Happy Leap Day!

Have some jumping quadrennial fun!

Oscar Oscar

A look back at Jake at the Oscars. Feel free to live post your picks and your disappointments or happiness.

Show business

The red carpet: The New York Times recognizes the master of the tux.

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Behind the scenes: End Of Watch has a distributor:

Open Road Films has acquired U.S. distribution rights to Exclusive Media's "End of Watch," the latest directorial effort from David Ayer. ...

The announcement was made Thursday by Tom Ortenberg, CEO of Open Road Films CEO and Exclusive Media’s Co-Chairmen Nigel Sinclair and Guy East.

“Our entire team was blown away by the movie,” Ortenberg said. “David Ayer is truly an auteur and his innovative approach to this mesmerizing story is certain to wow critics and audiences alike.”

The film uses handheld high-def cameras to tell the tale of police officers, gang members and citizens caught in the line of fire in L.A.'s South Central district. ...

“Open Road is fantastically well-equipped to distribute 'End Of Watch'" said Ayer. "They are as passionate about the film as I am and share my vision for the film’s release.”

Open Road is planning a 2012 release.

According to Deadline, "They’ve committed to a 2000 screen run, with a minimum guarantee just north of $2 million and a $20 million P&A commitment. It is not quite as sizable commitment as Open Road made when it acquired The Grey for $8 million with a $25 million P&A commitment, but it is substantial, and evidence that when Tom Ortenberg sees a film he can market, he goes after it hard. The Grey has so far grossed $49 million domestic. ...

They had several distribution options, but were wowed by Open Road’s aggressiveness and its distribution plans. “We wanted distributors to see it with an audience and it was standing room only,” he said. “The film is gripping but there is also a lot of humor. It is better than a screening in an empty room with four executives; I’ve been through those. It’s a different experience watching with real moviegoers and buyers responded.”

They also list Jake as an executive producer.

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Famous friends: A preview for the Railroad Revival tour documentary, titled Big Easy Express:



According to a post on tumblr:

SXSW will debut the world premiere of Big Easy Express, directed by Emmett Malloy, as part of the closing night lineup on March 17th. The vintage railcar journey from Oakland to New Orleans is chronicled via the, “bands’ vibrant railway adventures; the high canyons, joyous crowds, blasted skies, late-night laughter, [and] endless music…”

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I think that's a picture of Jake from Bon Appetit magazine. I heard that he was in this month's edition and assume it was about his work with Edible Schoolyard, but I haven't seen any evidence until this. Someone posted this on twitter and referred to BA mag. Will keep an eye out for the article.

The party's over

After 10 days in snowy Berlin, the Berlinale came to a close with the closing ceremonies and a gala dinner in a mirror tent in the Martin-Gropius-Bau:

I wanted to attend, especially because of the actor Jake Gyllenhaal. To find out a bit about his 10 days in Berlin, spent with the judge and watching movies. In the smoking section, we started talking, though the man from Hollywood does not smoke. First question: "Was it hard?" Good humored and relaxed, the young man (31, best known from the movie "Donnie Darko" and "Brokeback Mountain") stated, "We discussed an awful lot! But not because the Berlinale film festival is political," he says, "but because our jury president, Mike Leigh, is British. And Brits love to debate, "even to the extreme."

"Once we sat around a table and argued for twelve fucking hours." What he actually said there or chose or another criticized, Mr. Gyllenhaal reveals nothing. "But it definitely was always clear and interesting to see how different actors and directors analyze." And: "We eight jurors were always very fast and quite sure about what movies were good or remarkable. We argued only that it was good enough to be worthy. "



The author also asked Jake how he could persuade a straight friend to watch Brokeback Mountain, a film that the author deems the gay Titanic. Jake's reply: "Tell him it's a universal but special love story. A great film makes a love story unique."

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A few images from snowy Berlin and the festival:


The Reichstag

Movies rule.


Members of the jury.

A happy juror after the verdicts.


Fans' perspective.

Monica has posted clips of Jake from the red carpet and on stage on youtube. Links to all of them are here. I haven't watched the videos yet, but you can here the reaction when Jake gets out of his car at the end of this clip.

Thanks to Stephanie and Monica for keeping up with all the news from the festival.

Goldener Bär

Closing ceremonies for the 62nd Berlinale. The jury awarded the Golden Bear to Italian docudrama Ceasar Must Die, a surprise winner. The movie, from directors Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, "explore(s) the porous boundaries between art and life.
The film looks at a staging and performance of William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar at Rome’s maximum security prison Rebibbia, with the inmates playing all the roles."

Jake Gyllenhaal presented the Best Actress Award to Rachel Mwanza for her role as a child soldier in the "harrowing" film War Witch. (Full list of winners.)

Randomale

A grab bag of images from the Berlinale. The official site posted the above collage of Jake from his tribute to Meryl Streep.



Jake with editor Roland Rödermund, courtesy of Gala.


Jake's signed wall portrait.





Jake at a reception held at the U.S. Embassy. Video from the event below.



There's a nice shot of Jake at about the fifteen-second mark of this news report.

Toastmaster

Jake Gyllenhaal made a speech at the Berlinale, where actress Meryl Streep was awarded a Golden Bear for lifetime achievement . Gyllenhaal has known Streep since he was a child. He described knowing her growing up and then professionally.

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INTERVIEW Deutschland Launch-Party from Interview.de on Vimeo.

A video from the Interview launch party last week. There's a glimpse of Jake just after the minute mark.

Berlin Bilder

ETA: A couple of photos from Saturday of Jake doing his jury duties:






That's Jake Gyllenhaal with a man named Bernd Runge, ex-vice-president of Conde Nast and apparently a former Stasi agent. The photo is from the Interview Germany launch party, held the night before the Berlinale opened. Runge is one of the people behind the new magazine. I hope Jake didn't reveal any secrets!




Jake attended a reception held by German president Christian Wulff. Due to some controversy surrounding the president, the number of attendees was lower than expected.




And that's Jake with German actress Anja Haverland, who posted this photo on Facebook.



No, that is not a great photo of Jake, though it has a certain impressionist appeal. I can imagine this happening to me if I ever saw Jake.



I thought this was a funny front page photo.



A new angle I hadn't seen from the photo call. It amused me for some reason.



Jake on the wall at the Berlinale Palast.



Jake on opening night. I hadn't seen this one, though I'm sure Stephanie has it!


Hope Jake and Berlin enjoy week two of the Berlinale.