Saturday, August 4, 2012

Knock, knock



A look at the working relationship between Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena in this short article in Total Film, as well as a brief interview with Pena and End of Watch director, David Ayer.



"There was not much we had in common, except movies, says Pena, previously a screen cop in The Shield. "Jake grew up in Hollywood, his mum's a screenwriter, his dad's a director. My parents were farmers. I'm sure he really worked hard too, but I had to work hard just to get enough money to go to Hollywood."



"I was mortified. I'm like, 'These guys aren't clicking!'" laughs Ayer. "But then they were on the firing range, doing a very sophisticated firearms drill, where you're moving backwards, shooting past each other's head. Somewhere in the drill, the trust and rhythm kicked in and you just felt the air come back into the room."



The stumbling blocks, personality issues and imperfect elements that can be part of making a movie are fascinating.



End of Watch now has a Spotify playlist. Have a listen and let us know if it's badass or just bad.

29 comments:

UltraViolet said...

A fun account of the Mumford show the other night, complete with a photo of Jake and tips on how to talk your way backstage!

So now we’re backstage, sitting at craft services, drinking free beers and acting like we work here or something. Still deciding where we should actually watch the show from, we chatted with other people who had backstage access, played ping-pong, took not-so-sly pictures of Marcus, and non-chalantly stared at Jake Gyllenhal who was there hanging out with the band. ...

Easy as pie, we were now on the stage, 15 feet away from the band, 10 feet away from Jake, in our own private wing of the stage to watch the entire show from. Not dreaming! It was an awesome show, I love when a band is even better live than recorded, and they played every great song. ...

When the giant yacht came to pick everyone up at the end of the night, we figured our luck had run out and didn’t even attempt to join Emma Watson on the boat.

bobbyanna said...

That's a cute story, IV! Altho I'm thinking she probably picked the right concert/venue to crash. Mumford & Sons seem like they have a pretty laidback atmosphere; very folksy.

From reports we've had so far, it seems like Michael Pena and Jake did build a very credible relationship in EoW, in spite of the difference in backgrounds.

Jake's worked with a lot of actors who didn't come from the kind of background he did, but I don't recall anyone commenting on it like this.

bobbyanna said...

I meant "UV" not IV. : )

Sheba baby said...

Hope everyone here is enjoying their summer so far!!!

Thanks so much for all the updates UV. It sounds like there was some interesting dynamics between Michael and Jake during the filming of EOW. I keep reading about the great onscreen chemistry between them on screen so obviously they got passed any issues that may have come up during filming.

That is a cute story, Jake is a big fan os that band!

Oh, I like the playlist! Not sure if I would call it badass IMO but I liked it.

Hagen said...

I think Jake and Michael's different backgrounds were even helpful when they improvised in EoW, Jake scoffing at Mexican women and family festivities and Michael at non-Hispanic white women drinking flavored coffee.

Boxoffice.com agrees with us: "Trouble with the Curve could meet up with competition from End Of Watch among older male moviegoers."

bobbyanna said...

"@Chipotle jake gyllenhal signed my burrito" http://twitter.com/eddierod101/status/231792754131345409/photo/1

No photo of the autographed burrito, but there is a photo of Jake. : )

UltraViolet said...

Hagen, I hope Curve is the one that suffers and not the reverse. I remember when Moneyball came out, there was a lot of talk about baseball films not being box office gold.

I think this is Jake's second Chipotle sighting in a couple of weeks.

Tonight, he apparently went to Uncle Vanya:

uncle vanya at soho rep- so good. jake gyllenhaal and blythe danner in the audience- also so good.
9:55 PM - 4 Aug 12

Oh yeah and Jake Gyllenhaal is here. #unclevanya #nbd

UltraViolet said...

Comfy!

I assume this production was staged this way so we would all feel like we have gout in our legs. #unclevanya

uh oh. Soho Rep? I have tix for that one in a few

Yeah I heard the seating was uncomfortable but reason is you have to sit cross legged entire time unless in front row. No hang for legs


Michael Shannon is starring.

Chica said...

I have been to Chipotle numerous times, ot's one of the better Mexican franchise joints!

I was never a fan of Chekov and I can't imagine sitting through it with uncomfortable siting arrangements, ugh!

Still annoyed that Trouble with the Curve was pushed up :(

bobbyanna said...

Chica, I can't sit thru Chekov either. : ) I think Cate Blanchett was in BK recently for some Chekov.
As much as I'd love to see Cate on stage, I'd pass on that, too.

(Unfortunately, I love Chipotle's burrito bowl way too much!)

UltraViolet said...

Congrats to Andy Murray. I'm sure Monica. Enjoyed that match :)

Another #nbcfail by not showing the medal ceremony.

UltraViolet said...

From the NY Post:

Barbara Walters and Georgette Mosbacher at John DeLucie’s restaurant Crown . . . Monty Python alum Michael Palin at Upper East Side restaurant Primola, where Harry Macklowe, William and Phyllis Mack and Francine LeFrak were all spotted dining nearby . . . Jake Gyllenhaal meeting pals at The Lion . . . Queen Latifah talking to locals in front of a luxe boat in Bonifacio, France . . . Liza Minnelli, Kevin Kline and Stephen Colbert in the audience last week at Broadway’s “Peter and the Starcatcher.”

