[Update] Jake and Elmo! Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway almost photographed together, PoP to be a PG13, and thoughts on Brothers

Updated to add what might well become my favourite picture of Jake ever - this is because I have a Moppets Thing and I have a Jake Thing - may I present Jake and Elmo! Can't wait to see more of you in November! Be still my heart...


Hold on to your Nike, dust off the spandex and get ready - this is an assault course of a post this evening, due to far too much going on in Gyllendom, and this is just a part 1. In other words, if there are too many bits and pieces in this post, please address your complaints to Jake Gyllenhaal, c/o Movie set (not the Russell Crowe one, the other one), Outside someone's house, Pittsburgh, USA. But we have pictures!


Talking of which... I may as well start off with Love and Other Drugs. Judging from various tweets, this movie set is managing to both thrill and dismay the city of Pittsburgh. The excitement of having a bona fide and hot movie star in one's street seems to be offset for some by the fact that Jake is affecting one's parking and he makes a racket at 5.30 in the morning. I would like it on record for all potential movie producers (including those of any PoP sequel), that I am more than prepared to put up with a pre-dawn din from Jake. I will even serve coffee and make someone else bake muffins.


Nevertheless, many of the Pitt's inhabitants love having a bit of Hollywood in their midst and today one lucky movie fan got a signed picture from Jake (plus a chat) and - at last! - a picture of the man himself! The full account of his encounter is here, as well a photo of the signed photograph, which includes a smilie variation. Many thanks to them for sharing their story. I hope that they succeed in getting a photo of Anne too.


Anne Hathaway is well and truly on the set now as is proven by a video which shows her looking very slight and young while wearing intriguing bootwear. Jake has also been seen on set today! There are many more pictures here.


More screenings of the Prince of Persia trailer are going on this week, not that we're hearing a peep about them just yet, but today there was some PoP news - it got a certificate and it's better than I'd hoped. While I would obviously prefer a full R rated romp, what we're getting is a PG-13. This is apparently unusual for Disney and suggests it may have an edge to it. The reason given is 'intense sequences of violence and action'.


There has also been a little bit more about Brothers, thanks again to Clifton Collins Jr who is receiving some attention due to his Star Trek credentials. The fact that he is about to appear in a movie with Oscar buzz has not escaped his interviewers.

Interview no. 1 - Q: 'Ok, so I wanted to ask you a little more about Brothers because its getting all this Oscar buzz for Jim Sheridan and Jake Gyllenhaal can you just tell me a little bit more about your role in the film? C: Yeah I play a commanding officer I more or less send Tobey [Maguire] out into the field and I kinda watch over him and I debrief him and of that nature you know the stuff that an officer would have to deal with in regards sending a soldier out and having to find out what his state of mind is. It’s and important film I think these military films, for me personally, they just rank so close to home in that my whole family was in Vietnam. All the males in my family my grandfather was in a different war but you know I grew up around it so I’ve always got this strong connection and I just think in apathy for all the great men and women that are out there fighting today.'


Q: 'That’s nice man that really really good to hear. The trailer for the movie just looks incredibly passionate and really deep. So, I’m really excited about it. C: As am I. The trailer is pretty heavy. I mean working with Sheridan is a freaking blast. I mean he’s Jim Sheridan! I mean wow, it’s just hard when your, like, a big fan of somebody you can’t just be the fan and you have to just try and be the actor, you know, but when you love what you do it’s kinda hard not to do a little of both.' The rest is here.


Interview no. 2 - 'This film is very special to me for many reasons both professional and personal. What can I say about Mr. Sheridan?? Shit, he’s Jim fucking Sheridan. Really amazing and I have to confess that I was in awe of him. He works very differently. REALLY trusts his actors, and is an actor himself. It’s obvious when you sit down and start throwing the ball with him, so to speak.'


'The subject matter of this piece is certainly something that all of America should pay attention too. Not to mention that aside, it is a truly an intense gripping story, maybe even “riveting”, I like that word critics always use it. :) I have to say when I got home, I sat down and watched In America with the director’s commentary, and my only regret in working with Mr. Sheridan is that I didn’t listen to the commentary prior to working with him, because although In America is a moving story, the commentary is just as moving if not more! It will bring you to tears to learn what Mr. Sheridan had to go through just to get here and survive...'


'Tobey is great, we’ve actually known each other for a while, but this was our first time working together. We have some pretty intense scenes. He was VERY committed to doing a great job, lots of prep, loosing weight etc. It’s an insane cast, and an absolute honor and privilege to be able to share the screen with SOO many talents. Jake [Gyllenhaal], the insanely talented Sam Shepard (I was just waiting for my chance to get at him, so many questions!). And of course the talented and super beautiful Natalie Portman. It was hard to not have a crush on her; she’s a very present and caring special lady!' More here.


