Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Digging deep



Well, this is the lull after the storm. Not too much news on Jake Gyllenhaal or Prince of Persia today. Lots of number-crunching and finger-pointing, some if it aimed directly at Jake. But word of mouth continues to be strong for the movie.

Please continue to share reviews, questions or impressions here.

There was a Jake interview in 24 Hours, a Canadian newspaper. Jake talks about how being an actor means digging deep into your soul, but that the soul contains joy, as well as despair.






That's Tonner's Dastan doll. Apparently the artists couldn't get their hands on any pictures of Jake's face. Or hair. I don't remember Dastan having blond highlights! Click here for some close-up shots. The detail is incredible. Except on the face! Oh, and the hands.

At 17 inches for $209, that's some kind of bargain.


These scans are from Disney Twenty-three and were uploaded at IHJ in all the pre-PoP hoopla. There's a lot of old territory here, but at least one story I hadn't heard anywhere else, about Jake's horse disappearing. Worth a look.





I love the New Yorker PoP art work at the top of the post, even if the critic did hate the film!

(Scans courtesy of IHJ.)

37 comments:

Unknown said...

In Buenos Aires to Prince Jake won to R. Hood!
PoP: 159 movie theaters = 213.057 spectators 1 weeks
R.H. 137 movie theaters = 517.050 spectators 3 weeks

And... Sunday (IMAX)…there was some

applause at the end!!! :)

Sheba baby said...

That is great news Leonor, the overseas #'s have been very good.

It's already been mentioned that WOM will help Pop and I agree. Hopefully it will have a good second week.

That is a really cool sketch of Dastan and Gemma even though thaey trashed Pop!

Tweety said...

Even though I liked RH, I'm glad to hear that Pop beat it in Argentina Leonor! I plan on seeing Pop again, hopefully on IMAX:))

Thanks for the scan of that article UV. We are still getting bits from his promotion of Pop, that will keep us busy and intrigued for awhile I hope!

I didn't read their review of Pop, but I like that drawing!

It look looke we will finally see Jake eating the pickle onions with Leighbaby sometime next week!:

leighbaby_: just got an email to say the clip of me eating onions with jake gyllenhaal to get a signed @adamlambert album will go up early up next week
19 minutes

Tweety said...

I love these tweets:

mynameismeesh: Prince of Persia was really good! And Jake Gyllenhaal as an action hero = yum.
5 minutes ago from txt

alex11shuck: Jake Gyllenhaal = flawless. Really all the other details of the movie are irrelevant
7 minutes ago from Twitter for iPhone ·

HighCandy: got a major crush on Jake gyllenhaal... liked him in the movie "Brothers" but after watchin "Prince of Persia" i was starstruck... hmm Jake

UltraViolet said...

I love that second tweet especially, tweety. Everything else is irrelevant! lol

And yay - I can't wait to see the pickled onion video. Even though I was eager to see it before, it's nice that it's coming in our down time!

I hope Jake got a kick out of the NYer art and didn't read the review.

Viva, Argentina! Thanks for the update, Leonor.

mary said...

hope to see pop again on sunday maybe this time i can watch more than just jake:)

mary said...

hope to see pop again on sunday maybe this time i can watch more than just jake:)

(reposting your comment Mary, because it doesn't show up on the main post for some reason.)

Unknown said...

Oh! I forgot to thank video subtitled UV! Thanks!

Unknown said...

Also in Spain: The Prince of Persia continues in the higher.

http://www.europapress.es/cultura/cine-00128/noticia-principe-persia-sigue-mas-alto-20100601111205.html

UltraViolet said...

Mary, you can watch more than just Jake on the third go-round :)

And Leonor, woo hoo! You're on top of the box office news. thanks for the encouraging updates.

Just posted a photo of Jake/Dastan's Tonner doll. They really didn't get the face right. Or the hair color. Not sure what the problem was. The body and costume are impressive.

sheba said...

Thank you UV, it's going to be a couple of lean months until LaOD promos so we welcome any tidbits. You guys and Jake deserve a break from all of this and I hope he is duly proud of Dastan and the movie which improves everytime I see it.

