Remember, remember the 5th of November...

November 5 is Bonfire Night (aka Guy Fawkes Night) in Britain - the night when, traditionally, we stand in a cold dark field and burn an effigy or Guy on a big bonfire, while watching a firework display (dodging the sticks from the rockets as they fall back to earth), eating jacket potatoes wrapped in foil and drinking hot mulled wine.


The celebrations tonight mark the day when, back in 1605, Guy Fawkes and his cohorts attempted to blow up Parliament and the king by filling the cellars of Westminster with 36 barrels of gunpowder and setting them alight when King James arrived to open Parliament. They were rumbled and suffered terrible fates. As a result, even now, each year when the monarch arrives for the state opening of Parliament, a search is made of the cellars for rogues with their lit tapers.


Although democracy was an ill-developed concept back in early 17th-century Britain, this plot by Guy has become synonymous with undermining democracy itself. And it is so fitting that, on this day in 2008, we have seen democracy reassert itself with a force fit to send the blood rushing through our veins in sheer joy and relief that change has come - and all because every vote counts.


Prince Jake

Tomorrow night, there is every chance that Prince Dastan - that's Jake Gyllenhaal to you and me - will make an appearance on Entertainment Tonight. It's not possible for me to describe to you just how excited I am by the prospect so I'll leave that to your imagination... But it's a lot.


It looks like the publicity for Prince of Persia is beginning to snowball (snow sounds odd in this Persian context, but never mind) and I think that this is one project that we can count on Disney pushing to the front of our minds over the next 18 months or so. This enjoyable blog account, by a Disney reporter, describes his visit, and that of other journalists, to the set of PoP at Pinewood. 'The most exciting thing I've done here at Disney so far...for two days I went on a set visit to Pinewood Studios just outside of London where they are filming Prince of Persia. I got to tour the sets, see the costumes and weapons, watch them film a couple of scenes and do some stunts, as well as conduct a group interview with Jake Gyllenhaal, Ben Kingsley, Jerry Bruckheimer and tons of other people working on the film! All the other journalists were cool and matter of fact, but it's my first time so I'm still pretty star struck and excited!'


'Oh and I got to hold the Dagger of Time for a good whole five minutes. I didn't want to put it down, I kept sidling back and picking it up again as discreetly as I could. It was the hero version, the proper heavy metal one used for closeups. It does look like the one in game and is absolutely gorgeous!'


This great account suggests that there will be reports from the set in the time to come, just to make sure we're all ready for May 2010. I just hope we see and hear the fruits of these set visits soon (and it all bodes well for those DVD extras...!)


Includes pictures from IHJ.

Jake Gyllenhaal - 'You just want to pinch his cheeks and make out with him at the same time'

According to a poster on IMDb, Jake Gyllenhaal was seen in Harrods last Friday 'looking lost'. Speaking as someone who once, recklessly and foolishly, arranged to meet their mother by the parrots in the pet section, I can definitively say that it is impossible to visit (or even work in) Harrods and not be lost. If Jake had not looked lost, I would have worried (of course, Jake may have been somewhere else entirely and not been lost at all). [ETA: Jake was also spotted last weekend in that other labyrinth Harvey Nicks! - thanks Get Real!]


Apparently, somewhere in the world there's an election today, but I know what's what and what is what is Jake Gyllenhaal. So, today, I thought, on the encouragement of others who shall remain nameless, that we would focus on what really matters in the world today - Jake and Nookie.


Admittedly this is a bit like shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted, but Jake told People back in 2006 (when Jake was voted Hot by the magazine's viewers and also by the leaders of the Free World): 'I want a lot of kids. Two or four. Not six. It's torture after four.' (It's actually torture after one, but I'll let this pass.)


And elsewhere Jake provided non-partisan advice: 'Once someone's shown the ropes sexually, they're never going to make the same mistake again, you know what I mean. Thanks for showing me.' (It was a pleasure...).



Cosmo asked Jake back in November 2007 'How does it feel to be [one of] the sexiest men in the world?' to which he replied, 'I don't know that I am!' [I feel a dramatic pause is essential here to allow us all to raise our eyes to the heavens] 'I don't want to be judged by my appearance because I didn't do anything to get my looks.'


Elsewhere 'I've been called the thinking woman's sex symbol 'You're the thinking woman's sex symbol' and I said, 'Well that would mean every woman, right?' I mean, doesn't everyone think?"?' (They do, Jake, but, when you're within 1000 paces, not necessarily with their brains.)


Jake compared his relationship to Ang Lee on the set of Brokeback to a marriage: 'I like to compare my relationship with Ang [to] a marriage in some ways. There's a honeymoon period, and then after that – you have the wedding and then you have sex like once or twice a year, but the sex is great, you know what I mean?'


