I do apologise for any blurring in this post. Having endured dental surgery this afternoon and then had to deal with leaking sewage, I hope I may be forgiven for my levels of spaced outedness. However, as I get ready for a month of liquid diet (liquid in more ways than one), it does me good to see that there are some people who can still eat. Top amongst them is eating maestro Jake Gyllenhaal, who not only eats for pleasure he also eats for charity. We have new pictures today, thanks to IHJ, of Jake attending a NYC Edible Schoolyard event.
On Wednesday (26 October), chef Gabrielle Hamilton was given the task of cooking for Edible Schoolyard's NYC benefactors, many of whom may have been delighted to see Jake among their number, particularly when he owned up to his prowess with a kale pizza. The report shows how Jake has been visiting schools and cooking with the kids, who 'like making pizza with the Prince of Persia'. Personally, I wouldn't like to limit it to pizza.
Source Code opens in Japan!
Source Code today opens in Japan! This is great news - at last SC has reached as far as it will go. I must thank our friend Rintaro Wintanabe for this photo he took today. You can also, if you read Japanese, read Rintaro's interview with Duncan Jones here. I wish everyone associated with Source Code all the best of luck in Japan and I am so glad that our friends in Japan may at last see the film we've been raving about for so many months.
If you live in Japan, you don't need me to remind you that this Friday your long, long wait for Source Code will end at last. Finally, you'll be able to acquaint yourselves with Colter, aka Jake Gyllenhaal, and see for yourselves why the film attracted so much interest, for Jake and for director Duncan Jones. With many thanks to our good friend in Japan Mayumintolor, here are pictures of Jake's appearance in the magazine Screen on 21 October.My Japanese is a little rusty so I can't make out what it says but I think on page 1 is says 'Jake is hot'.
Tonight, Duncan is hosting a screening of Source Code in London for BAFTA members, followed by a Q&A. One hopes that something very important will come out of this - votes.
Talking of votes and following Jake's appearance in some curious polls, it's become clear that it's time we had another poll on WDW. At the moment we're in the process of having a poll on what poll to do. So, if you have a preference, an idea, do post a comment.
There is a possibility that some of you may have spent a good bite out of yesterday lining up outside an Apple store to get your mits on the latest crop of tasty telephones. Jake Gyllenhaal has of course proved his commitment to the brand over the years and was one of the first to grab hold of the iPad, back in those Wondercon (April 2010) days.
He also likes to take his iPad for a walk.
Jake also has other uses for it.
But all this talk of Apple reminded me that I have yet to post the videos that turned up from Jake's visit, along with Duncan Jones and Michelle Monaghan, to the Apple store in NYC as part of the Love and Other Drugs promotion. You can see a snippet of the Q&A itself here but there are other videos of Jake arriving and leaving.
Today we were promised what may well turn out to be the last sunny warm day of the year and so off we went on the motorbike into the Cotswolds. In one village we were surprised to see a river full of baby ducklings - about ten of them. I don't think I've ever seen any so late in the year before. This has been a very odd Autumn. Among the photos below are the Roman amphitheatre in Cirencester, the beautiful village of Bisley and the view from a massive Iron Age hillfort close to Stroud in Gloucestershire.
It may have been warm for much of the day but I can confirm that this all changed on the long ride home and I am still a popsicle...
Back in July we reflected on Jake Gyllenhaal's continued status as a trendsetter - this time setting the trend for bald heads, a look swiftly followed by Matt Damon (and almost attempted by The Pale One). Although there is a good chance that Jake's head will soon be getting its winter coat of hair, Matt has taken a moment to speak to People of his appreciation for Jake's head.
"Wow, I try not to envy, but I have to say Jake's got a damn good-looking head," Damon, 40, told PEOPLE at Wednesday's New York premiere of his new movie about a killer virus, Contagion. "He sure does have a beautiful round head." "Normally you say, 'That's a beautiful head of hair, but that's a beautiful head he's got,' " Damon says laughing. "Gyllenhaal definitely gets the blue ribbon for the best bald head over me."
Plea to Jake: Please do not let this praise go to your head. Put away your shaver! As you can see from these photos, taken on 6 September as Jake leaves Nishimura Restaurant with Busy Philipps, the head does seem a little less bald. A good smile too.