I loved Nizam's expression when the villan tells him they found the source of the sand and Nizam says, "I don't have the dagger". Priceless.

My 6th outing today with a whole bunch of new recruits :D More too on Friday, I cannot wait for the DVD. I hope it's released sooner rather than later (like they did for Alice in Wonderland). BTW, the kids I went with absolutely loved it and did all the oohs, aahs and yikes in the right places (including Dastan and Tamina's kiss). I laughed when the child next to me litterally jumped out of his seat in fright when Tamina clocked Dastan with that big stick.

There are some things in the trailer of the movie that are not in the actual movie. Like the tiger roaring, and Jake doing that jump like he's leapfrogging around. Also, in the film he says "you enjoy telling me what to do" but in the trailer he says "you really enjoy telling me what to do, don't you?". I wonder if it's the same in the US?

I want to see Dastan again, in a new adventure with his brothers and Bis. I'm not sure but was there some envy displayed by Garsiv when the King talked about Dastan's courage. I'd love to see more character development there. Definitely not enough time spent developing the family dynamic as really there was much too much to fit into a 130 minute movie. They must get a chance at another go. I'm so proud of it's success despite the likes of Ben Lyons telling us to stay home (who listens to him anyway, really) and the lack of promo in posters around.

Love the body of the figures but the face? It's not bad but it looks nothing like Jake (maybe the eyes a little). Oh, and loving all the tweets and love how PoP is trending.

Anonymous said...

I would love to see a pic of Jake on a Motorcycle

suvee said...

^^
You and me both! :)

Chica said...

Awww! I thought that you linked to an actual photo of Jake on a motorcycle!

And yes I would love to see tht too!

Man , that Dastan figure looks nothing like Jake, he does remind me a bit of Ben Barnes. They did do an uncredible job on the details on the costume, etc, too bad they didn't do the same with his face!

That sketch of Dastan and Gemma is really fun, and I did read their review:(

Read the Innner Indiana Jones article, there was a couple of new bits in there.

I'm picturing Jake chasing his horse that bolted through the desert in Morocco!

Anonymous said...

I loved the New Yorker artwork too - but I thought the review was a little too much social responsibility to place on the shoulders of a summer popcorn movie. Especially with a certain brand of Western superiority brought to the Middle East in that "other movie" that was playing at the same time (which I didn't see). They kept their review of that short and sweet. :)

I still have to get to see Prince of Persia a second time. The only thing that I noticed was that it may have tried to cover too much ground in one movie - but basically I loved it, and everyone does a fine job in it, everyone.

Anonymous said...

^^But Dastan's face in The New Yorker artwork is magnificent. :)

I realize that SACT2 was supposed to be funny and self-deprecating, but some things are just not funny, depending on the mood of the country at the time. With 10% unemployment and the largest environmental oil disaster in history, it's a little sobering to be reminded of corporate greed and Pac-Man consumption. It did seem to have its moments from the trailers tho. Maybe I'll give it a chance. Prince of Persia was wonderful escapism for me.

Cathy E said...

^^Sorry, the above two comments were mine. It was nice to watch a simple good vs. evil story and have the good guys win, like in the old movies, with beautiful scenery and amazing costumes! I loved the articles posted where they scouted out bazaars in Morocco, Thailand, France, Italy and Maylaysia, and made them from stitched together bedspreads, and tumbled them in a cement mixer to get an aged patina to them. Sigh. Some of the things that go into filmmaking are just so amazing. :)

Anonymous said...

Joe Namath rode a motorcycle. (And did in a movie in the early 70's with Ann Margaret).
Just trying to put two and two together here...ha.
Like it that he is talking about Damn Yankees and something he Does want to do. And how it will be updated.
But can't see him Not having a movie to do for as long as those two might take.
"Source Code" kind of came out of nowhere, as in we weren't hearing about it long before it began filming.

Shondra said...

