WEIRDLAND: October 2008

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Total Film Magazine

In the December copy of Total Film Magazine it's featured "The Prince of Persia" in its headline as one of the important upcoming movie releases.

Total Film Magazine also alludes to the problems in the course of completing "Nailed" in an interview with Jessica Biel. Jessica Biel attending the London Film Festival, 29th October 2008.

Nailed's status is Post-production. Its filming was expected to wrap on June, but it's not over yet. This issue had been issued previously by Total Film:

"David O Russell's new flick Nailed is starting to get the air of a cursed project.

First James Caan walked off the flick, citing 'creative differences,' then stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Jessica Biel were forced to follow suite on Friday.

This time, the walk-out had nothing to do with the correct way to eat a cookie. Instead, the situation was a touch more serious.

According to the imdb, Gyllenhaal and Biel left after producers failed to assure them that they'd get paid for their work. Read that sentence again, even newspaper delivery boys can expect three quid at the end of their shift, so we're not surprised two of the hottest young actors in Hollywood decided they probably had better things to do with their time".

Source: www.totalfilm.com
"Elsewhere, we chat to our favourite Jessica (Biel) on her latest, Easy Virtue, and her forthcoming turns as a nympho, and a stripper. (You can see why she’s our favourite – Alba, Simpson... feel free to rise to the challenge)

We also speak to Leonardo Dicaprio about life, the universe, etc. and catch up with Baz Luhrmann, Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman on the set of the epic Australia. (We may even have squeezed in a bit of Wolverine chat too...)

As if that wasn’t enough, we’ve also got Part One of our countdown of The 150 Greatest Performances Of All Time*.

Plus!
* A cheeky chat with Russell Brand
* Some thoughts on Prince Of Persia

Source: www.totalfilm.com

*150 Greatest Performances of all time:
Joseph Gordon-Levitt has been voted at #124 Greatest Performance for "Mysterious Skin" in Total Film Magazine.

'I always thought his performance in Mysterious Skin was one of the best of 2004.

I’m not an actor but It would be interesting to know what it feels like to be in the same company as Charlie Chaplin, Steven McQueen, Richard Dreyfuss, Alec Guinness, Christian Bale, Kirk Douglas, James Dean, Julianne Moore, Forest Whitaker, Kanji Watanabe and Gena Rowlands. Whether that’s in the public eye or the critics eye.


My personal favourite performance of all time is tied as: Daniel Day Lewis for My Left Foot, Robert De Niro for both Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, Sean Penn for Mystic River and Peter Sellers for Being There . For sheer on-screen madness: Christian Bale for The Machinist. Or how about for pure laconic, imposing charisma: ’Beat’ Takeshi for Hana-bi. For sheer winsomeness: Audrey Tautou for Amelie. But to be honest its hard choosing one singular best performance out of so many commendable ones on display'. -by Zieges.
Source: www.hitrecord.org/forum

Emile Hirsch videos

Emile Hirsch (Missing you):


Emile Hirsch (Baby Face):

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Megaplex banned "Brokeback Mountain"

"Megaplex Theaters will not screen the comedy "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" when it opens nationwide Friday - once again opening the Utah theater chain to charges of hypocrisy for barring movies with strong sexuality but allowing films with graphic violence. The movie, which stars Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks as roommates who decide to make a sex film to pay off debts, received an R rating after director Kevin Smith successfully appealed an NC-17 ruling.
"People are really responding to the romantic-comedy part of the film," he said, comparing "Zack and Miri" to such hits as "Knocked Up" and "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," films that have played at Megaplex theaters.
"Zack and Miri" will play in about 2,800 theaters nationwide, Bunnell said. In Utah, the movie will screen at theaters owned by the Cinemark and Carmike chains, and at the not-for-profit Broadway.


The uproar over "Zack and Miri" is reminiscent of Megaplex owner Larry H. Miller's decision in January 2006 to pull "Brokeback Mountain," the Western drama starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal as gay sheep herders".

Source: www.sltrib.com

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

New Affiliate: Anna Paquin Online

We have a new affiliate with Anna-Paquin.net!

Anna Paquin with Jake as Jessica and Warren in the play "This is our youth" (2002).

