Jake Gyllenhaal, changing his life with movies

Update: My first report from the UK premiere of Cowboys and ALiens is here.

The release of Source Code on DVD has led to more interviews with Jake Gyllenhaal. I particularly like this one with Digital Journal. In it, Jake talks about far more than Source Code, mentioning politics, love and sex. Here are some extracts accompanied by photographs of Jake and Michael Pena on the End of Watch set on 8 August, courtesy of IHJ. Many thanks to Mermon for the heads up!


'Well, the making of any movie is always full of its own odd moments. When you do a serious scene where no one can't stop laughing or there is an intense moment and you are supposed to break tables and chairs, and can't get it right and you have to go and put everything back in -- that's what I love about making movies. So that's just the great fun and irony of movies -- that people are made to look like idiots! But who are extraordinary at their jobs? And you have like, these two actors in this movie, who are taking themselves way too seriously. I just wanted to give a great performance.'


'I think romance coincides with effort, so you can fall flat on your face as long as you’re making great effort in romance. Effort always comes off as romantic. If you’re someone who doesn’t cook, you make a meal. You can do anything that has a bit of vulnerability about it... Well, I’m a little bit of a workaholic, so there was a time when I was working hard in another country with just one day off. I flew back from that country to see someone for just an hour and then I flew back. I thought it was a really romantic gesture and I ended up with a whole bunch of frequent flier miles for my show of love.'


'Like if you see a man in uniform, then the movie is about war, And the movie is about a man getting to get back to the things he loves, in my opinion. I've made movies about war. So I feel like I can say that. And I've answered many, many questions about that before, you know? And how do I feel about what's happening? I still have great faith in our president. And I believe that he'll make the right choices. Look, it's complicated. We are human beings. And soldiers are human beings. They have lives. And for me, I didn't approach it like that. Because I didn't play that part. I played a guy who's in jail at the beginning of the movie. And to me, that's an interesting aspect, politically. Which is actually a domestic issue. And I didn't know that much about it, until I did research for the movie [Brothers]. I went to jails all around California, and juvenile halls. And I got involved in a writing program, as a result of doing research for this movie, with these young juveniles who write. I have relationships with some of them, and some of them have actually gone on to serve life sentences in some cases, And all of them, strangely, regardless of what has happened to them and their fate, are incredible kids. And to me, that's also an important aspect of this movie. That here's this guy who comes out of jail after he holds up a bank. And then he ultimately turns his life around. To care for two children, and to love, you know? And so it is with the thing about war, is that it outshines everything else. But to meet these kids that were in this system, where it seems impossible to redeem themselves -- my life changed, making this movie, Because of that, because of meeting those kids.'


'I mean, you make movies, and so much is about this process now. You know, selling a movie. Or making it look good for an audience, or whatever. And the special moments that happen in movies, are the lessons that every movie has. Like for everybody involved in it. And I went through a journey in the prison system. But look, I don't know how it can't change your life when you meet a kid, who the day before was sentenced to life. And whose girlfriend had to testify against him. So I don't know how you could be breathing, and not have something like that change your life. Like they get one hour outside a week, and they're fourteen years old. It's now changed to an hour a day, but it was an hour a week when I got there. That is not to say that they've done perfect things. But it is to say that it can't not change my life. And another kid with the LA Conservation Corps started telling us all these stories, And they were unreal. To me. Like hiding meth in the back of a lamp of a four wheel drive vehicle, driving over the border. And he was sixteen years old. And he told these stories like he was Homer. They were literally like tales. But he's changed his life. He's actually working now in the governor's office in Sacramento. So it's those things. It's like you look at a movie and go, yeah. It's a movie. But that's the stuff that I care about. So anyway. that's all!'


There is much more at Digital Journal.

And finally...

I'm off to London tomorrow for the start of a few days of movie glory, beginning with Cowboys and Aliens and its press conference and premiere. We're talking Harrison Ford here! I'm then going on to the Empire Big Screen event at the O2 venue. I will have internet along the way and so I'll keep in touch! There are wonders on the way...

Jim Sheridan's Brothers - a look at how Hollywood adapts national identity

After all the excitement of the last few days, with more than its fair show of gun showdowns, gritty worms and rampaging torrents, it makes a rather pleasant interlude to sit back in comfort this evening and read an indepth article that takes us back to those days of Brothers. This edition of Film International looks at what Jim Sheridan did with the Danish original by Susanne Bier to 'Hollywoodise' its treatment of family issues and the war in Afghanistan. Above all, it looks at how nationalism is shifted when two very different countries adapt the same story. Of coursem this is confused somewhat because Sheridan is from Ireland, the old world. Along the way of course, there is Jake Gyllenhaal, Tobey Maguire and Natalie Portman.

