Update: Variety has a series for awards season, with actors discussing other actors. Gwyneth Paltrow (unfortunately) was chosen for Jake as Jamie Reidy in Love & Other Drugs:
"This might be my favorite of his performances. It's the first time his edginess, insouciance and sense of humor all come through, as well as all of Jake's warmth. He's very appealing. He's naked all the time, too, which is another upside.
In the very beginning of the film, you see him in his womanizing phase. He works in an electronics shop and is this natural-born salesman. He's really kind of cheeky, flirty, naughty and kind of base. It's fun to watch him, because he's being very boyish. Then he makes this big evolution and his character finds a lot of depth. But he doesn't lose that sense of humor. He stays fresh and funny.
It's great to see both Jake and Anne Hathaway going for it and being gutsy and very open. She plays a woman with early-onset Parkinson's, and that pulls him out of his shallowness and immaturity. It's a sweet story, and they play it with a lot rawness and vulnerability."
Nice to see Jake included in this feature.
Love & Other Drugs made its American debut before the long holiday weekend. But like magic, we still have some Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway interviews, movie stills and photos to digest.
This might be an old interview, but I don't remember seeing the part about Marlon Brando before. Love Jake's reaction there :)
There is a new video of Jake and Anne talking to the Today Show, Australia. I can't get it to embed, but the link is here.
Anne talks to Australian radio about the nudity. Something different! And she has an extended interview with Terry Gross on NPR. I wish Jake had gotten that one. A few stills form L&OD. Click for the bigger big picture.
Today is Thanksgiving in the U.S. Before we get to a post stuffed like a delicious turkey, I want to say thank you to all of the loyal GB posters. It's much more fun to follow Jake Gyllenhaal when we can come here to share in the feast. Thanks also to FL, for her friendship and co-bloggership. Finally, thanks to Jake for the making it so rewarding and fun to be a fan. And for making movies like Love & Other Drugs.
Speaking of which... some fun photos from the L&OD Facebook page. Thanks to Monica for finding them.
You've probably seen these Esquire pics already, but it's Thanksgiving. You have to get seconds:
A few stray interviews for the overset table. First up, from a terrible CBS interviewer:
The same reporter asks Jake and Anne how they will celebrate Thanksgiving. And Jake gives Anne more unhelpful cooking advice!
Another local TV station interview:
If you missed Jake on the Early Show, you can see it here here.
Cute and short video where Jake lists his holiday plans.
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
(Thanks to Stephanie/IHJ for snagging the Esquire UK photos.)
Love & Other Drugs is almost upon us. As the reviews come in, we still have some promotional stuff to enjoy. Here are portraits of Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway from the Los Angeles Times. Taken in New York on November 18:
Some new videos. Here's Jake and Anne with Moviefone talking about working together again after BBM:
Repeated from the end of yesterday's post: a red carpet interview from the NY premiere, for a change of pace. Jake makes a Viagra pun!
This interviewer did a longer piece for the Atlanta Journal Constitution. That article is more of the same stuff we've read. But in her conversation with Jake, we get some of the usual questions but also some new material:
Do you wanna give any other shoutouts to the cast?
Josh Gad [who plays Jamie's brother] is the engine in this film. Josh Gad will be and is becoming a force to be reckoned with. He brought all the humor and energy to the movie, and was a huge influence on me, and an inspiration in terms of comedy. He's a great actor. Working with Oliver Platt and Hank Azaria, they're comedic geniuses but also really great actors.
What was it like to work with real Parkinson's patients in the film?
That was a hard day. It was moving in so many ways, but also really funny. Two of the women who helped Anne were at the [LA premiere] the other night and they're wonderful women, so funny and lighthearted. And with the passing of Jill Clayburgh [who played my mother in the film], I was just thinking, some people live healthy long lives and don't really ever live. And some people's lives are shorter and they live it to the fullest extent possible, in sickness and in health. Those are the people I admire and would love to mimic my life after. You can be some slick ol' pharmaceutical salesman who's #2 in the country and financially stable and got it all together, or, you know, you can have love. Which would you pick?
The reviews are coming in and they are decidedly mixed. Though most have great praise for both Jake and Anne. But this was a nice one, from the San Jose Mercury News:
So let's give thanks for, and bestow a big smooch on, the risk-taking ways of "Love & Other Drugs." The passionate dramedy about the combustible relationship between pharmaceutical salesman Jamie Randall (Jake Gyllenhaal) and artist/cafe worker Maggie Murdock (Anne Hathaway) is just the antidote the romantic comedy has desperately needed.