"Just the sight of Warren's awkward dancing and over-eager snogging reduced me to tears of laughter and poignant recognition of my own distant youth. Gyllenhaal seizes all his chances as Warren, a beautiful and befuddled loser. But he also movingly suggests a lovable, vulnerable character just beginning to grow into maturity" -Charles Spencer, The Daily Telegraph

"...It is Jake Gyllenhaal as the sensitive Warren and Anna Paquin as the talkative Jessica that truly retrieves something from this mire! In fact, it is only when these two are together on the stage that the play has any real bite or interest in that we see real emotion being expressed." -Darren Dalglish, audience member

"There's an astute, funny sex scene in which Jake Gyllenhaal, a lumbering, puppyish and poignant Warren ends up bedding Anna Paquin's argumentative, nervy Jessica and emerges a new man. By so doing, he inexplicably breaks the sadistic hold that manipulative Dennis has over him and inexplicably shifts the dynamics of their friendship."
-Nicholas de Jong, Evening Standard

"As Warren in the American playwright Kenneth Lonergan's new play This Is Our Youth, Jake Gyllenhaal creates one of the great late-adolescent characters of recent drama. He's gauche, accident-prone, sweet. [...] This Is Our Youth is set in Manhattan in 1982; it's a kind of theatre cousin to Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, set in the era of sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll. As its two acts take Jake through one evening and the morning after, we begin to see him just starting to grow up, just starting to get a life of his own. It's extraordinary from how many sides we start to see him during the play, and the peaks and troughs to which his experience takes him. Gyllenhaal's performance is perfect - and so rounded that it takes a very long time till you even begin to like this Warren, let alone to realise that he's the central character in the play. I love his body-language: stiff, gawky, artless. [...]
And Anna Paquin catches brilliantly Jessica's assured/confused contradictions, taking her to the cusp of vivid caricature without ever sacrificing credibility".
-Alastair Macaulay, Financial Times

Anna Paquin with Jake Gyllenhaal attending the Evening Standard British Film Awards (2002).

Previously, Anna had played a supporting role as one of the band-aids, Polexia Aphrodisia, in "Almost Famous" (2000), directed by Cameron Crowe.
Here is a little video featuring stills of "Almost Famous", with Penny Lane (Kate Hudson), William Miller (Patrick Fugit) and Anna Paquin:

Grey hoodie covering Jake's hair

"Jake Gyllenhaal covers up underneath his hoodie and a pair of aviators after landing in London on Monday to pick up filming on Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.

Lately, the 27-year-old actor has been wearing a lot of hats, hoodies and bandanas on his head lately to cover up his mane of hair.

Sands of Time is set in medieval Persia about the story of adventurous Prince Dastan (Gyllenhaal) who teams up with a rival princess to stop an angry ruler from unleashing a sandstorm that could destroy the world. The film is set to release in May 2010 and also stars Sir Ben Kingsley as Nizam, the angry ruler".
Source: JustJared.buzznet.com

Michelle Williams in "Wendy and Lucy"

"Wendy Carroll (Michelle Williams) is driving to Ketchikan, Alaska, in hopes of a summer of lucrative work at the Northwestern Fish cannery, and the start of a new life with her dog, Lucy. When her car breaks down in Oregon, however, the thin fabric of her financial situation comes apart, and she confronts a series of increasingly dire economic decisions, with far-ranging repercussions for herself and Lucy. "Wendy and Lucy" addresses issues of sympathy and generosity at the edges of American life, revealing the limits and depths of people's duty to each other in tough times."

It has that personal photographic style I love in indie films and it looks like a piece of growing desperation".
Source: www.quietearth.us

"Wendy and Lucy" Trailer:

Ashley Tisdale's crush on Jake

"Ashley Tisdale, best known as Sharpay in Highschool musical has a crush on Jake! When asked who she would go to prom with, she immediately said "Jake Gyllenhaal".

Ashley also appeared as an extra in "Donnie Darko".

Watch a video interview with Ashley Tisdale by the CW11 Morning News.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Love is strange, but it works

Elisha Cuthbert had her big breakthroug role in "The girl next door" (2004), a romantic comedy co-starred with Emile Hirsch. She has a slight resemblance with Kirsten Dunst in some pictures (also with Deborah Harry)."Elisha Cuthbert is at the Beach Is it just me, or is she channeling Kirsten Dunst here?"
Source: www.idontlikeyouinthatway.com

How many of our friends and acquaintances have reproached our movie obsessions or crushes with actors as Jake, they make feel us a bit uncomfortable and guilty, don't they? And we often don't know how to explain them that we are smart enough to differentiate our insane dreams of the (not always so likeable) reality. But I found a great post of a fan of Elisha Cuthbert in the forum of www.elisha-fans.com trying to enlighten all these boring folks who are immune and indifferent to movie fetishes and actors, and this guy poured some free truths, so are they lucky or are we lucky? Read this post and replace in it the word Elisha by Jake and all will make sense!

