Jake goes green for National Green Schools Initiative, 19 February

What can I say about these absolutely gorgeous pictures of Jake Gyllenhaal taken yesterday at the launch of the National Green Schools Initiative in LA, other than a) who needs beanies when you've got a new haircut like that one? b) just look at that smile c) just look at the rest of him. I don't know about you, but there's something about Jake gardening.... Thanks so much to the ever-alert and vigilant IHJ for the wonderful pictures. You'll find plenty more there.

Mix and match - Jake Gyllenhaal's Proof

My Proof issues are well-documented. While some Gyllenhaalics are adamant that Proof was a sensitive examination of loss, depression and trust, others - well, me - have trouble getting past the sleepy lack of chemistry between Gwyneth Paltrow and Jake Gyllenhaal. Fortunately, the film's sex scene and the general dreaminess of Jake in Proof means that there are some scenes that we can all agree upon being endlessly rewarding. I just need the fastforward button to get to them.


I raise the topic of Proof because a) I don't discuss it very often, b) I have regular attacks of Proof-guilt, and c) this week a site listed Proof as one of the top five Gwyneth DVDs : 'While this film isn't as popular as the others, Paltrow turns in a tight performance, starkly frightened by the very real possibility that all she has loved will be taken from her. Jake Gyllenhaal falls into place amiably as a fellow mathematician investigating the elegant mathematical proof, and it is through his gentle prodding and support that Paltrow finds herself, as well as the truth of her father's life and work. For a film that deals with longstanding familial drama as well as the complexities of paranoia, disbelief and acceptance, the potential for disaster is always high. Yet, Proof falls squarely in the hands of the capable Paltrow, and it is unconditionally one of her best performances.'


Realising that I should talk about Proof more, I now turn my attention towards the mysteries of past roles that were once auditioned for and are now callously cast into the rubbish bin of fundless movies. A google message today advised me that Jake and an old chum, Matthew McConaughey, were in talks with Robert Altman to appear in his movie The Widow Claire opposite Winona Ryder. Further investigation revealed that these talks dated to 2003. Not only that, it was revealed that Jake was in talks to star in a movie - 'The Rip' - about the plot to steal diamonds from the Millennium Dome in London. The mind boggles.


Confusingly and perhaps intriguingly, the plot of The Widow Claire sounds very familiar in a Brothers way: 'Set in the backdrop of World War II, a young widow with two children is caught between the affections of two men. One is a sweet soldier about to go to war and the other is the town's most sought-after playboy.'


And finally...

As the winter continues relentlessly, the need to keep warm is paramount. While Jake has the advantage of being in LA, where frost and snow are known only from Weather Channel reports, I am sincerely grateful to Ruby for her most helpful suggestion for unshaven Jake, should he risk the wintry climes of less amiable spots. The mix and match element is particularly convenient.


Includes pictures from IHJ.

Confessions of a Gyllenhaalic

My name is WDW and I am a Gyllenhaalic... (no treatment necessary, no treatment desired).


I may have let Jerry Bruckheimer pummel me with his marketing ploys to get me to see one film (on its opening night) all because it premiered the poster for another, but it was well worth it. This is because: a) I was given a free bottle of fluorescent pink nail varnish; b) I laughed through what felt like a very enjoyable, comforting and perfumed, hot bubble bath of a movie; c) I had my first fleeting glimpse of Jake Gyllenhaal on the big screen in what has been far too long. Far too long.


Realising that my memory skills are not what they could be, my account of the poster has been verified and corroborated - kind of - by Winterbird, who also saw the film this evening. This is not spoilery, but it may help to know that the poster scene is the scene after the heroine leaves Miami for NYC, approximately half way through the film. Your suspicions of the poster's imminence (or should that be eminence?) will be raised by the sight of a CSI poster. And then on the side of a building, just for an instant, you see the open mouth and a face distorted by the battle cry of the Prince of Persia.


I remember a flash of red, like a scarf around the Prince's body, similar to that in the images of the game prince. Winterbird recalls long hair, obscuring part of his face. As the camera moved and the poster shifted to be reflected in the window of a car, I saw that the Prince was wearing some kind of shirt or armour but it was open, revealing his chest.


