Moonlight Serenade

Happy 50th to the Smurfs

Who knew the Smurfs have been around for so long? Or that anyone would really care? We can't let such a momentous occasion pass without our favorite bit of Smurf philosophy. From Donnie Darko:

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Moonlight Mile is one of my favorite Jake films. I curse myself for not paying more attention at the time. Not only because they filmed outside of Boston and I missed the opportunity to see Jake up close and personal. (Felicia was even closer!)

I wish I'd been aware of the movie so I could have heard and read what Jake's costars had to say about him. We know from the commentary that Jake and Dustin got along famously. I found an old Charlie Rose show in which Susan talks a little about Jake. Well, gushes is more like it. It's just a few minutes, but she obviously thinks very highly of Jake Gyllenhaal!

Susan_Sarandon_CharlieRose

(The Jake mention comes about halfway through, after she corrects Charlie on the pronunciation of Gyllenhaal!)

BTW, they have an extensive video backlog on the Charlie Rose site. So if you never saw Ang and Heath discussing BBM, you can watch it on the site. Oh how I wish Jake had been in on that interview.

IHJ put up some Moonlight Mile stills the other day, and that's what got me on the MM kick. Despite all the brown, Jake looks gorgeous.




Jake walking a route very familiar to one Fluorescent Lamp!


Much to my surprise, I really enjoyed Jake and Ellen Pompeo together.

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IHJ posted some more pics of Jake from yesterday, basically the same but from a different angle. I like the composition of this one. Typical California: Gorgeous movie star, palm trees and paparazzi.

And in the reflection, the one pap looks like a monster or someone in a HazMat suit!

Drive-by Jake

Work has been too busy to make a post (okay, the two-hour+ lunch derailed me). But here's a quick Jake for you. Until we get untagged versions elsewhere. Stephanie comes through again. Thanks, Stephanie:

Jake Gyllenhaal leaving a medical centre in Beverly Hills




There are more at the source - all in a similar vein. He doesn't look thrilled, but he also doesn't look miserable.

Hope everyone's having a good day. Will check in later. Talk amongst yourselves :)

(Photos courtesy of IHJ)

The magic of cell phone cameras and French interviewers

They might not have perfect clarity, but they get the message across.

Remember the hair stylist/designer who blogged about seeing Reese and Jake at the Rufus Wainwright/Belinda Carlisle concert on New Year's Eve? He has put up a couple of photos.

This is probably an egregious violation of ethics, but then again, this guy took a camera phone picture of people he doesn't know!



You can wish it were clearer or closer, but in the end, you really see everything you need to see.

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I found a really great feature on Rendition, with clips of interviews with Jake and Reese. Had to split it into two parts:

Canal+ Rendition Interview Part One

I laughed that they replaced Jake's version of the Streep/Sarsgaard scene with the scene itself. I think Jake must have mentioned that scene in every interview.

Canal+ Rendition Interview Part Two

I love it when interviewers ask slightly different questions. And I love it even more when Jake reveals a little about himself. Yes, Jake, you are the subject of much analysis!

(You can click on the "two parts" links above to see a larger version of the videos, which are courtesy of Canal+)

And the accolades keep coming.

Not much news in Gyllenworld these days. Well, except for the engagement rumors. :) But we've found a few timely tidbits.

The movie critic for the Charlotte Observer made a list of the 20 celebrities who've made the most indelible impression on him, for better or worse. This was my favorite entry:

Most stunning: Jake Gyllenhaal. Virtually all actors look better onscreen than in life. Gyllenhaal, chiseled and magnetic, is a rare exception. His female counterpart would be the jaw-dropping Bryce Dallas Howard.


The readers of Hello Magazine chose Jake and Reese as 2007's "coolest new couple," with more than two-thirds of the votes:


We know that Zodiac was nominated for a WGA award, but it was nice to see Rendition pop up on a best of 2007 list. From Cinema Confidential:

6. Rendition – A bomb goes off in South Africa that kills an American diplomat. Director Gavin Hood's powerful and headstrong drama about how errors in national security can lead to unmerited torture of legal immigrants. If Anwar (Omar Metwally) is indeed innocent, the time interrogating him is a waste and distraction from looking for the real terrorists. Invaluable supporting work from Reese Witherspoon as Anwar's American-born wife, Jake Gyllenhaal as a rookie CIA analyst, Meryl Streep as an unsympathetic member in the Senate. One thing was wrong in my original review: I predicted that it would become a box office hit. Perhaps it will engage all who discover it when it hits DVD and cable.


I finally got a chance to check out the Zodiac DVD extras. The non-Jake/RJD commentary made me wish for writer James Vanderbilt not to win the WGA award. He, producer Brad Fischer and especially novelist James Ellroy really irritated me. And they got much more time than Jake and RDJ. A lot of reviewers praised the trio. But I prefer the easy camraderie of Jake and Robert. Once more folks have had a chance to sample all the extras, we can discuss at greater length.

In the meantime, I did see a brief preview of the Rendition DVD.

A chamber-piece cousin to the symphonies of destruction that are Paul Greengrass’s “Bourne” films, Gavin Hood’s tale of torture in the war on terror is “Syriana” to scale. Its parts snap into place with a puzzle-box pace and a sharp script that hands four good actors (Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Alan Arkin and Meryl Streep) verbal daggers to hold at each other’s throats. ...

Extras include commentary from Hood, two featurettes and deleted and alternate scenes.



Disappointing that there's no Jake commentary, but I hope he is in a lot of the deleted or alternate scenes. What do you think the alternate opening scene for Jake would be like?

(Pictures courtesy of WireImage and IHJ)