WEIRDLAND: November 2012

Friday, November 30, 2012

Jake Gyllenhaal cooks 'Beastie Boys' style


Anna Kendrick and Jake Gyllenhaal eating their wedding cake in "End Of Watch" (2012)

"If I wasn't acting I'd be a cook, or working on the line in a kitchen, which is actually a dream of mine, so I'd be doing that," Jake told BBC Radio One.

"I don't have anything I like to cook especially but I like to go down to the farmers' market and then cook with what's in season. I like to go back to the old school, Beastie Boys style with my cooking. It's all about the fresh produce!"

"I ran into Lily Allen yesterday. Yes, she is a bit of a British icon. We were at a restaurant and she was there having lunch. She was going to see my movie End of Watch, coincidently, at the time of speaking. I've met her before, her mum produced the movie called Proof that I was in with Gwyneth Paltrow," Jake explained. "I knew her then, which was before she started singing. When I knew her then she was a teenager, and she's the same now!"

"I pride myself on being brutally honest, I always say something honest but the other person doesn't always like it. I'll then have to make up for it by sending flowers or something," Jake admitted. "I do have a lot of actor pals, but actually most of my pals aren't. They are not a scary as me. I like to be the centre of attention at dinner parties [laughing]." Source: www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk

MSN Movies Live Chat with Jake Gyllenhaal:

-Are there any particular roles you'd like to play that you haven't get? A particular type of character? Also what director would you most like to work with in the future? by Ben Wellings 11:35 AM

-Jake Gyllenhaal: I would love to work with Jean Jacques Audiard or Paul Thomas Anderson, and there are some, I would love one day maybe to play Joe Namath, famous football star, but to me a movie is all about relationships and the reality of those relationships and how honest they are. So very rarely is it about a character or a person, it's more about the heart of the script and the heart of the director telling that story. Source: movies.uk.msn.com

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Ask Jake Gyllenhaal a question in MSN Movies

End of Watch (2012) -For Your Consideration Ad- featuring Michael Peña and Jake Gyllenhaal

"Gyllenhaal will join us at MSN Movies hq at 10am on Friday 30 November to talk about his acclaimed new crop thriller End Of Watch. And YOU (yes, YOU!) get to join in the chat!

Just head over to our webchat page and hit 'comment now' to submit a question. All questions will go into moderation and Jake will be answering the best of them live!

You can also hit us on Twitter on @msnents with the hashtag #msnjake. Jake and the rest of us will see you at 10am on Friday! Source: movies.uk.msn.com

I've already anticipated my question via Twitter, although the chat isn't available until tomorrow at 10 am, Friday. Question for Jake Gyllenhaal (from Jake Weird): Is it important having good chemistry with your co-stars, like Anna Kendrick?

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Rosario Dawson & Josh Hartnett in "Parts Per Billion", Josh Hartnett ("Someday Soon") video

Rosario Dawson as Gail in "Sin City" (2005)

Josh Hartnett as The Man in "Sin City" (2005)

Frank Langella ("Robot and Frank"), Gena Rowlands ("Yellow"), Rosario Dawson ("Sin City") and Josh Hartnett ("Black Hawk Down") have signed on to star in “Parts Per Billion,” the producers told TheWrap. Brian Horiuchi is directing from his own screenplay, with Molly Hassell ("Edmond"), Jennifer Levine ("Delirious"), Michael Benaroya ("Lawless") and David Dickson producing. Joe Jenckes ("Margin Call") will be executive producing with Dawson, Cotty Chub and Arianne Fraser. Benaroya Pictures, through its AKA/BSF label, is financing the ensemble film that tells the story of three couples dealing with a reality-shaking event that threatens to tear them apart. Source: www.thewrap.com


Josh Hartnett ("Someday Soon") video: A video featuring pictures of Josh Hartnett and his co-stars Kirsten Dunst in "The Virgin Suicides", Kate Beckinsale in "Pearl Harbor", Julia Stiles in "O", Shannyn Sossamon in "40 Days and 40 Nights", Diane Kruger and Rose Byrne in "Wicker Park", Marley Shelton in "Sin City", Radha Mitchell in "Mozart and the Whale", Lucy Liu in "Lucky Number Slevin", Scarlett Johansson, Hilary Swank and Mia Kirshner in "The Black Dahlia", Melissa George in "30 Days of Night", Naomi Watts in "Rain Man", and stills from "The Faculty", "Black Hawk Down", "Resurrecting the Champ", "August", "Bunraku", "Singularity", etc.

Happy Anniversary, Gloria Grahame!


Happy Anniversary, Gloria Grahame!

