Jake Gyllenhaal, out for a stroll with sister Maggie in New York City

Jake Gyllenhaal, out for a stroll with sister Maggie in New York City, on April 5, 2012

"It's Always Fair Weather" (1955) extras

"It's Always Fair Weather" (1955) directed by Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly. Starring Gene Kelly, Cyd Charisse, Michael Kidd, Dan Dailey, Dolores Gray

Special Featurettes from "It's Always Fair Weather" DVD: Going Out on a High Note, 3 outtake musical numbers: "The Binge/Trashcan Dance" (alternate takes), "Jack and the Space Giants" (with Michael Kidd) and "Love Is Nothing but a Racket" (with Gene Kelly & Cyd Charisse); Two segments from "The MGM Parade" featuring Cyd Charisse and Gene Kelly; MGM cartoons: Deputy Droopy and Good Will to Men; Audio-only bonus: "I Thought They'd Never Leave" outtake featuring Dolores Gray's unused vocal; Trailer

Gene Kelly: "Cover Girl", "Lucky Guy" video

Gene Kelly and Rita Hayworth in "Cover Girl" (1944) directed by Charles Vidor

Kelly's "Alter-Ego" dance with his own reflection inspired his "Singin in the Rain" solo in the film of the same name several years later. Kelly said remembered..." I wanted to further the plot emotionally and not just be a musical interlude. But unless you're in a ballet, you just can't start to dance... so in 'Cover Girl' what I decided to do at this point was not state my thesis in a song, but in a few words which came over the soundtrack as if they were my 'stream of consciousness' and then go into a dance."

Stanley Donen said, "We would have to repeat the camera moves by ourselves, with Gene performing the dance twice to the prerecorded sound track. I knew it could be done by having him hit the same spots the second time as he did the first, which Gene could do, and then we could film it by having the camera hit the same marks both times, which I knew I could do." The amazing precision had a lot to do with Kelly's incredible ability... some called him the human metronome.

"Cover Girl" was a crucial turning point in Gene Kelly's career. He was a contract player at MGM, and he was antsy. He dreamed of reinventing the Hollywood musical inspired by the model created by choreographer Agnes De Mille on stage. In her landmark Broadway dances in Oklahoma, the dance evolved from the drama, instead of interrupting it.

He got his chance when Cover Girl's producer wanted to borrow him from MGM for the part of nightclub owner Danny McGuire opposite Rita Hayworth. Columbia's belligerent mogul, Harry Cohn, was reluctant. He considered Hayworth his protegé and protested, "That tough Irishman with his tough Irish mug? You must be joking. You couldn't put him in the same frame with my Rita." Source: www.moviediva.com


Gene Kelly ("Lucky Guy") video, featuring stills of Gene Kelly and co-stars. Soundtrack: "You're a lucky guy" by Tony Pastor, "Paradise" (performed by Helen Forrest, composed by Artie Shaw),"You, Wonderful You" (performed by Gene Kelly, composed by Jack Brooks and Saul Chaplin) and "For Me and My Gal" (performed by Judy Garland and Gene Kelly, composed by George W. Meyer).

"Living in a Big Way" (1947) by Gregory La Cava, starring Gene Kelly & Marie McDonald

Gene Kelly as Leo Gogarty and Marie McDonald as Margaud Morgan in "Living in a Big Way" (1947) directed by Gregory La Cava


Living in a Big Way (1947) directed by Gregory La Cava, starring Gene Kelly, Marie McDonald, Phyllis Thaxter, etc.

Gene Kelly didn't really want to make "Living in a Big Way". Since his release from the Navy, MGM had had little for him to do. The studio was focusing on bigger male stars who had been kept off the screen longer by military duty. In addition, executives weren't sure if the brash persona he had already developed in films like his debut, "For Me and My Gal" (1942), and "Anchors Aweigh" (1945) would play well in peacetime.

Still, he had enough of a fan following that his presence could bolster beauty queen Marie McDonald, whom MGM was trying to turn into a star to rival Lana Turner. Kelly didn't like the colorless role the script offered or the fact that he'd be teamed with an actress best known by the nickname her press agents had created, "The Body."

Gregory La Cava's improvisatory approach was a boon to Kelly. When the dancing star suggested adding some musical numbers to the film, La Cava was all too willing. Kelly and Donen staged a romantic duet for the courtship scenes with McDonald, a comic dance with a dog who, like Kelly, has been rejected by the leading lady, and a lengthy sequence in which Kelly seemingly improvises an athletic dance to entertain some children while he's building a house.

The dog dance gave Kelly a chance to choreograph around the character's persona, something he and Donen would explore further in the "Day in New York" ballet for On the Town. The improvisatory feel of the house-building routine would become a Kelly staple in films like "Summer Stock" (1950), "An American in Paris" (1951) and "Singin' in the Rain."

