Catch up: Jake Gyllenhaal turns Pittsburgh into NYC and Maggie is an Honourable Woman

Good to see you all! I'm back from one lovely long holiday in Cornwall (having returned looking like a radioactive lobster) and now getting ready for another jaunt to Rome. Jake Gyllenhaal is working through his summer, with shooting continuing on Pittsburgh into next month at least.

This report from Pittsburgh shows how the city is being transformed into NYC, complete with billboard posters of Jake's - or Hope's - next fight:

'The former Saks building is being turned into Madison Square Garden for the movie featuring Jake Gyllenhaal, Rachel McAdams, 50 Cent, and Lupita Nyong’o. A banner advertising “the light heavyweight championship” boxing match between Gyllenhaal’s Billy Hope and another boxer hung outside the building. New York City taxi cabs and police cars were also seen on Smithfield Street. The film is shooting in Pittsburgh through early August. The film previously shot in Indiana, Pa., in June.'

If you want to be an extra, there may still be time!

Maggie is making a bit of a splash on British small screens at the moment with the well-received The Honourable Woman. To mark its screening, Maggie was interviewed in the Guardian with this, less that controversial, comment about Jake: 'Understandably, Gyllenhaal discourages speculation about sibling rivalry. "He's one of my best friends and I really adore him,"' Incidentally, Maggie's English accent in The Honourable Woman is impeccable.

Thanks to IHJ for the new stills from Enemy. I love these posters.

I hope you're all having a good summer/winter!

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...

Brothers' Bailee Madison talks about Jake 'Call Me Uncle Tommy' Gyllenhaal and back to the 1990s with LAOD

What with all the excitement of trying to catch little glimpses of the filming currently going on in Pittsburgh, it's been easy to overlook the fact that another Jake Gyllenhaal movie is getting much closer - Brothers. Having said that, though, it's not entirely our fault because less money has been spent on the publicity for this film than I spend on skinny lattes in a week. But today we have something!


Little actress Bailee Madison has appeared on Clevver TV to talk about her role as Isabelle, one of the children ensnared in the dangerous triangle of mum, dad and Uncle Tommy. Bailee gives a wonderful account of a happy set, where she was welcomed into a family and learned a great deal from Natalie and Jake. Bailee also has some very nice things to say about the talented Jake and his ability to slip into the zone. There was the added bonus of snow and plenty of snow angels. Thanks BBMISwear :-)



Nevertheless, the excitement continues to spill over from the 'Burgh. There are now Tweets placing Anne Hathaway on set, in the company of a very chilled Jake. Yet again, I must urge the population of Pittsburgh to never leave home without their camera. As the vast majority of the city's inhabitants are actually in Love and Other Drugs, one would hope a picture is a dead cert. Reese has also been tweeted as visiting the set today, along with her dog which was accidentally described as 'ugly' by a student.


There may be no pictures of the actors themselves, but we have the next best thing - late 1990s VCRs, TVs and Sony Walkmen. Yes, the geek in me enjoys some new photographs of the Love and Other Drugs set. It makes a change from photos of trucks (there have been more of those today, as well). More interiors here.


Katheryn Winnick has also posted some more pictures from the shoot yesterday, both of which involve plenty of water. I'm grateful to Katheryn for taking us to work with her.



A reminder to vote - you have til Sunday!

Pictures with thanks from links.

On the trail of Jake Gyllenhaal plus some Peter and some Moon SFX

Jake Gyllenhaal is nothing if not elusive and so I've spent the last day or so trying to follow the breadcrumbs he's left for the Twitters. Over the last couple of days, Jake has been seen in at least two airports, aboard at least one plane, in at least one coffee shop, in at least two cities and attending at least one sporting occasion and possibly a party or two. That's what I call a weekend.


The latest sightings place Jake (probably) safely back in front of the camera in Pittsburgh but certainly in that town at least because several people saw Jake at the Steelers' football game last night. Unfathomably, it appears that most people and most camera people were focused on the game and not on the hot movie star in their midst and so, alas, there are as yet no pictures.


Jake wasn't just seen in Pittsburgh's Airport, he was also seen at the airport in NYC where he charmed people with Spider-man talk. I'm starting to think that Jake must spend at least 50% of every single day telling everyone he's Tobey Maguire. I'm equally convinced Tobey does the same thing in reverse - it's a good job Natalie Portman has her wits about her. The full report is here.

Now that Jake is more than likely back at work after a weekend presumably passing the parcel with Ramona, there's time to catch up with Ramona's dad who continues to charm the world's film critics.


