Director's Cut

Prisoners broke it's award nominee shut-out with a Critics Choice nominee for Best Cinematography for Roger Deakins while it looks like one of Jake's previous director is finding another full award season. David O. Russell has been on an award roll since Nailed with The Fighter, Silver Linings Playbook, and now American Hustle.  It make you want to watch Nailed as least the version Russell created just to see what kind of performance he capture with Jake. 

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

Hot and Cold

While Jake hasn't gotten the noms that he was looking forward to for his performance in Prisoners, it doesn't mean the man will be sitting home and down during the next few month.

It is going to be a busy start to 2014 for Jake because add another night to celebrate his other project with Denis.

 Jake will be hot and cold the beginning of January with the chat he and Denis will hold in Toronto January 5th  and now Enemy is included as part of the 25th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival.

Jake's no stranger to the Palm Spring fest both as a recipient and a presenter. 

This year the festival has a special  spotlight on Canada and Canadian filmmakers. "Canada receives the spotlight for this year’s special focus on a country or region of the world making extraordinary strides in cinema. Included in the showcase will be an opening weekend reception and ‘Canadian Film Day’ highlighting Canadian filmmaking guests, sponsored by Telefilm Canada."  Enemy is included in the dozen films that showcase this year's Canadian productions.

But after all that zig zagging Jake also has to fit in a little filming.  Everest is set to begin filming in Iceland in January as well. 

Enjoy that desert while you can Jake.

Snow bound

And the hits keep coming - this time for the other Jake/Denis collaboration.

Pack the parka, bring the black puffy jacket (and a toque while you're at it) Jake you're heading to the Great White North.

An Enemy was named as one of the ten feature and short films for this year's Canada's Top Ten Film Festival.

"Now in its 13th year, the CTTFF shines a focused light on English- and French-language Canadian cinema, an industry the film festival feels is deserving of a spot on the world stage."

Jake and Denis will be the first talk of the Festival and are scheduled to discuss "inspiration, working methods and the distance between Hollywood and Toronto" as well as the movie itself.

The Toronto based festival begins on Jan. 3, 2014 and wraps up on Jan. 12, 2014, billing itself as "10 days, 10 shorts, 10 features, 1 proud nation."

Jake and Denis' talk will be  Sunday Jan 5th at 3:30pm.

In the middle of Prisoners an Enemy pops up

While press wagon rolls on and over the pond,  it is not Prisoner's that they are talking up.

The old adage is strike while the iron is hot, so with Denis and Jake in the press so much, why not give a sneak peek of their other project, Enemy.



Jake stars as a troubled and increasingly paranoid teacher who believes he's found his exact doppelganger in a bit part in a movie, and starts to try and figure out who exactly this person is. And that's just how the movie begins.    Indie Wire called it "fascinating and spellbindingly disturbing. A riveting examination of intimacy (and the lack thereof), identity, duality and the nether regions of our unconscious desires.

Jake hasn't done a movie this dark and complex since Donnie Darko. After TIFF, the response to the movie created a three -way bidding war between distributors. Enemy is slated to open in the U.S. next year.

 Take No Prisoners Tour

Sept 23 - Monday - Jake, Hugh and Denis at The Apple Store - London

Double Take

Appearing on screen as three main characters in two films, Jake did a double take of the red carpet at TIFF in three days.

Last night he worked the red carpet again this time for his second film with Quebecois director Denis Villeneuve for Enemy, where he stars as both Adam, a college professor and his doppelganger part time actor Anthony who meet and wind up becoming obsessed with one another,or could it be an "elaborate, schizophrenic case of self-obsession"?

Jake was looking sharp in a three piece Burbery corduroy suit and was sharpie as well, bringing his own silver sharpie to this party as well.

It was more great reviews for Jake's work this time for Enemy,  which is based on the book The Double by José Saramago. He seems to have found a great working relationship with Denis.

After another successful screening, red carpet and reviews and after party,

Jake was back on the move,  flying solo back to LA to do more press for Prisoners.  And that meant back to those comfy cozy clothes Jake loves and his handy dandy backpack. 

BTW where did that big North Face bag he was seen arriving in Toronto go? You just don't forget a bag that big when you check out.  Hmmmm.

 So who's left holding this bag?

There is no rest for Jake who will be working this week promoting before flying back to New York next week to do more East Coast gabbing.

Here's a couple of picture from the press conference that as part of Jake's first Toronto invasion of the weekend - the Prisoner's press conference

Speaking of press and Prisoners - here's were to catch Jake on tv and live at a taping

Take No Prisoners Press Tour

Sept 12 - Jimmy Kimmel  11:35 EDT - ABC

Sept 12 - Taping Queen Latifah Show (Culver City CA) The show will be on the week of Sept 16th.

Sept 18 - Live with Kelly & Michael,  Check local listings for times and channel  - Request tickets here

Sept 19 - Jake will be taping the Katie Couric Show at 9:00 am- New York click here to request tickets for the taping

Sept 19 - Inside the Actor's Studio - BRAVO  8:00pm EDT

Check back here for further updates

Face Off

Jake doesn't only face off with himself in An Enemy, but now his two movies with have their own face off at Toronto.

It was announced today that both of Jake's new films, An Enemy and Prisoners, are official selections at the Toronto International Film Festival. 

So now Jake has the chance to be seen in Toronto, three times- Actor, Teacher, Detective

And oh... maybe as Kennedy fan. ; )