Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan and Duncan Jones: empathetic in "Source Code"

"Jake Gyllenhaal joins the Hoyle Jackson launch party as they present their men's collection at Bloomingdales Santa Monica, with artist John Van Hamersveld, Friday evening, March 18, 2011, in Santa Monica, California. Credit: deedee deGelia New designer jeans brand Hoyle Jackson held a launch party at Bloomingdale’s Santa Monica, where the design team mingled with style mavens and denim devotee Jake Gyllenhaal joined in the fun". Source: thisisbrandx.com

"[Duncan] Jones knew the chemistry between the two leads would be paramount. He required an actress who was energetic, intelligent and 'cute', that's the word" he says, with a chuckle.
"When Jake and I first started talking about who could possibly play Christina, I immediately remembered how much I loved Michelle in 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang', the Shane Black film. There was a chemistry between her and Robert Downey Jr. that was unique. She was smart - I hate the word 'sassy' but that kind of encapsulates what it was. I thought, if we can capture that, it'll really work with Jake. He was going to be throwing so many different performances at her in these repetitions of an event. We really needed someone who was going to have that liveliness to be able to react to all of the different things he'd throw at her. So she was perfect."
"Honestly, it's not too hard to have a really good rapport with Jake," Monaghan says in a separate interview. "He's a terrific guy and a really supportive actor. For me, this is what drew me to the film - that it was reliving the same event over and over again and what I could do with nuance."Duncan's a really collaborative filmmaker. We would huddle in this train car for usually about a half hour, an hour, and really try to figure out what the arc of each source code was, what we wanted to achieve emotionally, what these characters needed to do. It was a really amazing exercise for an actor."The train scenes between Gyllenhaal's and Monaghan's characters were carefully structured so each would reveal new pieces of the puzzle Colter is desperately trying to solve, but they also invited improvisation to help the relationship grow organically.
Jake Gyllenhaal plays pilot Colter Stevens in "Source Code" directed by Duncan Jones

Jones says, "There were a lot of lines and things that came out purely from the improv, some of which we weren't able to put in the film, some of which didn't work, but it was just that sense of creativity and license to be able to do that which permeated that part of the shoot that made it very easy. That exuberance that comes across."
Monaghan says, "I remember it was one of the last source codes, (Gyllenhaal's character) says, 'I'm going to get us a cup of coffee, but I'm going to save the world first.' We improvised that scene and I said, 'I knew he was a keeper!' Everybody kind of giggled ... but they kept it in there. We watched it last night, and the audience loved it. It was a validation that Duncan's instincts were right about when the movie starts to take itself too seriously and when to pull back."
Film director Duncan Jones with his father, singer David Bowie, at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2009

But Jones maintains that those concerns alone "would not be enough to make me want to do a project, but the fact that is part of the material certainly appeals to me. But it has to be about, 'Can you feel empathetic toward this protagonist? Do you actually care what happens to them?' That's the most important thing". Source: www.sfgate.com