Summer's end rain - a Jake watery interlude

A short interlude post this evening due to two factors - a) the fair has come to play in Oxford and b) it's chucking it down with a ferocity of raindrops that is not pleasant to behold. This amount of water dripping off every facial extremity is not pretty, plus my shoes have holes in them. Every step is a puddle of wonders. Talking of which...


Our beautiful Gemma Arterton had her premiere for Tamara Drew tonight in Leicester Square and, in the face of torrential rain plus a tube strike, it can't have been easy. But the smile stayed on her face - no doubt at the thought of everyone arriving for the premiere on Boris Bikes. Source for the Gemma picture.


Meanwhile, Oxford has been splashing through its annual medieval St Giles Fair, giving me the perfect opportunity to take some pictures of the bright lights against the old sandstone while dodging raindrops the size of grapes.



All of which rain reminds me of Zodiac, basements in the rain and dates in the rain with newspapers on the head.


Or Jarhead raining oil in the desert, or Moonlight Mile and night drives in the rain.


Prince of Persia may have lacked rainy scenes - a deserty drawback - but who knows what is to come.

Pictures from IHJ, WDW and links.

Jake Gyllenhaal and Dennis the Menace (in French)

It was recently commented upon in the comments of WDW whether Jake Gyllenhaal has any French. We've heard him talk about reading the great dead authors, not to mention his completely unfathomable dislike of dinosaur studies, but what about his languages? Upon looking around, it seems that Jake answered this question when the subject of Dennis the Menace raised his head in a Prince of Persia phone interview.


The French interviewer from Phosphore recalls receiving a phone call from Jake at one in the morning (time is relative when it comes to Jake). They compared Dastan to Dennis the Menace and asked if Jake agreed: 'Who?'  'Deunisse ze Menaisse.' 'Sorry, I wish I could speak French with you, but I don't understand.' The interviewer had to spell it out ... "Aaaaaaaah, Dennis the Menace!!'


Here is a Rendition flashback to a little bit of Jake talking a little bit of French:

Jake Gyllenhaal in "RENDITION" Vidéo CGBCOMS sélectionnée dans Cinéma

Jake also recalled that France was the location of one of his childood traumatic moments: ''Um (long pause) I'm a little freaked out by heights. I never thought I was but I am. I remember I went to the Eiffel Tower when I was little with my parents. I thought I would like going up, but when I got to the second level I was crying and I didn't want to go up - I was eight years old or something. My dad was like, "He's coming to the top! That's my boy!" Yeah, and he stayed down on the second level.'


Talking of Dennis the Menace, Jake mentioned him again during the PoP publicity and we should be grateful Dastan wasn't dressed in red and black stripes. In this interview 'A long-haired Gyllenhaal, still in costume, sat down for an interview halfway through the Pinewood shoot, looking appropriately handsome and heroic in knee-high boots, leather trousers, a wide-open linen shirt, and two daggers affixed to his belt.' On whether Dastan has some Indiana Jones in him 'Oh yes, definitely, along with Dennis the Menace and all the rest. I like that Dastan's a mischief-maker, a bit of a curmudgeon, that he nearly always thinks he's right and that he's quite sarcastic and wry and above all very cheeky.' You can read the rest of the interview here.


And finally...

I was very fortunate to spend the day today with my good Jaking friends, Ruby Anouska and Winterbird. We go back a long way and today we gathered to wish bon voyage to Winterbird. Bon chance!


Includes pictures from IHJ and Mr Ruby.

Jake Gyllenhaal - with extra definition

Jake Gyllenhaal has made me buy a Blu-ray player. 'WDW, buy a Blu-ray player, you will not regret it. You will enjoy me with extra definition'. Jake didn't actually say that but he may as well have done. The reason is, of course, the imminent release of Prince of Persia in a multi Blu-ray pack (by the sound of it, you get at least 16 discs). The DVD (aka Blu-Ray and DVD and Digital Edition) is now already available on the European continent, which gives me hope that my copy will arrive soon and, when it does, I will be ready.