I love that we are still getting Jake goodies as things wind down. Love the sketch from the New Yorker. So much hard work went into making this movie, it really deserves to be a sucess. The OS numbers is really helping it, I think we may get a sequel!

Thanks for posting the articles UV.

My husband and I and our 2 sons age 8 and 10 saw Pop on Memorial day. We really had a great time, the first time in awhile that we all enjoyed a film (We saw S4 and a lot of the pop references went right over our sons heads).

I loved Jake as Dastan the warrior Prince, charasmatic, brave and tons of sex appeal. Gemma as the spunky, determined and beautiful Tamina made a wonderful princess. They made a beautiful couple, fun and romantic. I do hope there is a sequel because I would love to see them on the big screen again paring these charaters .

The supporting cast: Ritchie as his friend Bis, Koebell and Coyle as his brothers Garsiv and Tus and Kingsley as evil Uncle Nazim were all outstanding. I liked Jake's scenes with Kingsley, they played well off of each other. I do wish there was more scenes with his brothers and his friend Bis. I don't know if some scenes were edited out,I guess we will find out on the DVD extras.

My sons loved the scenes in the beggining with young Dastan and King Sharaman and of course the parkour and sword fighting scenes as did my hubby and I! I think that they were very well choregraphed and Jake did an incredible job doing the stunts.

Molina was great as the comic relief, and he had some of the best lines.

I thought thet Hassassians were creepy/scary but a bit too mysterious, not enough back story on them, but they served their purpose.

The film had an epic, old-fashion adventure feel to it, just a good, fun escapist movie.

The Violence was implied and tame IMO, I had no problem having my sons see this movie.

The cinematography was brilliant, some of my favorie scenes were Jake on horseback in the desert, just beautiful.

His accent was just right, his hair, well let's just say you could tell what was real and what
wasn't!

I would love to see this again sans the family, not that I didn't love seeing it with them but it was a bit distracting: Mom, did you see that, whoa!! And my hubby reagrding the ending: Didn't the same thing happen in Superman 2 with Superman and Lois Lane?, LOL!

Anyway,we all really liked this movie. The theater was full where we saw it, and the audience seemed to enjoy it for the most part, and yes there was applause at the end, that doesn't happen taht much anymore.

mary said...

didnt know jake owned a motor bikemaybe he borrowed one any way would love to see a picture of him on it yea i plan on seeing pop several more times

Cathy E said...

I loved all the scenes with Jake on horseback in the desert too! I loved his hair, I thought it flowed pretty naturally. The Hassansins, I thought that they at one time served the King for a noble purpose, but that they were dismissed and were now like a band of rogue samurai without a master, like the ronin? Some of the most elegant and mysterious villains around. Everyone had more than one side to their character.

I thought I heard that, but I could have filled in the blanks with my own imagination, which is fun to do. ;) I do hope there will be a sequel.

Anonymous said...

I think Jake can well afford to buy a motorcycle, no need for him to borrow anything:))

Like the thought of him possibly preparing for the Namath role via the motorcycle, I would love for him to do that next.

Where are the paps when you need them?

Anonymous said...

USA Today had the final totals and POP beat out SATC by a Million.
Did say it needed quite a bit to make up its 200 million, but then if it was just the American box office then that would be true. But probably in a couple weeks world wide it will have made the money back.

Annie

mary said...

yea combined with the overseas and american bo it has made about 133 milion so far anf should get better with good vom

FL said...

Re the Tonner doll. The costuming looks great. I'm not sure who the face belongs to, but he's kinda cute.

Can see where they were going with the execution of Jake's face, but got it ever so slightly wrong. The different size eyes - yes. The too blue eyes - no. The eyebrows - yes. The hairline - yes. The full lips - yes, but yet not quite. Cute though.

Jake on a motorcycle. Hmm.

UltraViolet said...

Yeah, sure wish someone had taken a quick pic of Jake on his bike!

Still amazed at how wrong the Dastan doll's face is. A real shame.

Sheba, it's so fun that you keep getting to see PoP with different groups of people. I love it that the kids are enthralled.

