Movie Makings

Early in his career, Jake was a real movie maker, lots of projects coming one after the other, multiple movies out in the same year, and then came a period of a self imposed slow down where one project a year was the norm, if that.  (Interestingly when Austin was steadily committed to television) Now it seems that he is in a place were he can go back to working with gusto and gusto it is.

It's not one or two movies to talk about today but three:

Past, Present, Future as it were.

Past:  Wrapping Nightcrawler last year, it was waiting to see what the ambitious project that turned Jake into the Thin Man was all about.  The comments from the trailer are singing praises for Jake's portrayal of the anxious, tense, desperate Louis Bloom looking for a job and who finds himself in the underworld of LA's crime journalism scene.  Many have noted that after Jake's performance in Prisoners that he is creating himself a place in playing complex characters.

 Indie Wire said, "It’s less than a minute teaser, but yes, the actor is gaunt and the footage is definitely intriguing. It gives us a quick taste of what to expect, but it's really only the first layer of unpeeling the onion, with lots more to be revealed."  Slated to open October 17th,  there is also talk that it may be included in the Toronto Film Festival.

Present:  Southpaw.   The need for extra seems never ending for Southpaw, but with so many fight scenes, that's a lot seats to fill.  Casting was also looking for a minister, which seems like they could just find an actor to play a minister, but maybe the realize that ministers do have a kind of ministerial look about them. :)

Not only is Southpaw trying to include as much of the population of Pittsburgh and the Allegheny Valley as possible, they are also giving back.  This time giving the gym equipment to groups to bring back gyms in the area.  Check it out here.

  “So the exchange is he is going to give me some of the equipment, and he donated a boxing ring and we are going to put up on the Centre Avenue at the old (YMCA) on the hill. There hasn't been a gym there in about 10 years, so I'm reopening the gym," said Jimmy Cvetic, executive director of the Western Pennsylvania Police Athletic League.

 Mike Tyson will be making an appearance, as well as some delegates from "Southpaw," who will be there for the ribbon-cutting ceremony when the gym opens.

 And  Future:  The project Divergent.  Naomi Watts is in negotiations to play opposite Jake in Demolition. Last month the news was Jake was considering the lead in Dallas Buyers Club director Jean-Marc Vallée’s next film, Demolition. According to the site The Wrap the word is that Naomi is working out a deal to co-star.

"Written by Bryan Sipe, the script focuses on a young investment banker (Jake) who falls into an emotional disconnect after his wife dies. Deciding to tear his life apart to discover what went wrong, he becomes obsessed with the idea of destruction but eventually ends up meeting and befriending a single mother (Naomi), who helps him to turn things around."

Watt's character is much more complicated than you assume – "she’s a pot-smoking customer service operative for a vending machine company whose device has eaten Gyllenhaal’s money, sending him into a rage. Despite her already dating her boss, she starts to fall for the anguished customer, especially when she learns the depths of his situation."


Jake and Naomi have several connections, not to mention the biggest one which is her husband Liev is the star of Ray Donovan.  And oh yeah, that mention that Toothy and Goose have something in common with Naomi and Liev right around this fall seven years ago. Hmmm....