Jake told the Daily Mail: 'I would really love to direct one day. I think there are certain actors who love the character and the performance and that's all they want to be a part of. I love being involved in the story and I love being involved in how the story moves. It's like, so hot! It's almost sexual. When it works right, it's such a turn on.'


And Jarhead was described as 'Really great sex without an orgasm.'

Jarhead - Interview with Jake Gyllenhaal | Movies & TV | SPIKE.com

And this I find impossible to believe... Jake told Cosmo of his dreams: 'Last night I dreamt that I was at a crazy party in Central Park. There was a mud bath and no-one wanted to get in.' Jake also told Cosmo, back in 2006, that he was unworried about leaked photos of himself nude from the set of Brokeback: 'Well I'm naked every day so I cope with it. It's not so hard for me.'


But if we're talking sexy and we're talking Jake, I think this is my favourite account of conducting an interview with Jake: '“You look like a nice mint chocolate chip cookie,” he suggests in reaction to the mint green blouse and a dark brown skirt I am wearing. “I do?” I ask, blushing and feeling like a 14-year-old. At my advanced age, it really does take a great actor to make me feel that way. “That’s my favorite flavor, so I’ll take that as a compliment,” I offer. ““You should – that’s my favorite flavor too,” he replies. Now I’m totally flustered. As a mature professional, I like to think I can handle any curve ball that’s thrown my way, but Gyllenhaal is looking at me with his adorable blue eyes and incredibly long eyelashes. “Okay, where do we go from here?” I say, stalling for time while I try to recollect my next question. “Let’s just talk about ice cream,” he offers, oozing boyish charm.' Irresisitible.


Model Adrienne Curry said of Jake (in a link now dead and gone) 'Jake Gyllenhaal is sexy because not only does he have a fabulous body, but he's also got this childlike innocence to him. You just want to pinch his cheeks and make out with him at the same time.'

Hopefully, now we can focus on what really matters...


Includes pictures from IHJ and links.

'It's hard not be happy when Jake Gyllenhaal swings by to say hi'

Gorgeous Gemma Arterton was back in Morocco over the weekend and, although she spent much of the time soaking up the sun, it's not too improbable to suppose that this return to Morocco was Prince of Persia related. In which case, does this mean that Jake Gyllenhaal too is having some relief from the icey rain, heavy frosts and hill sprints of England?


I believe that some readers in the United States may have had their minds taken off the all-important issue of Jake by some vote that is taking place tomorrow. When Jake himself was able to join in with campaigning back in 2004, he reflected that it was one of the few times when people would listen to celebrities: 'What's interesting about celebrities is that somewhere within some of them, at least, there's a non-partisian part of the work that they do... I hope that they hopefully have fans from everywhere, and if they take a stance on something, maybe people will hear what they have to say.'


Jake's impact on the voting public was unanimous: '"(I attended) partially because I am a supporter of Kerry," [a girl said], "(and), second of all, I've been in love with Jake Gyllenhaal since 'Donnie Darko' came out."' And another potential young voter at a different campus: 'It's hard not to be happy when Jake Gyllenhaal swings by to say hi'.



As a Brit with no votabilities whatsoever in a US election, I will resort to subliminal messaging....






Includes pictures from links and IHJ.

The Alternative WDW Daily Regimen for Jake Gyllenhaal

Yesterday's revelations about the daily exercise and food regimen that Jake Gyllenhaal is being put through in order to cut the mustard as a sword-wielding, armour-toting Persian Prince on the run, has just worn me out, let alone Jake.


For six days every week, Jake is up before the blackbirds, chipping the ice off his running shoes and running hell for leather up a hill with nothing but a gallon of protein shakes, half a banana and an ex-Royal Marine for company. With relief, I realise that today, Sunday, is quite possibly that one day off a week and today Jake is spared having to cut one square of dark chocolate into 24 pieces while having his muscles contorted in a deep tissue massage. I have an Alternative Sunday Regimen for Jake.


It's cold and dark in Britain at the moment, and so I recommend that Jake spends at least one hour catching up on the latest PS3 and Wii games - challenging a Wii to golf is a far more sensible way to use up calories than sprinting up a hill. Jake can also check out PoP's opposition and make Lara Croft do handstands.


An hour and a half should be spent reading - magazines, survival guides, military history and eastern philosophy.


Obviously, if Jake has been given Disney Digs with an indoor heated swimming pool, then this would be a great environment in which to catch up on the reading.


Ten hours should be allotted to sleeping - preferably in a bed with a lot of pillows and a thick downy quilt.




Two hours should be spent catching up with friends and family.


A good hour in the morning and then another in the evening should be spent surfing and shopping online, catching up on WDW and reading the news from home.


Sunday lunch should be spent in the company of friends and should feature at least some refined sugars. As Jake is in England, he should endeavour to work his way through traditional British pub fayre, including Yorkshire Pud, bangers and mash, and Spotted Dick with a pint of best.