It's sexy, it's funny, it's sexy, it's sad, and, oh my, is it ever sexy.
Thanks to GB poster Ginny, here are scans from this month's issue of Total Film. It's refreshing to read a story that isn't all about the naked.
Total thanks to Ginny for scanning and sending. We finally get to see the interview that caused MTV's Josh Horowitz to tweet: "I don't know what's going on between Jake Gyllenhaal and me. It might be love. It might be hate. But it's definitely interesting."
A red carpet interview from the NY premiere, for a change. Jake makes a Viagra pun!
This interviewer did a longer piece for the Atlanta Journal Constitution. That article is more of the same stuff we've read. But in her conversation with Jake, we get some of the usual questions but also some new material:
Do you wanna give any other shoutouts to the cast?
Josh Gad [who plays Jamie's brother] is the engine in this film. Josh Gad will be and is becoming a force to be reckoned with. He brought all the humor and energy to the movie, and was a huge influence on me, and an inspiration in terms of comedy. He's a great actor. Working with Oliver Platt and Hank Azaria, they're comedic geniuses but also really great actors.
What was it like to work with real Parkinson's patients in the film?
That was a hard day. It was moving in so many ways, but also really funny. Two of the women who helped Anne were at the [LA premiere] the other night and they're wonderful women, so funny and lighthearted. And with the passing of Jill Clayburgh [who played my mother in the film], I was just thinking, some people live healthy long lives and don't really ever live. And some people's lives are shorter and they live it to the fullest extent possible, in sickness and in health. Those are the people I admire and would love to mimic my life after. You can be some slick ol' pharmaceutical salesman who's #2 in the country and financially stable and got it all together, or, you know, you can have love. Which would you pick?
Jake Gyllenhaal talks to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about his favorite local spots, the pharmaceutical business, Jamie Reidy, Jill Clayburgh, performance anxiety, privacy and that now famous tattoo.
As Anne Hathaway tells Jake Gyllenhaal in "Love & Other Drugs" after he rebounds from a thrashing with an invite for coffee: "Oh, you're good." And he is.
When the actor gets on the phone from New York at nearly 6 p.m. on a recent Saturday he reveals, "I just want you to know you're the last interview of the day. We saved the best for last."
If he's exhausted from answering the same half-dozen questions on a loop for the past eight hours, he doesn't betray it. Besides, who else would inquire about the ink?
Asked about the fake Steelers tattoo he unveiled on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" in December, he says, "You know my devotion then. You know my deep devotion to Pittsburgh."
As for that team logo on his lower back, he playfully asks, "What do you mean? That's a real tattoo," but of course it will be covered up in any future movies. And then he lets the cheeky ruse drop and volunteers, "I really legitimately had a wonderful time when I was in Pittsburgh."
Pressed about some favorite haunts, he says, "Oh, gosh. Let's see, I went to so many places. I like to eat. I ate my way around. I ate everywhere. I wish I could remember the names of everything."
Without any prompting, he recalls, "I loved Dish -- the restaurant Dish. I did love the pancakes at Pamela's, I'd have to say, which is probably the go-to. 21st Street Coffee. There was a Greek place that was right where I lived [in Squirrel Hill], I don't remember the name."
Mr. Gyllenhaal, who shot the Ed Zwick film from mid-September to late November 2009, says, "I was surprised at how much I loved all the food and actually how much I loved Pittsburgh. ... I loved the change of seasons there, and I loved the people there and I had a great time. I would love to make another movie in Pittsburgh."
When it's suggested that 99 percent of the population can run out for coffee or stop for gas without checking in the mirror, he says, "So can I. It just depends on what you believe. If you want everybody to see you looking a certain way, then if that makes your life happy, then that's great. That would make me miserable. If you're aware of it all the time, I think you're not living.
"People are going to make mistakes, they're going to have amazing times, hard times, just like everybody, and people might document that and say whatever they're going to say, but ultimately it's just life. You can take a picture of it or not, but you gotta live it."
It's a nice long interview - check it out. And yes, the irony of a purloined Pamela's photo and the privacy discussion is duly noted. The New York Daily News also managed to garner some new information - like one of Jake's favorite NY cookies (Nussbaum & Wu) and the reason behind his birthday plans:
Jake turns 30 on Dec. 19, a milestone he's keen to honor. "I was talking to my sister the other day about being 30 and celebrating the life you've had up to this point," he says. "I feel there's a massive sort of sea change coming in myself and I'm psyched."
