Love and glory - Brokeback in Venice and Zodiac in the charts [Update: New pics]

Happy New Year to all of you and welcome to the first post of 2008!

Brokeback in Venice

It's not often you can pinpoint a life-changing event, but I can - on Sunday 29 January 2006 I saw Brokeback Mountain for the first time and nothing has been the same since. It was bad at first, then it got better and now it's wonderful. A rare chance to see the film on the big screen is coming up in London. It is showing at the BFI on the Southbank from Thursday 10 January until Sunday 13 January, at 8.20pm. I believe that there are some organised trips going on, which I'll look into, but if anyone is interested, please email me.



So, as it's the first day of the year and Brokeback isn't far from my mind, I thought I'd focus briefly on Brokeback Mountain's success at the Venice Film Festival in 2005. In this beautiful city, Ang Lee won the Golden Lion for Best Film. Interestingly, other films in contention included Jake's Proof and Heath's Casanova and Brothers Grimm. What a year!


Here is a video interview that Jake recorded in Venice, a day after his arrival and still battling with the constant companion to film festivals - jetlag. Should you be unable to get any or all of this to play, you can have a go at reading Jake's answers below in German. I do love to hear and watch Jake talk about what drew him to this film after his initial fear of the project, having first read the script as a boy (aged only 17). Here Jake says that, once Ang was on board, he had to do it: 'Then when Ang came on to it I read it years later and, with the idea that Ang was going to direct it and knowing his films, and knowing that he tackles universal topics, it's not just, you know, the specific topic of, in this case, sexuality. It was more the idea of love. Just thinking that way when I read it, I was so moved by it and I just had to do it. I met with Ang and just said I had to do it and a few weeks later he let me! It was that simple!'



Here are a couple of videos from that amazing Film Festival. The first is of the press conference, in which we can enjoy watching Heath and Jake interact, and the second covers all of Heath's films in Venice, including film of Jake and Heath on the Brokeback red carpet.





Zodiac in the charts

Looking at the end of year critics' lists, one would be forgiven for assuming that Zodiac will be the film to sweep the board at the Oscars in February. However, all fans of Jake Gyllenhaal and Brokeback Mountain have learnt the hard way, that this will most likely not be the case. But there is some satisfaction to be had by reading through the acclamations. I can never hear enough that Zodiac is one of the best films of the year, or indeed IS the best film of the year. I may be biased but I know a good film when I see it.


The American Scene places Zodiac at No 3: 'David Fincher’s most meticulous film, and his most maddening. Technically flawless, in Fincher’s usual way, it’s a slick, Hollywood masterpiece that turns the conventions of the crime story inside out, offering elusive clues at best and frustrating both its characters and viewers at every turn. A chaotic and slow-burning antidote to CSI’s cult of easy evidence, Fincher’s movie takes the framework of the detective tale and remakes it into a vast epistemological quandary.'


Likewise, a Cinematical critic and Ohio's Toledo Blade also put Zodiac at No 3. Cinematical: 'David Fincher's film about the Zodiac killer was one of the most under-appreciated films of the year. This film is riveting and flawlessly put together, with a set that was an exact reproduction of the real San Francisco Chronicle during the time of the story and outstanding performances by a great cast including Jake Gyllenhaal and Robert Downey Jr., and I was deeply disappointed that it pretty much tanked at the box office. It was well-received critically, though, and perhaps its appearance on several end-of-year lists will compel folks to check it out on DVD.' Toledo Blade: 'A remarkably obsessive meditation on obsession itself, David Fincher's chilling police procedural was not the serial-killer movie audiences were led to expect. Which is why so many hated it. But what they got if they stayed was All the President's Men stretched into an epic, a film so entrenched with details, its subjects (hypnotized with purpose) lose all focus on their own lives.'


