Saturday, September 6, 2014

The Deluge

Nightcrawler premiered in Toronto amid a major storm. The rains didn't stop Jake Gyllenhaal from greeting fans, and the dark clouds didn't portend doom for the film, which thrilled audiences and critics.

Some bits and pieces from a busy day for the NC crew. First up, snippets from the Variety Studio chat:



Last time I interviewed Jake Gyllenhaal on camera, the sound cut out. Today, a light blew out. Me: "YOU keep doing this!" Him: "Not me. Us."

Oh my. I think I would have lost myself at that moment.

I'm rarely speechless, but that almost got me. I think I said something like:"Man, I'm gonna be dining out on that for YEARS."

Holy hell, that's magical!

wowwwwwza. Melt.


Red Carpet Diary interviews - another director in love with Jake:



City News Toronto:



According to this series of tweets from the CityNews guys, there must be more to this interview:

Best. Interview. Ever. #JakeGyllenhaal at the #NightcrawlerMovie premiere at #tiff14 with @colinjustin? Priceless. pic.twitter.com/unalVVJoe0

OUR FAVOURITE EVER! This dude is a total gentleman and SO FUNNY! Fave chat with Jake. And we've interviewed him many times!

@EntCity we may just have told Jake that our kitten is called Jake and he sits on our chest and licks our faces. Crazy! #tiff14

So we told Mr Gyllenhall we had a kitten named after him; Jake. And that he sits on Colin's chest and licks his face. He took it in, er, good humour. VERY cool guy. And we whispered to Rene Russo that it was amazing she looked as good as she does beyond 40. 1940... She seemed to enjoy the Glasgow banter and told us never to succumb to surgery, advising nothing apart from lasers.


From an audience member: Jake, are you as naturally weird as your character?













LOL (Courtesy go oldmansoulriver on twitter):



48 comments:

UltraViolet said...

Some tweets:

#JakeGyllenhaal wins brother of year at #TIFF2014 telling us to watch his sister's show #honorablewoman #MaggieGyllenhaal #Nightcrawler

#JakeGyllenhaal... Woosh. Walked by me @Shangrila. Jaw dropped and he looked over as I tried to pull my jaw back but not in time... #TIFF14

NIGHTCRAWLER is a serious knockout. Incredibly dark, cold, and unsettling, but also hilarious. Jake Gyllenhaal slays it. #TIFF14

NIGHTCRAWLER: Rise of an American monster. Bottomlessly cynical & entertaining. Gyllenhaal has never been better.

@SeeNIGHTCRAWLER is this year's Drive. A riveting film with an absolutely bat-sh*t crazy performance by Jake Gyllenhal. Amazing!

NIGHTCRAWLER wowed me. Modern noir led by an award caliber performance by Jake Gyllenhaal. Way better than I expected. Seek this out

Not saying it's as good, but discussing NIGHTCRAWLER in same breath as TAXI DRIVER or NETWORK is not heresy. It's really something.

How can anything top Nightcrawler at #TIFF14? Utterly masterful debut feature. Crowd are it up. Easily Gyllenhaal's best performance to date

Nightcrawler - Helluva film. At times intense, other times ridiculous, other times funny. Gyllenhaal is incredible. Really impressed.

FP said...

arman güvenç ‏@armanguvenc 56 min

How many amazing performances must Jake Gyllenhaal give for you guys to stop being surprised by it? Really! #NightcrawlerMovie


amen

UV I'think I'm just gonna cry

Mary said...

Thanks for all the pics and tweete now I'm really want to see night crawler. Glad you were able to make it to Toronto UV.

Hagen said...

That's great, UV, that you could watch "Nightcrawler" on premiere night. I'm sure you've enjoyed your trip. :-)

My favorite tweet: xD

Scott Weinberg ‏@scottEweinberg
I think Buzzfeed needs to run an article explaining specifically how the word "Nightcrawler" pre-dates Marvel comic books.