There is a great interview with Peter Sarsgaard on Movieline, which reveals that Peter did all in his power not to see An Education for as long as possible. He also chats some more about The English Accent. 'Q: What’s even trickier about a British accent is that those can be traced down to the very block you grew up on. And British people know— PS: They know their shit, yeah. I just didn’t sweat it that much. [Laughs] I remember the dialect coach said, “Well, a lot of the British actors in this don’t have the correct dialect for what their character would have.” There’s not that level of specificity in this movie.'


Rather intriguingly, Peter talks here about his involvement in the casting of Carey Mulligan in the film, while she has talked before about how she was instrumental in getting Peter his role in The Seagull. Clearly, these are two actors who are omfortable together, and thoroughly enjoy the experience of working together and taking the p**s out of one another:



More Moon SFX details from Doug

Doug Liman has been talking to the Ninjas again, with more fascinating details about trying to visualise the Moon in the movie that remains unnamed. Doug makes it clear that this is make or break time for the project. If nobody is excited by what he's proposing, in terms of the visualisation of the moon and action upon it, then nobody will want to make the film, including himself. We must therefore hope to high heavens that Doug pulls together this crucial phase and we can get to enjoy a movie with which Jake is so deeply involved. A full account here. We are very lucky to be so involved in the process.


Includes pictures from links and IHJ.

Jake Gyllenhaal stops traffic in Pittsburgh, and how to order a drink with an accent

From the sound of it, Pittsburgh is becoming gridlocked, not due to various worldleaders dropping in for a global gathering, but because of Jake Gyllenhaal. The set of Love and Other Drugs might be closed (as reports tell us) but if you're in any doubt as to where Jake might be filming today, here are the clues:


1) Look out for the lines of extras getting kitted out in 1990s garb. At least 12% of a sizeable city's population may be an extra in this movie, and, if they're not, you can bet their car is. 2) Watch out for cougars (but ignore those who want to gush to Jake about how good Spider-Man 3 was). 3)Look out for vehicles with Love and Other Drugs written all over them. 4) Road restrictions - fortunately, the local media is on the case.


We're lucky that a fair number of the extras, crew and observers are keen tweeters. One such tweeter has recorded taking part in a dining scene at which Jake has to give a speech about Pfizer's Zoloft and she was able to get some photos of the scene including Jake's stand in. As I know from painful personal experience, if Jake's in front of your camera, a strange phenomenon occurs and the molecules of the camera are transformed to jelly (I'm being suitably scientific here, as befitting a post about a film about viagra). But I'm very grateful for the attempt.


Another fortunate person managed to get a picture of Jake up on to Flickr, although, as is often the case with Jake, he is fleet of foot. Thanks to them and it's good to hear that Jake had been posing for photographs.

There are also sightings and reports on IMDb: 'They filmed at the Omni William Penn Hotel, and it's a closed set. I got to be right behind Jake Gyllenhaal in a hotel hallway scene (where Gabriel Macht was also there, I think) and then later in a hotel bar scene.'


There was a fun anecdote about Peter Sarsgaard by Carey Mulligan today, which also throws light on the difficulty of ordering a drink in a foreign accent. '"There's a lot of things that, to say it with an American accent, you have to reverse the way your tongue moves. (In Wall Street 2) I have to say a line, 'Futures commodities marginalization act' and I spent two hours with a voice coach on that. In An Education, Peter Sarsgaard has a line, 'You slam your glass down on the bar and ask for more.' And he struggled with that. He nailed it in the end, but I remember on set trying that line with an American accent and everything is reversed."' I'll be looking out for it (the photo below, from PopSugar, shows Peter and Mggie out for a bite yesterday in NYC).


Talking of Nailed, that most worrisome of Jake's movies got a mention today, courtesy of David Ramsey who appears in the movie and doesn't appear to be writing it off... 'Q: We see you have some movies coming up, too. Tell us a little about them. DR: Mother and Child is a great piece, amazing cast. I'm playing Kerry Washington's husband—give me a break! And Nailed is a political satire. I'm kind of playing Jake Gyllenhaal's nemesis. It's another fun, fun role.' For once, I actually would like to see Jake meet his nemesis (if you see what I mean...).


