Love and Other Drugs to be a Christmas treat? Persian gifts, and memories from that 'God-given action hero' Jake Gyllenhaal and his PoP cohorts

Love and Other Drugs now has a release date for the UK - not surprisingly, it's later than the November release for the US but it does mean we get a Christmas Bonus. FilmDates has announced a date of 29 December, although I must say that Wednesday seems an unusual day of the week for a movie release.


A week ago, we enjoyed Jake Gyllenhaal answering some more questions from fans and one of the questions was from our very own Silver (Erin)! Silver was promised some goodies which have now arrived and I'm delighted that Silver sent me photos to share with everyone. I wonder if Mrs Wood has received her's...





Conratulations again, Silver! And here is a reminder of the video.



At long last I have finished reading We Make Our Own Destiny which, as you may recall, I took to pieces after having the front cover signed by Jake and the back by Gemma Arterton. As a result, it's now in bits. However, there are gems in those fragments. And here are just a few of them.


Mike Newell: 'I considered lots of actors for Dastan... but Jake has a man-of-the-people quality. He's curious, open, gentle, very tough, and has great comic abilities, and in Prince of Persia he uses all of that. I saw pretty much everything he had made, and thought him a marvellous actor, with terrific charisma. But, what I didn't know about Jake was that he would be an absolutely God-given action hero. He can fight, hold a sword, run, clamber, jump, and a ride a horse as if he were glued to the back of it. And that I didn't expect. I expected the acting and the good looks, but didn't know that he could hold a sword and look like he means it - and that's not a small thing.'


Jordan Mechner: 'Any time you have a character who an audience has connected to through another medium, whether it's a novel or a video game, people are going to have strong feelings about it. But I think that if you have a good actor and a good movie, then after the first minute it's no longer an issue. I think Jake is a fantastic choice for the the role. Once you see him in costume and in action, you have no doubt that he can be the prince in sixth-century Persia.'

Gemma Arterton: 'Jake is a naturally humorous person, so we had lots of banter anyway, which kind of fed into what we were doing in front of the camera... We'd muck about on set, and Jake is easy to bounce off in that respect, because he's a funny guy. But at the same time, because he's a good actor, we could get through to all of the undertones of Dastan and Tamina's relationship, so it was brilliant. I was really lucky to act opposite Jake.'


Jake Gyllenhaal on Sir Ben Kingsley: 'Sir Ben Kingsley's work speaks for itself... which of course is why he's here. He's just an extraordinary actor in all respects and all rights, and has earned all the accolades that any actor could or would ever hope to, and we're just lucky to have him in our film. That's how I feel every day I'm working with him. He's incredibly sensitive, and I liked seeing that in someone who's so experienced. He hasn't been hardened to a life of acting in movies and onstage, He's ever learning and ever curious to what's happening, and I really respect that he could be so open to a twenty-eight year old actor who's still at the beginning of his career, and just be kind and giving.'


Jake: 'Every time I walk onto one of the sets in this movie, I just think of all the children that I know and love, and how much fun they're going to have watching this movie... The fact is, I made it for them. And if I'm frustrated about something, I take a look at the sets of Alamut, or the Sandglass of the Gods, and I just think anout how much fun the kids are going to have watching Dastan fight off the Hassansins and doing his jumps and leaps. It brings me a lot of joy to think about that, because I remember how huge of an influence movie heroes had on my life when I was young. Kids today are brought up in a very different world. We're experiencing a lot of hard sruff. So it's really nice to have a movie that's going to be a real escape and a metaphor for them that represents good. It's a nice feeling to be a part of something like that.'


'Mike is just wonderful, so smart and robust... Mike is all about performance and story, and that's his strength. Also his sense of comedy is really wonderful, very dry and British. When he tells me something, particularly in a comedic moment, it's always based in a real place.'

'There's not a single person on this movie who can find a bad thing to say about Fred Molina... He's just great, an actor's actor who adds light and life to the movie. Fred raised the bar, and he's just a lovely man.'

Alfred Molina: 'I think it's rather presumptuous of us to imagine that audiences are going to come out of watching Prince of Persua and be better people for it... If an audience walks out thinking that their ten bucks have been really well spent, then we've done our job. If they come out entertained and uplifted in some way... if it makes them curious about wanting to find out more about history... that's even better.'


