PoP trailer at D23 - we have tigers! - and Jake Gyllenhaal a superman on the moon

Jerry Bruckheimer gave Disney fans at Expo D23 a trailer of the Prince of Persia on Friday. He said it was incomplete but, despite that, the initial reaction is that the trailer, when it finally reaches the theatres, will be well worth the wait. We have action, we have thrills, we have snakes, we even have tigers (still no ostriches or camels but I live in perpetual hope), we have repartee and innuendo between Jake Gyllenhaal's Prince and Gemma Arterton's Tamina. Thanks to IGN for the thorough description. Let's hope we get to see it!


Here is what IGN says: 'A slice of light tears through the darkness, dissolving into grains of sand, blown away by the desert wind... A sweeping landscape of a far-off Persian city. A wind-beaten caravan making its way through the orange-lit desert. Dark, swirling clouds gather in the distance... A shot of the dagger. A long, curved blade. It's hand is clear, like an hour-glass, holding the titled Sands of Time... A shot of Jake Gyllenhaal as the Prince, standing on a wooden outcropping on the roof of a palace high above the city streets. This looks more like Assassin's Creed than Prince of Persia...'


'Narration by the Princess Tamina, played by Gemma Arterton. Some comic exchanges as they gallop along on horseback. Typical love-hate relationship... A chase through the alleys of a Persian city...An attacking tiger...A snake leaps toward the Prince, but the dagger pauses time just before the snake's gaping, venomous jaws can strike... A journey into the snow-capped mountains. Not just deserts, it seems... The Prince climbing up the towering, exterior walls of a castle as archers fire arrows... Shots of a villainous Ben Kingsley and hints of a more powerful, robe-cloaked demon controlling him.'


'Lastly, the Prince and Tamina enter a vast, underground tomb. It begins to crumble down around them, the high hallways collapsing, entire portions of the building tumbling down an incline as the Prince leaps and runs and ducks and rolls as audiences would, of course, expect. Overall, the trailer was beautifully shot, atmospheric, action-packed and exactly what one would hope from a Prince of Persia film.'


I cannot wait to see our leaping, running, ducking, rolling Prince and that is some understatement.


Meanwhile... Tweets continue of sightings of Jake in Pittsburgh and of theatres decked out in Prince of Persia posters!

Named Moon Project - the stresses of prelaunch

The Unnamed Moon Project appears to now be a possibly Named Moon Project - Moon. Doug Liman has again been blogging to the Ninjas about his project, which, it appears, may have gone past that safe point of no return. It may be Good to Go. But Doug sounds as if he is in that jittery stage we all face when something for which we care may soon fly free:


'I feel it’s within my control whether or not we make the Moon movie. It’s at that point where if the project doesn’t go it means either I messed something up or I’m choosing not to do it right now. But everything is sort of falling into place. Don’t get me wrong, this is a fickle business and anything can happen. Brad Pitt could announce tomorrow that he’s doing a Moon project (but you wouldn’t do that to me, would you Brad?) and suddenly someone beat us to the punch, or I could lose my star. What I don’t think will happen is a stalled project, and that’s because of the script. It’s crossed the critical threshold.'


It's revealing stuff and it is clear that the film still does not have a budget: 'There are action figures they can do to tie in with the film, there are video games — all this shit that studios need to justify and pay their overhead. All that ancillary stuff, the kind of stuff that The Bourne Identity could never generate and Fair Game could never generate. Look, I recognize that studios are businesses and they need to make money, and Paramount can make a ton of money on my Moon project, so that’s why it’s up to me to decide when this project is ready. As much as they have to greenlight my movie and agree to spend $100 million, I know that the carrot I’m dangling in front of them is ridiculously commercial — but I need to decide when it’s ready, when I can deliver a movie that’s worth it.'


'This movie will redefine action the way The Matrix redefined action. In Moon, they’re fighting in one-sixth gravity. You’ve just never seen that before. Ever. And you’ve never seen a car chase in one-sixth gravity, you’ve never seen fights in one-sixth gravity. It won’t look like any other movie. This affects the movie is so many ways. It’s all of the amazing things you can do once you embrace one-sixth gravity. You know, you’re literally Superman on the Moon.... Earth has six times the gravity of the Moon, so if you take anyone from Earth and move him to the Moon, he literally is a Superman. He can leap off an 80-foot cliff and survive easily. On the Moon, we can can have a real-version bullet time (from The Matrix). Our action sequences on Moon are as outrageous as Transformers or Star Trek but will be 100 percent real. Bourne is to the James Bond films as Moon will be to Transformers. Outrageous, but very real.' It sounds like Jake has quite a ride ahead of him - fingers crossed. I'm ignoring the Transformers comparison.