Laist judged Zodiac as its second favourite film of 2007: 'Roger Ebert once said something along the lines of, "A good movie is never too long and a bad movie is never short enough." I could have kept watching Zodiac for hours. Though Jake Gyllenhaal is nominally the star, the movie really belongs to Robert Downey, Jr. Many will say that Fight Club is David Fincher's best film, but my vote would go to Zodiac.' News-Leader put Zodiac at No 2; the Orlando Sentinal put Zodiac at No 5, as did New Zealand's TV3; Playback placed Zodiac at No 9.


The Huffington Post listed its favourite films in no particular order, but Zodiac went first: 'Based on his fiendishly artistic, misanthropic and influential necro-fetish classic Se7en, we already knew David Fincher could craft the perfect serial killer movie. And yet Fincher, a subversive, substance-soaked stylist, chartered new territory with the stunningly ambitious Zodiac, a movie that goes above and beyond the perceived limitations of the serial killer genre by becoming not only an intricate study of obsession, but a moody explication of one of our darkest eras - the 1970's. Taken from the real life case of The Zodiac Killer -- a mysterious, black hooded assassin who terrified the San Francisco Bay area just as the '60s were coming to a close -- the picture boasts horrifying, unnervingly tense sequences of random yet bizarrely ritualistic acts of violence.'


'But the picture's not simply content with its startling death throttles, and instead narrows its focus on three men (Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo and an extraordinary Robert Downey Jr.) so consumed by capturing the elusive killer, that their fervency borders on madness - a madness they (and consequently the viewer) cannot shake. Part police procedural, part journalistic drama, a la All The Presidents Men, Zodiac deftly and densely splits narrative, making for a multifaceted and unexpectedly mordant examination of the era's pessimism and unease, particularly since the crime may never be solved. Like a true '70s movie, one leaves the picture haunted; riddled with unanswered questions and an enveloping sense of dread that just clings to you. And seriously, if the song wasn't creepy enough, you'll never hear Donovan's "Hurdy Gurdy Man" without visions of a faceless fiend stalking you in a black car on a dark night.' Very true, these songs will never be nor sound the same.


FILMdetail had this to say about Zodiac: 'Major studios are often berated for churning out soulless dreck and whilst that’s often true, they do also make some great films from time to time. The problem is that sometimes no audiences end up going to see them. Zodiac is just such a film - when people look back in years to come I think this will be seen as something of a classic. Based on the case files of the unsolved Zodiac killing that plagued California in the 60s and 70s this was a thriller cut from the finest cloth. Director David Fincher demonstrated his marvellous visual skills whilst conveying many complex layers of information wrapped up in a beguiling procedural drama. The acting from Mark Ruffalo, Jake Gyllenhall and Robert Downey Jnr as three different characters haunted by the case deserved higher praise than it got. Plus, the production design and the brilliant HD camerawork by Harry Savides merit the highest praise. For me this was Seven crossed with All the Presidents Men and that is high praise indeed.'


I'm delighted that Zodiac was the clear winner of the year for UK site DVD Times. In Ioncinema, Zodiac also earned top spot: 'Yes, I feel that Zodiac was the best film I saw this year. Why? Because it took risks, toyed with genre conventions, broke through technological boundaries and gave us the most complete understanding of the entire Zodiac incident that were ever going to get. The passage of time is a destructive force and it was really only Zodiac that really used that theme to it's full potential this year. Unfortunately, everyone went to see Wild Hogs opening weekend.'


And there are other lists featuring Zodiac... But there were also other films out in 2007. Rendition has hardly a look in, and we've discussed possible reasons for that. SherryBaby was another movie we watched out for in 2007 and The Sun placed that as it's 9th favourite film of the year: 'Maggie Gyllenhaal deserves an Oscar for her edgy Sherry Swanson, who wants her daughter back after leaving prison. Uncompromising viewing with no easy answers.'


New pictures from 31 December

Jake's done it again - I finish a post and what happens... new pics! Always the way. Here is Jake out for a walk in LA with Reese and her children yesterday. Source Flynetonline.





Includes pictures from IHJ and Associated Press.

Maggie on screen - and what does Jake think?

