SXSW Day 2, Level: Beginner

Jake Gyllenhaal may be a SXSW newbie, but he's an old pro at promotion. Nice video interview with Jake, Vera and Michelle from CNN:

SXSW kicked off on Friday night with Jake Gyllenhaal's new movie, "Source Code" premiering at Austin's Paramount Theatre. He made his way down the red carpet, joined by co-stars Vera Farmiga and Michelle Monaghan, to the delight of many a local teenage girl (and a few 30-something ladies) who were screaming "Jake! Jake!" from along Congress Avenue.

Gyllenhaal tells CNN he's a big fan of Austin and SXSW and hopes to extend his stay for a few days and check out the rest of festival. So who is he listening to lately? The Civil Wars and the new album from Adele. We enjoy your playlist, Jake.

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It's panel day for Jake and the Source Code crew. No photos allowed officially, but some are sneaking through. With lots of twitter accounts, as well.

Thanks to tweeter rboulding for transcribing many of the questions. (Warning: There is apparently a spoiler in there, so proceed with caution.) Some highlights:

All the questions are for Duncan. Asked about shooting in Chicago. "Chicago doesn't matter..." laughter

Gyllenhall: I think because they didn't get the Olympics we wanted to set it there... laughter



Can you actually travel through time?

Jake: yes, I do know how to travel through time. I have a time machine if you want to join me. My delorian is out back

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Some nice shots of Just Jake from last night's Q&A, plus a couple more Q&A reports:




Opening night at SXSW kicked off with its usual unfettered enthusiasm. The elegant Paramount Theatre, the regular venue for high-profile premieres, had lines around and down each block as Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, writer Ben Ripley and director Duncan Jones worked their way inside to introduce Source Code.


For his part, Gyllenhaal talked about some of the philosophical implications he drew from the story, which he said finds a metaphorical way to explore “the little births and deaths we experience every day.” Some audience members certainly walked away with questions about the implications of the ending (as well as the mechanics and logic of the plot), but response was generally positive, proving that when the storytelling is novel and intriguing not all of the pieces need to make perfect sense.

SXSW Film attendees sat star-struck in the aisles, angling to get a look at Jake Gyllenhaal in the flesh — and that was before his latest vehicle, Source Code, premiered as the opening night headliner. As in the film, which focuses on Gyllenhaal in various states of confusion as an war veteran recruited to re-live the same eight minutes in time in hopes of averting a terrorist attack, Thursday night’s screening was all about Jake — and that could very bode well for Summit as they look to open strong next month.

For example: Not every SXSW premiere sees festival-goers breaking out their cameras during every waking moment before and after the lights go dim in the hopes of capturing a snap. (Blogger reports of one SXSWer’s bathroom run-in with Gyllenhaal became full-blown legend overnight; whether or not it’s true, it illustrates the point.) The first question following the screening, which played well to an enthusiastic crowd: “I’m a huge fan of Jake Gyllenhaal.” [Pause] “Is that the question?” teased director Duncan Jones.



At Q&A’s end, co-star Michelle Monaghan summed it up with an appropriately Gyllenhaal-centric tale of long days alone on the Source Code set. “You know, we sat across from each other on that train for 12 hours a day and I don’t know how many weeks,” teased Monahan “So we got to know each other really well. He’s fun and easy to be around and wonderful to work with, and as every chick knows, he’s really easy on the eyes.”