Early in his career Jake seemed to pick movies even more by the director than the screenplay. It looked like he was creating his own film school working with some of the best directors in the business. Each brought a difference to the screen, then seem to be change - an evolution perhaps? Jake started working with "young" directors - those with only a few movie under their belt or those directors who had success outside of mainstream Hollywood, with a sprinkle here and there of a bigger name.
So here's the question: Which director do you think had
Had best Director/Actor relationship with him?
Seem to have the best off screen rapport?
Captured the best performance from Jake?
Who influenced Jake the most?
Who was the most challenging?
Who do you think Jake respected the most?
Didn't work as an actor director?
October Sky - Joe Johnston
Donnie Darko - Richard Kelly
Bubble Boy - Blaire Hayes
Lovely & Amazing - Nicole Holofcener
The Good Girl - Miguel Arteta
Highway - James Cox
Moonlight Mile - Brad Silberling
The Day After Tomorrow - Roland Emmerich
Proof - John Madden
Jarhead - Sam Mendes
Brokeback Mountain - Ang Lee
Zodiac - David Fincher
Rendition - Gavin Hood
Brothers - Jim Sheridan
Prince of Persia - Mike Newell
Love & Other Drugs - Ed Zwick
Source Code - Duncan Jones
End of Watch - David Ayer
Prisoners - Denis Villeneuve
And including two not seen on screen but based on off screen:
Nailed - David O. Russell
An Enemy - Denis Villeneuve
There was a profile of Russell in the New York TImes Sunday magazine this past week, and it didn't even mention Nailed. It was strange, because it said there was a big gap in film-making before Fighters, which is not true. Seems like he wants to distance himself from Nailed.
ReplyDeleteNice to see Jake finally find a director that wants to use him more than once. Got to think that not happening in the past has to be on Jake, and that he's matured at least professionally in the past few years.
If anyone wants to following anyone interesting on Facebook James Franco is def the guy. He does all his own stuff he is some character :-)
ReplyDeleteI love the bottom pic of Jake. He looks so cute. I love the smile :-)
Because of Jake’s upbringing and the indulgences of both his parents, I think Jake has a strong tendency to view acting as a playground. When he speaks of his collaborations with Denis V. he emphasizes how wonderful it was that his director let him explore, experiment, do off the cuff improvisation and get lost in spur of the moment emotional sparring with fellow actors. If anything, that’s exactly what Jake doesn’t need. Because of Jake’s natural aversion to discipline and preparation, I think some directors, like Fincher and Mendes went to the other extreme to try to get him to focus and inspire him to work harder to disappear into a role and understand his character more meticulously. A little playfulness and self-discovery is fine, but I think Jake often comes off as a dilettante and dabbler as opposed to a true craftsman.
ReplyDeleteThat’s why I still believe Ang Lee sussed out the best performance of Jake to date. Lee knew how to shut down once the movie started because that was his time to create art. Heath said that Ang would talk to you about everything in preproduction, but once the cameras began to roll, you were expected to do your job. In those days, particularly being only 23 years old, Jake wanted to please and therefore he worked harder to convey who Jack Twist was and still there were times in the movie when his characterization was a bit uneven. Unlike Heath, who knew exactly where he was going with Ennis from beginning to end, using his conversations with Ang to find tune rather than reinvent what he wanted to do on a daily basis once production started. I don’t expect Jake to sacrifice and commit to a character in the same painstakingly Pointillistic way as a Daniel Day-Lewis, but a little more restraint and commitment, regardless of whether the director tolerated Jake’s desire to be directly involved in the storytelling aspect of the production, would be helpful.
Prisoners premieres on pay per view today and I am going to watch it this evening, so I'll reply after I've seen it. That is the only released film that I have not yet seen.
ReplyDeleteMust say M&M makes some great observations.
I've got to admit that is an insightful, explanatory perspective about Jake and his acting style. I wish I could write like that. Hell, I wish I could think like that. I still prefer his performance in Brokeback Mountain. Ang Lee somehow was able to pull out everything Jake had to give at a fairly young age. I think another reason for this is Ang's ability to visualize what he wanted and how he understands what makes people tick. He knew Heath and Jake would look amazing on screen together. Also, he somehow was able to slow Jake down. Talk less, but emote more. It definitely worked.
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