Office of Nancy Pelosi said...

I had a feeling you were in Toronto UV, you are so lucky! This is such a great post. Loving the response to Nightcrawler, amazing! Can't wait to see it.

bobbyanna said...

Yaaay!! Thank you, UV, for bringing all the excitement of TIFF to us. This is a great post! I'm over the moon happy for Jake. He's getting 100% rave reviews.

As for this movie being too dark for awards season, maybe not. They've nominated dark roles before, (Silence of the Lambs?)

I hate to speculate. I'm just happy Jake is gaining so much acceptance and respect for his work... but if I had to play the "prediction" game, I'd say Jake is a lock for awards season, along with Eddie Redmayne, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Bill Murray.

Like driving a Ferrari? Wow. Maybe the Gilroy love will be a 'long term' relationship.
I cannot wait to see this!

(We had monster storms around here too. They're saying more than 300,000 without power. Don't know how we managed to escape.)

BlueJean said...

Thanks for all the comments, guys! It was truly a pleasure to read all of them.

Enjoy Toronto, UV! Say hi to Jake! ;)

Yaaaaaaaay for the great responces to 'Nightcrawler'! *happy*

Jess said...

Glad you were in Toronto to see the film UV. Are you in any of the fan pics? It will be my mission to see Jake this winter in NYC in his Broadway debut. I plan on moving my annual trip up to see his play. I think it will help me to get over my obsession with the guy.

Booing Jake is a good idea, at least it will get his attention.

bobbyanna said...

LOL! Jess, I saw Jake in the play, "If There Is..." Off Broadway, and trust me. Seeing Jake in person will NOT help you get over your "obsession. "

(He looks exactly the same in person as he does in photos, except that killer smile, live and in person, is devastating. : ) )

Anonymous said...

Sign

Jill

Jess said...

LOL. Maybe he will pick his nose or do something utterly disgusting that will kill the obsession. .

FP said...

Bobbyanna forgive my bad english but with "I'd say Jake is a lock for awards season" you mean that Jake has no chance? Too bad, I do not know how I will be able to go through another year of "Jake Gyllenhaal is totally going to get the nom this year"" His performance is sooo oscar worthy", then nothing happens and begin the "ohhh he is so underrated"
oh well, I'm just happy that Jake is getting all the respect and appreciation that his immense talent deserves, it was about time!

bobbyanna said...

No, no, FP. I mean the opposite. It is only my opinion, but based on the reactions to his performance so far,he is "a lock" meaning he is assured of getting a nomination. There seems to be very little, really no disagreement about him winning a nomination.

FP said...

Ha Bobbyanna thanks! sorry again for my broken English! :)

bobbyanna said...

As far as I can tell, I think these might be the main Best Actor candidates for awards season so far. I'm sure other people have their list, this is mine: Jake for sure. Eddie Redmayne, Benedict Cumberbatch, Bill Murray, Steve Carrell for Foxcatcher, Robert Downey Jr., Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke, and All Pacino.

I think Mark Ruffalo, Channing Tatum, and Robert Duvall might get some Best Supporting attention along with Ethan Hawke.

A lot will depend on the strength of these movies and whether they are weak.

There were mixed reviews for The Judge, and the trailer for Denzel's Equalizer looks a lot like roles he's done before. Nothing new there.

Boyhood is generating a lot of enthusiasm, sure to get a Best Picture nomination.

This year, with Nightcrawlers, I think Jake has a real shot. I hate critics who say, well, this is a tough year, lots of great performances.

They make it seem like Jake is too far down the list. But this year, I believe he is The One.: ) Let some others be further down the list.

Hagen said...

Scott Foundas from "Variety" is harsh on "Nightcrawler" and Jake's performance. Apart from that the reviews for Jake are really good. The movie probably isn't baity enough for awards in a competitive year, but that's OK. It's fine that Jake earned some respect for his performance (which might help him to get further interesting roles).

Hagen said...

BTW I think it's odd (and a bit annoying) that "Variety" published a long article about Jake's work on "Nightcrawler" some days ago, invited him to the "Variety Studio" at TIFF and panned his performance afterwards. I'm sure that someone from "Variety" watched the movie at a press screening before the premiere. "Variety"'s critcs and journalists probably work independently, but it looks stupid to promote a movie that you pan just a few days later (sorry for mini-rant xD).

Sag Actor said...

Thanks UV for taking time out from your TIFF schedule to keep everyone updated, how awesome you got to see NC!

Variety aside , Jake has been getting raves.

BlueJean said...

FP, thanks for that link! Good article, but why do they have to bring up Taylor Swift all the time :(
I'll scream next time I read her name, I swear.

Hagen said...

That's a good article indeed. And I like the conclusion: Even if Hollywood doesn't know what to do with Jake Gyllenhaal, it seems like Jake Gyllenhaal knows exactly what he's doing.

Sag Actor said...

Thanks UV for taking time out from your TIFF schedule for a new post and updates, how great that you got a chance to see NC!

The Variety review aside, Jake has been getting great reviews.

BlueJean said...

That's right. He doesn't have to be Ryan Gosling... as long as he's himself, he'll be fine.

And we'll be fine as well :)

UltraViolet said...

I can see why someone might think NC is overdone. It isn't subtle. But a lot of that review is very off base. IMO of course.

Talked to someone who knows someone that saw Jake at Fresh on Spadina, a vegetarian restaurant. Said he was just casually texting. Tall and very good looking.

Sounds familiar :)

UltraViolet said...

Funny article about the NC party last night:

http://m.thestar.com/#/article/entertainment/tiff/2014/09/06/tiff_morning_after_diary_a_hot_night_with_jake_gyllenhaal.html

On my phone and can't deal with making the link. Sorry.

Jess said...

Watching Bubble Boy and Jake's big blue eyes while reading Gyllenbabble.

Jake's a self professed weird person. I think Jake is ok that HW does not know what to do with him. And I think a lot of actors are going to be envious and if not in awe of him. And he has nothing to do with awards.

Jess said...

I meant
"And it has nothing to do with awards".

bobbyanna said...

I've thought of three more movies that may figure into awards season calculations. Time Out of Mind with Richard Gere playing and old homeless man, Whiplash with JJ Simmons & Miles Teller, and The Drop, James Gandolfini's last movie.

Have no idea if these are any good, but there's some chatter about the actors already. That doesn't necessarily mean anything, but I thought I'd factor them in.

Obviously there's a huge difference between the "PR" generated buzz typical of movies on the festival circuit, and the buzz generated by critics and audiences who are genuinely impressed with a movie or an actor.

Jess said...

There's also Jeremy Renner's (who the Academy loves) new film heading to awards season. Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley "hang on to Jennifer's coat tails" Cooper's new film. James Franco has a new film with a racial story. There Fincher's movie with Ben Affleck and Fury with Brad Pitt. Angelina Jolie's adored new film with newcomers. There's an Al Pacino film.

Open Road doesn't seem to have a clue on how to promote a film from beginning to end. I am highly doubtful they can create an Oscar campaign. Jake's famous friends had to create some awards buzz for him with End Of Watch. Warner Brothers gave it a good go with Prisoners but the Academy probably did not even look at the film based on some of the news reports.

Open Road needs to promote the hell out of this film and get people in movie theaters for weeks and keep the promotion going after the film opens.

bobbyanna said...

Thanks Jess. I'd forgotten about Renner. I want to see that movie. There's some genuine buzz around his performance.

I'm aware of the others, but don't think the acting performances will factor into the Best Actor category with most of them. That's just my opinion.

The movies themselves, especially Angelina's movie, is definitely Oscar bait for Best Picture nominations.

There's a lot of hype surrounding many of these films, for sure, but once they get released the hype seems to go away, with some exceptions. I think Gone Girl, Fury, and Unbroken will do very well.