Yesterday, I was fortunate enough to see SherryBaby at one of the very few (13, I believe) screens where the film is being shown across the whole of the UK. Admittedly, the compensations were the most comfortable seat I think I've ever sat in - like sinking into a giant marshmallow, an appreciative, quiet audience and relief from one of London's hot and sticky days. I was also very lucky to see the film and spend the day in great company - many thanks to Ruby and Anouska.


I don't want to give anything away about the plot of SherryBaby as I know many people have yet to see it and I would encourage them to do so. But, Maggie Gyllenhaal dominates this film, appearing in every scene, and ensuring that we experience the tragedy of Sherry Swanson's circumstances through the eyes and mind of this troubled woman who can't - and is arguably unwilling to - regain control of her life and destiny. When we discover the reason for the path she's taken, it's shocking. This is possibly because the drama is presented to us intimately - it's shot almost like a documentary, at close quarters and with no apologies for harsh light - everything is exposed, however ugly, and we have to watch it all.


I have a 'problem' with some of Maggie's films, in that I find them uncomfortable to watch. This is a combination of the types of film Maggie chooses and also her perfomances. Without doubt, SherryBaby leaves one with the deeply held conviction that Maggie is a fine and brave actress, but I failed to warm to SherryBaby as a woman and I was not sure whether that was intentional or not. Without any of the humour and absurdity of Secretary, I did find myself wishing that the next time Maggie opts for a low-budget independent movie she's able to keep her clothes on throughout.


My overall impression of SherryBaby was that, because I couldn't empathise with Sherry, I was left rather depressed by this bleak picture of a damaged woman's life from which there didn't seem much chance of, or inclination for, escape. I was impressed by Maggie's performance and relieved that the next time I will see her will be as Rachel Dawes in The Dark Knight.

I was uncomfortable with the extent of Maggie's skin exposed in SherryBaby and so that made me think about how Maggie's family would feel about this! When Jake was asked about Maggie's sex scenes in Secretary, he replied that he encouraged her. "It's great I'm sort of saying, 'Yeah, it's right. Show them what it's all about!... But as a brother, I still hide my eyes and I still say, 'Oh, my God!' And I know she does too when there are love scenes that I'm in... Then again your parents did something to have you, so even though you don't want to think about it, it does happen, you know?"


In 2004, as part of the promotion for The Day After Tomorrow, Jake was asked about his rivalry with Maggie: 'We were always competitive when we were little. Up until very recently, we've been really competitive. And then there came a time, where we just said to each other, 'This is useless. I'm never gonna get the roles that you're gonna get,' for the reasons I hope people know, because she's my SISTER. (Laughs) In this business competition between siblings is ridiculous. You need each other. When she just recently went through her whole press fiasco for Secretary, she needed me...and I was there for her. I need her now because she has experience that I haven't had, and she's been through the whirlwind of press. I can talk to her about it, and competition just doesn't work – it just didn't work after a while.'

'My sister was in a movie called Secretary. She was nominated for a Golden Globe. And there was a lot of talk about her being nominated for an Academy Award for it. It was just a really big breakthrough performance. It was an independent film that was very small. Her performance was just recognized, out of all of those independent films that come out every year, as just extraordinary ... It was just an overwhelming thing for her. A great thing, but also overwhelming.'


Meanwhile, Back in Gotham...

The paparazzi are taking over Chicago, all desperate to get pictures of Batman, the Joker, Rachel Dawes and a load of gadgets. But if you were a passer by and you happened across the filming, you would me told that this was all for the movie 'Rory's First Kiss' (Rory become the name of director Christopher Nolan's son). According to the Chicago Tribune, this pretence persists despite the massive interest in the film and its shoot which has completely taken over sections of Chicago, employed vast numbers of locals, and fed a fortune ($50 million) into the city's economy.


Apparently, the main reason for this unprecedented 'secrecy' is to keep the plot under wraps. Silly me, when I think of Batman movies, plot isn't uppermost in my mind.

Includes pictures from IHJ.