Alfred: 'I don't think we've seen a member of the human species being quite so emotionally linked with an ostrich... I think we're breaking new ground here.' Alfred had thought that the ostrich he kissed was an Anita but it turned out to be an Alan. 'So I think we did the first sort of gay, interspecies kiss on film. Hopefully, they'll create an MTC Award for that category.'

Gill Raddings, animal coordinator: 'The camels on set are wonderful. They don't kick, they don't spit, they don't bite, and they don't spook at anything. With a battle raging around them, the camels just stand their, chewing their cud and looking down their long noses at everyone and everything... They can get a little moody...'


Anthony Bloom, avian coordinator (about the birds in the palace scene between Dastan and Tamina): 'One bird has a vocabularly of colourful swearwords, and another, named Peppy, speaks soliloquies in a thick Scottish accent... I just hope they don't start talking during Jake Gyllenhaal and Gemma Arterton's dialogue.'

Chad Oman, executive producer (on Dastan and Tamina's leather water bottle): 'It took five weeks of constant work to make that one bag, with elaborate stitching and beadwork.'


Sir Ben Kingsley: 'Everywhere our eyes looked, we saw the most exquisitely carved walls, drapes, ramparts... And in Morocco, nature itself, the camels, thousands of horsemen, the dust. Our sets are so detailed that even if you're pausing, like I am, half-way in a line and just breathing in, the amount of energy and information you're breathing in is extraordinary. Hours and hours of work have gone into this environment for you to act it. It's really uplifting, and it honoured our craft to such a degree.'

Penny Rose, costume designer: 'As anyone can see, Jake Gyllenhaal has a superb body... And we felt it was relevant to show elements of it without a kind of full-on torso. So we start the movie in his battle armor, which was painstakingly made in real leather - with all the ingredients and accessories - by a wonderful Moroccan craftsman. It is a big wink at the video game, because we felt there had to be an identity from the first frame, so audiences will recognize aspects of the look from the games. For riding and stunts, we had a plastic replica, much lighter, but you can barely tell the difference.'


'For Jake's second costume, the inspiration for his coat came from an old piece of textile we picked up in an old antique fair... I particularly liked the work on it, thought it had a very good identity of its own. So we remade it by hand and turned it into a coat, bound by leather. Jake loves what we call the 'spiral coat' because it's really light, he can really move in it. He's got a white linen shirt with handstitching down the front and on the cuffs, plus a sash and a belt, and a nice necklace. Jake wears boots and knee protectors with this costume.'

'But I think Jake's favourite costume is when he's disguised as an Indian palanquin-bearer for a very large Mughal in King Sharaman's funeral procession. It's metallic-embroidered red silk from India, and I must say that Jake cuts rather a dash in it, especially with the matching headdress.'


Greg Powell, stunt coordinator: 'This movie has been an adventure... We've taken nearly every stage at the studio, plus half of the Moroccan desert. It's been great fun. Jake is capable of doing it all himself, and we only use his stunt doubles when it's absolutely impossible for safety reasons.'

Ben Cooke, fight coordinator: 'Jake has to fight convincingly with two swords and a dagger, in addition to the parkour and free-running elements, and that's a lot to learn. But Jake's done it... He's rocked the party. When he gets in there, he knocks it out. We'll have him fighting, jumping, falling, sometimes up on rigs that are forty or fifty feet up in the air. Jake's all for it.'


Jake: 'I learned at the foor of people who have designed some of the most insane movie fights you've ever seen... We did a ton of fight rehearsals. I remember the first one that we did, just learning how to do simple moves, starting with a strike and parry, and slowly moving on to much more difficult choreography. It's sort of funny, because by the time we were on day ninety-eight, I walked onto set, and Ben Cooke says, 'Okay, mates, you're gonna parry him off, turn around, then he's gonna come around here and swipe under your head,' and I was like, 'Okay, no problem'. It's amazing how you start to take it all for granted once you've gotten used to the process.'

David Belle: 'Jake certainly had me convinced... I've seen his work, his movements in various scenes, and I have no doubt.'