To commemorate the date, he's taking the family on a trip to the Arctic Circle to scuba-dive with walruses. "The only reason I'm doing it is I wanted to do something that absolutely terrified me — killer whales and walruses and freezing cold water? That seems absolutely terrifying." Love is lovelier the second time around:
“No question about it, the sex this time was much better,” said Anne Hathaway, laughing. “Even if it was faux sex!”
That line also brought a big chuckle from her “Love & Other Drugs” co-star Jake Gyllenhaal, sitting next to her in a suite at the historic Waldorf-Astoria hotel.
Hathaway was responding to a question asking her to compare this second pairing with Gyllenhaal, given he had played her husband — a closeted gay man — in their first film together, “Brokeback Mountain.”
“This whole project had a very different feel to it,” Gyllenhaal said. “Obviously, we were proud to have been part of ‘Brokeback Mountain’ but this was a completely different filmmaking journey for Anne and me.”
While Hathaway was happy to be part of a film that included a number of serious, dramatic scenes, “I did love how this movie lets people see just how hilarious Jake can be.
“You really need to make more comedies,” Hathaway said.
“It was fun,” he admitted, laughing about the film’s opening scene where he’s working as a fast-talking salesman in an electronics store, clearly using his sexuality and flirting skills to seduce female customers into buying whatever he’s selling.
“I love that scene,” said Hathaway. “If I ever met a real salesman who was as good as Jake was in that scene — no question about it, I’d buy everything in the store!”
Who wouldn't?! The Boston Globe talks to Ed and Anne:
With Gyllenhaal eager to flex his leading man muscles in a demanding role, it was easy to woo his “Brokeback Mountain’’ costar, and Zwick says all three of them “worked for a quarter of our fees.’’ But that still didn’t mean sparks would fly once the cameras rolled on the film’s R-rated love scenes. “It’s a $30 million fix-up. You’re setting two people up on a blind date that’s going to last 50 days and be eternalized on film. You have to be intuitive; you have to be attracted to both of them in ways that are intense and passionate and curious. I have to be very interested in their inner lives.
“I’d been watching Annie’s work for a number of years now and she’s made brave choices: ‘Rachel Getting Married’ and Shakespeare in the Park. It’s very brave for a Hollywood actress to do that. But she’s not a Hollywood actress; she’s a trained New York stage actress, a brilliant girl. Jake I got to know, and I felt when given the right material, there’s nobody better. Some of his choices might not have been as good as others, but I saw in him things that others had not been able yet to put onscreen. He’s enormously charming and witty and funny, very attractive and male. Why haven’t we seen that?’’ says Zwick, happily fielding press questions recently at a hotel in Harvard Square.
Hathaway likened teaming again with Gyllenhaal, whom she describes as a “charisma bomb,’’ to a “high school reunion where you meet someone you knew a long time ago and it’s a different person but there’s a wonderful bond.’’
Meanwhile, the Boston Herald focuses on Anne. Don't forget the USA Weekend stories and the LA Times article. Lots of reading for Sunday brunch. One more, from USA Today:
Hathaway says that Gyllenhaal went out of his way to make sure she always felt comfortable on the set. "He's a very strong person, so he likes to give a lot to people, and sometimes I do worry about him giving too much.
"I want to say, 'I'm good, dude. Take care of yourself. Don't worry about it.' That protective instinct is really, really strong within him."
Zwick sees a competitive streak between them, but in the very best way. "They're both determined to bring their best game to every scene and every moment. They push each other to do the same," he says.
Gyllenhaal, however, finds the secret of their chemistry in the sense of shared rhythm between himself and Hathaway. "We're both incredibly musical, so all the rhythms in the movie — be they comedic, dramatic, sexual, whatever — we really feed off of each other really well," he says.
"I don't think another two people could have had the same thing, or me with someone else or her with someone else. We have something very special, I think, and I cherish that."
That's probably how Jake Gyllenhaal feels after this long stretch of promotion for Love & Other Drugs. Apparently, the producers of Source Code thought we needed some variety in our Jake news, so they unleashed the film's first trailer. On a Friday night. (Let's hope this isn't a harbinger of their marketing strategy!) But let's get to the good stuff:
It's looks like a tense, mysterious adventure. What's happening? What is real? How does all this work? And why does Vera Farmiga look like a flight attendant? All mysteries to be solved in April. Oh, and Jake looks fantastic.
