Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Over the wall, Beautiful Man!

Jake Gyllenhaal stars in The Notebook. No, not a remake of that treacly movie. The Notebook is a local London magazine, and Jake is the May cover boy. It's a recycled picture, but there are some fun tidbits in the interview.



Q. It seems like Dastan has a bit of Indiana Jones in him. Was that your intention?

A. 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.




Q. You’ve played characters based on real people, but where do you begin with a fictitious 6th century Persian prince?

A.There’s lots of pretentious research I could tell you about, but it really did start with the accent and also with projecting my voice. For a movie like this to be successful, you need a grand scale to everything, a bigness, something theatrical. I worked with a voice coach, and she brought in these ancient texts. I would stand at one end of the pool in Los Angeles, she’d stand at the other end, and I would shout things like, 'Over the wall, men! Over the wall!' It was like doing theatre. It put a bit more fire inside, made me feel a bit more like a warrior. There was a lot of physical work too.




Q. You never thought about getting a stuntman to do the difficult bits for you?

A.[Laughs] No, I always want to do as much as I can myself. And I’m a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to fight sequences. I want to get every move down perfectly, and I refuse to accept anything less than that.




Q. You’ve made some big films, but it seems like Prince of Persia is on a different scale…

A. I just thought, 'Wow!' Even during the rehearsals, when I got to see pictures of what the production designer was planning, it has just blown my mind, everything from the amazing costumes to these huge sets and the locations in Morocco. And it’s not just the size of the film and it’s not just the scope, it’s also the detail in the costumes and sets.




Jake also made People Magazine's Most Beautiful People list:



JAKE GYLLENHAAL
He plays the adventurous – and buff! – Prince of Persia this summer, but off-screen the actor, 29, is a regular guy who doesn't need much to make him happy. "I feel my best after a home-cooked meal with family and friends," he says.


New behind the scenes featurette, this time showcasing Gemma Arterton's Tamina:



(PoP photos courtesy of IHJ.)

30 comments:

UltraViolet said...

I just love the picture of Jake projecting his voice and shouting silly phrases!

Apparently Jake was at Mozza again last night:

I think it's pretty awesome that at my last dinner in LA Jake Gyllenhal is at the next table over at Mozza. :)

FL said...

LOL no wonder his neighbors are selling their home. Over the wall, men! Over the wall! They probably assumed they were about to be home-invaded by ancient Englishmen!

Cathy E said...

^^LOL I like the thought of Jake projecting his voice too. :)

UltraViolet said...

It's very Monty Pythonesque, hee!

Just updated the post with a new featurette. It's Gemma's turn in the spotlight.

UltraViolet said...

The PoP advance screenings are starting: one in London today and in Manchester yesterday. Three positive reviews on twitter/FB and one pan.

I guess this would be classified as PoP stunt doubles.

Finally, this show will have a Jake interview - airing Friday on Spike TV. You can see a very brief snippet of it in the preview.

Get Real said...

He sure is a beautiful man! He looks gorgeous in the People pic. And LOL at him yelling in English accent across a pool. Fun interview. :)

Nice video of Gemma and PoP. You can see that she and Jake got along.

suvee said...

Nice to see Jake's return to People's Most Beautiful issue. I noticed he was absent last year (and maybe the year before?), but I guess that was because of his 2+ year absence from the big screen. Doesn't matter..... we all know he is a lifetime member of the Most Beautiful People Club. :)

Now the PoP media coverage really is starting in earnest! I'm going to be very interested in seeing if Entertainment Weekly has PoP as their cover story for the week before its U.S. release. If they go with Sex and the City, not a good sign IMO.

UltraViolet said...

I'd like to hear more from Gemma about working with Jake, and vice versa, get real. I never get enough of that kind of thing. It does seem like they got along well.

Suvee, I'll be bummed if EW goes the SaTC route. Fingers crossed for a PoP cover.

It bothers me that they are doing so much publicity in Europe two weeks ahead of the movie. Though I don't want to wait, I hope the US PoP press is the week before, not two weeks.

And I'll really be bummed if all of those promo shots were done just for that People story. I hope we see the results of that photo shoot somewhere else.

we all know he is a lifetime member of the Most Beautiful People Club

Amen!

FL said...

UV, where does that link to "PoP Stunt Doubles" lead to in your post at 8:36? Nothing is clickable. :(

UltraViolet said...

