We wanted to make a new post but were unsure what to post about. Inspiration came, as usual, from Jake Gyllenhaal - via the inimitable Stephanie, who posted these Interview Magazine outtake pictures tonight.
These wonderful pictures of outdoorsman Jake were taken at the Golden Oak Ranch in Santa Clarita, California:
We encourage you all to keep commenting with news, thoughts and feelings about Heath. Heath, his family and friends, including Jake, are never far from our minds.
In the end, Gyllenhaal chocks up his on-screen romantic chemistry with co-star Ledger to the simple bonds of trust and friendship that they formed while making the movie.
"For Heath and I, I think it's a friendship and a trust that as actors we were going to go someplace that we both were afraid of and we knew that we were," says Gyllenhaal. "We just trusted each other. I think in that trust was chemistry and there was a real connection in that. He was a great guy and we were just kind of friends from the beginning. We both admired what it took to play both the characters we were playing and we knew at a certain point we only had each other because we never knew how people were going to respond to the movie, so we kind of just joined up and said 'Fuck 'em, lets go for it.' And we did and I think you probably see that.
Heath and I trusted each other enough to take risks. It was wonderful creating an intimacy with him. He made me feel comfortable; he made me want to be present, and that's the best thing you can ask for from someone you're acting with.
"Heath wears his heart on his shoulder. (With) that kind of sensitivity and strength his child will feel safe."
That second quote is especially wrenching. It also makes me laugh, which I need right now. Felicia probably remembers how it always bugged me that Jake says Heath wears his heart o his shoulder, not on his sleeve. Gylenbabble at its most endearing!
Many of you may have seen this article. It contains remembrances from people across the globe who encountered Heath. It just reinforces how special Heath was.
I also tried to find some shots of Jake and Heath that we don't see all the time. These are from the BBM screening at the Venice Film Festival. I love how Jake and Heath are almost mirroring each other in the last two. And how happy they both look.
I love the sepia tint, and the way Jake and Heath seem in their own little world.
Finally, this is one of my favorite pictures of Heath. I think he looks beautiful, and he has thatuniquely Heath gleam in his eye:
New pics of Jake and Reese from Sunday, post-breakfast. No, sadly not in bed! From JustJared:
Cute couple Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon step out for a breakfast date in Los Angeles on Sunday morning.
Credit to a star first-time anonymous poster for the heads-up. More pics at the source.
Thanks also to the anon poster who let us know that Jake (and Natalie and Tobey) are due on set in New Mexico tomorrow. I'd love to see the shooting schedule for this flick!
Who knew the Smurfs have been around for so long? Or that anyone would really care? We can't let such a momentous occasion pass without our favorite bit of Smurf philosophy. From Donnie Darko:
Moonlight Mile is one of my favorite Jake films. I curse myself for not paying more attention at the time. Not only because they filmed outside of Boston and I missed the opportunity to see Jake up close and personal. (Felicia was even closer!)
I wish I'd been aware of the movie so I could have heard and read what Jake's costars had to say about him. We know from the commentary that Jake and Dustin got along famously. I found an old Charlie Rose show in which Susan talks a little about Jake. Well, gushes is more like it. It's just a few minutes, but she obviously thinks very highly of Jake Gyllenhaal!
(The Jake mention comes about halfway through, after she corrects Charlie on the pronunciation of Gyllenhaal!)
BTW, they have an extensive video backlog on the Charlie Rose site. So if you never saw Ang and Heath discussing BBM, you can watch it on the site. Oh how I wish Jake had been in on that interview.
IHJ put up some Moonlight Mile stills the other day, and that's what got me on the MM kick. Despite all the brown, Jake looks gorgeous.
Jake walking a route very familiar to one Fluorescent Lamp!
Much to my surprise, I really enjoyed Jake and Ellen Pompeo together. IHJ posted some more pics of Jake from yesterday, basically the same but from a different angle. I like the composition of this one. Typical California: Gorgeous movie star, palm trees and paparazzi.
And in the reflection, the one pap looks like a monster or someone in a HazMat suit!
Work has been too busy to make a post (okay, the two-hour+ lunch derailed me). But here's a quick Jake for you. Until we get untagged versions elsewhere. Stephanie comes through again. Thanks, Stephanie:
They might not have perfect clarity, but they get the message across.
Remember the hair stylist/designer who blogged about seeing Reese and Jake at the Rufus Wainwright/Belinda Carlisle concert on New Year's Eve? He has put up a couple of photos.
