenhaal and Gemma Arterton's dialogue.'

Chad Oman, executive producer (on Dastan and Tamina's leather water bottle): 'It took five weeks of constant work to make that one bag, with elaborate stitching and beadwork.'


Sir Ben Kingsley: 'Everywhere our eyes looked, we saw the most exquisitely carved walls, drapes, ramparts... And in Morocco, nature itself, the camels, thousands of horsemen, the dust. Our sets are so detailed that even if you're pausing, like I am, half-way in a line and just breathing in, the amount of energy and information you're breathing in is extraordinary. Hours and hours of work have gone into this environment for you to act it. It's really uplifting, and it honoured our craft to such a degree.'

Penny Rose, costume designer: 'As anyone can see, Jake Gyllenhaal has a superb body... And we felt it was relevant to show elements of it without a kind of full-on torso. So we start the movie in his battle armor, which was painstakingly made in real leather - with all the ingredients and accessories - by a wonderful Moroccan craftsman. It is a big wink at the video game, because we felt there had to be an identity from the first frame, so audiences will recognize aspects of the look from the games. For riding and stunts, we had a plastic replica, much lighter, but you can barely tell the difference.'


'For Jake's second costume, the inspiration for his coat came from an old piece of textile we picked up in an old antique fair... I particularly liked the work on it, thought it had a very good identity of its own. So we remade it by hand and turned it into a coat, bound by leather. Jake loves what we call the 'spiral coat' because it's really light, he can really move in it. He's got a white linen shirt with handstitching down the front and on the cuffs, plus a sash and a belt, and a nice necklace. Jake wears boots and knee protectors with this costume.'

'But I think Jake's favourite costume is when he's disguised as an Indian palanquin-bearer for a very large Mughal in King Sharaman's funeral procession. It's metallic-embroidered red silk from India, and I must say that Jake cuts rather a dash in it, especially with the matching headdress.'


Greg Powell, stunt coordinator: 'This movie has been an adventure... We've taken nearly every stage at the studio, plus half of the Moroccan desert. It's been great fun. Jake is capable of doing it all himself, and we only use his stunt doubles when it's absolutely impossible for safety reasons.'

Ben Cooke, fight coordinator: 'Jake has to fight convincingly with two swords and a dagger, in addition to the parkour and free-running elements, and that's a lot to learn. But Jake's done it... He's rocked the party. When he gets in there, he knocks it out. We'll have him fighting, jumping, falling, sometimes up on rigs that are forty or fifty feet up in the air. Jake's all for it.'


Jake: 'I learned at the foor of people who have designed some of the most insane movie fights you've ever seen... We did a ton of fight rehearsals. I remember the first one that we did, just learning how to do simple moves, starting with a strike and parry, and slowly moving on to much more difficult choreography. It's sort of funny, because by the time we were on day ninety-eight, I walked onto set, and Ben Cooke says, 'Okay, mates, you're gonna parry him off, turn around, then he's gonna come around here and swipe under your head,' and I was like, 'Okay, no problem'. It's amazing how you start to take it all for granted once you've gotten used to the process.'

David Belle: 'Jake certainly had me convinced... I've seen his work, his movements in various scenes, and I have no doubt.'


Jake: 'My DNA now has the Moroccan desert in it, because I've definitely breathed in my share of sand... I grew up in Southern California, and the weather and topography of Morocco are actually quite similar, so it wasn't too rough for me. I had shot here before, but I'd never actually gone as far into the desert and seen as much of Morocco as I did on Prince of Persia. It's a really beautiful country. There were times, on off days, when I'd just drive and drive, just amazed at the landscapes and the culture. Moroccan people are the sweetest, kindest people, and the hardest workers. I'm really going to miss them a lot. I just think Moroccans are wonderful people.'

Mike Newell: 'The English are supposed to have this special thing for the desert, because England is so small, green, and wet... and the English can breath free when they get into vast, dry spaces. And it's true. The desert is a very beautiful and mysterious place to be.'


Conclusion: 'That final night in Erfoud, with a charter jet due to arrive the next morning to ferry the company to London, vigorous drums and music permeated the air at the crew hotel as a Berber ensemble played. An adorable eleven-month-old camel named Mounis - that looked like a cartoon character, with his ever-smiling face and long eyelashes - made the rounds being petted and having photos taken with the crew.'


Pictures with thanks from Silver and Disney, via IHJ.