Edited to add: Having Jake Gyllenhaal in your music video may be something that many singers aspire to - I mean, is there any better motivation for having a record out? I'd say not. Here, Matt Alber is interviewed about his debut album: 'Q: Speaking of your video, if you could have cast any famous male actor to dance with you, who would you have picked? MA: Oh, man. My honest answer is I wouldn't have changed a thing. It turned out exactly how I wanted it to turn out. We talked about trying to cast somebody who was a famous actor, and we realized that would just take away from the story we were trying to tell and it would be "it's that video with Jake Gyllenhaal and that guy" it would just be about that instead of being about the story. Q: So is that your roundabout way of saying "Jake Gyllenhaal?" MA: That said, I definitely wouldn't have minded a few rehearsals with Jake Gyllenhaal. I definitely would have gone to those rehearsals.'

Includes pictures from IHJ and links. Thanks to the people of Pittsburgh for involving us all in the shoot!

Jake Gyllenhaal heading for Ireland? And 'Do I look like Tobey Maguire?'

Time to dust off the Lucky Nike, charge that camera battery and dose up on anti-flu remedy! We have premieres! Contrary to what I had feared, Jim Sheridan isn't going to release Brothers accidentally this winter and just hope someone somewhere notices and maybe buys a ticket. Instead, Jim has decided that he's going to help perk up recession-stricken theatre audiences by giving them what they want. That can mean only one thing - Jake Gyllenhaal is the official Gloom Buster!


Jim tells us that the movie will get its big premiere in New York City (as one had hoped but not entirely expected) but, with a shout out to his homeland, Jim intends to bring the stars to Ireland for red carpets and, if they're lucky, a pint of the black stuff and some of that famous Irish hospitality.


'Oscar-winning director Jim explained how the release date had now been set for his long-awaited movie, which he described as a "love story", and he hopes to be rolling out the red carpet in Ireland. "Its official release date is December so we're going to have a proper premiere in New York for that, but what I really want is to have a premiere in Ireland as well, probably in late November... We filmed the movie in New Mexico and it stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Toby Maguire," he said. He added how a glitzy premiere with some of the movie world's biggest names was the "perfect tonic" to all the doom and gloom that has prevailed in Ireland over the recent months.'


You can read more here - how good it is to see Brothers in the news - may we have more soon... One of the film's actors, Clifton Collins Jr, has also been talking about appearing in the film - you can see the video of that interview here. Please forgive the zombies - this video is infested with them.

Jake on set!

Meanwhile, back in the 'Burgh, it's great to get a set photo (courtesy of Timesonline) and see that Oliver Platt is making Jake laugh and that a good time is being had. This article covers two scenes that were filmed on Monday, one of which involved Jake getting very wet indeed - an expected bonus, I feel, for every Jake movie. In a scene reminiscent of more than one Zodiac scene, Jake had to run across the asphalt in Aliquippa while having water chucked over him. A slight exaggeration perhaps but wetness is the result.


'Only a handful of spectators witnessed the action on the closed set, though plenty of locals saw an earlier scene, where Gyllenhaal sits in a black Mercedes Benz with driver Oliver Platt (“Dr. Doolittle”) at the wheel. The car was stationary, towed by a trailer behind an Aliquippa police escort, though in the movie it’ll look like they’re cruising down Mill Street.'


'They made three trips up and down Mill Street, bringing traffic to a crawl. For about 15 minutes, the car and its trailer were stopped on Calvert Street, near the CVS Drug Store, while film crew workers made adjustments. That gave a few onlookers a chance to speak with Gyllenhaal. “Hey Spider-Man,” said Joey Hages, 19, of Aliquippa, who shook Gyllenhaal’s hand. “Did you like ‘Spider-Man 3’?” Gyllenhaal asked politely, not letting on that it was Tobey Maguire who played that superhero role.'


For crying out loud, people!! I hope and pray that, if Brothers doesn't confuse everyone completely, Prince of Persia will at least clear some things up. Good for Jake though for being such a great sport. I suspect that he and Tobey have some kind of bet going.

Meanwhile, Atticus was in a trailer while Reese was in a tent being observed by several policemen. Reese's representatives have yet to comment on claims that she was engaged in helping them with their enquiries. You can read it all here. It's great to see that Jake's Toucher and possibly a Retoucher is being gainfully employed once more.


Tweets today suggest that Jake, and Love and Other Drugs, may be causing some excitement and more traffic troubles in downtown Pittsburgh.

Includes pictures from Timesonline and LAOD trucks courtesy of Flickr.

[Update] Jake watches the Pirates... Jake Gyllenhaal tells kids to read (very loudly indeed) and Jake's a hit in the 'burgh

[Update] It's good to learn that the sports fans of the US are keeping up the good work and doing their bit for us by spotting Jake in the crowd. Last Saturday, Jake (and Ed Zwick) watched the Pittsburgh Pirates take on the Dodgers and (not for the first time this season) lose. But who needs a sports victory when you have the chance to hear Jake Gyllenhaal philosphise in person?