Many thanks to BBMISwear for the scans.

[Updated] Unscripted! Interviews with Jake Gyllenhaal on Source Code LA premiere day! Plus bowling and Brothers

Update: The Moviefone Unscripted with Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan is now available to watch. With thanks to a friend for the heads up!

There are two shorter videos with it. Here is one while the other one (which won't embed) can be found at the link above.



In the words of Duncan Jones who tweeted this today: 'What do I have to do today.. trim beard, cut hair, mow lawn, wash clothes... was something else.. oh yeah. SOURCE CODE PREMIER TONIGHT!' I'm sure you'll agree that mowing the lawn and washing clothes would alone make today a special day, but throw in the premiere of Source Code and I reckon that makes it even better. Adding custard to the crumble is Jake Gyllenhaal's appearance on Conan O'Brien tonight.


And just in case Jake still has his eye on that iPad 2, on Friday, he and Duncan will be making an appearance in New York City's Apple store. Details, and product advertising, here.


Proving that it is possible to bowl without the help of a Wii, on 26 March Jake visited the Spare Room in LA with a group of friends, including Maroon 5's Adam Levine, to bowl and, according to US Weekly, drink Red Stripe beer. [Note to real ale drinking Brits, this is a lager from Jamaica.] Apparently, in addition to trying to persuade models to have a go, 'As the game progressed, the guys started high-fiving each other; at one point Jake did what looked like a little dance after bowling a spare.' Far be it from me to mention that this sounds as if the spares might have been few and far between. Possibly, this is because it's hard to bowl and have your hood up.


We have more interviews today with Jake, Duncan and, I'm delighted to say, Vera Farmiga. These include interviews from Coming Soon and Collider. You'll find these embedded below within extracts from another interview with Jake, courtesy of The Spec. The article is a little spoilery but these snippets below are not. It's interesting to hear Jake talk a little more about how fond he is of his role in Brothers, Tommy. But first a little on keeping Source Code fresh throughout.



'“We knew beforehand that the only way this was going to be engaging and intriguing and fun to watch was through variation,” Gyllenhaal said. “How Duncan staged a scene, how I responded, how I gathered information, how much I was aware of what was going, and how much I wasn’t aware. So it felt like a real tightrope walk for me. And as soon as I stopped thinking about all those cliched responses you might expect from an actor in a thriller, as soon as it became a real psychological exploration, it became fascinating to me.”'



'“I have a relatively strange mind,” Gyllenhaal says. “Some strange things are going to come from it.” While there has been the occasional payday, like “Prince of Persia” (“Even there I tried to throw in a little bit of something,” he countered), he’s also done “The Good Girl,” “Lovely & Amazing,” the grossly underappreciated “Zodiac” and, more recently, “Brothers,” the Jim Sheridan’s adaptation of the Susanne Bier’s Danish film. “I loved that story and I loved that character,” he said. “In fact, I loved that character maybe more than any I’ve played; I’d like to bring him back in some kind of incarnation again ‘cause I just loved what he was struggling with. But yeah,” he added. “I think things work the best when I listen to my own instincts.”'



Includes pictures from IHJ.

Submit your questions to the Fittest Hill Attacker in Hollywood, Jake Gyllenhaal

One of the highlights of the publicity for Brothers, for me at least, was the Unscripted chat between Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman and Tobey Maguire for Moviefone. One of the best things about it was that the questions came from fans. And now, thanks to Source Code, we will now get another Unscripted with Jake and his co-star Michelle Monaghan. It will be recorded on March 12 in Austin at the SXSW Festival and you have until then to submit your questions. The video itself will be available on 28 March. As a reminder of the treat in store, here are the clips of the Brothers Unscripted. Please note how I'm not mentioning merkins...



Thanks to the delectable MMM for the heads up.

Hill attacker

It's always great to see Jake on the cover of a magazine and that's just where he is for the April issue of Men's Journal. Not only do we hear he's styled by Molly R Stern - who seems to know exactly the right kind of clothes to put Jake in - we also hear he's the 'Barefoot running, hill attacking, fittest guy in Hollywood'. No arguments there although I'm glad to say that Nike has been making a comeback to Jake's feet of late. But before showing the cover, I think I want to look some more at the other image - Biker Jake. Can you hear that thumping? That is my heart.