Topic: "Why people love Elisha Cuthbert"

Love is strange, but it works.

"I guess, for me, she brightened my life up a little. Everyone struggles at different stages in life, and when you have someone to follow/admire, it makes it all so much easier.

I used to think about her, and just smile to myself. Its funny though, because in my opinion, loving is about that special "feeling" towards someone. I tell you, I feel so strongly for that woman that sometimes I wish I never laid eyes upon her. She's purely one of a kind. The way she makes me feel somtimes? Its love. I don't care what anyone tells me, I understand this one. Love doesn't have to be mutual in my eyes. There are just different types of "love". If someone says they can give you an absolute definiton of the word "love", they're wrong. Its unexplainable... Its untouchable. It always lasts, no matter what. I'll always care for Elisha, and I'll always pause and wonder what she's doing.

And they have only seen what she is like in her interviews, people have many different sides and i dont think its possible to actually love them until you know all of them (quote from a previous poster in the thread)

Hmm... I understand that. But, listen. Something clicked... I completely fell for one of her "sides", I don't know which one. But, the way that emotion makes me feel is... Special. Therefore, I love her for making me happy. I love her for making me think about life. I love her for introducing me to that very special "side" of hers, which made me wonder". -posted by HeeshLove on Fri Aug 15, 2008 1:26 am

All of us here in Weirdland have experienced this from time to time towards Jake, and although sometimes we feel as huge losers we don't need to apologize for it, ok? this is a video for Jake, "Pledging my love":

Sunday, October 26, 2008

A Famous PSA: Why Tuesday?


A famous actress, Kirsten Dunst, gives her perspective about voting. Directed by Derek Waters, creator of Drunk History.

Emile Hirsch (Hate it here when you're gone)


A musical video featuring images of Emile Hirsch and stills from his movies "Into the wild", "The girl next door", "Alpha Dog", "Speed Racer", "Milk", etc. and the song "Hate it here" by Wilco.

Jake & Reese - Breakfast in Santa Monica

"Jake Gyllenhaal and girlfriend Reese Witherspoon enjoy breakfast together at a restaurant in Santa Monica, Calif., on Thursday morning.

The couple held hands and smiled lovingly at each other. Later in the day, Gyllenspoon took their romance on the road and jogged a few miles together.

Jake has been busy filming his new movie, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, slated to be released in the summer of 2010".
Source: justjared.buzznet.com

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Don't call me babe Video



A video featuring images of some Hollywood actors, as Jake Gyllenhaal, Ellen Page, Evan Rachel Wood, Emile Hirsch, Naomi Watts, Kirsten Dunst, etc. and stills from the films "Thirteen", "Juno", "Rendition", "Ellie Parker", "An american crime", "Smart people", "The Tracey fragments", "The girl next door", "Down in the valley", etc.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Ang Lee's Taking Woodstok

"Oscar-winning director Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain, The Ice Storm) and his producer partner James Schamus are dialing back to 1969 in their current project Taking Woodstock. Based on a true story, Demetri Martin stars as interior designer Elliot Tiber, who inadvertently played a pivotal role in Woodstock when he offered his family’s Catskills hotel to organizers as a home base, while his neighbor Max Yasgur (Eugene Levy) offered his farm. The eclectic cast also includes Liev Schreiber, Paul Dano, Emile Hirsch and Zoe Kazan. “The cast is insanely fresh,” producer James Schamus told RollingStone.com. “It’s an amazing bunch of people. You look around and I can’t believe we’re getting away with this.”
The project marks a departure from the bleak territory that Lee has traditionally stalked. “We’ve had some very intense movies,” said Schamus, who adapted the screenplay for Taking Woodstock from a book by Elliot Tiber and Tom Monte. “This is about play and fun and has hopeful spirit.” And with two noted comedians in the leads, it promises to be funny. You can partially thank the producer’s young daughter for casting of Martin, the shaggy mop-topped comic whose few screen credits include guesting on Flight of the Conchords and The Daily Show. Schamus and his daughter had been casually scouting YouTube for talent and came across a clip of Martin’s mellowed-out act. “It was a chance for me to be a really hip dad, so I mentioned him,” Schamus said. “He’s great and really funny. What’s interesting is that he’s like a tsunami underneath calm water.”