'Sitting directly behind us was actor Jake Gyllenhaal of ”Brokeback Mountain” fame, along with some other Hollywood types, including director Edward Zwick... I am not a starfucker by any stretch of the imagination, but it was hard not to eavesdrop on some of the dialogue unfolding behind us. At one point, one of the guys in Gyllenhall’s entourage noted that the Pirates have the least errors of any team in the National League but are still mired in last place. “That’s just like life,” Gyllenhall replied. “If you aren’t willing to make mistakes, you’re never going to get anywhere.” I can’t quit you, Jake!' On hearing that, who could? More here.

On with the post... With apologies to everyone who had a heavy night last night, here is Jake Gyllenhaal yelling very loudly indeed.



The Electric Company is part of a new campaign to get kids reading and, possibly as part of Jake's new association with Sesame Street and the Electric Co, Jake's one of the shouting stars. So, less time on the net, more time reading books - that's just for kids, right Jake? Thanks to BBMISwear for the headsup!


Jake Gyllenhaal is winning over the 'Burgh!

Not that I had any doubts but it's good to get it in writing. 'He's been out and about, so much so that it seems as if everyone -- or their friend -- has spotted the Hollywood star...' And he's a hit.


'From a Peruvian restaurant in Shadyside to a Downtown bar, with Whole Foods in between, Mr. Gyllenhaal isn't shy about sampling life in the 'Burgh. Filming continues in the coming weeks, with one of Mr. Gyllenhaal's "Brokeback" co-stars, Anne Hathaway, due to arrive early next month. After Miss Hilko and her friend, Rachel Moynihan, finished their late breakfast, she couldn't resist asking the hunky actor to pose for a photo: "I grabbed his arm but not like a stalker ... he was, like, 'Sure.''


'Seems Mr. Braunstein was the barista when Mr. Gyllenhaal and two young women entered the cozy restaurant. "He was dressed like a normal guy: T-shirt, jeans, boots," Ms. Siebert said, noting the actor made no attempt at the dark-glasses-and-hat disguise routine.' No hat? Excellent.


Peter and the holidays

Thanks again to BBMISwear for sending along and scanning this Peter article from Parade. In it, Peter talks about his family dividing the religious holiday between his side of the family - for Easter - and Maggie's - for Yom Kippur and Hanukkah. I wish them and everyone else who celebrates a Happy Holiday!


Includes pictures from IHJ and Parade. Many thanks to BBMISwear.

[Updated] New set pics... Cougars? COUGARS? A Pittsburgh report, a pic and George Segal is Jake Gyllenhaal's dad

Updated to add new pictures of Jake Gyllenhaal from the set of Love and Other Drugs in Pittsburgh, taken on Thursday. Thanks Gretchen! Is that Oliver Platt?



A report from Pittsburgh: 'The Jake Gyllenhaal-Anne Hathaway movie "Love and Other Drugs" continued production at a rented home in the East End. Less than a dozen people gathered to watch the film crew but the scenes were all being shot inside, out of view. Ellie Feibus, 22, who lives in a carriage house nearby, has glimpsed Mr. Gyllenhaal and even got a wave from actor George Segal, who plays his father.'

'"Yesterday there was a whole group of cougars standing there waiting for Jake," Ms. Feibus said, referring to some of Mr. Gyllenhaal's older female fans. "It was cool but I'm over it."' Full report here.


Meanwhile, one very lucky and happy girl, Talituna, met Jake Gyllenhaal on set yesterday and, thanks to her, we at last get our wish - a picture from Pittsburgh and it's a great one!

Picture from Talituna, post by a Cougar.

Pittsburgh auditions - Love and Other Drugs gets busy and Jake Gyllenhaal's ace

Never has a glass of Heineken looked so refreshing. This post is illustrated with new pictures from Jake Gyllenhaal's extremely distracting appearance at the US Open a couple of weeks ago. These pictures were taken during one of the many 'Who'll swap seats with me' breaks. Many thanks to IHJ for these ace shots.


In years to come, when people sit down to discuss the multi award winning success Love and Other Drugs, they will remember the extraordinary fact that approximately 87% of Pittsburgh's population appeared in the film (along with 68% of the city's cars). It appears that the centre of Pittsburgh has been turned this week into an open audition. If you walk down the street and look like a doctor or a patient (or even a person) then it's very likely that you're already cast.