Incidentally, as we all know, Busy and Jake are both godparents to Matilda Ledger and I wouldn't want today to pass without wishing happy birthday to Matilda's beautiful mum, Michelle Williams.
Vote for Jake!
Jake is up for a SCREAM for Best Science Fiction Actor for his role in Source Code. So drop what you're doing and do just what director Duncan Jones tells you to do - Vote for Jake!
Source Code isn't released in Japan until 28 October but a couple of nights ago the film received its first premiere screening in the country. It sounds like Source Code was very well received and Duncan Jones has tweeted that he will be in Japan soon - for the opening? Many thanks to Rintaro Watanabe for the photo from the screening.
As is the way with film releases, as a movie opens in one country, it can already be released on DVD elsewhere. To mark the release of Source Code on DVD and blu ray in the UK, In Style has released a video which contains snippets in which Jake Gyllenhaal, writer Ben Ripley, producer Jordan Wynne and an astrophysicist explain the meaning of the source code. Watch closely - there may be a test later.
While risking the possibility that this post may look just the same as yesterday's, here are some photos of Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena on location on the streets of LA for End of Watch. I may be getting little shivers of deja vu but these pictures were taken on set yesterday (17 August) and feature a very smiley if baldy Jake. In this video, Michael Pena talks a little about the filming.
LoveFilm is giving the new DVD and Blu ray of Source Code a big push in the UK. As part of that, it features a great interview with Duncan Jones, in which the director talks about making Source Code and Moon and makes some hints about his next project. He also mentions again how Source Code was obedient to the will of Prince of Persia.
'The whole shoot hinged around that – Jake had just finished Prince Of Persia and would be travelling the world for goodness knows how long to do press for that movie. So it really was all hands on deck to find a way to do it in that time-frame and within the budget that we had.'
On this page you can tell LoveFilm all about your favourite Jake movie.
Talking of Jake's directors, last weekend I attended the huge Empire Big Screen event at the O2 in London. One of the biggest directors to make an appearance was Roland Emmerich who, of course, did a great job of directing Jake in The Day After Tomorrow, one of my favourite Gyllenmovies. I was delighted to see the long line of people waiting to get an autograph from Roland and I was very fortunate to see him in the more intimate setting of the press room. He did talk about how lucky he's been to work with such good Hollywood actors, including Jake.
Source Code is out on DVD and Blu ray tomorrow in the UK! In other words, not every Monday is horrible. The good reviews are coming in plus more press from both Duncan Jones and Jake Gyllenhaal. There is a whopper of an article about Duncan and his film in The Mail this weekend, while Jake pops up in the UK OK! magazine.
Via Digital Spy: "'I'm in the business of playing characters. That's what I'm in," he explained. "That's what I want to try and do. The ability to tell stories that you care about, it does give you a great opportunity to do that... I didn't grow up in a Hollywood way. I grew up in a family of people who made movies - and continue to do so to this day.'"
Via Music Rooms: “Being on a movie set, there’s just no way you won’t end up a rounded kind of person as everybody gives each other sh*t all the time. That’s what makes movies... If you surround yourself with the people who actually believe in the work that you do then it’s impossible to lose a sense of yourself... I admire somebody like George Clooney, who has people around him who are actually working in the field.”
For a report on the release of Source Code, please check out Man Made Movies (and I'm not just saying that because I wrote it!).
I'm in London this weekend at Empire Magazine's Big Screen (my report of meeting Harrison Ford is here) and so time online is short but here is a catch up with Jake Gyllenhaal. It's topped by an interview that my friend Becky did for DIY Films with Duncan Jones for the UK release of Source Code in the UK. It's interesting to hear more aboout Duncan's campaign to have the film released in China. There was a question about working with Jake:
'We had a great time. Jake is a real joy for me to work with. Some people have found him difficult - I don't know why - but I found him absolutely lovely. He's incredibly smart and very funny - sometimes too funny. [laughs] He's a lovely guy - always throwing ideas at me, and always getting me to experiment and try stuff out, and go beyond where he thought the role was on the page. There are a lot of really great moments in the film when the audience is getting a good laugh, because Jake is going a little too far! It also helped that we had Michelle Monaghan with him, because the chemistry really helped.' Do read the rest of the interview, it's a goodie.