In other words, this Prince means business. He is dynamic, braced for action, not smiling or frowning, but shouting out in defiance of his enemy - it is dark with streaks of red. He is a powerful force. And all this conveyed in perhaps three seconds. I heard people in the seats behind me say 'That's the Prince of Persia' and it was. What you're left with is wanting much, much more.


As for the film Confessions, this is a film I enjoyed much more than I thought I would, with more than a handful of laugh-outloud moments. Althought parts of it looked like they could have been taken from any number of recent romcoms, especially Bridget Jones and The Devil Wears Prada, Isla Fisher and Joan Cusack were a joy. Kristin Scott Thomas, an actress I normally like a great deal, far less so. This was possibly because I couldn't help comparing her with Prada's Meryl Streep. Likewise, Hugh Dancy kept reminding me, irritatingly, of another Hugh - Hugh Grant in Bridget Jones. But the film got a round of applause and I left it with what I wanted - some cheerful escapism and a glimpse of something darker and far, far sexier (oh, and some nail varnish...).


Give us more!

Includes pictures from IHJ.

Jake Gyllenhaal - 'a face made for the transmission of complicated messages'

Yesterday's tribute to Jake Gyllenhaal's eyebrows - a tribute LONG overdue, I would argue - caused consternation on account of its 'gluey globes'. Having demonstrated beyond all doubt, that Jake's ink-blue orbs have not been infiltrated and pumped by cowgum and are no more sticky than a teardrop of nectar on a summer's day, it is time to turn our attention to the rest of the sentence. Let me remind you of the original: Jake's 'features are theatrically overstated: fat lips, thick eyebrows, and distended eyelids that have to stretch to conceal two glistening, gluey globes'.



Fat lips?! I believe some interpreted this as 'Flat lips', which is hardly better. Fit lips, maybe. This post, therefore attempts to float the ship back on its even keel (I apologise for this metaphor - I have no idea what I'm talking about) by scrutinising Jake's lips. We would be lucky to have one, but we can be duly grateful that Jake's lips come in a set of two.


Time magazine had this to say about Jake's features: 'Jake Gyllenhaal has just those qualities, plus huge brown eyes and a fretful mouth, giving him the look of a spaniel afraid he's about to be swatted.' Obviously, Time wins 0/10 for observancy, for not realising that Jake does not have brown eyes, but is it fair to describe Jake as a spaniel about to be swatted? Has anyone ever seen a spaniel swatted? I hope not.



The Daily Mail once conducted a most frightening experiment. Based on the votes of its readers, it put together composites of stars to create the superstar. The superhunk had Jake's mouth. While this is a good thing, the ideal mouth was let down by not being attached to Jake's other features. Instead, those perfect lips were lumbered with David Beckham's stubble, Ben Affleck's nose and the hair of someone I've never heard of but is apparently called Chad. The result is too ferocious to post here so you must follow the link.


The Telegraph described Jake's face as follows: 'Gyllenhaal's eyes are blue, and big like a cow's, his nose is solid-looking and he has a full and sculpted mouth which turns up at the corners.' While I would argue that I've never yet seen a cow whose eyes I wanted to drown in, the description of the mouth rings with more truth. Even in profile it shouts out for attention.



Of course, as you'll see from the pictures in this post, Jake's lips are neither flat nor fat and can be put to use for any number of comical, serious or sensuous expressions and moods. They also serve to conceal that other weapon in Jake's lethal arsenal - the tongue. To even attempt to do justice to the Gyllentongue in a post is foolish, and I won't try here, but Jake's tongue is so impressive, Jake once claimed it existed in a different time zone from the rest of him. During a London interview, Jake apologised: 'I flew in yesterday and my tongue is still on American time.'



I do like this description of the elements of Jake's face, which comes from a review of Donnie Darko: 'He [has] also something more durable than classic good looks - a face made for the transmission of complicated messages. A strong nose and a droll, downward tilt to the eyebrows collude with an upward twitch to the lips to produce a highly adaptable blend of melancholy and mischief.' Whatever the angle, whatever the expression, Jake's face is an endless source of mystery and intrigue, as well as wonder and delight.


Includes pictures from IHJ.

The frame for Jake's eyes

I have heard it mentioned that one reason why Jake Gyllenhaal has been wearing so many hats of late may be because he has eyebrow issues. This suggestion clearly merits close scrutiny and, while I fear that one mere post can never do justice to those two fine hairy appendages on Jake's face, I will have a flutter.