This is probably an egregious violation of ethics, but then again, this guy took a camera phone picture of people he doesn't know!
You can wish it were clearer or closer, but in the end, you really see everything you need to see.
I found a really great feature on Rendition, with clips of interviews with Jake and Reese. Had to split it into twoparts:
I laughed that they replaced Jake's version of the Streep/Sarsgaard scene with the scene itself. I think Jake must have mentioned that scene in every interview.
I love it when interviewers ask slightly different questions. And I love it even more when Jake reveals a little about himself. Yes, Jake, you are the subject of much analysis!
(You can click on the "two parts" links above to see a larger version of the videos, which are courtesy of Canal+)
Not much news in Gyllenworld these days. Well, except for the engagement rumors. :) But we've found a few timely tidbits.
The movie critic for the Charlotte Observer made a list of the 20 celebrities who've made the most indelible impression on him, for better or worse. This was my favorite entry:
Most stunning: Jake Gyllenhaal. Virtually all actors look better onscreen than in life. Gyllenhaal, chiseled and magnetic, is a rare exception. His female counterpart would be the jaw-dropping Bryce Dallas Howard.
The readers of Hello Magazine chose Jake and Reese as 2007's "coolest new couple," with more than two-thirds of the votes:
We know that Zodiac was nominated for a WGA award, but it was nice to see Rendition pop up on a best of 2007 list. From Cinema Confidential:
6. Rendition – A bomb goes off in South Africa that kills an American diplomat. Director Gavin Hood's powerful and headstrong drama about how errors in national security can lead to unmerited torture of legal immigrants. If Anwar (Omar Metwally) is indeed innocent, the time interrogating him is a waste and distraction from looking for the real terrorists. Invaluable supporting work from Reese Witherspoon as Anwar's American-born wife, Jake Gyllenhaal as a rookie CIA analyst, Meryl Streep as an unsympathetic member in the Senate. One thing was wrong in my original review: I predicted that it would become a box office hit. Perhaps it will engage all who discover it when it hits DVD and cable.
I finally got a chance to check out the Zodiac DVD extras. The non-Jake/RJD commentary made me wish for writer James Vanderbilt not to win the WGA award. He, producer Brad Fischer and especially novelist James Ellroy really irritated me. And they got much more time than Jake and RDJ. A lot of reviewers praised the trio. But I prefer the easy camraderie of Jake and Robert. Once more folks have had a chance to sample all the extras, we can discuss at greater length.
In the meantime, I did see a brief preview of the Rendition DVD.
A chamber-piece cousin to the symphonies of destruction that are Paul Greengrass’s “Bourne” films, Gavin Hood’s tale of torture in the war on terror is “Syriana” to scale. Its parts snap into place with a puzzle-box pace and a sharp script that hands four good actors (Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Alan Arkin and Meryl Streep) verbal daggers to hold at each other’s throats. ...
Extras include commentary from Hood, two featurettes and deleted and alternate scenes.
Disappointing that there's no Jake commentary, but I hope he is in a lot of the deleted or alternate scenes. What do you think the alternate opening scene for Jake would be like?
Since his name keeps popping up in Jakeland, we have a Robert Elswit-themed post today. On Sunday night, Jake's godfather won the NY Film Critic's 2007 cinematography prize for There Will Be Blood. Maggie presented the award:
“I’ve known Robert Elswit since I was a little girl”, Gyllenhaal told the crowd at Spotlight Live. “My mom reminded me last night that he snuck into the delivery room and hid in a closet to take pictures of my brother being born.” So those would be the first naked photos of Jake Gyllenhaal.
Thus leading Gyllenhaalics everywhere to exclaim, "Where are the other nude photos then?"
Apparently, Jake approved of the photos, because in 2006, he accepted an award for Elswit from the LA Film Critics Association for "Good Night, And Good Luck."
Elswit appears to be the Gyllenhaal photographer of family record - he took this photo of Jake and Stephen looking at the first galleys for Claptrap, Stephen's first book of poetry.
Both Jake and Robert Elswit were nominated for Academy Awards in the same year, which is a pretty cool twist of fate. And it looks like they got to stand next to each other in the Oscar 2005 class picture*:
I can't imagine how proud I would be if someday I were nominated for an award at the same time as one of my godchildren.
A reminder that the director's cut of Zodiac was released today. Looking forward to watching the movie again and especially to the Jake/RDJ commentary. Of course, the amazing Stephanie at IHJ has already capped at least one of the features.
