Saturday, October 15, 2011

Saturday Night Special



In an interview, former Saturday Night Live star Will Forte listed Jake as one of his favorite guests on the show:

Q: After working on SNL for 8 seasons, which guest hosts did you enjoy working with the most?

A: Through 8 seasons, there were a lot of guest hosts I had the honor of working with. I would have to say Will Ferrell, Jake Gyllenhall, Jack Black, Josh Brolin, and, of course, Alec Baldwin.


That seemed like a good reason for a look back. And it is Saturday.



The ads got us excited for the show. But nothing could have prepared us for the monologue. SNL musical director Katreese Barns talked about Jake's performance:

Do you have a favorite part of the process?
Saturday night, when the sketches come together, can be really magical. Like when Jake Gyllenhaal performed his version of the "Dreamgirls" song - that was a really rewarding moment for me. It was a Thursday night when he had the idea to sing the song, and they called me down to rehearse with him. On Friday, we brought in some backup singers, and he started gaining more confidence, and then by Saturday night he blew me away.




It wasn't all singing. There was dancing, too!



And we can't forget the Bronx Beat:



Or all those little extras:



The Washington Post named Jake one of the "Most Surprisingly Funny SNL Hosts." Clearly, they haven't paid attention to Jake's interviews.



Jake has also appeared two other times. In September, 2007, he had a cameo in a now classic Digital Short:



And in the spring of this year, Jake was a surprise guest on Weekend Update:



Wonder when we'll see him next at 30 Rock?

31 comments:

UltraViolet said...

Sorry for the autostarts. I'll try to fix that or find the videos elsewhere.

I keep forgetting to post this NY Magazine article. I like seeing Jake held up as a positive example.

Monica said...

I love all the vĂ­deos of Jake on SNL. Very fun to watch these videos in the early morning!

UV, you posted the same video of Bronx Beat twice. And some videos can't be seen in other countries, just in U.S. But I saw!

I will read the article!

Josie said...

How cool that Forte included Jake as one if the best hosts he worked wit, it's obvious that Jake loves doing the show!

Although SNL isn't as funny as it once was IMO, it still has it's moments and Jake has been a part of them including the show in which he hosted. His Dreamgirls opening, Bronx Beat were all classics!

These videos are a nice reminder how much Jake is such a natural doing comedy.

Hope he is continuing to enjoying his down time in NY!

Anonymous said...

I was SO happy Jake hosted SNL I hope he'll do it again. He obviously loves the show and appearing on it. I loved the digital short and the weekend update he did.

And no one has done the dreamgirls song like he did (or looks so good in a dress either :D)

thanks UV for the trip down memory lane

Lily

bobbyanna said...

This was a sweet surprise to wake up to! Glad you featured Bronx Beat. I love the Dreamgirls opening. It was spectacular, but this one is also pretty hilarious.
Actually all of them are, and I hope he'll do it again...soon.

The article in NYmag is a good one. I'm happy to see Jake getting recognition for all his amazing work! The magazine makes a good point about today's under 25 film "stars."

Mary said...

Great post Jake was great on SNL thanks for the trip down memory lane.

Chica said...

Jake hosting SNL is one of my favorite Jake moments, not only the opening but all the sits he was in.

His other appearances were fun too, I hope he makes another appearance., I think he has a knack!

Thanks for the NY magazine link. I forgot how young he was when he was nominated for BBM.The current batch of actors under 25 are not impressive IMO.

UltraViolet said...

Thanks for letting me know, Monica. I fixed it and added a video with little "extra" shots of Jake from SNL.

Glad everyone enjoyed a little bit of Saturday nostalgia. Hopefully we'll get to do another SNL recap post one day, with new material.

UltraViolet said...

From Twitter:

It's ur bday all over again :) “@JennyGaither: Um Jake Gyllenhaal just took my 11:45am usq @soulcycle class. #idieathousandhappydeaths”

USQ stands for Union Square.