Love and Other Drugs is set to employ '3,000 extras' and its producers have narrowed down their search to adults. It will also help if you look like Jennifer Aniston: 'Shenot said that people should style their makeup normally but dress in business casual attire. The movie takes place in 1997, so Shenot recommends girls wear ’90s hairstyles with a lot of body — like Jennifer Aniston from the sitcom “Friends.”' I'm trying to remember 1997 and whether I should be worried about Jake's hairstyle. Filming finishes around 1 December - just in time for Brothers. More details here. And here are the experiences of one person who took some cars to audition yesterday.


The evidence that a good proportion of Pittsburgh skipped work today can be found on Twitter. Tweets abound of people auditioning, being signed up or going to wardrobe fittings. There are also reports of filming locations for the next few days - therefore the few people who don't get a part in the film may at least go and see it filmed (and take photographs).


A little extra snippet is that the costume designer for Love and Other Drugs has been named as Deborah Scott, who was also the designer for Avatar, Transformers and Titanic. Another of the actors playing one of the film's pharmaceutical reps has also been named - Jaimie Alexander - who will then appear in Thor alongside Natalie Portman.


And finally...

Some more clips from An Education...

Jake Gyllenhaal goes back to work - and looking back: finding films and loving films

It may be Friday, but for Jake Gyllenhaal it's a case of back to work to start filming Love and Other Drugs in Pittsburgh. It's already made the local Pitt News. 'Jake Gyllenhaal, Hank Azaria and about 300 other people will be on campus filming a romantic comedy today... Production crews arrived at the Pitt Athletic Association, next to Alumni Hall, around 4 this morning to begin setting up equipment and testing lighting. Filming began several hours later and will continue until at least 7 p.m.'


'Around 10 a.m. this morning, crews were filming in the Athletic Association's bowling alley. Azaria was on set, and a sea of extras in black shirts reading "Doc's" surrounded him. Stand-ins for Gyllenhaal and Azaria stood behind the cameras waiting for a gap in the filming, when they'd be asked to stand still for an hour, or sometimes more, holding positions so crews could check the lighting.'


'Scott Levine, a publicist for the film, said he thought today would probably be the only day the crew was on campus. He said he expects thinks the film will come out in 2010, but that it's too early to tell for sure. Filming, he guessed, would probably end shortly after Thanksgiving.'


Memory Lane

A wonderful new profile of Jake Gyllenhaal landed on YouTube today. Full of clips I've never seen before, and snippets from interviews some of which I've not heard before, it's a delight for the senses. It starts at the beginning and charts an incredible ten-year career and hints that, with Prince of Persia, Jake is on the edge of something very big indeed.



On Brokeback Mountain's sexual content: 'But it was written in such a way that it wasn't vulgar or obvious. It was a real physical connection between these two people, and I have a real issue with films when sexuality or sex is used as a kind of thing to just watch. This had real meaning. It really pushed the story along and to me I will do pretty much almost anything if the story is beautiful enough and says something important enough. I'll take that risk cos I feel like it's just not worth it unless you take these risks.'


'These are two people who are lonely and looking for a connection and happened to find it with each other at a certain time when it's just not ok but love is found in the oddest of places. And I think that's what it's about and that's really what it was about for me when I read it.'


On Jake's films of 2005: 'I care a lot about the films I've done in the past year and they mean a lot to me. And it's a really great feeling. Comfortable? I enjoy hearing and worry about hearing what people feel about them as they mean a lot to me but yeah it feels comfortable.'


On his different way of working from David Fincher: 'My preference is love. My preference is working in the emotional world. David works in another way, which is definitely obsessive and that's what this movie's about. That's why it was amazing to make. That's why I think... ultimately, I say that's my preference but you always have to go to places that you're afraid of and the world of David Fincher was definitely something I was afraid of. And so I gravitate towards that in terms of having the ability to learn from that. David's world is procedural, this world that he's created is very procedural and lengthy and slow-paced and eats at you and it's a slow painful death this movie in a lot of ways - in the best possible way! Because it asks a lot of its audience.'


'I assume the audience to be very intelligent. Maybe that's not necessarily the smartest thing on my part but I really think they are and I think that an audience finding a movie or loving a movie isn't necessarily in the present moment always. And I've had that experience a lot of times too.'


And finally...

We're heard about the McFarlane fully articulated toy figures of Jake Gyllenhaal as Prince Dastan. Well, here we get a glimpse of a six-feet tall version. Needless to say I'll take at least one. Finding room for a life-sized camel may be more awkward.


Jordan Mechner, the creator of Prince of Persia, has had a sneak preview of the movie trailer and happily tweeted that it was 'awesome'. One wonders if the trailer will be around in the holiday season.