Meanwhile, Jake was back out filming End of Watch with Michael Pena on 9 August. More guns were involved. Long ones this time. I'm detecting a theme. Yesterday - 12 August - Jake was back at The Other Place, the Medical Center in LA. Thanks to IHJ for the photos, there are many more there.
You can read my review of the wonderful Troll Hunter plus a report on the Empire Big Screen Q&A at MovieBrit.
21 June was the summer solstice and, obviously, if there's anywhere you should be on that day it's among the stones and crowds of Stonehenge in the rain. However, it's widely accepted that the second best place to be on Midsummer (and you can ask Bear Grylls this) is among the eateries of Los Angeles. Therefore, Jake Gyllenhaal popped out to Ammo Cafe in Hollywood. The Face Pet went too.
Born to Run
The July issue of Menswear is looking particularly good. Peter Sarsgaard graces its cover and photos of him feature in many of its pages.
Apart from talking about Green Lantern - and the difficulties of getting into that rather big head, Peter also talked about a future project and it's one that we have been following here for quite a wile - Born to Run.
Peter revealed that he is not only directing it - and it's his directorial debut - he's also writing it. This means that he will not be starring in it himself. We've talked quite a bit here about who will feature in Born to Run, ever since the Leadville 100 race in August last year, when both Jake and Peter were seen observing the race and Chris McDougall, the author of Born to Run. With Peter now removing himself from the part, who better to take the role than Jake? Especially with Peter behind the camera directing him. Definitely one to continue to watch.
And finally...
Duncan Jones has tweeted this evening: 'Hey Japan! It looks like I WILL be coming out to Tokyo at least, to do press for the film! Yay! Will see if I can get to another city too.' This is great news and must come as some reward to Japan for the late release of Source Code - 28 October no less. Do keep an eye on Man Made Movies for release dates and much more to do with Duncan.
With Source Code continuing to make progress across the known world, Jake Gyllenhaal has fended off repeatedly the question of what would he do if he only had eight minutes to change the world. In a Polish interview, conducted in LA just after Source Code's premiere at Austin's SXSW festival, Jake responded to the question of whether he could relate to Colter's particular little problem.
'It happened to me once that I fell asleep on a plane and when I woke up, at first I had no idea where I was. I was convinced that I went to sleep in my own bed, then suddenly, in some inexplicable way, I found myself in another place. I remember that a thousand ideas passed through my head of what could have happenened. Was I dead? Kidnapped by a UFO? Was I teleported? Of course, I remembered everything soon enough, and the nightmare was over. When I read "Source Code", I could guess right away how Colter Stevens felt, waking up in the train. But in his case, the nightmare has only just begun.'
This is a great interview, which you can read - with the little help of google - here. Many thanks to Mermon for sending it along! Among the other topics Jake discusses is loving Moon and Duncan's film making, although Duncan was a little distracted at times, especially just before filming began...
'We met for the first time we met here in Los Angeles, in one of the cafes. It so happened that two days before he met his current girlfriend. And he utterly could not concentrate on the conversation! (laughs) It was evident that he misses her terribly and thinks only about her. Just like Colter Stevens on the train, his spirit was somewhere else. It looked like he was trying to explain himself: "You know, man, I'm your big fan, but, a case is, that I met this girl and we've lived together three days, and you understand, I have to go back" (laughs). I said, "No problem". It was charming in its own way.'
Among the talk of filming Source Code, the script and what Jake likes about SXSW, there is a brief mention of what Jake would be doing if he lived another life in an alternative universe (apart from looking hot, of course). I must warn you, it involves manure...
'As a farmer who stands with a pitchfork and throws around the pig manure (laughs). Talking seriously, I have no idea. Life consists of so many unpredictable elements that you can not answer the question: "Where I would be today if I would have take a different decision ten years ago?". However, it seems to me that I wouldn’t be working in another profession. I like it too much. I'd be doing everything possible to continue to be an actor.' Do check out the rest of the interview.
Talking of ten years ago, Access Hollywood has been going through its archives to mark the tenth anniversary of Moonlight Mile being filmed. Here is an interview with Jake on set. We've seen it before but it's well worth another look.