Updated: Jake Gyllenhaal makes British TV interviewers go giddy, and Jake is the 'John McEnroe of Action Films'

You know how it is, Jake Gyllenhaal is on your TV set (clashing with Gemma Arterton rather unfortunately), you have lots of posting to do on your blog, and so what should happen? The big mast for Oxford goes up in flames like a huge Roman candle - result: no TV and, for a while, no internet. The good news is, I didn't have to resort to reading or actually communicating with speech, the internet is back, one channel came back allowing me to see Jake on Studio 5, but otherwise the box in the corner is mere ornamentation on which to display PoP lego and my favourite stuffed albatross.


Never one to get technical hitches get in the way, on with the post! We've had two interviews today on British TV, both recorded last week. The first was a mumsy affair on GMTV with mumsy Lorraine who made a fatal error... When Jake asked her if she was offering, when she wondered if he is single, she said 'If I were 20 years younger...' Surely an answer no Gyllenhaalic could ever muster. She focused on children and did speak to Jake about how significant it is that he's Matilda's godfather (very nice to hear that raised in an interview) and that he is also proud of his little niece. You can see that interview here on the GMTV website. I think you'll like it.



This evening's interview on Live at Studio Five was a different kettle of fish. The interview was surrounded by a quite considerable amount of squeeing and fanning of faces. Giddy is the word. They marvelled at how fellow presenter, rather nicely called Kate, could manage to get any words out when faced with such a vision. The male presenter said that she would have simpered away even if Jake had told her there was a rabid gorilla right behind her (I may have added the 'rabid' bit).


The interiew, which if it doesn't appear online I will get online for you in some fashion, having called on the cavalry (ie Ruby) to record it because I have no idea how to work a video recorder since moving into the 21st century, was fun. Jake said that he and Maggie were 'born British' and in their most recent roles - Prince of Persia and Maggie McPhee - they simply returned to their childhood. Jake also talked about hoved he is here, and what a great experience working on the stage in England was. He also agreed that he leads a strange life. He's also hot (I've added that bit, too).



We have more bits and pieces today - I did have other bits and pieces (including my own blasted pictures) but again my longer report from Sunday will have to wait. Maybe when Jake's on a plane, I can catch up a bit.

A very fun interview with Herald Scotland has been published. Here are snippets, interspersed with some new pictures and videos (and scans from the Sun's coverage the day after the premiere. 'I had gotten into a state of mind where I felt like earlier on, when I was younger, I think I took myself a little too seriously. This was the first time where I felt, ‘You know what? I like having fun. I think I’ll try my hand at having fun in a movie’.'

'When you start off very young in a business you are very aware of yourself and what people are going to think of you... You worry about the response, and so you want to portray yourself a certain way. People still do it, but I’m beginning to let that go.'



'I loved Indiana Jones, The Goonies, ET, Robin Hood. Prince of Persia brought all these things together for me. Every day we were shooting I felt like I was an eight-year-old kid again. Not when I was kissing Gemma Arterton, but definitely when I was jumping off a building.'

''What really mattered to me was my life, and that I needed to start defining myself through my relationships and connections with the people I love dearly. Making a movie can be like a family but it isn’t your family. The camaraderie, the closeness, the connection you have with those people is a certain type of family, but ultimately I didn’t want to mistake that for my real one. I wanted to live my life and be with the people who wouldn’t care if all this went away.' One of those people is his sister Maggie, the Oscar-nominated star of Crazy Heart. Watching her continued success is “the coolest thing ever” says the proud younger brother who was with her on Oscars day, “fetching whatever she needed”.'



'First comes the joke about doing an Arnie and running for governor of California. “I’ve always thought that every actor should try their hand at that.” And then comes the semi serious answer from a young actor rediscovering the joy of fun. “I have a lot of interests which maybe I’ll follow, or somehow incorporate into acting. Just see how it goes, know what I mean?”'

Alfred Molina on Jake and his own ostrich-loving role: '"Jake brings all the qualities the part needs: he’s goodlooking and talented, has a very attractive personality and is very bright," said Molina. "I’m also really impressed by his willingness to just jump in. It can be very easy for an actor in his position to sit back a little bit and play the star and let someone else carry the weight. He has never done that."'


'Molina’s own role is that of a vicious villain, who controls huge parts of the deadly desert. "(Sheik Amar), he's a lovable rogue I’d say! Or at least he’s a baddie who ends up as a reluctant ally of the hero," said Molina. "He starts off and he’s venal and self-centred and he describes himself as an entrepreneur and businessman, but he’s really a con-man and a small-time gangster with a capacity for violence. So he’s not sweet and cuddly, but he’s cheeky and a good talker and has a bit of an edge and some charm to him, and there’s also a part of him that deep down wants to do the right thing."'