And what will we get? Confirmation that on the Prince of Persia set you were no-one if you didn't have a Straw Hat. Clearly, Mike Newell wanted to make it clear right from the offset that this was a British site with British summer rules - if you don't wear a summer hat (or a hanky with knots at the corners) you're off. Health and Safety and all that.


I find that biceps are a great way to complement a straw hat.

With my new Blu-ray capablities, there are whole new opportunities to enjoy some fine moments in crystal clear digitation. Thinking certain Santa Hat dances in the deserts, kisses in the mountains and cycling down the Hollywood Hills.


I wonder how they got to pick the guy who sat on the elephant.

A taster of what we have in store:



Pictures thanks to Gemma Arterton Online.

Love and Other Drugs delayed in the UK

After all the excitement of this week, with Q&As, new pictures, a Love and Other Drugs poster and a date for Source Code, it seems a pity to end the week with some bad news - at least for this corner of the world. But, in a pattern that we have grown oh so accustomed to over the years (think Zodiac, Brothers, Prince of Persia), the signs are that Love and Other Drugs has been postponed in the UK by almost three months. Fox today 'released' the international trailer - aka 'the second trailer' that we saw a couple of weeks ago. It was accompanied by a press release that said that Love and Other Drugs will now be out in the UK on 14 February 2011. Many thanks to friends at HeyUGuys for the information and the background.


Originally, Love and Other Drugs had a release date of 29 December (as shown in the scan from the September issue of Total Film below). But other things have changed too. Jake Gyllenhaal's character Jamie Reidy has a new name - he is now Jamie Randall. The Prince of Persia date shifted in the UK (in the right direction) in the last few weeks and we can hope so again here but one can't help thinking that Valentine's Day was picked for a reason that may stick. At this rate, British and possibly some other audiences, will be able to see the film on DVD and in the theatres almost simultaneously, not to mention seeing LAOD and Source Code in the theatres during the same month.


In a possibly futile attempt to cheer myself up I must give thanks to Total Film's October 2010's edition with its PoPquiz. Spot the ten differences. I think I got one or two... The moustache is a nice touch.


There is also a review of the DVD/Blu-ray release of Prince of Persia.


For anyone who missed it, you can see my videos from the Duncan Jones BFI Q&A at MovieBrit.

Includes picture from IHJ and scans from WDW.

Source Code - out 11 March 2011! And the first official photo of Jake Gyllenhaal as Colter (plus a bit of PoP and some Love)

More news! On the day that we get our first glimpse of the very sexy, fleshy, pillowy and perky poster for Love and Other Drugs, we now have the first piece of real news about Source Code, the next film for Jake Gyllenhaal. We get our first official picture and A Date. Source Code will be released on 11 March 2011. Because this is on Empire magazine's list of the '10 Movies We Want to See Right Now', I'm assuming this is a UK date. So, we have the summer sun of PoP, the winter heat of Love and Other Drugs and now Spring awaits with Source Code. Fabulous!


The magazine includes a brief interview with director Duncan Jones: 'On this one I've got four really talented actors - Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright. It's a new test, a new experience...' compared to the previous Moon. We hear that it was Jake 'who pushed him to board the sci-fi thriller' and, of the plot, Duncan says Jake plays 'a military man who wakes up on a train not knowing how he got there. Before he gets a chance to work it out, things change in such a dramatic way, he doesn't know whether the train's real or not... When it was brought to me it was serious, quite cerebral, dark and depressing, My take was, "This could actually be quite fun..."' Especially with Jake on board 'He's a funny guy'.



Also, it's great to see full-page ads for the imminent Prince of Persia DVD and Blu-ray release. Although Empire's review is less pleasing. I've included it below so we can wave sticks at it. It has a very pleasant picture which serves well in its purpose to distract from the words.



I'm also more than ready to look at this again, just in case anyone missed it in this morning's post. many thanks to Melsbells!


And finally...