Gloria Grahame in Human Desire (1954) directed by Fritz Lang

Soundtrack: "Gloria" by The Cadillacs and "There She Goes Again" by The Velvet Underground

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Donnie Darko and The Faculty

Jake Gyllenhaal in People magazine, November 2012

Josh Hartnett, photoshoot by Kurt Iswarienko (2012)

"Donnie Darko" is the first of its type—the surrealist teen schizo angst comedy (Static, Repo Man, Heathers, Parents, etc)—to successfully pull all the elements together and forge them into a genuine work of art. it has depth both of meaning and of feeling; it comes from the heart and not just the head. Donnie Darko is teen comedy romance spliced with hallucinatory horror movie, and yet the splicing is seamless, invisible and impeccable. Except in the early high school scenes (which the director seems to be deliberately undermining by speeding up the images and drowning out the sound), there’s never a sense of watching a cross genre movie. In fact Donnie Darko doesn’t seem like a genre movie at all, principally because it isn’t. It’s closer to Blue Velvet than The Faculty: It’s a rite of passage, a mythological journey. Donnie Darko is a schizo movie about adolescence in which objective reality (so far as there is one, which is debatable) is even weirder than the subjective reality of the schizo himself. Source: hollywoodwilleatitself.tumblr.com

Of the smallish tradition of American black comedies that have utilized a high school setting--Heathers, Rushmore, Election, The Faculty (I insist it's a comedy), none has done so more effectively than Darko. Donnie's school, Middlesex, is lorded over by a grotesque bronze mascot, half-man, half-bulldog, known as the Mongrel, and this bizarre piece of statuary informs the character of the school, a place where self-help guru Jim Cunningham (a perfectly cast Patrick Swayze) is regaled by half the faculty, reviled by the other half, and whose student body has the paranoid cohesion of patients on a mental ward. Gyllenhaal, by turns menacing, vulnerable, and funny, brilliantly assists his director in conveying the emotional substance of the film, and the remainder of the cast--notably Katharine Ross as Donnie's psychiatrist, and Mary McDonnell and Holmes Osborne as his well-intended but bewildered parents--complements his performance. If Darko had been better distributed and given a sufficient advertising budget, I'm convinced that Gyllenhaal would have a chance for an Oscar nomination. Source: www.sfsite.com

20 Best Horror Movies Of the 1990′s: "The Faculty": "When we were in school we all thought our teachers were aliens from outter space and in the case of The Faculty they really are. Written by Scream scribe Kevin Williamson and directed by Robert Rodriguez The Faculty is an outstanding teen horror film that evolves around a group of students who must unite to not just take back their school but also save the world. The film stars Elijah Wood and Josh Hartnett as well as the stunning Selma Hayek who plays a ‘school nurse’… if only she really was." Source: www.horror-movies.ca

“And I thought that maybe I could give you a taste of my world. A world without anger, without fear, without attitude. Where the underachiever goes home at night to parents who care. The jock can be smart, the ugly duckling beautiful, and the class wuss doesn’t have to live in terror. The new girl - well - the new girl she can just fit right in with anybody. People who are just like her. You see Casey, even Mary-Beth’s feelings can be hurt by a bunch of pathetic, lost, little outcasts who truly believe that their disaffected lonely life is the only way they can survive.” -Marybeth Louise Hutchinson (Laura Harris) in The Faculty

"This smart, involving sci-fi picture, set in an Ohio high school, pays homage to several genre faves, notably Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The Thing.

But more surprising is the nod to The Breakfast Club, with peer group pressure, disaffected teens rebelling against 'alien' adult authority figures, and Duvall's miserablist Goth, Stokely, a dead ringer for Ally Sheedy's shy, neurotic Allison. The neatly worked scenario pits a disparate group of Herrington High students against teachers who've been transformed by an alien parasite into smily, emotionless drones. Forced to work together, the kids put aside their differences, using their newly discovered collective strength to fight the common alien foe. But since affected humans show no outward signs of having been 'turned', even this tightknit group is riven by suspicion and paranoia. Rodriguez opts for a slow build-up, using John Carpenter style framing and fluid camera movements to generate creepy suspense, before pushing in close to engage with the threatened teens." Source: www.timeout.com


Some clips from "The Faculty" (1998) directed by Robert Rodriguez, starring Josh Hartnett, Elijah Wood, Jordana Brewster, Clea DuVall, Laura Harris and Shawn Hatosy.

