Jake Gyllenhaal stars with Beyonce and Jay-Z and says goodbye to the long hair and beard! Plus movie news

Barely a year goes by without Jake Gyllenhaal making an appearance in a music video and 2014 is proving no different. Jake has been seen frequently in the company of Beyonce and Jay-Z and so it was a pleasant surprise to see him also pop up in the promotional video for their upcoming 'Run' tour.

The video also features WDW favourite Emmy Rossum, a fine singer in her own right. You can watch the video here.



But the big news is that Jake has decided to part company with the long hair and shaggy beard, as can be seen in the photos of him shopping in NYC yesterday! He's also back to chewing the headphone lead - just like the old days. Pap photos are no longer posted here so just follow the links.

The extensive barbering means that Everest is finished but there is more movie news this week. Nightcrawler has been picked up at Cannes by Open Road, which is also looked after End of Watch so well.

Finally, this weekend, if you're in the neighbourhood of Indiana, why not audition to be in Southpaw alongside Jake, or more precisely cheering him on from the other side of the ropes? Details here. Filming then moves on to Pittsburgh, the home, of course, of Love and Other Drugs. This might give Jake the chance to brush off that tattoo...

Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal at the Met, a literary discussion and a May round up

The big event over recent days is the appearance of Jake Gyllenhaal with his sister Maggie at the Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on 5 May. The theme for men this year was white suits and I'm glad to say that Jake did what he was told. For women, the theme was flowing dresses. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I do like Maggie's blonde do. Unfortunately, my invitation arrived too late.

On 1 May, Jake also took part in the discussion with Colm Toibin of James Baldwin's novel Another Country.  The event was part of Columbia University's Baldwin celebrations.

'On the afternoon of Sunday, May 4, 2014, Pioneer Works, Center for Art and Innovation will hold its first benefit fundraiser, The Village Fête. Our goal is to launch an annual coming-together of New York’s creative community and its supporters, a celebration of our founding mission for innovation in the contemporary arts and sciences. Bob Colacello, Maggie Gyllenhaal & Peter Sarsgaard, Sydie Lansing, Andres & Lauren Santo Domingo and Liv Tyler are chairing the event.' Jake was also there to lend a hand.

Over the last few weeks, Jake has been keeping up his boxing duties for Southpaw but he's been making sure to leave time for other sports. At the weekend, Jake watched the Brooklyn Nets take on Miami Heat in rather shiny company - Jay-Z and Beyonce. You can see a pic here and more on IHJ. Jake has also been seen out and about with Alyssa Miller in NYC on 10 May while on 8 May he was spotted wearing Mr WDW's jacket. No word yet on when we'll get it back.

Many thanks to IHJ for the wonderful new pics.

Jake Gyllenhaal - Edible Schoolyard, much food talk, Words of War, a bit of basketball

Jake Gyllenhaal is, I think you'll agree, very edible. It's therefore extremely appropriate that he should be honoured by Edible Schoolyard at its inaugural Spring benefit on 15 April at Essex Market in NYC. This event, hosted by a charity with which Jake has long been actively involved, was supposed to happen last October but was postponed due to Hurricane Sandy.

In the New York Observer: “Seriously, it’s one of the areas of my life where I hold everything with love and no judgment,” said the actor. “Anything that is fresh from a garden is my favorite food.” Mr. Gyllenhaal’s mother, screenwriter Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal, corroborated his story. Apparently he didn’t even object to broccoli as a kid: “He was very adventurous, and always, from the time he was really little, a spectacular cook,” she said proudly.'

The Wall Street Journal:  'Mr. Gyllenhaal grew up with gardens in his homes in Los Angeles and Martha's Vineyard. We wondered, who had a greener thumb, he or Maggie? "Me," he said, after a short pause. As brothers cannot always be trusted to assess superiority over their sisters, we asked Naomi Foner, Mr. Gyllenhaal's mother. "It's Jake," she said. "He helped me plant our vegetable garden and worked really hard at it."

'Ms. Foner is also a fan of the organization. "Most kids in New York don't see gardens," she said. "And people only know what they know. When you expand their horizons, you're giving them an enormous gift." She then sought out a photo from her iPhone depicting her granddaughter, Gloria, mauling a garden-grown tomato. "I mean, is there anything better than a warm tomato that you grew yourself right off the vine, maybe with a little bit of salt and olive oil?"'

