Sunday Papers

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.

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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."

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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?!

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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."