When the film was finally finished, it did poorly at the box office. Later critics have noted that La Cava's directions revealed a comic dimension to Kelly's acting that had not been exploited well before and that the film fits well with the director's other comic treatments of class warfare.

Screenplay: Gregory La Cava, Irving Ravetch
Based on a story by La Cava
Cinematography: Harold Rosson
Cast: Gene Kelly (Leo Gogarty), Marie McDonald (Margaud Morgan), Charles Winninger (D. Rutherford Morgan), Phyllis Thaxter (Peggy Randall), Spring Byington (Mrs. Morgan), Jean Adair (Abigail Morgan), Clinton Sundberg (Everett Hanover Smythe), Barbara Billingsley (G.I. Bill's Wife), Ellen Corby (Broken Arms' Sailors Wife), Charles Lane (Hawkins), Marie Windsor, Shelley Winters (Junior League Girls). Source: www.tcm.com

Gene Kelly is just so damn beautiful it hurts. He’s also such a great actor. In this film he is allowed a great range of emotions, as well as some truly stunning dance routines – choreographed by himself and Stanley Donen.

The film begins during the war – when Kelly’s Leo Gogarty meets Marie McDonald’s Margo at a dance and the two get themselves into one of those hasty “war marriages.” They also share a dance scene that is so hot they might have well have been having sex right there. The film then cuts to three years later, when the war is over and soldiers are returning home. As you can imagine, chaos ensues.

Apparently MGM wanted to use this film to launch McDonald as a Lana Turner type star. You can see they did a pretty good job with the ice blonde hair and styling, but as charming as McDonald is, she just doesn’t have “it” and Kelly outshines her so consistently it is hard to watch sometimes. Source: cinema-fanatic.com

Ellen Pompeo flirted with Jake Gyllenhaal 10 years ago, before filming "Moonlight Mile"

Jake Gyllenhaal in a promotional shoot of Moonlight Mile (2002)

Ellen Pompeo says that a young Jake Gyllenhaal, flirted with her during a chance meeting 10 years ago.

The Grey's Anatomy actress recalled walking into an audition only to find out that the young man she would be reading with was the same one she had randomly met.

"I had met Jake a couple of weeks prior on the sidewalk!" she told reporters at a recent press conference. "I walked into the room and I saw Jake and I said, 'Oh my God, it's you!' We sort of bumped into each other. He told me I was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen." "I said, 'He's 12! And maybe we'll see each other again and I should leave!' There were sparks, but we just bolted."

Ellen, 42, said that director Brad Silberling picked up on the tension between them.

"We were like, 'No, we don't know each other. We made love to each other not speaking on the sidewalk, but we don't' know each other!'" Ellen laughed.

Jake, 31, and Ellen ended up starring together in the 2002 film Moonlight Mile. Source: www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk

Gene Kelly: "It had to be you" video, The Making of "Summer Stock" with Judy Garland

Gene Kelly ("It had to be you") video: a musical video featuring stills of Gene Kelly and his partenaires Judy Garland, Cyd Charisse, Leslie Caron, Vera-Ellen, Mitzi Gaynor, Kay Kendall, Taina Elg, Lucille Ball, Pier Angeli, Lana Turner, Marie McDonald, Deanna Durbin, François Dorleac, etc., and the dance number from "Living in a big way" by Gregory La Cava. Soundtrack: "It Had To Be You" by Isham Jones Orchestra (performed by Gene Kelly), "Goodnight, sweetheart, it's time to go" by The Platters, "It Had To Be You" performed by Frank Sinatra, "Let's Dance" by Mike Love, "Dance, dance, dance" by The Beach Boys


Documentary about the making of the 1950 musical starring Judy Garland and Gene Kelly


The Making Of 'Summer Stock' (1950) PART 2

Jake Gyllenhaal attends 'A Celebration of Paul Newman's Dream' Benefit

Jake Gyllenhaal Talks To In Touch At "A Celebration Of Paul Newman's Dream" in NYC

Jake Gyllenhaal shopping at Gelson's Supermarket in Los Angeles - March, 27, 2012

Jake Gyllenhaal attends 'A Celebration of Paul Newman's Dream' Benefit - April 2, 2012

Elvis Costello, Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Groban, Tina Fey, and Jimmy Fallon took to the Lincoln Center stage Monday night at the Celebration of Paul Newman’s Dream, a benefit for the late actor’s Hole in the Wall Camps. Paul Simon thrilled the crowd with an acoustic rendition of “Sounds of Silence,” and Trisha Yearwood accompanied a group of campers in a song of their choosing, Miley Cyrus’s “Climb.” Source: www.vanityfair.com