I'm having some technical difficulty uploading my secret mission videos of Duncan's Q&A from Tuesday night. So far one video has processed properly and I thought I'd include it here. The rest will follow, either here or at MovieBrit, and they're wonderful (Duncan Jones and his team, not the videos).



You can see all of the Duncan Jones Q&A here! It's well worth a listen. No wonder Jake loves this guy!

Scans by WDW, LAOD picture from Melsbells.

Love and Other Drugs poster - First look!

Want something to perk you up this morning? How about our first look at the poster to Love and Other Drugs! Many many thanks to Melsbells for sending along her photo to us of what is undoubtedly the best poster ever - in the history of cinemas and posters - not to mention one of the best pictures I've seen of Jake Gyllenhaal in a bed. Great bed linen by the way. Not so sure about the lamp.


I now have to work through my pillow envy issues.

Political intrigue - The Tale of Farragut North, Jake Gyllenhaal, George Clooney and the right time

While I wait for the Duncan Jones Q&A videos to upload, a process that is taking so long that I may witness civilisations rise and fall, mountains peak and crumble, and seas form and evaporate, before I get the message that the videos have processed, I thought I'd take a look at a story that reappeared in the movie news today. Farragut North. This is a project to which Jake Gyllenhaal was once closed tied and we have followed it through the years here, since June 2007, when we had reports of Jake reading for the play and the promise of an Autumn for Jake spent on a stage, on or off Broadway. But, as we've come to know so well, just because Jake appears interested in a project, that doesn't mean it's meant to be.


In 2007, Jake was associated with readings for two stage productions, Farragut North and a musical. Farragut North even appeared to have a theatre booked (Second Stage). As the story and rumours progressed, it was thought that 2008 would be the perfect time for Jake to appear in this political play - it would coincide with the US election. Originally set for off Broadway, the prospect of Mike Nichols as director pushed the production on to Broadway. But, when Mike pulled out towards the end of 2007 and Jake was firmly linked with Brothers it appeared that Farragut North would be permanently on hold.


Before the idea disappeared all together, theatres optimistically promised that Jake's play had simply been delayed for a year, to the fall of 2008.


Now, of course, George Clooney has taken over the reigns of a film - not stage - version with Leo DiCaprio a co-producer and writer. The project still hasn't been without its troubles. Potential cast continue to fall by the wayside due to the pressures of other projects, including Leo himself and also Brad Pitt. Now it looks as if Chris Pine may be up for the 'Jake Role' as the play/film continues to want to be made.


Like David Fincher's Torso and Doug Liman's Unnamed Moon Project, Farragut North is one of those projects that persisted for a long time but, unlike the other two, it had the promise of Jake Gyllenhaal on a stage at the end of it. Imagine that. Jake has repeatedly spoken of how he wants to do more theatre, after his award-winning success in London in This Is Our Youth, and he has witnessed the more recent stage success of his sister and brother in law. Perhaps it's a matter of waiting for that 'right' project, which Farragut North wasn't, just as the Romeo and Juliet London production Jake talked of also came to nought.


Jake has always been associated with political causes, from ACLU with his parents to encouraging young people to vote and fighting for the Democratic cause with Kerry in 2004. Many an ex-student in America has a memory of Jake taking to the political stage. Years later, Jake made his most explicitly vocal political film to date - Rendition - while, at the same time, curiously arguing that actors should not be politicans. In these days, Jake seems to have rediscovered his political voice but with more comfort - using his celebrity and influence to front the more universal cause of charity. The latest, of course, is Stand Up 2 Cancer (just look at Jake's hats). The telethon airs on 10 September. In addition to this, Jake has been vocal in support for New Eyes for the Needy, youth charities, education and urban regeneration.


Farragut North and other projects may fade away, only to be reborn, possibly, with a whole new cast and direction, but I always like to think that the seed stays planted in Jake and you never know how things will turn out.


The Duncan Jones Q&A should follow tomorrow...

Includes pictures from IHJ.