Back in the days of Bubble Boy, dissatisfaction was expressed about Jake's styled eyebrows. Overplucking was blamed - although to be fair, Jake may not have had a lot of say when approached by a film's makeup artist with clippers primed and an intent expression on their face. Clearly Jake can't win because, by the time of Brokeback Mountain, it was argued that Jake should prune his eyebrows more if he wanted to compete with Keira Knightly on the love interest front.


The Insider swooned for Jake on the cover of GQ despite his 'furry eyebrows'. But in The Good Girl, Jake 'looks as if the sky is falling on him - an effect he doesn't have to work nearly as hard to produce. His perpetually depressed eyebrows do the job for him, arching down over a gaze which seems permanently fixed on thoughts of the very worst that can happen.'


For Lovely and Amazing, Seattle Weekly took a close up of Jake's face and had this to say (and it is worth quoting at length): 'Jake Gyllenhaal's eyes give him the aspect of a Muppet lost in thought. He is best known for playing a wide-eyed boy taken by the science of rockets (October Sky), a blurry-eyed boy who does violent things in the haze of sleepwalking (Donnie Darko), and a bouncy-eyed boy trapped in a shiny plastic bubble (Bubble Boy). His features are theatrically overstated: fat lips, thick eyebrows, and distended eyelids that have to stretch to conceal two glistening, gluey globes.'


'Jake charms in Lovely.In Lovely & Amazing (in which he is both) his eyes are huge and heavy and ink-blue. They roll around in their watery sockets. One moment they are the bleary embodiment of retail mundanity (he works at a one-hour photo); the next moment they seem to swell and bulge forth with sexual longing. (His character may be sensitive, but he's also a 17- year-old male.) You're never really sure if his eyes are a distraction or if everything else is the distraction and his eyes are the performance.'


'Mr. Gyllenhaal should never put on sunglasses, or sleep, or play a blind man on film. His close-ups are particularly riveting, composed of unflagging intrigue and suspense. How can his eyes be so big, one wonders, rapt, and how does he keep them from falling out of his head? And if they did fall out—how could they not, really—is someone prepared to catch them?'


Eyes like those need their frame.


Includes pictures from IHJ.

Lego Jake? and Bono's Jarhead inspiration

It was announced today that Lego and Disney have come to a deal which means that the Prince of Persia movie will have its own line of Lego Construction Toys. While I'm all for a Build Yourself A Life-Size Prince Dastan Lego Kit (which replicates to the last millimetre the body of model Jake Gyllenhaal) - in fact, I might buy enough for a football team - but Prince of Persia Construction Toys? I'm not particularly familiar with 6th-century Persian construction vehicles and, therefore, I am prepared to be amazed. I'm also prepared to get a fleet of them.


When PoP appears in the late spring of 2010, it is quite possible that we will be able to fill our homes with PoP-inspired merchandise. A Jake Gyllenhaal towel perhaps? A pillow case? Maybe a complete set of bedding? While every mantelpiece, shelf and windowsill can be used to reenact the film's scenes with armies of little Jake figures. We will have to get used to sharing Jake and seeing him on the sides of buses.


We are still waiting for Jamie Foxx, although one site today suggested that the video will be seen in March, not February. But while we wait, there is a little bit more information about U2's contribution to the Brothers soundtrack. It appears that Bono was inspired in the composition of White as Snow by Jarhead. 'After watching Sam Mendes's film, Jarhead, Bono decided the song should evoke the thoughts of a soldier dying from a roadside bomb in Afghanistan.' You can read more here about U2's 'most intimate song'. I sense it will grace Brothers. We will hear the song during the first week of March.


While we're talking dates, it wasn't a surprise to see that Pro IMDb has put UMP back to 2011. And then add some...?


Includes scans from WDW.

Jake's back in LA - 13 February in LAX

After what seems to have been a wonderful, albeit brief, trip to NYC, supporting Maggie and Peter in their joint theatrical enterprise, Jake Gyllenhaal is now back in LA. Here is Jake arriving at LAX on 13 January - without the redlined coat but with the cap still in place.


And the question is...? What is the answer?


Thanks to IHJ for the pictures.