One leisurely walk should be fitted in between dinner and a nap - ideally, one would take one's dog along. A good way to meet people.



A little light shopping would be a good way to work off more of lunch.


A good hour should be spent listening to music (especially Snow Patrol's new album).


It is recommended that Jake spends some time exploring his adopted PoP home, getting out into the streets of London or into the countryside. All effort should be made to blend in.


In the evening, time should be spent on rewatching the classics on television.


Includes pictures from IHJ.

Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton!

You too can eat and exercise yourself to buffness the Jake Gyllenhaal way

Jake Gyllenhaal's personal Prince of Persia trainer has been talking about his job of transforming Jake into a medieval fighting machine. Ex-Royal Marine Simon Waterson tells us '“There's an increasing fusion between the worlds of fitness and film. Most actors are athletes nowadays. Their fitness is a big factor in whether they get cast or not... Jake has to look like a warrior capable of sword-fighting, not like he's been hitting the gym. He is working out twice, sometimes three times a day, six days a week, for three to four months on top of stunt rehearsals before filming begins.”'


And now, you too, can eat and excercise with Jake Gyllenhaal, because here is Jake's 'daily regimen' (you might want to sit down...).


'5.30am Pre-workout snack: half a banana, some nuts and an espresso.

6am An hour-and-a-half cardio outdoors workout while wearing a 20lb flak jacket to simulate the weight of armour. Interval training - 10min uphill sprint, followed by abs exercises, eg, sit-ups, at the top of the hill. Repeat sequence five times, then a 10min run, followed by stretching exercises.

7.30am An egg-white omelette, a small protein shake and an isotonic drink to replenish salts lost during training.


Lunch Baked potato with tuna and salad.

6-7pm An hour of resistance training using cables to simulate sword fights, pull-ups, press-ups, abs exercises using weights; finish with stretching.

7-8pm: An hour-long deep tissue massage

Dinner: Soup and a protein shake

Snacks/supplements Two litres of water, protein bars, dark chocolate, supplements rich in omega-3, 6 and 9. No foods containing refined sugar, occasional glass of wine allowed.'


There are a few elements of this I could cope with: dark chocolate, (occasional) glass of wine and a nightly massage - although I fear this is the type of massage that makes one squeal - but running up hills wearing flak jackets? Soup for dinner? I had no idea one was able to eat at 5.30am, or that bananas came in halves. It's no wonder we're not seeing much of Jake in the UK; on his day of rest he's probably lying in a darkened room with a damp cloth on his head and a full schedule of daytime TV in front of him and the remote control just in reach. After Prince of Persia finishes filming, Jake may be ready for Zodiac 2.


But before we mount a rescue, it's worth remembering Jake has done it before, although admittedly long enough ago that it might have become hazy. Back at the tailend of 2004 and the first months of 2005, Jake was in full action mode for his role as a modern warrior - in Jarhead. The subject of his training popped up with great frequency in the interviews publicising the film, not surprisingly. British journalist Lesley O'Toole asked Jake how he got so buff: 'I got bitten by a spider - just call me Spiderman. OK, I'd regularly run five miles, swim for 20 minutes, cucle for 35 miles, then take a break, eat and lift weights.'


Peter Sarsgaard reported in a magazine: '[Jake's] regimen was 500 pushups a day... Mine was more like five sets of 100 cigarettes a day'. And Peter elaborated in Entertainment Weekly: 'He went nuts... I know actors say, I got in shape for a role. But he was working out twice a day sometimes, with a trainer who was like a Nazi' (wonder if his name was Simon...).


Peter was hired only a week before rehearsals began and so didn't have a hope of getting into Jake's shape: 'I figured there was no way I was gonna look like Jake.. Then I started talking to one of our technical advisers. he was a sniper and he was a smoker. He saod, 'In the end the only thing that matters is this,' and he mimed pulling a trigger: Marines look all different ways. I just had to get myself in the headspace of it, of what it means to pull that trigger.'


Sam Mendes had been impressed with how buff Jake had looked on stage in London in This Is Our Youth (so, too, had a producer of The Day After Tomorrow). Sam told Empire: 'I was surprised when I saw him on stage in London. he was much bigger physically than I expected and had much more presence.'


Jake elaborated on his Jarhead training for Steppin' Out magazine: 'I worked out for months before. I had a trainer. I did this circuit where I would do a run and then I would have a bathing suit on and jump in the pool and do laps for like an hour. And then I would get out of the pool and have my biking shoes and get on a bike. And then we would lift.' There really is something to say for playing a political cartoonist...


And this new stunning trailer for the Prince of Persia game gives us just an inkling of what Jake has prepared himself for and what we may expect. I think it's gonna be worth it.



Includes pictures from IHJ.