Here's a story about a boy named Jake

There's no doubt - Jake Gyllenhaal is an inspirational figure. I discovered more evidence of this indisputable fact today when I happened across the music of young Brit Amy MacDonald. The debut album of this young singer and composer from Glasgow is the album of the week on two shows on national Radio 2 and is receiving attention in the wider media. The album This Is The Life is released on July 30 and one song, LA, is dedicated to Jake.


In an interview in The Sun newspaper, Amy says of Jake "People think I’m some sort of celebrity-obsessed loon, but he is my favourite actor and the song says you can make your dreams come true." The lyrics describe how even though she has only seen his face on the screen and only heard his voice utter words from a script, she wants to follow him and he can help her to realise her dreams. You can listen to part of this song, and others on the album, at Amy's Myspace. Lots of other information about Amy, including videos can also be found there and at Amy's website.



Reading about Amy, she says that one of her influences is the Guillemots, another of those bands Jake's made no secret of liking. The legend goes that Jake actually requested a meeting with them and, about a year ago, Jake was seen at one of their concerts in New York. I cannot rave enough about the Guillemots - I've seen them in concert and it was one of the best nights I've had out - at a students union so I thought I'd drink a lot in order to fit in with all the youngsters.


The Guillemots played at the Glastonbury Mud Bath this year and were interviewed for the Glastonbury website. And this is what they said of their famous fan: "F.D. [singer Fyfe Dangerfield]: Jake Gyllenhaal was nice. Very shy. Didn’t seem like a movie star in his hoodie… G.S. [Drummer Greig Stewart]: …But he did have a girl with him. F.D.: And he was very cool. He told us he sang along to our songs in his car… Strange." I think that the girl was probably Kirsten as she is also a fan of the band and they have attended Guillemot gigs together. I regularly sing along to the Guillemots in my car and I find nothing strange in that at all! Check out their website - it's... imaginative.


The trouble with Sherry

Today is the 27 July, meaning SherryBaby opens in some, but not all, cinemas across the UK. Already, this film is being called the film that many will miss. The Daily Mail praises Maggie's performance as a career best but says: 'The best new film of the week will also be the least commercially successful. It's humane, intelligent and beautifully acted, so it has little chance of surviving long. Catch it while you can.' The paper also says that this may be a hard film to watch if it weren't for Maggie. Great praise indeed.


Includes pictures from IHJ.

Brokeback Mountain on Broadway? And Venice says no to Rendition

What with all this talk and speculation (without an end in sight) about Jake Gyllenhal treading the boards, it should have come as no surprise to me to hear this rumour: Brokeback Mountain the Musical. But to say that it made me gasp out loud and almost choke on my Dairy Milk chocolate would be an understatement. And then I heard who is being associated with the roles and that made me almost throw myself into the English floods - X-Men Hugh Jackman (Ennis Del Mar) and James Marsden (Jack Twist). Marsden is currently starring in the new version of Hairspray while Jackman has already been awarded a Tony for his singing in The Boy From Oz. At the moment it's not known for sure if the project will be a play or musical but the singing talents of both actors have prompted the opinion that it will indeed be a musical.


What springs to my mind is how on earth will the mountain be given its power and breadth on a stage? How can they possibly contrast the small towns and the small rooms with the wide open space of the mountain? And Ennis Del Mar singing? There are too many hows for me in this project and, I know I'm biased, but will I ever be able to accept two other men calling each other Jack and Ennis?


Venice says no to Rendition

The other surprising news today is that Venice Film Festival announced its list of films today and unexpectedly Rendition was not on it. I suppose this now means a concentration of effort in Toronto in September. The Venice festival will present Ang Lee's Chinese thriller Lust, Caution, not to mention 32 spaghetti westerns.


SherryBaby cut for the skies - UK trailer

SherryBaby reaches British cinemas tomorrow and the UK trailer has just become available. You can watch it here. Apparently, Maggie has announced her disapproval with British Airways because she has heard that they have cut the sex scenes from the film. I'm afraid, on this occasion I don't agree with Maggie. I would have thought that the advantages of having this film publicised in the skies far outweighs any scene cuts - after all, these are planes not theatres and not everything is suitable for all passengers. Better that they show the film without the sex than remove it all together for its content. I sympathise with Maggie's view that this would 'drastically change' the film but it's my experience that watching a film on a plane often spurs me to watch it properly when I'm on the ground and not shaking in my boots.