Anonymous said...

Don't care oscars, just want Jake continue to do great movies

Jill

Monica said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Monica said...

Too early to say who is a lock on the Oscar. We are at the beginning of the season. There are many movies to be seen as Fury, Interstellar, Inherent Vice (initial word is that the Academy will not like), Selma, American Sniper, and we have those who are being welcomed as Foxcatcher, Birdman, Boyhood. Many of these films has major studios and distributors to do campaign. And of course, they are Oscar Baity.

I never had high hopes for the Oscar after having read the script last year. I think too dark for the Academy. If it happens, I'll be very happy, but it's not something I want to keep in mind.

I'm so happy with all the praise Jake is getting.

Kris Tapley wrote an article about the movie: hitfix

Jess said...

"tmblr.co/Zb8Oev1QCmH4Q"

Where's that caption "I want to go home now"? Insert here. LOL

I forgot all those films too Monica. Foxcatcher delayed its a release a whole year due to the competition from last year. But to be fair, I don't think Foxcatcher and Selma are exactly comedic relief but I get what you are saying about Oscar bait. It's a shame that the Academy that represents and supposedly promotes outstanding and artistic accomplishments can't watch a movie outside the box.

It's wonder that Brokeback Mountain ever made it to the nominations. But I think Jake knows how it all works and doesn't care or else he would be doing Oscar baited roles. He chose Nightcrawler over Into the Woods, yet another film headed for the awards season competition.

Hagen said...

CTV News: Jake Gyllenhaal subsisted on chewing gum, tea during 'Nightcrawler' shoot

"He'd have a bowl of luxury chewing (gum) and they were, like, really elaborately flavoured, to trick his brain into thinking he was having a meal. So he was on his exercise bike having chewing gum and, like, almond tea with one calorie," said Ahmed.

"When he started to do it I was a bit baffled ... but now having seen the film and going through the process I realize that's quite an ingenious way into the character, to manifest the hunger and desperation in that character physically."

He also said Gyllenhaal was apologetic about his sour demeanour: "He was aware of it so he was like: 'Sorry I'm grumpy, I haven't eaten."'

Hagen said...

Antoine Fuqua praises Jake's work for "Southpaw":

DEADLINE: This seems a good time for you. You just finished the boxing drama Southpaw with Jake Gyllenhaal.

FUQUA: I’m so pumped, man. Jake is going to change how people see him. I had him training twice a day in the boxing ring, he did two a day’s seven days a week. I pretty much had him with me and my trainer every day. I took him to almost every fight. I had him train at Floyd Mayweather’s gym in Vegas and we watched Floyd’s fights, and the Manny Pacquiao fight. He trained in New York at Church Gym with real fighters. We literally turned him into a beast.

DEADLINE: You were a fighter. Could you kick his ass?

FUQUA: Oh, yeah. But Jake, my god, he’s a very electric, powerful fighter in this movie, and a guy who fights for his daughter. I’m confident that this will change how people see Jake, as a leading man. He sure has grown up. I love this guy. I met Jake years ago before he did End of Watch, and I saw something in him. I told him he needed to do more masculine films because I could see he had this power in him, and good size, and great expressive eyes. When I met him I said, “You’ve got to start doing that.” And I watched him start. Working with him was a great experience because he’s so committed and gives his hear. You’re going to see in this movie, how far he has come. I asked this guy from day one, “I need you in the gym every day. I need you to train every day.” And I said, “The word is sacrifice.” Literally. I think he broke up with his girlfriend because he was just in the gym every day. He was training like a fighter. I had him sparring, really getting hit. I put him in situations where I wanted to see what he was made of. No one but fighters understand the sacrifice it takes to be a fighter.

Jess said...

More masculine roles? Apparently Antoine is still thinking about BBM. For all the hate it gets POP was a very masculine role.

Source Code was before EOW.