I want to try to pay attention next time to catch the things that were different in the trailer.

Cathy, I love all the details about the costumes and the attention to detail. For the sets, too. There have been a few features on the costumer, Penny Rose, and how she collaborated with Jake and the other actors.

I don't mind some of the attention being paid to PoP wrt ethnicity. I think it's a legitimate subject. But if you can't judge the film on anything else, maybe someone else should review it.

UltraViolet said...

Shondra, what a great review. I'm so glad your whole family enjoyed the movie. I think Mom might have to sneak off to see it by herself, though, just to be sure you saw everything :)

I'm not sure why this IMDb poster decided to add more to one of the old "Early Review" threads, but he posted the following yesterday:

Sex.

Graphic, surprisingly. You actually get some full-on nudity. There are a couple "passionate ones" and a couple funny ones as well.


And:

Jake's character

Jake's character is a guy who bounces from job to job, then lands in the pharmaceuticals field (before it became a huge business). He basically goes around to all the doctors smooth-talking people into buying his company's drugs.


More details on the first would be welcome :)

Anonymous said...

^^This ought to be a great movie too, looking forward to it! Sounds very romantic, and I like the idea of Jake playing this type of character. :)

Anonymous said...

^^and realistic, I should add. :)

Monica said...

motorcycle?? Hmm ..
I hope it's a Ducati!

Here is a video of an interview with Jake Gyllenhaal for a Brazilian site of movies:
Prince of Persia

Shondra said...

I like that review of LOAD, Jake and full frontal nudity::)

I'm definately seeing Pop again solo UV. I don't know if I will able to match Sheba, 6 times going on 7!!! That's great Sheba, the movie is loads of fun isn't it?

All that work went into making that Dastan figure and they couldn't get the face right???

Everything else is so detailed perfectly.

mary said...

jakes face is just too perfect to get right:)

Monica said...

7 times? wow!

My record is 8 times with Brokeback Mountain!

In the link I posted, has an interview too with Gemma, Jerry, Mike and Jordan (who talks about the reference of the Iraq War in the movie).

suvee said...

The doll is an impressive 17.5″ with an intensly detailed recreation of Jake Gyllenhaal’s costume....

Well to be fair, you'll notice that Tonner didn't claim to have recreated Jake's face in their promotional sell copy. :)

The Jake on a motorcycle story really got my pulse racing this morning...... until I realized the image in my mind was something along the lines of Steve McQueen in The Great Escape, but with Jake. You know, no helmet, wearing a cool old beat up leather jacket...... Once reality set in, some of the romance of the image disappeared. But still, I'd love to see a photo of him on his bike, even with a helmet.

UV, thanks for the IMDb LaOD teaser. Graphic sex? Hope so!

bobbyanna said...

I'm fighting a serious flu bug, I think, but I perked right up at the idea of Jake spotted on a motorcycle. Made me wonder if he's been riding one for a while unnoticed!

I sure wish that doll's face was more Jake-like.

New Yorker review has nice graphics, but it is now lining my wastebasket!

Room is spinning so I'm going back to my "fainting couch." :)

Office of Nancy Pelosi said...

I hope you feel better Bobbyanna .The nasty bug has been flying around my office, I have been lucky so far.

Yeah, at least Tonner was honest with that Suvee. I think the lego Dastan looked more like Jake, LOL!!!

That is a nice illustration of Gemma and Dastan, I don't remember if i read the New Yorker review.

Thanks for the link to the Brazilian videos Monica. I was surprised that the a lot of critics didn't mention the paralel of the invasion of the Holy city in Pop and the Iraq war . I think some did like the NY Times.


Jake on a motorcycle, THUD!

UltraViolet said...

Bobbyanna - I hope you feel better soon! Fainting is not fun, especially without a dashing prince to catch you.

Oh, thanks for the link, Monica. Glad to see a new video :)

Shondra, we have to see if we can challenge Sheba to the title of most PoP viewings!

Hi OONP. Thud indeed!

Suvee, there's an LaOD tidbit in the next post you might also find appealing ;)