And spooky:
And restrained:
Reaction around the web seems mostly positive. It will be fun to see what other surprises the SC folks have in store. Jake made another hilarious appearance on Jimmy Fallon's show. With the traditional musical number:
The interview:
And bonus footage of Jake and Jimmy during the commercial. They discuss Acting!
He compared the endeavor to the salto mortale, the 19th-century Italian circus act in which acrobats flew through a ring of fire into what they hoped would be a pair of hands on the other side. “I was asking them to make that leap,” Mr. Zwick said of his stars. “We were either in this together, the three of us, or not.” ...
By the end of the shoot they had “become pretty intimate” Mr. Gyllenhaal said, referring to the three-way chemistry among himself, Ms. Hathaway and Mr. Zwick. It’s similar, he noted, to what he finds in some of his favorite films: “There’s something about the chemistry between the two characters, but in the case of Billy Wilder, or James Brooks or Cameron Crowe, you feel the chemistry with the director too. It was all three of us in there.”
Anne Hathaway vividly recalls the first time she made out with Jake Gyllenhaal: It was on the set of 2005's "Brokeback Mountain," in which the actress played the neglected wife to Gyllenhaal's smitten cowboy, and they were filming a steamy tryst in the back seat of a car.
"Jake had touched me everywhere except my boob," says Hathaway, patting her chest as the pair sits together to discuss their new film, the upcoming romantic dramedy "Love & Other Drugs," which opens in theaters Wednesday. "We did it very methodically: I would cover, they'd bring me a towel, I'd get out of the car, go behind a screen and get redressed. All of a sudden I hear a throat clear from behind the screen. It's Jake. 'Ah, Annie, so the thing is, in this scene, if it was really you and me in the car, I just think that, you know, ah, can I touch your boob?'"
"And ... I don't think you asked me this time," says Hathaway, turning to her screen partner to tease him about his behavior during the many love scenes they shot for their new project and laughing uproariously.
"I already asked. Your offer was still good," Gyllenhaal says with a shrug.
Yeah, Jake, I think that is probably a standing offer from many women!
Jake Gyllenhaal visited the Brooklyn Botanic Garden for an interview with USA Weekend. Jake talks about love and loss and the things he's grateful for. And in otherversions, he reveals that Ramona is a tough critic and also discusses sports and the Joe Namath movie. It's a good read. Some excerpts:
In real life, humor —at times on the raunchy side — is part of the actor's substantial allure, says co-star Hathaway. "His humor has the ability to repulse and charm simultaneously," says the actress, adding: "For a young male celebrity who's one of the most beautiful men on the planet, no caveats, he's super-duper grounded. He's a terrible texter, though. Awful."
The actor is less philosophical when asked what he learned from his broken hearts and trying times in relationships. The biggest lesson: "Mostly just to shut up," he says, flashing a smile. "There's a lot of love in the silences or in listening. That's the best I can do for right now."
As for the future, swinging single is not exactly on the agenda.
"Children are really where it's at," says Gyllenhaal, who turns 30 next month, on Dec. 19. "That's what I feel turning 30, more than I ever did."
The actor's thoughts then turn to his own parents and their breakup in 2009.
"My family's been through some stuff over the past little while, and it's just brought us all really close," he says.
"People find their way toward loving like water. Sometimes two rocks are set up in the wrong way and the water has to part and go, and I've seen that happen recently. As my family's broken apart into different pieces, I can also see that there's more love as a result."
Before hopping back on his bike, he ponders his life one more time, and he realizes how good it is for him right now, despite the heartbreaks.
"It's Wednesday, the middle of the day, we're sitting in the botanical gardens, I rode up here on my bike. Life ain't so bad."
Jake attended the FINCA 25th Anniversary celebration at Capitale in New York City last night.
Jake's friend and former costar Natalie Portman is an Ambassador of Hope for the organization. There are a couple of videos of Jake and Natalie here and below:
And a couple of shots of Jake, Natalie and Florence Welch (of Florence and the Machine), from Red Carpet Report:
Video of Jake posing for pics with fans outside the David Letterman show on Thursday:
If you missed Jake on the Ryan Seacrest radio show yesterday, you can listen to it here - with a few photos of Jake to pass the time:
There's also a lenghty interview with Ed Zwick at Coming Soon.