Office of Nancy Pelosi said...

It will be interesting reading and hearing from Jake and Michael regarding filming EOW. It does sound like they got past what problems they may have had in the beginning.

I can take or leave Chekov. Didn't Maggie and Peter do a production of this play as well?

UltraViolet said...

Interesting tidbit:

Inside Jaime King's Home
Her Art Collecting Advice
King says to buy art locally, or from your friends (the canvas at left was given to her as a gift by Jake Gyllenhaal). "You don't have to go to some famous dealer," she says. "We like to walk into local galleries or see what friends are making."


The placement suggests it's not her favorite piece :)

UltraViolet said...

Forgot to say hi to sheba baby yesterday. Haven't seen you in a while. Summer is going too fast, as always.

OONP, I think Maggie and Peter did two Chekhov plays, Uncle Vanya and Three Sisters.

I never minded reading Chekhov, but I think I've only ever seen one play performed.

Anonymous said...

"The placement suggests it's not her favorite piece :)"

Disagree with that, the placement appears to be in the kitchen as a focal point. The kitchen is the most used room in the home, single or married. Maybe not the favorite but certainly not cast aside.

UltraViolet said...

LOL. "Maybe not the favorite" = "suggests it's not her favorite."

The "peopleiwouldsexuallydestroy" hashtag is making it hard to tweet search for Jake.

bobbyanna said...

Hmmm. Here's an interesting tweet:


BE.hagos‏@triBEhagos

"sooo, people have been at the house a week before us and they already met bill murray and jake gyllenhal. cot dammit. "

8:07 PM - 6 Aug 12via txt · Details

2hBE.hagos‏@triBEhagos

"off the ferry. officially at martha's vineyard :)"

bobbyanna said...

Sorry! Hate when that happens!

UltraViolet said...

I saw someone else hoping they'd see Jake on the Vineyard. Figured they were just dreaming :)

Perhaps he's there and relaxing before the intenivse play rehearsals begin.

Bobbyanna, do you hit "Publish" twice?

bobbyanna said...

UV, not usually. Sometimes when I click to post, nothing happens. There's enough of a delay for me to think it was dodn't go thru,
So I click again.

So yeah. I guess I do hit it twice...

bobbyanna said...

"didn't" go thru. :(

UltraViolet said...

The posts so nice, you hit them twice :)

It's no problem. Just wondering if it's a blogger issue or your computer. I've seen it happen in other places.

Someone tweeted about seeing Jake in NYC, but she doesn't exactly say it was tonight:

I CANT BELIEVE I SAW JAKE FUCKING GYLLEMHAAL ON THE STREET!!!!!!! Omg!!!!

OMG!!!!! You saw JAKE GYLLENHAAL on your street?!?!

in low manhattan !!! I think he has a house there but it was so random!!!!

Monica said...

Congrats to Andy Murray. I'm sure Monica. Enjoyed that match :)

Absolutely. He deserved to win.

Shondra said...

Looks like Jake is on MV, I think the NY tweet may be a day or so old.Looking forward to seeing Jake back on the big screnn with EOW. It would be great is it opened up in first place buut that baseball movie may squeeze in, I hope not.

I was so happy with Andy Murray's win at the Olympics!!!

Hagen said...

New York Daily News: "Jake Gyllenhaal says he was warned that his turn as a cop in his new movie would “affect my soul,” and based on the 31-year-old actor’s outlook on the business, we’d have to agree. In “End of Watch,” out Sept. 21, Gyllenhaal plays a South Central Los Angeles cop, and says he endured five months of grueling preparation for the role. “I got the s— kicked out of me,” says Gyllenhaal, who rode around with cops three nights a week and weathered fight training “every morning.” But despite his eagerly anticipated return to the big screen — it’s been a year since his last movie — the Academy Award nominee has a rather cynical view of success. “What success really gives you is the freedom to fail and then try again,” he says."

Apparently Jake isn't happy with his acting career. He sounded disillusioned in his interview about "An Enemy": "That's why we [actors] do this professionally. We're adaptable. ... Either you're useful or you're fired."

UltraViolet said...

Thanks, Hagen. It's an interesting take from the NYDN, that Jake is cynical. That isn't how I would read that quote, but we'll have to see the rest of the interview.

Jake seemed very tired/high in the video interview for An Enemy. He certainly looked less than thrilled in many set photos. But he also looked happy in some. Hard to gauge someone's mood or emotions from photos. This will definitely be an interesting round of promotion.

I hope we do hear Jake talk about the state of his career and where he sees it going.

Here's Jake in an old photo on the cover of U Men, a magazine based in Jordan. Another old photo inside. I don't know if the NYDN got that quote from this magazine or Details or another source.

Hi, shondra! This isn't a good summer for baseball in Boston, so the movie is just adding to bad diamond feelings :)

UltraViolet said...

Eek - just saw this: Will the real JG please stand up

UltraViolet said...

New post :) Jake IS back.