As WDW hits 7 years old, a catch up with Jake Gyllenhaal and an Italian and Welsh Interlude!

Today is the 7th birthday of Wet Dark and Wild! No longer a toddler, it's definitely moved on to the gin and tonic phase, especially if you consider that blog years are like dog years. They do rhyme, after all. As it is the anniversary, there's no better time than to catch up with Jake Gyllenhaal.

First off, thanks to IHJ, we can see scans of Jake on location for Everest in the June issue of Empire. I love this photo of Jake. Do click on them and they shall be embiggened.

With Everest in the bag, albeit a delayed and we might get to see it eventually bag, Jake is now moving onto other things and at the heart of it all appears to be Southpaw. Jake is in training mode, which can be seen by recent sightings and photos of him at the Mayweather Boxing Club in Las Vegas and at a boxing match. You can see more of these over at IHJ. I do have to say, though, that this is not a role, or a look, that warms the cockles of my heart.

Jake has found the time for other more relaxing pursuits, including dinner with sister Maggie in Santa Monica (I love Maggie's new hairdo) and a trip out to watch old favourites Arcade Fire on 21 April in West Hollywood. Jake looked seriously peeved to be papped so let's leave it with a link.

WDW Italian and Welsh Interludes!

I have been quiet of late due to a) holidaying in Italy and Wales and b) due to eating too many Easter malteser chocolate bunnies. I promised an Italian Interlude in the last post but I was waylaid by Wales, which was beautiful and warm and sunny by day but by night, in a tent, was so cold it introduced a touch of hypothermia to my sunstroke. I thought I'd share a few photos, first Italy (Campania - Naples, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Paestum, Amalfi Coast) and second Wales. I would normally say you'd be able to spot the difference but we visited for the first time on a fabulously sunny day the curious Welsh-Italian coastal town of Portmeirion - better known to me at least as home to The Prisoner - 'I am not a number!' and all that.....

 

Wales...

I hope you all had a good Easter break!

Jake Gyllenhaal scales Everest - in Italy - and a new NSFW trailer for Enemy

Clearly inspired by the Winter Olympics, Jake Gyllenhaal is in the mountains this week to take part in the filming event. Jake is in Italy to film Everest and, just in case there's any danger of forgetting which mountain he's trying to climb, it's written on his hat.

Apart from being considerably overdressed compared to everyone else, I am rather concerned to see that instead of playing the role of one of the mountain's climbers, Jake has instead been cast as Yeti.

Earlier in the week, Jake was allowed down from the mountain to take a look round Rome, including St Peter's. Apologies for the Mail link. I should like to point out to Jake that he's a few months early - I won't be back in Rome until the summer.

Jake took time out of Everest to appear on the cover of Man of the World. In the interview, Jake talked about the importance of working with certain directors: 'Gyllenhaal says he feels more comfortable working with certain directors. "It's all about a level of commitment—how far will you go for a director you believe in? How far will you go for a story you believe in? I've always worked as hard as I can on everything I've done. But now I feel like I'm listening to myself and realizing that we have a finite amount of time, and how you spend it is really important."

Also this week, a new trailer appeared for Enemy. This one is the Not Safe For Work Variety so hold on...

Many thanks to IHJ for the great pics! There are lots more there.

Jake Gyllenhaal appears on the Ellen Show again at last and a WDW Tuscany Interlude

Well, what do you now... I go away for a week and Jake Gyllenhaal appears on the Ellen Show, the show that I've been looking forward to more than any other for a Jake reappearance. It's with thanks to IHJ that I'm able to watch it on my return.







Otherwise, Jake has been moving between LA and New York City, fitting in a bit of househunting and looking like he's put back on some of the Nightcrawler weight. He also has been seen wearing The Jumper - it's been quite a while since we've seen it!

Jake has also reaffirmed his work with the New Eyes for the Needy charity, revealing he is driven by making his 96-year old grandfather proud. There is also an interesting new interview here.

WDW Tuscany Interlude

I have just got back from a wonderful trip to sunny and beautiful Tuscany, taking in Pisa, Florence, the stunning Cinque Terre seaside ports to the north of Pisa and the walled city of Lucca. I thought I'd post a few photos.

I hope you all had a good week!

End of Watch UK DVD/blu ray release and an Italian Interlude

Buona sera! I have made it back to Blighty, having torn myself reluctantly from a most beautiful part of Italy, that insisted on feeding me good food and good wines while regaling me with culture, archaeology and a good dose of sunshine. Flying back over snow-covered northern Europe made it that little bit harder to come home. If you can stand it, a few photos will follow in an interlude further down the post. I recommend looking at them while quaffing Limoncello.

With filming of Prisoners entering its home straight, End of Watch will hopefully gain a new lease of life in the UK next week. On Monday the DVD and blu ray is released at last, which means I can finally see the film again, trying hard not to shut my eyes at the scary bits. There's a good review over at IGN.

As a result of this, new deleted scenes have been released. One is posted at HeyUGuys while the one below is from Total Film.

Jake Gyllenhaal also appeared in Metro this week answering five questions. Thanks to IHJ for the scan below. You can also read Jake's answers here. I do like this one on the importance of friends:

'With my best friends in the world, we express our love for each other through a whole lot of p***-taking and that’s what this movie conveys. Everybody needs a good friend. Romance and marriage are important but to have a friend you can use as a mirror or a blackboard or whatever, with an objective point of view, that is really important too.'

WDW Campania Interlude

I can't do credit to the beauty and culture of Campania in a few photos but here is just a taster of what we saw over the last few days in one of the most stunning regions of the world I've been too. Gems included Naples, Capri, Sorrento, Positano and Amalfi as well as two places I have always wanted to visit. A life long ambition has been achieved - Herculaneum and Pompeii. I'll be doing a full post on our visit to the two sites shortly on For Winter Nights but there's a taster here. The two best shots were taken by Mr WDW so thanks to him! The warm sunshine also helped...