Just a thought, but perhaps the reason Brothers is scheduled for a 2009 release is the glacial pace at which they seem to be filming. They haven't exactly had a rigorous schedule!
Hot: Togetherness. Jake Gyllenhaal takes Reese Witherspoon and her kids for a stroll.
I wonder why this story has been presented everywhere as Jake's taking Reese and the kids on a hike? Maybe it was her idea!
Since we got only a solo sighting of Jake this weekend, check out these old but new-to-me encounters. From November:
THIS BLOG'S FIRST-EVER CELEBRITY-SIGHTING Spotted brunching together at the table next to me this morning at La Note in Berkeley: Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon. They shared a Sunday New York Times as they waited for Berkeley's best breakfast to arrive. ...
Pre-romance, from the 2005 Vanity Fair Oscar party:
Here and there a drone wandered, an unknown face. But for the most part it was a living menagerie of the pages of a glossy magazine. Jake Gyllenhaal, his head shaven, whispered in the ear of Reese Witherspoon, her hair a stripy vanilla-chocolate color.
Of course, as the story notes, Jake left with Kirsten. But maybe there was a hint of a spark? It's a nice image either way :)
I like the mutual touches in this pic. And even though they were allegedly broken up at this point, can you blame Kirsten for wanting to get her hands on Jarhead Jake?
Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon with some other actorly types at the 5:35 Dome showing of Sweeney Todd 12/29. Reese was wearing a baseball cap w/"Jake" embroidered on the side. Awww. Both were casual and cute. She is teeny tiny. Seriously.
Jake and Reese part 2 - when I got into the line to exit the parking lot, I was behind a black Mercedes, which then proceeded to pull up to the ticket booth and sit for five minutes while the driver obviously searched for his ticket. I suppressed the New Yorker in me and didn't lay on the horn, and was rewarded with the realization that Jake himself was the culprit. Stars, they're just like us! P.S. When I pulled to the ticket booth myself, the attendant was giddy from her five mins w/Jake. Don't know how Reese felt about all this; she seems pretty organized.
Speaking of Runyon Canyon, it has apparently fallen out of fashion as a place for celebrities to walk. It has definitely been a favorite place for Jake to hike and bike over the years. Maybe he likes Malibu better now :)
In "Stars are nothing like us!" news, Zodiac is finally getting an Oscar push from the studio. Coming in at Number Three and Number Four on charts compiling critic's awards, it's clear that Zodiac has been done a disservice by the Paramount suits.
The only just reward for Zodiac's not getting any awards love (so far) is the fact that the shows might not go on at all, due to the WGA strike.
Something which mercifully didn't happen in 2006.
(Title credit to the Defamer poster for the title. Photos courtesy of IHJ.)
New Jake pics - he had lunch at Joan's on Third again today. He's been seen with this woman before, but I love how people try to make something out of it. It looks as if she and Jake are also bemused. Or just exasperated!
A critic on Film Stew posted an interesting Top 10 list, choosing his favorite scene from his Top 10 movies for 2007. Zodiac was second on the list:
2. Dueling Belief Systems, Zodiac: The opening of David Fincher’s serial killer epic, which portrays the titular phantom’s nocturnal attack on a pair of teen lovers with bone-chilling intensity, is the stuff of nightmares. But the film’s most vital scene gets at the root of what makes us able to sleep at night.
Cartoonist-turned-haggard-sleuth Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal), after feverishly piecing together an elaborate string of clues, drags cop Dave Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) out of bed and into an all-night diner, where he tries to convince the inspector of a suspect’s definite guilt. Toschi isn’t convinced, pointing to a lack of empirical evidence. The pull between faith and reason demonstrated here makes Zodiac a genuinely profound study not just of the different ways people rationalize evil, but also of the different ways we make sense of the world.
That is a really good scene, though I hope the critic realizes that by the end, Graysmith hs persuaded Toschi. At least that's how I read it.
It's very hard to choose a favorite scene in any Jake movie. Some of my favorite Zodiac scenes involved Avery and Graysmith, because of the great chemistry between Robert Downey, Jr. and Jake. They were comical and serious, playful and poignant, with Jake first playing the perfect bumbling naif to RDJ's jaded cynic:
Later, Graysmith realizes his friend is losing it. Jake perfectly plays the concern, and RDJ brilliantly conveys Avery's appreciation:
I also really like the first date scene. Jake and Chloe Sevigny are pitch perfect. I wish we had seen more of them:
Any favorite scenes from Zodiac? Tomorrow, we can do Rendition. And not just the bed scene...