Friday, November 23, 2012

Josh Hartnett & Radha Mitchell in "Mozart and the Whale", Intelligence and Behaviour


"Mozart and the Whale" (2005): A love story between two savants with Asperger's syndrome, a kind of autism, whose conditions sabotage their budding relationship. Director: Petter Næss, Writer: Ronald Bass, Stars: Josh Hartnett, Radha Mitchell, John Carroll Lynch and Gary Cole

Radha Mitchell and Josh Hartnett as Isabella and Donald in "Mozart and the Whale" (2005) directed by Petter Næss

'Mozart and The Whale' is the type of movie where an intense subject is broached, and the audience gets to experience a different kind of relationship movie. Centrally, the two main characters suffer from Asperger's syndrome, which is a form of Autism that differs from some better-known variations. With Asperger's, intelligence generally remains constant (or inflated), but there exists extreme deficiencies in social and communication skills. It is evident from the start of the film that the characters have a tough time "fitting in", and it becomes quite apparent that they are on their own for the most part.

Both Hartnett and Mitchell are exemplary in depicting their characters, and the story doesn't throw any flashy sequences or special effects into it to mess up the subtleties of the writing. I think in that regard the story really succeeds in conveying how difficult their relationship is, and just how hard they each have to work at something to make it succeed. Source: www.epinions.com

"Our intelligence and behaviour requires optimal functioning of a large number of genes, which requires enormous evolutionary pressures to maintain. Now, in a provocative theory, a team from Stanford University claim we are losing our intellectual and emotional capabilities because the intricate web of genes which endows us with our brain power is particularly vulnerable to mutations - and these mutations are not being selected against our modern society because we no longer need intelligence to survive. But we shouldn't lose any sleep over our diminishing brain power - as by the time it becomes a real problem technology will have found a solution making natural selection obsolete." Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Kristen Stewart and Kirsten Dunst in "On The Road", Josh Hartnett video

Kristen Stewart in "On The Road" (2012) directed by Walter Salles

'On the Road' is a big departure for Stewart, whose character, Marylou, daringly explores sexuality, drug use and heartbreak over the course of a meandering cross-country road trip. Ask if she's leaning toward making more indies vs. big-budget blockbusters, and she'll tell you that the level of risk feels the same regardless. Her favorite road trip? "The one that I took right before I did On the Road, probably," she said. "We had to cram it into three days. I went to many diners." Source: www.usatoday.com

Kirsten Dunst, Garrett Hedlund and Kristen Stewart attending the Toronto International Film Festival on September 6, 2012

James Franco: "I saw On the Road at the Toronto Film Festival."

Kirsten Dunst plays Camille in "On The Road" (2012)

Kirsten Dunst and Josh Hartnett in "The Virgin Suicides" (1999) directed by Sofia Coppola

James Franco: "I remember auditioning for that movie three or four years ago opposite Josh Hartnett -- needless to say neither of us got the roles based on young Kerouac and Cassady.

I played young Ginsberg in 'Howl' soon after that. It has taken a long time for 'On the Road' to come out and over the course of those 50 years the material has changed, because we have changed. When Marlon Brando died, an unanswered letter from Kerouac, written in the '60s, was found in his house."

"The letter asked Brando to play Dean Moriarty opposite Kerouac as Sal Paradise; I'm pretty sure the idea was to actually drive across the country on the routes that were depicted in the book and film the adventure on 8 mm. This sounds like an amazing idea, and I'm sad that Brando never took him up on it. The other funny part about that story is that I heard Kerouac actually hung around The Actors Studio for a while because he was thinking about dabbling in acting and filmmaking (see also Robert Frank's Pull My Daisy, the narration for which Kerouac wrote and read -- Ginsberg stars); an impulse that shows his need to break from the page after his initial brush with and extreme dislike of literary fame; an impulse that probably pushed Kesey and the Pranksters onto the road after he wrote Cuckoo's Nest and Sometimes a Great Notion (the idea of behavior and film as writing); the same impulse that pushed Kaprow to move from the canvas into performative Happenings." Source: www.huffingtonpost.com


A video featuring pictures of Josh Hartnett and his co-stars Kirsten Dunst in "The Virgin Suicides", Kate Beckinsale in "Pearl Harbor", Julia Stiles in "O", Shannyn Sossamon in "40 Days and 40 Nights", Diane Kruger in "Wicker Park", Marley Shelton in "Sin City", Radha Mitchell in "Mozart and the Whale", Lucy Liu in "Lucky Number Slevin", Scarlett Johansson, Hilary Swank and Mia Kirshner in "The Black Dahlia", Melissa George in "30 Days of Night", Naomi Watts in "Rain Man", and stills from "The Faculty", "Black Hawk Down", "Resurrecting the Champ", "August", etc.