As for the music, Schamus and Lee are trying to avoid cliches while still honoring time-tested material. “Ang and I are score-oriented,” Schamus said. “It’s in the early stages, but I can tell you it’s not going to the be the usual collection of obvious needle drops. It will be of the time, and of the spirit of the time. It’s whatever works dramatically.”

Taking Woodstock aims to reflect the social unrest of the 1960s, but also mirrors modern times, complete with a “disastrous imperial war and a corrupt government and people struggling to express themselves.” Source: www.rollingstone.com

''The mud's pretty cold,'' says Emile Hirsch, explaining what it's like on the upstate New York set of Ang Lee's Taking Woodstock, a behind-the-scenes look at how the 1969 music fest came together. ''It's later in the year than it was during Woodstock [which actually took place in August]. We were all shivering, and we had these silver-foil space blankets that miraculously keep you really warm.'' But they don't keep you clean: ''I did a Superman slide down a hill, and started turning on my back,'' he says with glee". Source: www.ew.com

"Taiwan-born film director and Oscar winner Ang Lee is tackling a new movie project, a comedy this time, about America’s famous Woodstock music festival in 1969. Titled “Taking Woodstock”, and adapted by longtime Lee collaborator James Schamus, the movie stems from a book of the same name by U.S. writer Elliot Tiber.
Tiber’s memoir, co-written with Tom Monte, was published with in 2007 and subtitled “A True Story of a Riot, a Concert, and a Life”.

It’s set for a premiere in New York on June 26, 2009, just in time for the 40th anniversary of the famous Woodstock concert .

What does the title of the book, and the movie mean? Inquiring minds on both sides of the Pacific want to know, and one industry insider told Rush PR News what he knows.

“Taking Woodstock’” means two things: Taking stock of your life and, in a sense, control of your destiny — and also taking the experience of Woodstock, and what that cultural event meant, with you for the rest of your life, according to the industry insider. A marketing maven at the publishing house in New York came up with the phrase, he added".
Source: www.rushprnews.com

Don't call me babe Video

Prince of Persia poster

We Have the Brand New Poster for the upcoming Game-Adaptation-to-Movie, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Finally.

Synopsis Goes Like this:

"Passing through India en route to Azad, King Sharaman and his son, the Prince of Persia, defeat the powerful Maharajah of India with the promise of honor and glory. After looting the city and capturing a giant hourglass full of sand, a mysterious dagger, and the Maharajah's daughter Farah along with other treasures, they continue to Azad. A dying Vizier, who had betrayed the Maharajah and aided King Sharaman in return for a share of the spoils, demands to have the dagger, as he was promised his choice of the Maharajah's treasures. But Sharaman refuses to take the dagger from his son, who captured it first. So the Vizier, who wishes to harness the power of the sands in the hourglass for himself, making him an immortal god and giving him control over time itself, tricks the Prince into opening the hourglass. When the Prince uses the dagger to unleash the Sands of Time from the hourglass, the Sands destroy the kingdom and turn all living beings into hideous sand creatures. Only the Prince, the Vizier, and Princess Farah, the kidnapped daughter of the Maharajah, remain unchanged due to their possessions; the Prince's dagger, the Vizier's staff and Farah's medallion."
Source: blogs.ign.com

Most promising videogame adaptation?

"it’s time to tabulate the results from last week’s poll! We asked you guys to tell us which of the video game movies currently in development would be the least likely to suck. Far and away the top 2 responses were Bioshock (directed by Gore Verbinski) and Prince of Persia (directed by Mike Newell and starring Jake Gyllenhaal). I think most of us can agree that those adaptations have some potential. What was quite surprising, however, was the fact that Max Payne still managed to be #3 in the poll with 13% of the votes — even after it had already been released to terrible reviews! God of War and Gears of War rounded out the top 5. Are there any others that we missed?"