The reviews for SherryBaby are being published thick and fast and are almost entirely complimentary - to the film and to Maggie's great skill. One review caught my attention today. Sherrybaby is featured in an article in the Guardian about the films that make you cry. In the words of the reviewer: 'Here at Film Weekly, we'll stick to our old-school indie guns and look at Sherrybaby, which is a New York indie film par excellence. Maggie Gyllenhaal is great as a single mom coming out of jail and off heroin to pick up the pieces of her misspent teen life, the largest piece being her four-year-old daughter. I talk to the film's director, Laurie Collyer, who sounds as if the struggles of getting somewhere on the indie scene are getting her down a bit. Still, she offers fascinating insights and lots of hope for anyone wanting to get a film going - if you write a good enough script, the stars will come (especially if they're still young enough to take risks and take their clothes off). I like Sherrybaby a lot. And I cried.'

Last words

Jessica Alba is single, having just split with longterm partner Cash Warren. Cosmopolitan asked her who she had her eye on and she replied: "I would have to say Johnny Depp, Michael Caine... Morgan Freeman, and Jake Gyllenhaal." With the exception of one name on this list, I'd like to congratulate Jessica on her excellent taste in men.

By the way, I have no knowledge of many of Hollywood's ladies and I thought Eva Mendez below was Jessica Alba - she sure looks like her to my untrained eye. Thanks to Jantoinette for putting the right name to the right lady. But I'll leave these up anyway as they look a lovely pair ;D



Includes pictures from IHJ.

It's a busy night for the Gyllenhaals

Tonight I am faced with a host of Gyllenhaal choices - more of that below - but it can't have escaped your attention that today is 24 July - a most anticpated date for some of us. It seemed like we were made to wait for Zodiac forever, with all those delays without explanation. And the wait for the Zodiac trailer... the only wait that's seeming longer is that for the Rendition trailer. But now all that is in the past (for Zodiac anyway), because today the DVD (barebones as it is) is out in the US. This release has been accompanied by a whole fanfair of reviews, some of which have been critical but many more have positively raved about the film and are looking ahead with more excitement to the release of the all-singing and all-dancing edition, possibly in the New Year.


So I've been looking around at some of the reviews and enjoying this spotlight upon Jake Gyllenhaal, because he surely deserves it. For instance, Chicago's Daily Herald says: 'Fincher abandons the look-at-me camera tricks and pyrotechnics that have marred his previous films... and lets himself disappear into the story. The result is a stripped-down but elegant narrative that mesmerizes for the film's full 2¨ hours. The three lead actors - Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo and Jake Gyllenhaal - are similarly low-key in their performances, and all the more effective for it. "Zodiac" resembles the morally complicated cop movies of the 1970s; it's an absolute must-see.'


Blogcritics Magazine says of the 'criminally ignored' Zodiac: 'The procedural form of the narrative doesn't allow for the visual kinetics that are something of a trademark in Fincher's films. However, that does not mean that this is a bland looking film — this is Fincher doing mainstream, which is better than mainstream. There is still room for some visual flourishes, and he even makes a static shot of a conversation interesting to watch... Despite the lack of outside touches, this is a movie that delivers the goods. It is an engrossing twist on the serial killer genre. It is highlighted by a tight script, effective editing, and good performances. This is another winner for David Fincher, and a fascinating look at the way a life can be consumed with the search for the truth, and the procedures employed in that search, a personal procedural, if you will. Methodically paced, but never slow, despite the lack of gunfights, car chases, and explosions, creating a more intellectual journey.'