Jake: 'My DNA now has the Moroccan desert in it, because I've definitely breathed in my share of sand... I grew up in Southern California, and the weather and topography of Morocco are actually quite similar, so it wasn't too rough for me. I had shot here before, but I'd never actually gone as far into the desert and seen as much of Morocco as I did on Prince of Persia. It's a really beautiful country. There were times, on off days, when I'd just drive and drive, just amazed at the landscapes and the culture. Moroccan people are the sweetest, kindest people, and the hardest workers. I'm really going to miss them a lot. I just think Moroccans are wonderful people.'

Mike Newell: 'The English are supposed to have this special thing for the desert, because England is so small, green, and wet... and the English can breath free when they get into vast, dry spaces. And it's true. The desert is a very beautiful and mysterious place to be.'


Conclusion: 'That final night in Erfoud, with a charter jet due to arrive the next morning to ferry the company to London, vigorous drums and music permeated the air at the crew hotel as a Berber ensemble played. An adorable eleven-month-old camel named Mounis - that looked like a cartoon character, with his ever-smiling face and long eyelashes - made the rounds being petted and having photos taken with the crew.'


Pictures with thanks from Silver and Disney, via IHJ.

A tale of Jake Gyllenhaal and a rug magnet from Morocco - &, if it all ends tomorrow, 'I have the things that matter to me in my life'

I advise you to wipe off the mascara and grab a bunch of hankies for this first video in the post tonight. It's emotional stuff. In it, Jake Gyllenhaal reveals with heartwrenching, raw feeling just how he feels when he receives the second thing he's wanted the most his entire life. Obviously, I have a few suggestions for what the first thing Jake's craved might be (many of them involve southern England and sunsets) but what is number 2? I'm sure you've already guessed - a rug magnet from Morocco. Yep, that was my guess too. Before you reach this magic (mini) carpet moment, you must watch Jerry Bruckheimer be bewildered.



As part of the catchup, I don't want to delay any longer posting this interview from the Toronto Sun. It includes more about what President Obama said to him and how his words all fitted in with Jake's strategy of bringing fun into his work day. '“I saw a lot of my contemporaries doing similar things and having a good time doing it, and audiences definitely want to see big entertainment,” Gyllenhaal says. “It’s not a fun time for a lot of people and they like to go to the movie theatre and have a good time.” Recently, he adds, he and some other actors met with President Obama. “He said, ‘You’re all entertainers. In the United States and all over the world, people are having a rough time, so just keep making us laugh.’ So this movie is my political statement,” he says, and he grins.'


'“I had an idea of what good acting was. I thought it was digging down to the very depths of your soul, but your soul consists of so many things — everything we do, joy too and fun and going back to being a kid again.”'

'“In the movie, some of the jumps I do, or the stunt guys do, it really is an issue of the mind. You see how powerful the mind is, that you can jump 25 feet in distance and 15 in height from something, and land unscathed. It’s almost a meditation. You’re transferring your energy from impact — there is no impact.” Almost every jump and stunt was done without wires, he adds, “and when there were wires, it was due to insurance issues.”'


'Growing up in the industry “is something that made me feel confident,” says the actor. “’Cause I grew up around different artists and on movie sets, and just like any child who grows up in any context, you end up feeling comfortable in that context. That was an advantage,” he says. By the same token, he explains, the family’s reputation — for good or ill — follows one around, and being immersed in the profession from childhood makes one critical of other actors’ work. “You have a critical eye for the process. When it’s your profession, that’s the way you are. And sometimes that takes away from the fun of the process.”'

[NB: Unfortunately YouTube removed this video... I like this video below from LA - a kind fan offers Jake Snickers - and we know how much he likes them]

'"I’ve seen the fickle aspects of the business from a very young age. Artistically, financially, I’ve seen my parents’ careers go up and down. As a result, I’ve walked into it a little more cautiously. That’s ultimately why I take myself a lot less seriously.”'


'To illustrate what he does take seriously, Gyllenhaal talks about Paul Newman, an actor he greatly admires, and the astounding charity work Newman did through his line of salad dressings and other comestibles. “That salad dressing, to me, was a sense of who he was, and how he did so much incredible good around the world. Yes, the movies stay with us, but more than that, we remember the person, the man he was. So the movie stuff, whether it goes away tomorrow, I have the things that matter to me in my life.”'

Including a rug magnet from Morocco.


Many thanks to Carol for the Evening Echo from 20 May (some WDW scans from that included) and to IHJ - And thanks to every one for all the great feedback on the WDW Makeover!