Jake also had this to say during his speech: '“It’s about more than just what you eat—it’s about being connected to the earth,” he explained. “Like, what would New York City be without Central Park? I mean, there’s not much edible food in there…but still. That idea exists within the city, and it should exist in every public school.”

At the event, Jake also mentioned his teenage job as a busboy on Martha's Vineland. His boss was asked all about it in New York Grub Street. 'Well, he was very young. I think he had just turned 16 at the time. On Martha’s Vineyard in July and August, it’s crazy-busy. Every night is like a busy Saturday night, so you need everybody to show up to work, right? He had his mother call into the restaurant to say that he was sick for the day. My buddy and I who ran the place were like, "Oh my God. I can’t believe that Jake’s mother just called to say that he’s home sick and can’t come to work."'

'So the next morning, we went to the drugstore and bought a baby bottle and a little pacifier, and when he came back to work, we gave him so much shit. We just didn’t let up. Every day for the rest of the summer, we kept on giving him water in a baby bottle. He was just telling me how that kind of resonated with him in terms of work ethic, so I thought it was kind of cute.'

Sounds a right hoot... I can see why Jake took up lifeguarding.

Words of War

On 8 May, Jake will take part in another charitable event - Words of War hosted by the Headstrong Project at IAC HQ in NYC: 

'This cocktail fundraiser is designed to further support the mission of the Headstrong Project, to help veterans recover from the hidden wounds of war in order to lead full and meaningful lives. Specifically, “Words of War” will support comprehensive mental healthcare for military veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. The evening will include a war poetry reading by Jake Gyllenhaal.' 

There are more details here

In NYC

There are wonderful new old pictures on IHJ of Jake in NYC back in 2011. Last week, though, Jake was also in the city. Jake and 'Jay-Z kicked back at the rapper's 40/40 Club in New York City Monday night, watching the NCAA championship basketball game in the Owner's Lounge. The two, joined by Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, exchanged a big hug when they met up, then spent the evening snacking on the club's signature wings and sipping D'Usse cognac.'

Many thanks to IHJ for such fab pics! It's so good to see Jake out and about again, past and present.

End of Watch makes Anna Kendrick blush and Jake Gyllenhaal puts his life in Michael Pena's hands

Jake Gyllenhaal  is managing to avoid the cameras, despite having been spotted on planes, trains and automobiles - well, in airports (presumably travelling to and from Toronto for preparations for filming An Enemy) and on NYC subways.

Last night, though, Jake managed to escape public transport long enough to attend the launch party of a new cognac, D'ussé, at the Top of the Standard Hotel in New York. Also there was Jay-Z, making this the third time in recent days that Jake has attended an event with Jay-Z. It certainly seems very probable that Jake and Jay-Z are planning to collaborate on a project, whether this is a song for End of Watch or, who knows?, another music video is yet to be revealed. Unfortunately, Jake was in stealth mode and said no to cameras.

The release of the first trailer for End of Watch continues to attract attention. Anna Kendrick has been talking to E! about the intimacy of working with Jake on such a film where the boundaries between reality an fiction were blurred.

"We were shooting [End of Watch] on tiny cameras with very little lighting and a very small crew. There was a lot of improv," Kendrick said. "It felt incredibly intimate. You're in character all the time because you're shooting all the time. So Jake and I would be holding hands and suddenly we'd be like, 'Oh, we're not filming.'" Ask her just how steamy things got with Jakey and Kendrick begins to giggle. "Oh, my goodness—I'm actually blushing," she said. "Yeah, it gets all sexy time with us."

On Tuesday, David Ayer, the director of End of Watch, was interviewed for the New York Times about his film which 'aims to transcend clichés that have piled up over the years, he explained, by portraying a pair of local patrol officers, played by Mr. Gyllenhaal and Mr. Peña, who are not crazed or corrupt. Instead they bring fierce mutual loyalty and an unexpected sweetness to their pursuit of goodness in a bad world.'

This is a fascinating glimpse into the fast and furious filming of End of Watch, including Jake's experience learning to use a firearm with live ammunition:

'In an unusual exercise with live ammunition, the actors learned to shoot past each other in what proved to be a lesson less in police tactics than in bonding. “This guy has my life in his hands for real,” Mr. Gyllenhaal recalled thinking. “I realized, I finally knew what we were dealing with.” (Mr. Ayer said the actors were “safe all the time” during the exercise at a training ground in Burbank.)'

A relief to hear that Michael Pena (and Jake) is a good shot!

Thanks to IHJ for their trailer caps!