The Toronto Star says of Fincher: 'A fan-boy fave ever since he edged up the serial killer genre with Se7en and nailed cubicle-culture nihilism with Fight Club, Fincher has made his most assured, intelligent and resonant work with Zodiac. And while the apparent maturity may cost him his geek base and some initial box-office action, it bodes well for those who miss movies that lure you into darkness and slowly close the door.' Interestingly enough, the San Francisco Chronicle itself is little affected: 'David Fincher's dramatization of an infamous unsolved serial murder case certainly doesn't drag on as long as the investigation itself, but the overlong movie sometimes feels like it.'


In a new interview, Robert Graysmith describes how he felt during the reality of one of the film's most frightening moments, which will now affect how I view it. I won't describe that here as I know not everyone will have seen Zodiac yet and are waiting for their copies. But I will highlight his description of his next project: 'I've got on my screen right now Shooting Zodiac which is those three years I followed David Fincher around taking his picture and all that. It's an odd choice for a book. Usually, they do something as they're filming. Well, my book actually ends before they film anything. It's just simply them writing the script and all their adventures and becoming obsessed with the case. Also, trying to convince the studio to make this film. It simply ends with, "We've been greenlit, we're making the film." I love that. It's simply three Hollywood detectives. I think it really gets down to that.' It seems as if Zodiac will remain Robert's lifelong obsession.


In a previous interview, Robert Graysmith described the different approaches of Zodiac's actors: 'Now I spent a few days with Jake Gyllenhaal (who plays Graysmith in the film) – he was just off of filming Jarhead, and his cell phone was all scratched up from being dropped in the sand so much. Now, I think he must act a lot internally, because I never told him I was a Boy Scout., but that's in the film. But anyway, he's so different from Mark Ruffalo, and from Downey too. They really got three different kinds of actors. But Jake, he isn't doing an impersonation, although somehow they got the same clothes I used to wear, the same car -- not the exact one, but the same make and model, and even the license plate number... So one of the things is that Ruffalo, he's a very good actor – he plays Inspector Toschi, who's been my friend for many years. And Ruffalo, he is Toschi all the way, it gets a little annoying after awhile, because he is Toschi, he's got the hair and everything. But one of the things he doesn't have is Toschi's way with a gun. So he's got this one scene where he's supposed to cock this gun expertly and do something with it. And Ruffalo just couldn't get it. So they only shot him from here up (indicates his chest), and they dub in the sound of the gun cocking. That's the only way that scene was ever gonna get done. So you've got Downey who transcends the physical, and Jake who does everything internally, and then you've got Ruffalo who is Toschi. So it's a good mix.'

When I see the below picture of Jake and Robert Graysmith from the New York screening of Zodiac, I find myself thinking that Jake can't help himself from reverting to character when beside this man.



Today is Gyllenhaal Night on UK TV

I'm faced with a dilemma tonight - I'm more than ready to settle down with the wine and chocolates to wallow in all 2 hours and 38 minutes of Zodiac, but the UK's Film 4 has decided to coincide the DVD's release (I feel unintentionally), with a Gyllenhaal night! This begins at 9pm with The Good Girl, which is followed at 10.45pm by Secretary. Finally, at 12.50am there is a brief programme in which Maggie discusses SherryBaby. At least one site, has started to associate Maggie's performance in SherryBaby with an Oscar nomination - I fear this is wishful thinking.


This has given me the opportunity to continue my selection of photos of Jake at premiere events and screenings! Here we have Jake and Jennifer Aniston at screenings of The Good Girl in Hollywood and at Sundance, both in 2002. The photographs with Maggie are from the New York premiere of Secretary.





Talking of The Good Girl, here is a video from The Today Show in which Jake, fresh from filming Moonlight Mile, discusses working with Jennifer, and what it was like to walk into a room and people think you unbalanced. And if you want to hear Jake tell you how to pronounce his name, this is the perfect video for that. He concludes with Dustiin Hoffmann's advice, "You're good but you've got to get better. Get on stage". Of course, that is exactly what Jake did and we are reaping the benefits of that with Zodiac and, no doubt, Rendition.



Includes pictures from IHJ.