Songs "Sick of Goodbyes" by Cracker, "Playboy" by The Marvellettes and "Excitable Boy" by Warren Zevon
Jake Gyllenhaal attending the 'New Eyes For The Needy' 80th Anniversary Gala on November 19, 2012 in New York City

Jake Gyllenhaal knows a good cause when he sees one. The End of Watch actor was honored Monday night at FIJI Water's New Eyes for the Needy 80th Anniversary dinner, held at Colicchio & Sons in New York, for his work with the organization. "Jake, who brought his mom as his date, talked at length to the small room – and he didn't even have to give a speech! – he shared some personal stories from childhood," an onlooker tells PEOPLE.

Gyllenhaal explained to guests that he got involved with the organization as a child because his grandpa, a doctor, made him donate his eyeglasses every time his prescription changed. He added that while "all his friends were trying to save the seals, he maintained 'If you can't see the seals, how can you help them?' " the source adds.Sporting a beard, Gyllenhaal and his mom sat next to How to Make It in America actress Lake Bell and her fiancé Scott Campbell. Source: www.people.com

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Happy Anniversary, Evelyn Keyes!

Happy Anniversary, Evelyn Keyes!

As a teenager, Keyes took voice, dance and piano lessons. Working as a chorus girl she performed for local clubs such as the Daughters of the Confederacy. Keyes moved to California at age twenty and shortly after her arrival in Los Angeles, a chance meeting with legendary director/producer Cecil B. Demille led to a Paramount contract. Her first role with DeMille was a small part in his pirate epic “The Buccaneer” (1938). After roles in a small handful of B movies she had another small part in a DeMille movie, the sprawling railroad saga “Union Pacific” (1939). It was David O. Selznick who gave her the part of Suellen O’Hara, who loses her beau to the more calculating Scarlett in “Gone with the Wind” (1939).

Keyes then signed with Columbia Pictures and in 1941, she played an ingenue role in “Here Comes Mr. Jordan”. She spent most of the early 1940s playing leads in many of Columbia’s B dramas and mysteries. She appeared as the female lead opposite Larry Parks in Columbia’s blockbuster hit “The Jolson Story” (1946) and as Kathy Flannigan in “Mrs. Mike” (1949). Keyes’ last major film role was a small part as Tom Ewell’s vacationing wife in “The Seven Year Itch” (1955), which starred Marilyn Monroe. Keyes officially retired in 1956, but continued to act, appearing occasionally on television in shows such as “Love Boat” and “Murder She Wrote” among others.

Evelyn Keyes was married four times. The first to Barton Oliver Bainbridge Sr. from 1938 until his death from suicide in 1940. She then married director Charles Vidor in 1943. They divorced in 1945. Her next marriage was to actor/director John Huston on July 23, 1946. They divorced in February of 1950. Keyes last marriage was to bandleader Artie Shaw in 1957 and lasted until their divorce in 1985. While married to Huston, the couple adopted a Mexican child, Pablo, whom Huston had discovered while on the set of “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” (1948). Source: www.classiccinemagold.com

Evelyn Keyes is one of the six dames featured in Eddie Muller's book "Dark City Dames: The Wicked Women of Film Noir" (2001)

John Payne and Evelyn Keyes in "99 River Street" (1953) directed by Phil Karlson

"Tab Hunter's willingness to fly up from Santa Barbara to accept Muller's invitation to introduce '99 River Street' and 'Hell´s Half Acre' indicates a loving friendship with Evelyn Keyes, which made me respect him all the more. Hunter peppered his introduction with the memory of Evelyn Keyes looking at herself on the screen, exclaiming: "There's star quality! Look at those tits!"

Keyes was quite the character apparently and—according to author and Noir City 5 co-producer Alan K. Rode, with whom I had a charming chat last night—both Hunter and Muller cleaned up their remembrances somewhat, not wanting to offend their audience. Maybe one of these days over a lucky single malt, I'll get to hear what was respectfully omitted. For now, it was such a pleasure to experience Noir City 5's tribute to Evelyn Keyes; a double-punch I didn't mind taking on the chin." Source: twitchfilm.com


On Thursday, Jan. 17, author and noir expert Eddie Muller (Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir) will join TCM host Robert Osborne to present five memorable thrillers from the 1950s.

The lineup is set to feature Cry Danger (1951), with Dick Powell and Rhonda Fleming; 99 River Street (1953), starring John Payne and Evelyn Keyes; Tomorrow is Another Day (1951), with Ruth Roman and Steve Cochran; The Breaking Point (1950), starring John Garfield and Patricia Neal;

and The Prowler (1951), starring Van Heflin and Evelyn Keyes. Source: mediaconnectiononline.com