Thanks to Laura for the heads up.

Pancake Jake

It's hard to Adam and Eve it, but Pancake Day has come round again. Admittedly, over the last year, Jake's pancake making credentials have been tarnished somewhat by his Oscar Pancakes that failed to reach his niece's high standards. 'They were the worst pancakes I ever made. It was weird', Jake said at the time. Jake didn't seem to get on too well with the things in Brothers either. However, wanting to mark the day but not having a photo of Jake wrecking pancakes for the occasion, I thought I'd post this entirely irrelevant picture instead.


And finally...

ManMadeMovies has another art poster for Source Code on its site today, this time by Daniel Norris. I suggest you head over there and check it out.

Updated to add that you can take a look at a new TV spot for Source Code here.

Time to conjure up some batter!

Never mind the Oscars - Jake Gyllenhaal is the Most Kissable Man

Never mind the Oscars, it's time to get down to the awards that really count. For today it was announced that Jake Gyllenhaal has been awarded the Most Kissable Man award. The American Academy of Cosmetic Dentists who clearly know a lot about smiles and, it would seem, also about kissing, put Jake above Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Denzel Washington, all three of whom are relatively kissable, just not as kissable as Jake Gyllenhaal.


Actually, seeing that picture above reminds me of the interview from which it was grabbed, back in Rendition days when Jake was in London and turned everyone to mush. Versions of this video no longer work across WDW and so here is a replacement:



I digress... back to the Most Kissable Man:







Then there was Emmy Rossum's famous audition for The Day After Tomorrow, during which she adopted the direct approach.




Anyone who has seen Love and Other Drugs wouldn't have failed to notice that there is a fair amount of kissing in it. I look forward to proper analysis on the arrival of my blu ray, which is currently in the post.

Prince of Persia on display

The 19th Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design is taking place at the FIDM Museum and Gallery in LA, running from 8 February to 30 April. While it may present costumes from Inception, The King's Speech, The Kids Are All Right and many more but obviously what makes the exhibition are the costumes of Jake Gyllenhaal and Gemma Arterton from The Prince of Persia. Here's a taster of what people will be able to see, from an earlier exhibition at the ArcLight.



Clearly, some costumes are more scene stealing than others while, much, much rarer, there are the very few occasions when a movie's clothes become iconic. Not just for representing a type of character but, in the rarest of occasions, individual characters. This is the finest example I can think of.



Jake's worn a fair few costumes over the past, cowboy, soldier, miner, and he's covered the full gamut of recent decades. I did a full run down of his filmatic disguises back in 2008, although now, of course we can add the prisoner of Brothers, the Persian medieval prince, the 1990s' drugs rep and airforce pilot..






Of course, the pressing point now, is what will Jake be wearing next?


Includes pictures from MMM.

'Working with Jim was a beautiful mess' - Jim Sheridan celebrated

The Irish Film Institute in Dublin is currently hosting a season to celebrate the work of one of the country's most well-known and much-loved directors Jim Sheridan. At a screening of My Left Foot last week, its star, Daniel Day-Lewis was there to pay tribute to the man who allowed him to create such a career-defining first role with Christy Brown. Reading that, and hearing the kind words about Sheridan, I couldn't help but think of Jake Gyllenhaal's experience of working with Jim on Brothers, another example where the director has influenced and inspired Jake to take a role. And it gave Jake the chance to try out his Irish accent during press, of course.. A bonus.


Jake told the Telegraph that his sense of feeling more comfortable with himself - something he has commented on during the publicity for Love and Other Drugs - began with Brothers and working with Jim. 'He ignited something, which was like, 'You can be whatever you want or, if not, whatever you are is enough.''


But acting for Jim was not quite what Jake was used to (here in the Herald): 'Working with Jim was a beautiful mess... I am not sure what happened or how it came together, but it was a really interesting mess. One day there's a PA who he's brought over who brought coffee, and there she is sitting behind the monitor and he's asking her what she thinks of the scene! Then we're changing the dialogue according to what she thinks of the scene!'

'The next day, some guy he met on a plane he invites to the set and rewrites the dialogue for him! It's a whole real interesting mess with Jim, but it turns out to be a good result in the end, so...'


