The Godfather?

Since his name keeps popping up in Jakeland, we have a Robert Elswit-themed post today. On Sunday night, Jake's godfather won the NY Film Critic's 2007 cinematography prize for There Will Be Blood. Maggie presented the award:

“I’ve known Robert Elswit since I was a little girl”, Gyllenhaal told the crowd at Spotlight Live. “My mom reminded me last night that he snuck into the delivery room and hid in a closet to take pictures of my brother being born.” So those would be the first naked photos of Jake Gyllenhaal.

Thus leading Gyllenhaalics everywhere to exclaim, "Where are the other nude photos then?"

Apparently, Jake approved of the photos, because in 2006, he accepted an award for Elswit from the LA Film Critics Association for "Good Night, And Good Luck."




Elswit appears to be the Gyllenhaal photographer of family record - he took this photo of Jake and Stephen looking at the first galleys for Claptrap, Stephen's first book of poetry.


Both Jake and Robert Elswit were nominated for Academy Awards in the same year, which is a pretty cool twist of fate. And it looks like they got to stand next to each other in the Oscar 2005 class picture*:


I can't imagine how proud I would be if someday I were nominated for an award at the same time as one of my godchildren.

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A reminder that the director's cut of Zodiac was released today. Looking forward to watching the movie again and especially to the Jake/RDJ commentary. Of course, the amazing Stephanie at IHJ has already capped at least one of the features.


Nice angle!

(Photos courtesy of Jakewatch, CantaraBooks, WireImage and IHJ)

*Elswit is on Jake's left.

Randomosity

Some new pictures of Jake, with Brothers costar Tobey Maguire in Brentwood.


Aww, look at Jake looking at the kidlet!

Just a thought, but perhaps the reason Brothers is scheduled for a 2009 release is the glacial pace at which they seem to be filming. They haven't exactly had a rigorous schedule!

In other randomness, the New York Daily News deemed Jake and Reese:

Hot: Togetherness. Jake Gyllenhaal takes Reese Witherspoon and her kids for a stroll.

I wonder why this story has been presented everywhere as Jake's taking Reese and the kids on a hike? Maybe it was her idea!

Since we got only a solo sighting of Jake this weekend, check out these old but new-to-me encounters. From November:

THIS BLOG'S FIRST-EVER CELEBRITY-SIGHTING
Spotted brunching together at the table next to me this morning at La Note in Berkeley: Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon. They shared a Sunday New York Times as they waited for Berkeley's best breakfast to arrive. ...

Pre-romance, from the 2005 Vanity Fair Oscar party:

Here and there a drone wandered, an unknown face. But for the most part it was a living menagerie of the pages of a glossy magazine. Jake Gyllenhaal, his head shaven, whispered in the ear of Reese Witherspoon, her hair a stripy vanilla-chocolate color.

Of course, as the story notes, Jake left with Kirsten. But maybe there was a hint of a spark? It's a nice image either way :)


I like the mutual touches in this pic. And even though they were allegedly broken up at this point, can you blame Kirsten for wanting to get her hands on Jarhead Jake?

Adding this picture of Maggie and Sidney Lumet from the party. Note Jake in the background:



(Photos courtesy of Flynet Online, Page Six, IHJ and Vanity Fair.)

Stars: They're just like us!

They go to movies. And lose their parking stubs:

Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon with some other actorly types at the 5:35 Dome showing of Sweeney Todd 12/29. Reese was wearing a baseball cap w/"Jake" embroidered on the side. Awww. Both were casual and cute. She is teeny tiny. Seriously.

Jake and Reese part 2 - when I got into the line to exit the parking lot, I was behind a black Mercedes, which then proceeded to pull up to the ticket booth and sit for five minutes while the driver obviously searched for his ticket. I suppressed the New Yorker in me and didn't lay on the horn, and was rewarded with the realization that Jake himself was the culprit. Stars, they're just like us! P.S. When I pulled to the ticket booth myself, the attendant was giddy from her five mins w/Jake. Don't know how Reese felt about all this; she seems pretty organized.

They vote (note the button) - and jaywalk!


They pump their own gas:


They stock up on groceries:


They buy all the news that's fit to print:


Then puzzle over the crossword:


And try to find a show:


They buy supplies for their pets:


They take their dogs to the park:


Then get the girfriend to walk the dog.

Speaking of Runyon Canyon, it has apparently fallen out of fashion as a place for celebrities to walk. It has definitely been a favorite place for Jake to hike and bike over the years. Maybe he likes Malibu better now :)

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In "Stars are nothing like us!" news, Zodiac is finally getting an Oscar push from the studio. Coming in at Number Three and Number Four on charts compiling critic's awards, it's clear that Zodiac has been done a disservice by the Paramount suits.

The only just reward for Zodiac's not getting any awards love (so far) is the fact that the shows might not go on at all, due to the WGA strike.

Something which mercifully didn't happen in 2006.



(Title credit to the Defamer poster for the title. Photos courtesy of IHJ.)

Jake Makes The Scene

New Jake pics - he had lunch at Joan's on Third again today. He's been seen with this woman before, but I love how people try to make something out of it. It looks as if she and Jake are also bemused. Or just exasperated!


A critic on Film Stew posted an interesting Top 10 list, choosing his favorite scene from his Top 10 movies for 2007. Zodiac was second on the list:

2. Dueling Belief Systems, Zodiac: The opening of David Fincher’s serial killer epic, which portrays the titular phantom’s nocturnal attack on a pair of teen lovers with bone-chilling intensity, is the stuff of nightmares. But the film’s most vital scene gets at the root of what makes us able to sleep at night.

Cartoonist-turned-haggard-sleuth Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal), after feverishly piecing together an elaborate string of clues, drags cop Dave Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) out of bed and into an all-night diner, where he tries to convince the inspector of a suspect’s definite guilt. Toschi isn’t convinced, pointing to a lack of empirical evidence. The pull between faith and reason demonstrated here makes Zodiac a genuinely profound study not just of the different ways people rationalize evil, but also of the different ways we make sense of the world.


That is a really good scene, though I hope the critic realizes that by the end, Graysmith hs persuaded Toschi. At least that's how I read it.

It's very hard to choose a favorite scene in any Jake movie. Some of my favorite Zodiac scenes involved Avery and Graysmith, because of the great chemistry between Robert Downey, Jr. and Jake. They were comical and serious, playful and poignant, with Jake first playing the perfect bumbling naif to RDJ's jaded cynic:


Later, Graysmith realizes his friend is losing it. Jake perfectly plays the concern, and RDJ brilliantly conveys Avery's appreciation:

I also really like the first date scene. Jake and Chloe Sevigny are pitch perfect. I wish we had seen more of them:


Any favorite scenes from Zodiac? Tomorrow, we can do Rendition. And not just the bed scene...

(Photos courtesy of Faded Youth and IHJ.)