FP said...

raves from Filmstage

I can unequivocally say it’s a gem of a lean, mean film that never let’s its foot off the gas pedal with an iconic antihero in Jake Gyllenhaal‘s Lou Bloom who might currently be tops on hardcore cinephiles’ Halloween costume lists come October.
There have been comparisons to Drive that I can agree with in this respect. It may not be quite as laborious, but Nightcrawler is slick above all else. What makes it better is that Ryan Gosling’s stoicism is replaced by Gyllenhaal’s no-nonsense loquaciousness steering conversations while subtly turning the knife when those he’s engaged least expect it. His Bloom is very detailed oriented and very calculating, causing him to pause and collect his thoughts in order to take control if not already the smartest person in the room. The scariest part of his derangement is that he almost always is.
Gyllenhaal’s role overshadows the whole while also making it better.
There’s still one last exchange between Gyllenhaal and Russo that begs for interpretations positing whether some of what happens is purely in his mind, but even it couldn’t detract from the heart-pounding pursuit people will be talking about for months to come.

and Collider
Gyllenhaal is positively phenomenal in the film, and he astounds from one scene to the next as he manages to be both revolting and captivating at the same time. He could be in the running for a Best Actor nod in this year’s Oscar race, but it really depends on how heavy Open Road Films pushes their campaign. I could see them landing Rene Russo a Best Supporting Actress nomination as well for her excellent portrayal of a morally questionable TV producer—especially since the field is looking so thin—but again, it really depends on whether Open Road is willing to launch a serious awards campaign.

FP said...

Riz Ahmed's pic, nice:)

Riz MC

Shout to Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Dan Gilroy & all Nightcrawlers gang for the great reviews
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152388984023997

UltraViolet said...

Horrible quote from Fuqua. The reporter should have followed up.

Apologies for being absent. Seeing a lot of movies. Will bore you all with my thoughts when I have time. For now:

Best: NC and Phoenix
Worst: Men, Women and Children. Clouds of Sils Marie a close runner up.

Jess said...

Cinema Blend seems to echo my sense of injustice for Jake's work.

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Jake-Gyllenhaal-Plunges-Terrifying-Psychological-Depths-Fantastic-Nightcrawler-67088.html

Hot Mess said...

Ultraviolet, more power to you for making the trip to TIFF, again, and keeping this blog updated at the same time. Can't wait for future details.
Not sure I can put into words how happy I am for Nightcrawler's reception, almost unanimously a critical success (98%). The reviews are the best of Jake's career, the most glowing, accurate, heartfelt. Even if Nightcrawler is too small, too genre, dark and "pulpy" for Academy's taste, in the grand scheme of things it will do wonders for Jake's career.
It's taken me hours to catch-up with the outpour (appropriately) of photos, tweets, reviews. Still coming fast and furious. Jake sure did the rounds of all the "it" parties, on top of having his own celebration party by Variety. These are the best of times for him.

Hot Mess said...

My small contributions:

Snipets of Jake's interview and photoshoot at The Hollywood Reporter lounge:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/toronto-video-lounge-robert-downey-730701

or directly:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/video/jake-gyllenhaal-shares-billy-crystal-730687

-----------------

As expected, Jake met with Jean Marc Vallee in Toronto:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2014/09/07/jake-gyllenhaal-nightcrawler-demolition-toronto/15234725/

...especially upon the news that he's teaming up with director Jean-Marc Vallee on a new project, Demolition. Not in the future. "In a week," said Gyllenhaal, literally bumping into Vallee at the party as he spoke. "It's a beautiful part," said Vallee. "It's about a man who loses his wife and then destroys his life in more ways than one," added Gyllenhaal.
Because why take a break while you're on a hot streak?


-----------------

beautiful B/W studio portrait by Jeff Vespa:

http://instagram.com/p/sntqK3vziU/

-----------------

photos and short video from Indiewire's interview:

TIFF.Industry @TIFF_Industry
Jake Gyllenhaal discusses the beauty he found in his character, Lou, despite the character's sociopathy @indiewire pic.twitter.com/yfSMJSdW7I


Jake Gyllenhaal talks about dudes that wear crocs in LA

http://instagram.com/p/sn6KTqLMd8/

-----------------

Hagen said BTW I think it's odd (and a bit annoying) that "Variety" published a long article about Jake's work on "Nightcrawler" some days ago, invited him to the "Variety Studio" at TIFF and panned his performance afterwards.

Even more so, last night Variety held a party honouring Jake as the cover story (written by R. Setoodeh for TIFF issue):

http://newzcard.com/#!/event/SzmpO/can-variety-dinner-celebrating-jake-gyllenhaal-at-holt-renfrew-2014-09-06
Variety Dinner Celebrating Jake Gyllenhaal At Holt Renfrew

Jenelle Riley @jenelleriley
@Variety_Claudia and Jake Gyllenhaal singing the praises of @RaminSetoodeh's cover story now on stands
pic.twitter.com/RBm70FdoDh


Variety @Variety
Our place settings for #Nightcrawler dinner party with Jake Gyllenhaal #TIFF14 @HoltRenfrew
pic.twitter.com/MB3KSMzlQr



Riz Ahmed's selfie was taken at Jake's party.
Understandably, critics have independent opinions but I'm sure there are other Variety reviewers who loved the movie and Jake's performance:

Ramin Setoodeh @RaminSetoodeh
In other news: Jake Gyllenhaal deserves an Oscar nomination for his performance in 'Nightcrawler'

Jess said...

Looking forward to 9/15 (Jake did say next week) when Demo starts filming in NYC. Hopefully lots of tweets of Jake and Naomi onset.

Hot Mess said...

Thank you FP, didn't see it. I've read lots of great reviews (Matt Barone, the Indiewire guys, Screencrush, Cinema Blend), some fantastic ones (Kyle Buchanan and Kris Tapley), but Collider takes the cake. How many adjectives did he use? I'm at a loss of words.

------------------

Fun with Jake and Jean(Marc)

http://www.wwd.com/eye/parties/tiff-2014-entertainment-weeklys-must-list-party-7878030?src=rss/recentstories/20140907

TIFF 2014: Entertainment Weekly's Must List Party

Elsewhere in the packed party, Jake Gyllenhaal proudly showed off his scruff to Jean-Marc Vallée, the director of the highly anticipated “Wild,” who will begin directing the actor in “Demolition” next week.
“This is day 12,” Gyllenhaal said. Said Vallée, “He’s just growing the beard and taking pictures of himself every day, and then we’ll make something special with his beard during the film.” Gyllenhaal then told Vallée, “I was showing someone a photograph the other day of something. They were like, ‘Why do you have so many pictures of yourself?’ And I’m like, ‘No, no, they’re for Jean-Marc!’”



IHJ photos show these 2 partners in crime laughing out loud at the thought of Jake's upcoming look for Demolition:

http://www.iheartjakemedia.com/thumbnails.php?album=3330

Should we be afraid? :-)

bobbyanna said...

Reading all these posts is so much fun!

LOL! "Should we be afraid? :-)"

I was hoping Jake would look similar to his look in Source Code, hopefully Jean Marc will
not be intrigued with his beard.

The Hollywood Foreign Press/InStyle party seems like it was a lot of fun. Jon Stewart, Robert Downey Jr. etc.

I would love to see some pictures of Jake with Al Pacino. (It's a fantasy of mine. Every time I see pictures of a younger Pacino as in Serpico, or Michael Corleone, I think of Jake.)

Anonymous said...

Hollywood reporter published a negative review on rottentomatoe :(

Anonymous said...

Last time I saw it was 88% on Rottentomatoe

Jill

Anonymous said...

Now it's 67%...The Hollywood Report, Variety and Screen International are rotten