Lionsgate's twitter - with its Brothers poster for an avatar - has woken up today, reminding people to check out the trailer and keep an eye on their twitter and facebook. Let us hope this is an indicator of some imminent publicity.

Pictures from links and IHJ. Thanks to all!

Work with Jake Gyllenhaal and you can have snacks and a bit of habitat. Peter Sarsgaard talks tea and football

There are so many extras in Love and Other drugs that the supply of Pittsburgh people (Pittsburghians? Pittsburgs?) has now dried up. The producers are having to resort to new methods to get people to spend a minimum of 12 hours in the company of Jake Gyllenhaal. Here is where they're going wrong - they would only have to look in my direction and I'd be there for a minimum of 12 days but, instead, they're now bribing potential extras by giving them snacks and offering money to habitat construction charities. While I would never turn down a jaffa cake to work with Jake Gyllenhaal, I wouldn't like a casting agency to think I demand it. More here.


Last night An Education continued its pre-award season trailblazing with an LA premiere. As well as doing a very good job of showing off Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard also talked more about working in England. He will miss the football. As this is a British blog, I'll leave out the inverted commas around football, whilst also assuming that Peter is referring to Man Utd.


'The US actor premiered his new movie An Education in Hollywood and told reporters the best part about living in England was "football". As for the movie, set in 60s Britain, Peter explained it was important to make sure certain elements were factually correct, saying: "We had the Brits keeping us accurate about, you know, how to make the tea - those details are great."' I admit it's complicated - you put a teabag in a cup, pour water on it and add milk to taste. As the subject of tea has popped up, I recall a recent trip to the US when I asked in a cafe what type of tea they served. 'It's in a bag,' they replied. More from Peter here.


Peter also let loose that his next movie will take him to Boston: 'He revealed he’s about to leave for Boston to be in director James Mangold’s “Wichita” opposite Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. When I asked what character he’d be playing, he’d only say he was Tom Cruise’s foil. Does that mean he’s the villain? I don’t know. But I do know he hadn’t been announced as part of the cast yet.'


Another site has dropped hints to a future, revealing interview with Peter, conducted in Toronto: In it, 'he spoke pretty forthrightly about why “K-19” and “Jarhead” didn’t do well at the box office, who his initial fan base was (“Very, very damaged women”), what his choices are like (“I don’t have the pick of the litter”) and why he never wants to make a big movie with his wife.' Peter impressed nj.com.


Clifton Collins Jr has been talking about Brothers again as he continues to promote his zombie movie: 'I just wanted to collaborate with [Jim] and work with him and that's what he does. He's a big collaborator and he's all about the truth, and the truth of the scene and the honesty in it. Working with Toby (Maguire), he's an old friend and (Jake) Gyllenhaal, who I got to know during the Brokeback and Capote days, you know with doing the Oscar circuits and stuff. That, Sam Shepard and Natalie Portman, who I've had a crush on for I don't know how long. She's beautiful and talented and smart and really precious, truth be told. She's a special girl and it was a dream job. It was hard, emotionally, in a lot of different ways. Brad Renfro passed and I thought about Heath (Ledger) passing, literally minutes before they shot my big close-up when I'm debriefing Toby. It was a tough thing just to keep it together and try to act and to have all this new dialogue that Jim, Toby and myself came up with. But I have high hopes for it. It's an incredible script and it's based off a Danish film, which I've heard is amazing. I haven't had a chance to see it.'

'Everybody put their heart and soul into it and I cried my eyes out on more than one occasion, just doing military research and all this stuff. Yeah, it definitely deserves and we definitely put our heart into it.' More here.


Includes pictures from IHJ and here.

Jake Gyllenhaal heading for Ireland? And 'Do I look like Tobey Maguire?'

Time to dust off the Lucky Nike, charge that camera battery and dose up on anti-flu remedy! We have premieres! Contrary to what I had feared, Jim Sheridan isn't going to release Brothers accidentally this winter and just hope someone somewhere notices and maybe buys a ticket. Instead, Jim has decided that he's going to help perk up recession-stricken theatre audiences by giving them what they want. That can mean only one thing - Jake Gyllenhaal is the official Gloom Buster!


Jim tells us that the movie will get its big premiere in New York City (as one had hoped but not entirely expected) but, with a shout out to his homeland, Jim intends to bring the stars to Ireland for red carpets and, if they're lucky, a pint of the black stuff and some of that famous Irish hospitality.


'Oscar-winning director Jim explained how the release date had now been set for his long-awaited movie, which he described as a "love story", and he hopes to be rolling out the red carpet in Ireland. "Its official release date is December so we're going to have a proper premiere in New York for that, but what I really want is to have a premiere in Ireland as well, probably in late November... We filmed the movie in New Mexico and it stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Toby Maguire," he said. He added how a glitzy premiere with some of the movie world's biggest names was the "perfect tonic" to all the doom and gloom that has prevailed in Ireland over the recent months.'