Which provides me with a perfect excuse to repost this video of behind the scenes footage from Moonlight Mile, which, of course, reminds me so much of my tour around this sites with BBMISwear almost two years ago. What a wonderful time that was.
I saw this today, which made me chuckle. Back in 2003, Jake was picked as one to watch...
And finally...
There is a new interview with Duncan Jones here for Source Code. But it is spoilery so only click the link if you've seen the film.
Includes pictures from IHJ. Thanks to Mermon for the interview link!
A couple of goodies this evening, including another interview with Jake Gyllenhaal from Germany and it's a corker. There's much more to it than just yet more questions about what Jake would do if he could pick eight minutes to relive. You can find the whole interview here and below I've included some snippets. Anything dodgy is the fault of my translation - Jake is not to blame (unless he really did say something strange and the translation is spot on...).
'I am proud to do blockbusters. "The Day After Tomorrow" for example, focuses on an environmental disaster. And "Jarhead" tells us of the madness of the Gulf War, "Brokeback Mountain" is about the taboo love between men, and "Love and Other Drugs" is also about the hubris of the American pharmaceutical industry.'
Choice of roles as Jake becomes better known: 'Sure, the danger is great. When celebrity status reaches a certain height it can become complacent and hollow. I readily admit it. But I've not fallen into this trap. I'm still burning! I still want to know. I still wear each of my films literally like my skin. I've been working without a safety net.'
'I hope that I will never back down. I would rather be like my big idols Paul Newman, Anthony Quinn, Steve McQueen and Marlon Brando. They never sold out. And when I look at how well my sister Maggie is doing in the movie business, it suggests to me that there is also great hope.'
'I love acting, especially because of the storytelling. I'm happiest when I can be part of telling a great story. This is my drive as an artist.'
'Seeing myself on a movie poster is a limited thrill for me (laughter). But the thrill of being able to work with fantastic actors like Heath Ledger is indescribable. Or with such a visionary young director like Duncan Jones. I was totally over the moon that he wanted to do "Source Code". I found his debut film "Moon" quite extraordinary.'
'... And daring, sometimes risking taking a wrong step creatively, yes. It's very liberating. Because it's the only way you develop further. This does not mean that I valued "Source Code" as a creative misstep - the opposite is the case. The film was a step in the right direction. I will continue to make more films like this, rather than the one that is expected of me. I'm personally and professionally in a state of transformation when almost anything can happen. This is exciting.'
Public interest in Jake as a person: 'This whole celebrity nonsense? Sometimes I call out to people "Get a life!" But mostly I just shrug my shoulders. If you really want, you can escape a bit from all the hype - even in Los Angeles.'
Ending a relationship in public: 'True, it's not easy when a relationship ends under the magnifying glass of the media. It's bad enough even without the pictures and malicious comments. But even so I did not let them bend me. That would be really bad.'
'I have a great ambition, that everything I do looks light and loose. Just as, for example, Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart made it look. That to me is the greatest art: to make what is heavy appear light.'
Many thanks to Mrs JG for letting me know about this great interview and also for the heads up that Donnie Darko appears in the July issue of SFX as the magazine takes a look at the scifi and fantasy of 2001. (If you're a Torchwood fan, you might well want to get this magazine.) Here are some scans I've done. Click on them and they shall be embiggened.
And finally...
If you're interested, you can read my take on the taster of Transformers: Dark of the Moon that we were teased with earlier in the week over at Bleeding Cool.
There are two excellent pieces of news tonight. Firstly, Source Code has broken the $100 million mark, which is a fantastic achievement for Duncan Jones, for Jake Gyllenhaal and everyone else involved with this wonderful film. And with Source Code continuing to open around the world, the numbers will only rise. Do keep an eye on Man Made Movies because there are details on release dates there and much more besides.
The other good news is that the Source Code Blu-ray and DVD release has a date, at least for the US: 26 July. Great news indeed that we have a commentary with Jake and Duncan Jones. Jake's commentaries are to be treasured so how good to have the chance to hear both him and Duncan discuss the creation and shape of the film. Looking at the art above, the Blu-ray cover in particular looks wonderful. Thanks to MMM for the heads up!
