Brothers Day! And Jake Gyllenhaal is 'Mr Cool', 'this little upstart', king of the snowballers

While we give the North American readers their leave to skip class this evening due to pressing movie-going duties, the rest of us can catch up on a good day. First off we had Jimmy Kimmel Live. I'm gonna repeat these...





My archaeologically trained ears perked up at an interesting and objective discussion of 16th-century social practices and handy devices for disguising insect activity. My culinary senses took a jolt at descriptions of some sandwich that contained meat, chips, coleslaw and salad. No wonder this beast of a bap is best savoured by The Sasquatch, once thought to roam the forests of the American north west and now firmly located in Pittsburgh. My sporting sensibilities were heightened at the idea of football fans carrying some kind of placenta-covered comfort towel to games for over 20 years and then, while being merry, willingly handing them over to a movie star and his Sasquatch chum. My Jake appreciation skills were intensified at the news that Love and Other Drugs is naked heavy.


Then we stepped into the Twilight Zone, where actresses dress their dogs as cheerleaders and take them along to talk shows and manage to stay sentient during a close Jake encounter.


Stephanie at IHJ downloaded for us the TV Guide Brothers Special. Much of this was recorded at the Brothers NYC premiere, at which one brother was notably absent. The Jake bits were therefore taken from pieces we have already seen. Neverthless, not only do we learn that nine tenths of the time was taken up with snowball fights, we also hear the others talk some more about Jake - and this is what they said:

Tobey: 'I was pretty focused and not really doing much of lightening of mood. That was Jake Gyllenhaal's department.' (Snowballing reference.)

Jim: 'Working with Jake is interesting. He kind of works off anything happening in the room. he's so self-confident, it's scary.'


Bailee: 'Jake Gyllenhaal's an awesome Uncle! I love him! He's great. he's so funny, so many jokes.'

Tobey: 'It was great. I've nown Jake and he's a sweetheart and he really likes to play and explore and have fun. It was great working with him.'

Tobey gets deja vu: 'Jake's great. He's such a great talent. He's really playful and explores and has fun doing it.'

Jim: 'Jake is Mr Cool. Nothing is too much for him. He's totally relaxed. Nothing phases him.'


Jim: 'I was the champion snowball thrower, I was, and I could especially beat the children. I would hit them at a great distance and then hide.'

Jim (on Jake being a better snowballer than even Jim the Champion Snowball Thrower): 'The really annoying thing on the set with Jake was that I would usually be the centre of attention and then there would be this little upstart who became the centre of attention and I didn't realise how much that would upset me. [Q: So the snowball fights were actually between you and Jake?] Yeah, but he didn't know that cos I just hit him slightly on the back of his head and hide, ran away, y'know.'


The same site that brought us the little audio clip of Jake talking about Peter Sarsgaard has given us another one today and this time it's about the two little girls, Bailee Madison and Taylor Geare.

'I think that children have given some of the most incredible performances in film - on a par with some of the great adult performances. Children tend to do it actually probably at a higher ratio! They're just present and alive. And Jim working with them was like whatever was happening in the room... if we were sitting at this table with them and they were commenting on your hair and their honesty about what shirt you're wearing, whether they like it or not. They don't care whether it's going to offend you or not. Or that they are going to tell you that they love how beautiful your eyes look and, you know, those types of things Jim just brings out and cuts together. To work with the two of them, they were... it's great. You have these three actors who are probably taking themselves way too seriously and then you have these two little beings who are so present and so much better than you are and it was great.'


'And also really understanding the dramatisation - they weren't these innocents just plucked off the street and then put in a film - they were ready for it. Like when Tobey freaked out and Bailee had her moment with him and she says 'Uncle Tommy'... she was so excited! Like she couldn't wait to tell him, like 'Uncle Tommy was fucking her mom'! It was like her big moment! It really was! And that was great cos it was fun. It wasn't really tense. Jim just makes it fun. And the nature of it being made during the writers' strike and we had a kind of sense, 'whatever'.'

You can listen to and download the clip here.

A very happy birthday this weekend to BBMISwear! See you all from the other side of the pond...


Includes pictures from IHJ.

Brothers' Bailee Madison talks about Jake 'Call Me Uncle Tommy' Gyllenhaal and back to the 1990s with LAOD

What with all the excitement of trying to catch little glimpses of the filming currently going on in Pittsburgh, it's been easy to overlook the fact that another Jake Gyllenhaal movie is getting much closer - Brothers. Having said that, though, it's not entirely our fault because less money has been spent on the publicity for this film than I spend on skinny lattes in a week. But today we have something!


Little actress Bailee Madison has appeared on Clevver TV to talk about her role as Isabelle, one of the children ensnared in the dangerous triangle of mum, dad and Uncle Tommy. Bailee gives a wonderful account of a happy set, where she was welcomed into a family and learned a great deal from Natalie and Jake. Bailee also has some very nice things to say about the talented Jake and his ability to slip into the zone. There was the added bonus of snow and plenty of snow angels. Thanks BBMISwear :-)



Nevertheless, the excitement continues to spill over from the 'Burgh. There are now Tweets placing Anne Hathaway on set, in the company of a very chilled Jake. Yet again, I must urge the population of Pittsburgh to never leave home without their camera. As the vast majority of the city's inhabitants are actually in Love and Other Drugs, one would hope a picture is a dead cert. Reese has also been tweeted as visiting the set today, along with her dog which was accidentally described as 'ugly' by a student.


There may be no pictures of the actors themselves, but we have the next best thing - late 1990s VCRs, TVs and Sony Walkmen. Yes, the geek in me enjoys some new photographs of the Love and Other Drugs set. It makes a change from photos of trucks (there have been more of those today, as well). More interiors here.


Katheryn Winnick has also posted some more pictures from the shoot yesterday, both of which involve plenty of water. I'm grateful to Katheryn for taking us to work with her.



A reminder to vote - you have til Sunday!

Pictures with thanks from links.