You can read more here - how good it is to see Brothers in the news - may we have more soon... One of the film's actors, Clifton Collins Jr, has also been talking about appearing in the film - you can see the video of that interview here. Please forgive the zombies - this video is infested with them.

Jake on set!

Meanwhile, back in the 'Burgh, it's great to get a set photo (courtesy of Timesonline) and see that Oliver Platt is making Jake laugh and that a good time is being had. This article covers two scenes that were filmed on Monday, one of which involved Jake getting very wet indeed - an expected bonus, I feel, for every Jake movie. In a scene reminiscent of more than one Zodiac scene, Jake had to run across the asphalt in Aliquippa while having water chucked over him. A slight exaggeration perhaps but wetness is the result.


'Only a handful of spectators witnessed the action on the closed set, though plenty of locals saw an earlier scene, where Gyllenhaal sits in a black Mercedes Benz with driver Oliver Platt (“Dr. Doolittle”) at the wheel. The car was stationary, towed by a trailer behind an Aliquippa police escort, though in the movie it’ll look like they’re cruising down Mill Street.'


'They made three trips up and down Mill Street, bringing traffic to a crawl. For about 15 minutes, the car and its trailer were stopped on Calvert Street, near the CVS Drug Store, while film crew workers made adjustments. That gave a few onlookers a chance to speak with Gyllenhaal. “Hey Spider-Man,” said Joey Hages, 19, of Aliquippa, who shook Gyllenhaal’s hand. “Did you like ‘Spider-Man 3’?” Gyllenhaal asked politely, not letting on that it was Tobey Maguire who played that superhero role.'


For crying out loud, people!! I hope and pray that, if Brothers doesn't confuse everyone completely, Prince of Persia will at least clear some things up. Good for Jake though for being such a great sport. I suspect that he and Tobey have some kind of bet going.

Meanwhile, Atticus was in a trailer while Reese was in a tent being observed by several policemen. Reese's representatives have yet to comment on claims that she was engaged in helping them with their enquiries. You can read it all here. It's great to see that Jake's Toucher and possibly a Retoucher is being gainfully employed once more.


Tweets today suggest that Jake, and Love and Other Drugs, may be causing some excitement and more traffic troubles in downtown Pittsburgh.

Includes pictures from Timesonline and LAOD trucks courtesy of Flickr.

Jake's back in Beverly Hills - News on Brothers - and a computer game?

Jake Gyllenhaal's back in LA and he's got a new shirt (or is it? - see picture from 2004 below). Yesterday he was photographed in Beverly Hills, apparantly by a medical center, suggesting that filming, and all of the prechecks that that seems to involve, is about to begin. But, considering that almost every other building in that part of town is a medical center of one sort or another, who knows?



Jake and Reese have made the tabloids again but the magazines and sites seem to have missed the main issue with these pictures - how many cakes does one couple need? I know that if you find a good bakery you should take advantage but two big bags packed full of cupcakes, pastries and bread and other mouthwatering treats? Having said all that, I'm now extremely hungry.


News on Brothers

The governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson, has confirmed that Brothers is to be filmed in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and will begin shooting on 27 November and will carry on through to January 30. It's interesting to consider how the governor has been using the movie industry to bring jobs and money into his scenic state. This talk of governors makes me want to post pictures of Jake in a speechmaking and political stance (note shirts).


'The film will be shot in and around Santa Fe, Los Alamos, Las Vegas, Abiquiu and Glorieta from November 27 to January 30 and expects to hire approximately 250 New Mexico crew members and over 1,000 actors for principal roles and background talent... Since Richardson took office, over 85 feature film and television projects have shot in the state, adding over $1.2 billion dollars to New Mexico’s economy.'


In more Brothers news, Variety reports that Clifton Collins Jr is to join the cast of Brothers, after (or before) he's done filming his part in the new Star Trek movie (WDW says, trying desperately hard to sound like she's not at all as almost excited by the Trekkie news as she is with the Brothers news).


Jake and Maggie doing a voiceover for a computer game?

A site reported today that a new computer game is in the making and, amongst the starry voices narrating, are those of Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal. The site says: 'Kindly turn to the right hand column of this page for links to other episodes of Larry Winchester’s A Town Called Disdain, soon to be a smashing new computer game from Ha! Karate (featuring the voices of Jake Gyllenhaal, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Ralph Fiennes, and Billy Bob Thornton.)'


Speaking as someone who loves battling away and putting the world to rights on her PS2 and who would have Jake as her character avatar if she owned a Wii, I love this idea. I've not been able to find out anything else about it as yet, but it made me grin, so that'll do for now.


Afterthought: There is a pap video from the weekend of Jake and Reese talking in the street. If you want to see it, here it is. I'm aware that there are more pictures (inside restaurants) of Jake and Reese's weekend, and I believe these way too intrusive to post. I consider each image and video on its own merit and make an undemocratic decision accordingly.

Includes pictures from IHJ and US Weekly.