Inludes pictures from Disney on Twitter and Latino Review.

[Updated Update] PoP costumes! Jake Gyllenhaal in Pittsburgh - Be on your guard! Anaheim PoPs and Moptop Jake. And a Yoghurt trip...

[Updated Update:] You know what they say, you can never update a Jake Gyllenhaal post too many times, and proving that ancient adage right here are the beautiful, extraordinary and very uncomfortable Prince of Persia costumes currently being exhibited at D23 Expo. This reminds me of the other traditional saying, passed down through the generations: 'Accessorise, accessorise, accessorise.' Many thanks to Screencrave for the wonderful pictures and the coverage.




At the risk of updating an updated update, here are some closer pictures of these amazing costumes courtesy of Latino Review.




On with the post (again...)

It is a truth universally acknowledged that encountering Jake Gyllenhaal unexpectedly (or expectedly for that matter) can have a detrimental effect on one's health and nerves. I can myself vouch for this, having suffered flu (twice), Chicken Pox, a dislocated toe, near hypothermia, suspected appendicitis and more than one hangover, as a direct result of seeing Jake Gyllenhaal in person. I'm assured that a vaccine is currently in development.


This post has been edited by request and I apologise for any upset caused.


However, forewarned is forearmed, and today there was a report that for one day, during the last week of September, Love and Other Drugs filming will take place at the former Aliquippa Hospital in Pittsburgh. If you think you may be susceptible to the GyllenVirus, avoid this area, especially if you have any involvement whatsoever with coffee.


The good news is that this is a former hospital - a remedy may be at hand in the case of any medical emergency. The bad news is that this is a wet scene. So, not only is there the threat of Jake Gyllenhaal being filmed wet (I repeat, being filmed wet), which would clearly exaggerate any symptoms, you may also get a cold. Don't say you haven't been warned.


Now that the serious public health warning is out of the way, I can get on with the post.


It will not have escaped your attention that Jake is soon to appear on our 20 foot theatre screens as the Prince of Persia. Tomorrow, the first proper look at the film will take place at Disney's D23 Expo in Anaheim, California. Fans will be able to see exclusive footage (even an actual clip, maybe?) from the movie during a presentation that will include Nicholas Cage. Let us all keep our fingers crossed that we get to hear something about this tomorrow, and I don't mean Nicholas Cage. You can follow events here.


I know that bench...

Despite the huge wide appeal of Prince of Persia, Jake still continues to be seen by many as the Indie King. This was affirmed in an interesting blog article and interview with independent filmmaker Joe Leonard. On being reminded of how unfair it is that good stories often get little money, compared to the big summer blockbusters, and how they are often ignored or even never made in the first place, Joe replied 'I do think there's a place commercially for good stories that are character-based -- but it's a hard business, and the more arty you get, the less likely you are to find your way into a big budget or big return. I do know that actors want to do good work, though -- and that's an ace in the hole. Jake Gyllenhaal doesn't necessarily want to do "Scary Movie 9." So if your script is good enough and he gets his hands on it somehow, I like to think that you have a shot at making an ambitious character movie. Then suddenly, if Jake Gyllenhaal is involved, raising money and finding distribution works with an extra set of zeros.'


It works both ways. Having popular, mainstream films under one's belt as an actor leaves the door open for other opportunities.


You will have noticed that this post is illustrated with photographs of Jake from Moonlight Mile. The blame for this can be placed firmly on the shoulders of the Beatles, who have taken over the world this week (even space). If it were not for money issues, we would have seen Joe and Bertie slowly dance to Baby's in Black and not Moonlight Mile. However, the song and title may have changed, but Jake kept the haircut.

Opinion is still divided on whether this is Paul McCartney pictured with Jake at Cannes back in 2007.


I knew it must be Beatles Day when I walked into my local HMV store today but first had to cross the Abbey Road zebra crossing.

This post is available in mono and stereo.


Updated to add: On 3 September, proving that there is more to Jake's diet than caffeine and veg, Jake and Reese took the kids for frozen yoghurt at Twist in Brentwood. We now have the pictures - more at IHJ. Thanks to them!




Pictures by IHJ and WDW, lyrics by Lennon and McCartney.