Jim told Natalie Portman in an interview for Making Of that he had some trouble working with Jake (and Natalie as well), getting these Hollywood actors to show the emotion he required of them. I remember we had quite a discussion about that here at the time! When reminded of this by the Herald, Jake had this to say:


'"What do you mean by that? I have great respect for Jim and it's important that you respect someone's work. The work is not always the same as who they are as a person and navigating that is always difficult and there are lots of different egos and personalities in this business," he says, seeming both hurt and defensive. "I don't mean to wear the fact that I like to challenge people as a badge of honour. I think that's something I've moved beyond."


'"I was born into the film industry and all of us grow up thinking we have a perspective on film-making that's different from the job. But only very recently I realised that film-making is a collaborative process. When I was younger I had an idea that I was the actor there to do the job. For somebody who's gotten to the place where they are directing or writing a movie, they have to have a pretty interesting personality to be doing that. So I realise now that I am in service of somebody else's vision and I think it's changed the whole situation."'


Telegraph again: "[Jim] walked up to me in the beginning of this movie, and he said [adopts Irish accent], 'Jake, I just want you to know, you're playing my little brother in the movie, so I'm going to have to hate you most of the time.' Honestly, he was like, 'I f------ hate you!' But clearly the process worked."


"I think that this movie is a journey, the journey that Tobey's character makes to get back home. It is intertwined with a lot of other family complications – this is a Jim Sheridan movie after all – but mostly it is about what this man does to get back to the people that he loves, and to his life."

Jim Sheridan was also responsible for the first great Sasquatch carnation. That's another matter altogether...


There were compensations, however.


Includes pictures from IHJ.

I saw True Grit tonight - at last out in the UK - you can read the review here.

Zodiac - a film and performance to remember and Brothers released in Germany at last!

As the preparations get under way for the Oscars (see below), there are some reminders about of many of the other 'best of' films that never quite got the Academy Award vote of approval for reasons that are beyond fathoming. And probably aren't worth the effort of fathoming.


David Fincher has an Oscar nomination for his astonishing work on Social Network. While this is enormously well-deserved, it has caused some to wonder why an earlier movie of his, Zodiac, was completely ignored by those award-giving committees. While it isn't productive to dwell on such things, what is extremely rewarding is to think back on a film, which, for me, puts crosses in all of the right boxes. And it's good to think that Fincher's Oscar success this year may attract new audiences to another film - Zodiac.



Zodiac isn't just the perfect police procedural movie, for me it succeeds (so much so it's in my top three films that I have ever seen, maybe even the top one) because it excels and surprises in so many ways. Zodiac is a thriller with many scenes of superb dialogue and minute observation; it is a horror movie that terrifies through a distortion of a recognisable reality; it is an elegant evocation of 1960s' and 1970s' San Francisco. Through detail and song, Zodiac reproduces a past time in a memorable way, reminding one of the past through its accuracy and mood.



And then there's the acting. Jake Gyllenhaal's portrayal of obsessive Robert Graysmith is a landmark performance in his career. In the promotion for Zodiac, Jake spoke of the passions that affected his life - family, food, acting, films - and demonstrated once again why he is such a great actor of his generation - he understands fully the roles he plays.


But it's not just Jake here, of course. Robert Downey Jr, in one of the first of his come back performances, and Mark Ruffalo and the actor whose skills Fincher may have appreciated the most, Anthony Edwards. Plus Chloe Sevigny and John Carroll Lynch who had appeared with Jake in two earlier movies, The Good Girl and Bubble Boy.


Aside from the film, which hooked me from its very first scene, there is also a soundtrack to listen to over and over again and a commentary featuring Jake and Robert Downey Jr together - a joy to listen to. Jake - and not just Jake either, RDJ said much the same thing - has spoken of what he had to endure to make this film. Tens of takes for each scene and, as the movie was filmed digitally, anything extra was instantly deleted.


This was a new experience for Jake but, judging by his body language with David Fincher in Cannes in May 2007, all of this was forgiven and a new relationship born. Jake has spoken recently of his pride in working for David Fincher. Without doubt, this will be an experience to look back on and we have been left with an astonishing film.



Brothers

Rather surprisingly, Brothers was finally released in Germany this week (27 January). Can there be any sense at all in releasing a film this far removed from its original debut? At least it ties nicely with Natalie Portman's huge Black Swan success.



And finally...



Includes pictures from IHJ and here.

My review of the wonderful Tangled now up on MovieBrit.