Jerry Bruckheimer on Jake: 'But I’ve always wanted to work with Jake. He’s an amazing actor, he’s very handsome and athletic, and what was perfect about him playing the prince was this great combination of intensity and humour that he has. Jake is also very hardworking. He put in months of training just to get as physically fit as he needed to be for this role. He also had to do a lot of preparation for all the sword fighting and riding.'

Updated to add another video in which Jake talks about his Vampire Weekend 'How to play tennis while a tad tipsy' video. '"Well, that's the only way anyone's going to beat me, if I'm that wasted," he joked. "They call me, like, the John McEnroe of action films."' Sounds like quite a roadtrip down to LA. Jake reveals that RZA won't sit next to him at dinner as Jake always nicks his food. I thought all men did that?

MTV Shows

Thanks to IHJ for the London pics! Includes WDW scans.

Brothers DVD out today! And a first verdict on PoP - we have love chemistry, wiggling ostriches, fridge magnets

It's 23 March and that can mean only one thing: Jake Gyllenhaal has the perfect gift for his Source Code co-star Michelle Monaghan who celebrates her birthday today - the Brothers DVD, now in your shops! Or, if you're not in America, available to order from a bunch of places. If you prefer to wait for the R2 version, that is out on 7 June. However, it's worth pointing out you may be in the cinema on that day...


To mark the occasion, I Heart Jake and Lionsgate Home Entertainment are running a competition in which two people - from anywhere on the planet with a multi-region player - can each win a Brothers DVD. Visit IHJ for details and good luck.

As for The Other Film, we've had some more details from the top secret ShoWest screening of Prince of Persia in Vegas last week. It's very spoilery and so I will quote very little but you can read the full account at IGN and it's a goodie.


Here's a non-spoilery description of one scene: 'The scene is overrun with special effects -- high-flying acrobatics off walls, swordplay of all kinds, cinematic bow & arrow near-misses, fires, explosions and more. It's fairly epic and well-choreographed. It's clear from the start that the movie comes from Disney and director Mike Newell (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), not Uwe Boll.'


The love interest: 'Dastan believes Tamina is a pampered princess who has never suffered a day in her life and she thinks he's a corrupted brute who lacks proper morales. Their on-screen chemistry works. Indeed, the admittedly predictable hate-turn-love story is just as interesting as some of the awe-inspiring special effects scenes because the chemistry is so tangible.'


Ostrich racing: 'Comic relief is supplied by the always-reliable Alfred Molina [see below] (Spider-Man 2), who plays a money-hungry tradesman whose first love is ostrich-racing. And yeah, you even get to see some dudes riding atop wiggling ostriches as they race awkwardly over dirt roads.'


Verdict: 'The action is big. The effects bigger. And the storyline just interesting enough to keep you watching. Gyllenhaal -- probably not anybody's first choice for the Prince of Persia; although, to be fair, he's a hard character to cast -- serves the role just fine. And Arterton has sex appeal to spare. This movie will surely be compared to Pirates of the Caribbean series and it shares much in common. Perhaps the only thing missing is the equivalent of Captain Jack Sparrow -- Johnny Depp's ludicrous, but unforgettable antihero. By comparison, Dastan and Tamina are straighter and side-players like Kingsley and Molina unremarkable. But the movie is well-produced and sparkling with polish from beginning to end, and we doubt any potential shortcomings will stop moviegoers from seeing it and doing their part in adding another notch to Bruckheimer's already-considerable blockbuster belt.'


Actually, referring to the verdict above, Jake Gyllenhaal was somebody's first choice for the role - Mike Newell's. (And also mine, but I don't think I pull as much weight with Jerry Bruckheimer.)

In other Prince of Persia news, we have fridge magnets - oh yes we do...


Wanted to finish today with a lovely picture from last weekend when NYC wallowed in a taster of spring.


Includes pictures from links and here and the coolest website in the world. Thanks to Monica for additional ostriches. Happy birthday Michelle!

The Jake Gyllenhaal vs Elmo face off and An Education - A Review

It's been brought to my attention that some people - and I mention no names - are making comparisons between Jake Gyllenhaal and Elmo, even suggesting that Elmo is ahead on the cuteness scale. I would agree that Elmo is undoubtedly hairier than Jake, and indeed redder than Jake, but is he cuter? Is he as good in the kitchen? What does he look like in spandex?



Please note that Leona Lewis, a winner of the X Files or X Factor, when asked about her latest celebrity crush did not go all gooey-eyed over Elmo: 'I fancy Jake Gyllenhaal. He’s hot, and I like tall, rugged guys.' Could Elmo ever be described as 'rugged'?



