Yet More SXSW

Update - major spoiler warning. The first five minutes of Source Code:

Jake Gyllenhaal is apparently back in Los Angeles, but his Texas presents keep coming. First up, an interview with a Welsh channel:



Then Fandango:



Next, a bit of Duncan, Michelle and Jake on the red carpet, followed by some footage of the post-premiere Q&A. Spoiler warning, I think. Also, Jake says he's working on a movie!

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There's also a new non-video interview, where Jake reveals he'd been trying to get Source Code made for two years prior to Duncan's involvement. There's also a slightly different version of how that all came about. And he compares Duncan to Ang Lee:

In the last decade you’ve become a movie star, yet your choices all seem like smaller indie films that are received on a large scale. What’s the difference between the larger scale films and the smaller ones?

There are a lot of more wonderful aspects of working on a smaller film. Each film is a journey and a lesson. I take away a lot from each film, particularly working with the extraordinary directors I’ve worked with. Ang Lee, David Fincher, Sam Mendes…the thing you take away is what you very clearly know you need when you’re telling a story, which is somebody who knows why they’re telling a story. Surprisingly we lose track of that. To know that you have somebody who knows why they’re making something is important.

And then patience, which is, to me, one of the most amazing qualities I saw from all of the people I’ve worked with. I find a lot of similarities between Ang Lee and Duncan Jones. In personality, in interpretation of scenes, in the ability to let actors really encompass a world and feel empowered but at the same time have total control over the story that they’re telling. It’s almost like a magician. You feel like you’re creating the thing that’s happening, and in some ways you’re helping it be created, but ultimately there is a true wizard there. Personality-wise, Duncan is very quiet and sort of soft spoken, very introverted, very similar to Ang. When I met him, it was strange, my instinct connected to a similar thing when I met Ang.



You have a very youthful appearance, which leads to roles that are very innocent and inquisitive. You’re taking on more action roles now, but is your youth a hurdle?

... What’s interesting about growing up making movies and having the opportunity to be an adolescent and then grow up is it becomes a journey of figuring out what you want to do, what stories you’re interested in. Sometimes the footing is solid and sometimes it’s not, but you always hope you have an opportunity to keep doing it. I explore all different things. I have a pretty eclectic taste in things. I have no intention to…

To punch people?

No, I have no intention to do that, but it is very fun to do action.

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Pee-wee Herman was interviewed by The Playlist, and he had some very nice things to say about Jake and Jessica Biel and the whole Nailed process:

It’s a high wire bit of material, with a hard tone to nail (pardon the pun), but to hear it from Reubens, the toplining actors hit the ball right out of the park. “I would go home every single night in awe of both leads in the movie, I just could not believe what they were doing. As an actor, what they’re doing is very, very complicated and complex. It’s really hard to pull off what they did. You have to be effortless, but it’s really hard to do,” Reubens said. “And I’ve never seen anybody be so successful with something that complicated [as Gyllenhaal was]. And Jessica Biel is literally—I hate this word, but I can’t think of another word to use—is like a revelation. She’s so incredibly good in the movie, and again, no one’s ever seen her do anything like this… This is like an ingenue. It’s almost like Dorothy in ‘The Wizard Of Oz.’”

It's a good read.

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