Whoops - sorry about that. Here you go.

Get Real said...

Suvee, Jake was in both People's beautiful lists. He was just in small mentions.

UV, I too hope they ramp up the US PoP events/promotion. I would imagine Jake will being some of the talk shows then. *fingers crossed*

suvee said...

Jake was in both People's beautiful lists. He was just in small mentions.

Ooops! Maybe it was People's Sexiest issue? I can't keep these things straight. I thought he was missing from one of their "Most" issues recently. Please tell me I"m not totally imagining this!

Thanks for the correction, Get Real.

mary said...

when does the people most beautiful issue come out

UltraViolet said...

I think it comes out on Friday, Mary.

Suvee, I seem to recall whining, I mean, noting that Jake hadn't made one of these lists. Was it last year's sexiest? I can't remember. Maybe it was just that he wasn't chosen as the Top Dog.

Get real is probably right - how could they ever leave Jake off a Most Beautiful list?!

UltraViolet said...

A very good story about the debacle of Nailed.

Lots of details about how Bergstein works and how upset the cast and crew were. Here's a snippet, but the whole article is worth a read:

One production source estimates the many starts and stops probably added $4 million to the cost of the film. By the end, some crew members were left so short of money and desperate that they made off with photocopiers and other equipment in an attempt to recoup their losses. And no one seems to blame them. “It was the hardest movie in my life,” says one key member of the filmmaking team. “Some people quit. Some people were brought to tears. . . They were at the breaking point.”

Gyllenhaal and Biel were not at risk financially. They worked for reduced fees but their money had been secured before they started. Sources on the film say Gyllenhaal pressured his agents at CAA to squeeze Bergstein but the executive proved to be squeeze-resistant. Both Gyllenhaal and Biel offered words of support to the crew. More than once, when filming shut down, Justin Timberlake sent a jet to spirit his girlfriend Biel away, according to one of the production staff.

Meanwhile, crew members drowned their sorrows in a local bar called The Whig. They began to read news articles about problems on other Bergstein films, emailing distressing stories to each other with mounting horror. A group created a website called “ihatedavidbergstein.com.” And a member of the accounting staff sent Bergstein and his associates a signed “fuck-you” email—using those exact words, more than once.

“How can you people live with yourselves?” this employee asked. “My typical day is filled with making promises that I cannot keep to little Ma and Pa vendors who have extended services to our company on good faith. These are real people with families to provide for and bills to pay. Your constant promises of `tomorrow the loan will go through’ [are] ludicrous. And you've all made a liar out of me . . . Fuck you.”

Through it all, David O. Russell remained relatively calm—a response that makes sense to one associate involved in the film. “For the first time, there were more demons outside his head than inside his head,” this insider says. “He wanted to step forward and captain a good ship for his own career. He was in ultra-professional mode. For him, it was so cruel—he was trapped at every turn.” (Russell did not respond to a request for comment.)


They hold out a sliver of hope that the movie might be finished.

And boy, that Bergstein just sounds scummier and scummier.

UltraViolet said...

On a lighter note, a fun twitpic from Jordan Mechner. It's hard to imagine how he must feel seeing things like that.

Finally, Doug Liman might have another project. I don't know the original movie and I'm not really a Coen Brothers fan. But I have always wanted to see Jake in a caper movie. Maybe they can do UMP later?

Chica said...

LOL at Jake projecting his voice, he is so funny!

One day Jake is going to make it to #1 on People's list, he is gorgeous! So glad they used one of the new pics from his Pop promo set, I love that one.

He and Gemma look so good together!

I'll check out the articles on Liman and Bergstein later at work on my break when I will have a more time to read the articles, thsnks for posting UV!

I'm getting ready for work now and in a bit of s rush!

This is Pop related: I went to the movies last night to see the restored print of Doctor Zvivago at a theater on 23rd St. The screening was a part of the Tribeca Film Festival. The print was beautiful and it was great to see one of my favorite films on the big screen. It included a Q&A with Rita Tushingham who played Tanya, Lar and Yuri's daughter, she looked great and was very charming and funny. Anyway amongst the usual movie posters in the lobby, Robin Hood, SATC2, was a poster of Pop of course but it was the biggest poster in the lobby, it was almost billboard size!!

Chica said...

Bergstein is a nasty piece of work. I feel so sorry for the crew and members of the community in Columbia SC that got stiffed. Sounds like executives at CAA turned a death ear to Jake when he complained about him. Bergstein deserves everything that is coming to him.