1. Bioshock — 33.6%
2. Prince of Persia — 26.9%
3. Max Payne — 13.4%
4. God of War — 7.5%
5. Gears of War — 6.7%
6. Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li — 4.5%
7. Onimusha — 2.2%
7. Clock Tower — 2.2%
7. Castlevania — 2.2%
10. Lost Planet — 0.7%
Source: www.filmjunk.com

Thursday, October 23, 2008

The new Prince game

"This franchise reboot leaves the last PoP trilogy behind for an all-new story: When a battle between the warring gods of light and darkness destroys the mythical Tree of Life, the world falls prey to the Corruption, spreading shadows that threaten to swallow mankind whole. The new Prince, a mysterious wandering swordsman, agrees to help Elika, a plucky and comely mystic trying to set things right. In fact, she's a sophisticated AI helpmate who'll aid you in solving puzzles, fighting bad guys, and traversing the game's vast landscapes. From what we've seen, this PoP harks back to the series' best iterations, with gorgeous art direction, acrobatic derring-do, and a vibe straight out of the Arabian Nights. Here's hoping the upcoming movie, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, measures up". —Evan Narcisse
Source: www.ew.com

Jake with Avril Lavigne on MTV TRL

Jake Gyllenhaal appears on stage with Avril Lavigne during MTV's Total Request Live at the MTV Times Square Studios May 25, 2004 in New York City.
(Photo by Scott Gries/Getty Images)

Heath Ledger in Dr. Parnassus

"A brand new photo from "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" has come out. Brought forward by Slash Film, the picture posted in the news photo displays Heath Ledger as his mysterious outsider role, Tony. It can also be seen that the late actor kneels in front of what seems to be the magic mirror through which Tony travels parallel worlds". Source: www.acceshowbiz.com
"/Film reader David D sent over this new photo of Heath Ledger in his last movie, Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is a fantastical morality tale, set in the present day. It tells the story of Dr Parnassus and his extraordinary ‘Imaginarium’, a traveling show where members of the audience get an irresistible opportunity to choose between light and joy or darkness and gloom. Blessed with the extraordinary gift of guiding the imaginations of others, Dr Parnassus is cursed with a dark secret. Long ago he made a bet with the devil, Mr Nick, in which he won immortality. Many centuries later, on meeting his one true love, Dr Parnassus made another deal with the devil, trading his immortality for youth, on condition that when his first-born reached its 16th birthday he or she would become the property of Mr Nick.
Valentina is now rapidly approaching this ‘coming of age’ milestone and Dr Parnassus is desperate to protect her from her impending fate. Mr Nick arrives to collect but, always keen to make a bet, renegotiates the wager. Now the winner of Valentina will be determined by whoever seduces the first five souls. Enlisting a series of wild, comical and compelling characters in his journey, Dr Parnassus promises his daughter’s hand in marriage to the man that helps him win. In this captivating, explosive and wonderfully imaginative race against time, Dr Parnassus must fight to save his daughter in a never-ending landscape of surreal obstacles - and undo the mistakes of his past once and for all. Currently in post-production, Parnassus should be arriving at a theater near you sometime in 2009".
Source: www.shashfilm.com

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Culinary parties


Jake told Ellen he can whip up a meal in two-and-a-half minutes, so she put him to the test on today's show. October, 2007.
"Jake Gyllenhaal is developing a new organic restaurant venture with top cook Chris Fisher.

Sources claim the movie star once promised himself he’d open a top-end eatery if his acting career took off by the time he was 30. He’s 27.

And Gyllenhaal, who has made regular appearances on top chef Mario Batali’s hit U.S. cookery show Molto Mario, is getting serious about cooking up a restaurant."
Source: poponthepop.blogspot.com
"Our thanks, too, to the exceptionally talented Chris Fischer and pastry chef Gina DePalma for making last night's dinner so unforgettably delicious.

Chris shows himself to be equally adept at pasta, fish, and meat — not to mention vegetables. We were stunned (as it's not the kind of dish we typically rave about) to encounter the single best potato salad we've ever tasted in our lives: a "Primavera Salad" that's a medley of tiny flavor-packed potatoes straight from the Union Square Greenmarket served over Pecorino with a liberal drizzle of olive oil. We were also blown away by everything from the bass with grilled fruits to the porcini-crusted steak. At 26, Chris Fischer is definitely a young talent worth keeping an eye on". Source: www.becomingachef.com
"Perhaps the only celebrity not getting into the food biz is Jake Gyllenhaal, who was recently reported biking around Italy with Reese Witherspoon investigating concepts for an L.A. organic restaurant. But his reps now say that the announcement was just as insubstantial as a parmesan foam topping".
Source: www.variety.com