And another:

Holy crap! Just walked past Jake gyllenhaal with @tamiiiiiiiiiiii . Bestill my beating heart #Jake

UltraViolet said...

Oh, and that was a tweet from the instructor. She might have taken it down, since I didn't see it on her page. But someone had already retweeted it.

Anonymous said...

from twitter
MissJorla Jordan♡♥
I just walked past Jake Gyllenhaal in Union Square!

Anonymous said...

"Spotted: Jake Gyllenhaal walking in LES, at least 10 girls walking behind him."

Tweety said...

I loved Jake in SNL! Everyone always raves about the Dreamgirls opening as they should but I loved Bronx Beat just as much.

All the videos worked fine for me, I wished that Jake had done a few more skits when he appeared to promote SC. The Weekend skit was funny but I would have loved for him to have done more.

That article from NY Magazine is so right, where are all the really good actors now under? It was good to see Jake mentioned and used as an example.

Some of these tweets are too funny!:

jaspre_guest jaspre guest
Spotted: Jake Gyllenhaal walking in LES, at least 10 girls walking behind him.
3 hours ago

DanFortune1 Dan Fortune
saw both Larry Kramer and Jake Gyllenhaal on the street this afternoon. Larry smiled at him. Jake did not.
3 hours ago

UltraViolet said...

Very funny tweets! I wonder how long the girls followed him or if more joined! Or if they were all oblivious to Jake! There were lots of sightings this afternoon, including one confirmation that Jake is hot. In case you didn't know :)

Just ran into jake gyllenhaal. We spoke. It was awkward, horrible and great. He was fantastically beautiful and hating me at the same time.

Paula C. said...

UV, we known how hot Jake is, but is so good to get confirmation over and over again, just to prove how right we are:)

bobbyanna said...

These tweets are killing me! LOL! They're hilarious. Poor Jake.
"He was fantastically beautiful and hating me at the same time."

BTW: There's a greenmarket in Union Square on Saturday, and my daughter sometimes goes there. After she goes to her exercise classes in Union Square area...

No,no, that's not steam coming out of my ears. : (

bobbyanna said...

Just wanted to mention that Comic-Con is in Day 2 at the Javits convention center in NYC today. That might account for a lot of young teenager types roaming around, too.

(My daughter doesn't "Soul" cycle. She does Tai Chi and other stuff, so I doubt she was ever @ the place Jake went to...)

Chica said...

I am enjoying these tweets, I get a kick out of people's reaction to Jake!

Of course I never run into him when I'm in Manhattan during the week and he doesn't hang out in the parts of Brooklyn I occasionally visit like Greenpoint and Coney Island.

Your daughter is just this close Bobbyanna....

And speaking of Manhattan, I'm disgusted with the mostly media blackout of the Occupation Wall Street protests around the city.
I have to keep up via twitter, FB and NPR.

People were arrested earlier for trying to close their accounts at Citibank, what the hell??

They are in Times Sq. now but the police are telling them to vacate and they are marching towards Washington Sq Park.

So much for the "liberal" media, the media isn't liberal nor conservative but corporate :(

Couldn't make it into the city this weekend or else I would have attended.

bobbyanna said...

Not to spam, but I read that Stephen Gyllenhaal's movie, "Grassroots," is going to start previews in New England. Someone tweeted that they met him at a screening and said he was an alum so it must have been @ Trinity College in Connecticut. He said the movie gets released in February.

sass said...

Thanks for the walk down memory lane and thanks for giving me my first big laugh of the day.
Jake is hilarious. I'd forgotten just how funny he was on SNL. You're a peach!
I'm going to finish the NY Magazine article tomorrow.
I'd never thought about the dearth of actors below 25 years old until I read the first part of that article. Is it any wonder Hollywood is making such a fuss over Taylor and Robert.
Taylor latest movie was a bust with 5% on RT and not much money at the BO. Here's hoping he gets better.
I have a very small crush on RP and went to see an Indie movie he starredn last year...it wasn't good...but he has some.
TY again, you've really cheered me up, especially since I just posted a reply on IMDB explaining that Jake isn't trying to attain "A" list status but IS "A" list. I also posted accompanying Reasons for his designation as an "A" list actor.
I will Not go back there, until next week. :)
I've been busy looking up the latest restaurants frequented by Jake and laughing at all the Jake tweets posted here.
Some friends from DC went to the Spotted Pig 2-3 years ago just because Jake went there. We had fun, the food was OK, and I had a slice of very good Chocolate pie.
love and hugs all,
s

Anonymous said...

From twitter

"@tamyho
tam ho
Pretty sure we were sitting next to Jake gyllenhal tonight!"


"@elehr
Erin Lehr
JUST saw jake gyllenhal!!! Omgz swoon #lifecomplete"

UltraViolet said...

Looks like Jake didn't win that Scream Award. Too bad.

Funny tweet, with pic of Jake from the back:

Stop by this little shop to look for a jacket. Only one other customer. It's JAKE GYLENHAAL. AGAIN. Wtf. SAME PANTS. http://t.co/

He saw Jake on the train before.

Office of Nancy Pelosi said...

This post and the videos has provided much needed laughs for me, Jake's appearance as a host has to be one of the highlights for SNL :)

The young actors and actors coming out of HW are not exactly lighting up the big screen as that article pointed out UV. It's always good to read positive stories about Jake and it's great that he is recognized.

So Papa G was in Hartford/Trinity College? I heard that Grassroots was going straight to DVD but perhaps I heard wrong. It' sounds interesting and I hope it gets to be seen on the big screen.

I hear ya Chica the OWS group in Bridgeport barely made it on the radar when they had their rally on Wednesday. There were other rallies in other parts of CT too but not as large as in NY, L.A. and other places.

Jake is spending a lot of time in NY and it sounds like he is having a great time!

daily news said...

Jake Gyllenhaal is a gals' guy. A spy tells us the "Brokeback Mountain" star was the lone man at an "all-girls" table at Greenwich Village hot spot The Lion last week. The topic of conversation was a hot-button issue with women, too: the Amanda Knox trial in Italy.

bobbyanna said...

This tweet made me smile:

"Yesterday, Jake Gyllenhaal smiled at me on Broome St. It was everything."

UltraViolet said...

Kudos to Zachary Quinto. He wrote a very nice blog post explaining his decision to come out publicly.

Some Twitter action for Jake today:

Jake gyllenhall and oliver stone: the newest exhibit at @creativetimenyc and #LivingasForm

Just saw jake gyllenhall in the subway!!!

At Tea & Sympathy waiting for a table and I get asked, "Are you with Jake?" Turn my head and I see Jake Gyllenhaal. #iwish #heartthrob
34 minutes ago

UltraViolet said...

Lots of follow up tweets fmantle woman who led Jake's cycle class yesterday here.

Extra said...

Videos work fine for me UV, Thanks! Jake's ghosting SNL is a classic, would love for him to get a chance to host again or to sketch comedy, he's a natural.

We get the best tweets when Jake is in NY!

Jake is an excellent example to compare to the likes of Robert Patterson, they don't have the same acting chops.

I was in the Heroes fandom when it was still on and also a ST geek so the news about Zachary is not news for me , good for him !

bobbyanna said...

More tweets:

"Jake Gyllenhaal is at #NYFF !
59 minutes ago"

"jake gyllenhaal 2 rows ahead"
58 minutes ago


These are from people who spotted Jake @ the screening of "The Descendants," starring George Clooney. Today's the closing day of the NYFF.


New Yorkers sure love to tweet, and I love them for it! LOL!

UltraViolet said...

I've had a heavy culture weekend myself, so I love hearing about Jake's. I am eager to see The Descendants; it's supposed to be great.

Sass, bless you for being able to deal with those IMDb loons. I skim the boards but I can't deal with the posters.

Twitter:

Jake Gyllenhaal sighting on Thompson #lovemyblock
2 hours ago

UltraViolet said...

New post.