I was looking forward to the UMP being Jake's next film. Liman sounds really busy. The Coen brothers are remaking Gambit? They are doing the remake of True Grit as well with Jeff Bridges.

I run hot and cold regarding the Coen brothers. I hated Burn Before reading and Barton Fink but loved No Country for Old Men and A Serious Man.

And look who is gaurding RDJ, our favorite BG!:

http://laineygossip.com/

Carla said...

I had high hopes for both UMP and Namath project but it seems we have to be patient and wait. Interesting that some of Jakes rumoured films seems to be going nowhere and other films we read about the first time and - bang! - filming has already started like Source Code.

No words on Bergsteins behaviour.

But great news for me :-)

Prince of Persia Preview and Premiere

This is only about 30 minutes away from my hometown and I have asked a friend whether she wants to attend with me! I would go alone but it is more fun if you have someone to share the love!

bobbyanna said...

Phew! My ancient computer's been extremely "difficult" the past two days...

Jake's vocal exercises at the pool had me LOL!!

Bergstein's pure slime! He should be in jail. Despicable.

I'm ambivalent on the Coen Brothers, too. I've seen 6 of their movies, "Fargo," "Miller's Crossing", "Raising Arizona","No Country", "Serious Man", and "Burn After Reading". Loved "Fargo" and "Arizona" but the other three didn't live up to my expectations.

Thanks for the Gemma video and the magazine interview. Gemma has the cutest giggle!

Duncan tweeted earlier, that this is the last day of shooting on SC.

Anonymous said...

The People mag. with Most Beautiful is the one with Sandra Bullock and baby (how about that..good for her!) on the cover so you know its going to be a big seller.
Many more people will see that i bet than saw last weeks issue...
The Jake comments were nice. Good to see nice comments about Jake in People. In fact it looks like he's a pretty down-to-earth responsible person.
Annie

UltraViolet said...

Hi Annie - so what's in the magazine is longer than what was online? I haven't seen the mag or any scans yet. Good to hear good things :)

Sorry to hear about the computer woes, Bobbyanna! I can't believe SC is done already. Can't wait to see the finished product.

Carla, that's great news about the PoP premiere. Makes up a little for the fact that Brothers never came to theaters for you!

Chica, that Dr, Zhivago event sounds like a cool evening. I've seen some PoP posters at the movies, but nothing as big as a billboard. Wouldn't mind seeing one :)

And nasty piece of work pretty much sums up Bergstein. I hope all this noise prods them to finish the damned film.

Monica said...

New images:
Prince of Persia

Office Nancy Pelosi said...

And yes he is a beautiful man! Sounds like he had so much fun practicing his accent.

It's always great to see Jake on People's list of the most beautiful people, he just deserves to be much higher!

Hopefully we will hear more about Jake and Gemma working together when they start to do the talk shows and interviews for Pop, they really look and sound like they got along great from what we have seen so far.

How awesome for you Carla! I forgot that Brothers never played near you:(

I love Dr. Zhivago too Chica, how great you got to sse it on the big screen.

It took long enough for the authorities to catch up with that thief Bergstein, I just hope we they can complete Nailed, I was really looking forward to that.

So Liman will be working with the Coen brothers on their next film, sounds like UMP is not in his horizon at the moment.

I loved Fargo, Millers Crossing and Raising Arizona are the only Coen brothers movies I liked.

Thanks for the heads up on Jake's interview on Spike TV UV!

UltraViolet said...

I hope the Spike TV interview is worth the effort, OONP, lol. It looks as if Jake is having fun in the very brief snippet.

Monica, I do believe those stills deserve a post of their own. Even if they've been tweeted all day!

mary said...

does any one know the time of the show with jakes interview is

UltraViolet said...

Do you mean the Spike TV show, Mary? According to my DVR, it's on late Friday night, really early Saturday morning, at 12:40AM.

mary said...

yes thats the one thsnks

Sag actor said...

I enjoyed the interview with Mr. Stunt double, Pop and Robin hood, I'm very impressed!

Bergstein is a disgrace.
I love the script for Nailed, it will be ashame if it doesn't get finished.

Thanks for all the updates!

UltraViolet said...

Hi SAG Actor! I liked that stunt double's story, too. His resume is very impressive.

I might have to read the Nailed script if we never get to see the movie!

New post :)