When Fran of Travis asked people to vote over Jake's hotness, did he compare a shirtless Jake with a shirtless Elmo? Oh no. And many thanks to Aggiegurl for posting a picture of this moment from the On The Road show. And thanks to Gretchen for finding it.


An Education - an interlude

I finally got to see An Education this evening, having had to leave the premiere screening early. It was brought home to me how much the whole feeling of a movie can change during the magical process of film making. I saw a scene being filmed in Oxford for this which would have completely changed the resolution of this story, for us and for the characters. Perhaps this scene wasn't filmed with any serious intention of it ending up in the final cut, but, irrespective of that, I saw it as such and when tonight I saw the closing scene, there was something missing from it. Obviously it's difficult to speak of this without giving anything away of the story and so I won't. But it made me realise how different a film can seem when you've been fortunate enough to have seen a part of it filmed.


As for the finished film in the theatre tonight, I wasn't entirely sure about it. I thought Carey Mulligan and Alfred Molina were fabulous (making me very keen to see Carey in Brothers and Alfred in Prince of Persia) but Peter Sarsgaard's casting proved an oddity for me. He was sexy and urbane and looked every inch the part when out on the streets of London and Paris. And yet, as soon as Peter moved indoors, for me, he was out of place. The accent didn't seem quite right, the humour was uncomfortable - the seduction of Jenny less believable, more awkward. Peter is a superb, charismatic actor and I'm still waiting for him to have the role he deserves. This was a step forward for sure. A giant step for Carey.


It's always strange seeing your hometown in a movie and Oxford is a character in its own right in An Education. I rather liked that and I'm very thankful it brought Peter and Carey here. I'm looking forward to seeing how this film, and its actors, does in the awards season. Could we see Jake and Peter competing for the same awards?

Includes pictures by IHJ, WDW and BBMISwear. Guest appearance by Elmo.

The Prince of Persia gets his Evil Vizier - And fashion goes POP

Great POP news today. After a great deal of speculation concerning the identity of the actor to play the Evil Vizier, who would try and commit dastardly deeds against our hero Prince Dastan, Variety has just revealed that Sir Ben Kingsley (whom I have heard likes to be referred to as Sir Ben on set) is the likely choice. Sir Ben's character has not been named, but it is believed he will be the baddie. Obviously, British actors are a popular choice to play the nasties in Hollywood movies (even though we Brits are quite nice actually) but there is no doubt Sir Ben can do the job and at least he makes a change from Gary Oldman.



Any worries that this news may be another example of stereotypical casting of Baddie Brits now seems irrelevant because it is becoming apparent that Jake Gyllenhaal may well be one of the few non-Brits in this production - both in front of and behind the camera.


And showing yet again what a small world this world of Hollywood and film making is, the other casting news today is that the wonderful actor Alfred Molina will be Prince Dastan's mentor Sheik Amar. Alfred Molina has most recently been working on An Education alongside Peter Sarsgaard, and he also starred in POP director Mike Newell's Enchanted April, in which Alfred was superb. Here is a revisit to a set visit with Alfred Molina on An Education, in which Alfred plays father to the heroine Jenny.


With actors of such calibre, and with such excitement surrounding the leading actress and future Bond Girl, Gemma Arterton, Prince of Persia is not a blockbuster to be taken lightly. Not least because of its Prince.


Intriguingly, there is also speculation that this film, inspired as it was by a game, may itself be turned into a game. So, not only will you enjoy watching Jake on the big screen, you may also get to play at being the Prince, as Jake, with perhaps a narrative by Jake. Get your consoles at the ready.




So next summer, all may be Persian in the theatres, so does this mean that Persian styles will also be hitting the high street shops? Maybe so. Last night was the Council of Fashion Designers of America awards (CFDAs) and it was noted that 'the most bizarre trend of the night were the billowy trousers that Naomi Campbell and Maggie Gyllenhaal sported. Normally it wouldn't be that noteworthy if someone slipped up on the red carpet, but since both Naomi and Maggie are usually a bit ahead of the couture curve, I worry that they're just giving us a taste of what's to come. Is this where fashion is heading? Will skinny jeans be kicked aside for roomy pants worthy of a Genie in a bottle?' Hmmm, you have to wonder... Maggie appeared onstage alongside Victoria Beckham and Eva Mendes and any doubt about Maggie's outfit was as nothing compared to the Posh look.




Includes pictures by totally360.com, Vogue, NY Mag, IHJ and links.