Musical notes

A hodgepodge post today, beginning with some info about Jake in Big Easy Express:

We get to see a bit of the boys playing basketball with Jake Gyllenhaal in Austin, where they reveal they’ve been drinking copious amounts of “water” for the past four days. Right.

Speaking of Jake, he got special thanks in the credits.



More observations on the film at the link. And you can catch a brief glimpse of Jake "rocking out" to Little Lion Man in San Pedro. Go to the 3:10 mark.

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More from the Shoes on working with Jake:

How did your collaboration with Jake Gyllenhaal come about?

Daniel Wolfe directed the video for Stay The Same, and we loved it. We wanted to work with him again, and he really likes our music. So we talked about doing a new video for Time to Dance, and he was really into it. Daniel is working a lot with actors, in Stay the Same it was with Johnny Harris (This is England), this time it was with Jake Gyllenhaal.



Would it be fair to see it as symbolic of a full-on cross-over to mainstream fame?

No, we don’t think so. We’ve never been more indie ! It’s about a famous British director doing a video for an indie french band with a mainstream A-listed American actor, and about this same actor who likes our music, playing a psychopath serial hipster killer in our video, because it’s far away from roles he usually plays.

And how has his presence in your video affected your popularity as a band?

Everybody was talking about it, about him and then about us. But we won’t play at le Stade De France like David Guetta because of that.

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Jake will apparently have an English accent in If There Is...

The British playwright Nick Payne, 28, has been given a starry boost by Jake Gyllenhaal who will make his American stage debut this summer in his first play If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet. Payne wrote the play, which premiered at the Bush in 2009, when he was just 25. Gyllenhaal will play Terry, a foul-mouthed drifter who strikes up an odd friendship with his obese teenage niece. "He likes the humour and anger of the character and the tone of the play," says Payne. The actor was sent the script and liked it so much he came to see Payne's last play, Constellations, at the Royal Court in February.



After a reading of If There Is... with Roundabout Theatre in New York, he signed on for a full run, opening in August. Gyllenhaal will adopt an English accent for the role but will Payne tailor his script for American audiences? "No. Although at the read-through I asked, 'does everyone know what Asda is?' and they said, 'not really.'" Is he ready for Jake's starstruck fans at the stage-door? "I'm sure there will be a bit of hoopla but I'm quite happy to stay anonymous." Not for too much longer, I'd guess.

(RRT photos courtesy of Andy the T photography.)

Left bank

Apparently, there's a reason some of you may prefer Jake Gyllenhaal's left profile. According to researchers:

A new study by professors Kelsey Blackburn and James Schirillo from Wake Forest University in North Carolina shows that images of the left side of the face are perceived and rated as more pleasant than pictures of the right side. It is apparently because the left side presents more intense emotions than the right and is more active during emotional expression.



Herewith, Jake's left or leftish profile through the years.





















Seems likeMario Testino is a left-sider.











“So if you’re smiling you’re going to get a bigger smile on the left side of your face than on the right side,” explained Schirillo.






As a diehard lefty, I approve.

All photos courtesy of IHJ. Click for move left Jake>)

Finding your photos

A grab bag of photos to start the week. Hadn't seen that particular shot of Jake Gyllenhaal and Paul Bettany before.

Jake in Berlin in February


Early Jake

Jake I don't know when - L&OD premiere, perhaps?

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Cute shot of the Gyllenhaals from last night's PBS showing of Finding Your Roots, on which Maggie Gyllenhaal and Robert Downey Jr. traced their family trees.



It was an interesting look at the history of both families. Makes you want to trace your own roots.

(Family photo courtesy of LeoOrJake)

The foul-mouthed uncle

That's the character Jake Gyllenhaal will play in his American stage debut, If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet:

Roundabout Theatre Company has announced that movie star Jake Gyllenhaal will be making his American stage debut in If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet, a comedic drama by Nick Payne at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre this fall. The play will be directed by Michael Longhurst, with three additional actors and the design team to be announced shortly.

Provocative, insightful and laced with fresh humor, If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet is an entertaining look at a regular family stuck somewhere between knowing what the problem is... and doing something about it.

Fifteen-year-old Anna's weight makes her a natural target for bullies. When her mom transfers Anna to the school where she teaches in order to protect her daughter, it only makes things worse. Anna's environmentalist dad, determined to finish his new book and save the planet, is no help at all. Just as Anna gets suspended for retaliating with a head-butt, her estranged uncle Terry (Jake Gyllenhall) arrives unannounced. A heartbroken drifter with the mouth of a sailor, Terry reaches out to Anna in a way that no one ever has. Their unexpected friendship sends her parents' rocky marriage into a tailspin as the whole family wonders, what--or who--really needs saving?

From the New York Times:

A play about a young, lost, broken-hearted antihero, with a knack for empathy but a little clueless about life’s problems? Paging Jake Gyllenhaal! Mr. Gyllenhaal, who became a movie star for poignant performances in “Donnie Darko” and “Brokeback Mountain,” will make his American stage debut this summer in the Roundabout Theater Company production of “If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet,” a British play that turns on an overweight teenager’s relationship to her drifter uncle (Mr. Gyllenhaal).

And from Todd Haimes, the artistic director for the Roundabout:

I am beyond thrilled to not only be welcoming Jake to the Roundabout family, but also to be hosting his American theatrical debut. In addition to his many films, for which he has garnered much well deserved praise, he also gave a highly acclaimed performance in This is Our Youth on London’s West End.

More info:

If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet, Nick’s incisive and farcical look at the incoherence, selfishness and love inside an average family won the George Devine Award in 2009 and premiered at The Bush Theatre to glowing critical reviews.


If There Is... will mark Nick’s American debut, Michael’s New York directorial debut and Jake’s American stage debut. Mike and Nick have previously worked together on Nick’s most recent play, the critically acclaimed Constellations, which enjoyed a sell-out run at the Royal Court Upstairs in January 2012.

All the rage

Jake Gyllenhaal's new career as a Soul Cycle instructor is the hot topic on twitter and the inter webs today. As you can see from this photo with Marcus Mumford, taken at last year's Railroad Revival Tour, Jake likes to get sweaty.

Still no word when the tour documentary will be released, but here's another photo from Jake's traveling days:

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In case you missed it, two videos of Jake at Monday's Serious Fun event, including his appearance on stage with children from various camps. It's cool to see the kids having their moment in the spotlight.

(Photo of Jake and MM by James Marcus Haney, courtesy of Mumford and Sons Blog.)

Old Blue Eyes

Jake Gyllenhaal appeared at the “Celebration of Paul Newman’s Dream” benefit Monday night. The event raised money for The Hole in the Wall camps, part of what is now called the Serious Fun Children’s Network.






Jake joined fellow performers Josh Groban, Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey, among others.And the biggest performers: the campers themselves.

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Some video of Jake:



Here's Jake talking about what camp he went to and why he wanted to do the event. Great clip!

And a couple of videos of Jake on stage, talking about Paul and the organization:


Serious Fun by GyllenBabble



Jake talks about Paul Newman and JoAnne Woodward: