P & Q's

As Austin checks to make sure the paps get this shot we are checking out Austin's cap.

This
perppap walk was October 21st in LA, but that's no LA team allegiance Austin's sporting.

Now why would Austin be wearing a Pittsburgh Pirates cap on a stroll in LA?

 He has said that he wants to be a pirate.  Maybe he got to be a Pirates fan this summer.

Now who had just wrapped after filming in Pittsburgh.

Oh that's right -  this guy. 

Wanna bet there were some summer 'Squatchi sightings.

A Little Left

Now that Southpaw has wrapped, it looks like embargo has been lifted from the stories and looks from the set.

The Pittsburgh Gazette got a chance to talk to director Antoine Fuqua about the movie and he gave them a sneak peek of Jake as Billy Hope on his cell phone.

“He looks like a fighter. He’s got tattoos. He’s got everything. He’s got the eyes kind of messed up, the nose is different. Oh, yeah, he looks rough. He looks tough,”

Although the story is about a boxer, the real story is about a father and daughter. “Ultimately, the story’s about a father and daughter coming to terms with mourning and coming to terms with, ‘Who’s the parent?’ Learning how to be a parent, learning how to be a father, in particular,”

Fuqua "said the story “really hit my heart. It’s a sports movie but it’s more about the father, learning how to be a dad without the mom when tragedy happens.”

“This movie is forcing this man to learn how to be a dad and learn how to control his anger. In the boxing world, of course, it’s OK to be angry and be on the edge and be violent because you get paid for it. In the real world, you can’t go around punching people; it affects everyone.” Billy’s anger and rage as a fighter will destroy him or the most precious part of his life — his daughter — if he cannot tame his temper.

Southpaw  had a tight shooting schedule of just 40 days in Pennsylvania and the article said a few more days at an undisclosed location, and even tighter post production schedule.  Director Fuqua almost has to cut and edit it simultaneously to meet the deadline from the Weinstein Group to have Southpaw in theaters this December. 

With Nightcrawler and Southpaw it looks like Jake definitely has a one to two punch for this year's award season.

Last round

It's a wrap and Jake's got hat in hand (in this case, back pocket)

Source

Source

Scenes from Southpaw's wrap party so it looks like Jake is done pulling the punches.

A little summer vacation before back to
school  Broadway?

And in this corner...

While filming Southpaw has tapped a lot of locals and local talent to fill roles in the movie.  Lawyers, guests at parties, boxing judges, etc.  And now it comes right into the ring.

Mix Martial Arts fighter and gym owner Mark Shrader got a chance to be in Jake's corner, or actually Billy Hope's cornerman.

A cornerman is "coach or teammate assisting a fighter during the length of a bout. The cornerman remains outside the combat area during the fight, but in proximity, and can assist the fighter through instruction. This instruction can take place in between rounds."

"The cornerman occasionally performs cutman duties such as applying ice to reduce swelling and stopping bleeding. The cornerman may also be responsible for throwing in the towel when necessary."

  Shrader  spent two weeks in June shoot with Jake, Rachel and 50 cent filming 14 hour days.  He was called back to shoot for 3 more days in July.

And things must have worked well, Shrader said that Jake, "and co-stars Rachel McAdams and 50 Cent are 'normal people.' At one point, Shrader said Jake "invited him to the spend the day with him in the gym." (source)

Courtside without the (Brooklyn) Nets

Both Jake and Austin took it to the courts. Some traveling involved.

For Jake he shot several scenes for Southpaw at the Washington County (PA)Courthouse.

According to unit publicist Scott Levine, the movie includes several “important” courtroom scenes and Washington County President Judge Debbie O’Dell Seneca permitted the film crew to use her courtroom, two jury deliberation rooms and the downstairs jury lounge to serve as the location for  the New York courts where Billy finds himself after the death of his wife and the downward spiral of his career.  It is thought that these courtroom scene are about the welfare of Billy's daughter, Leila.

 Despite all that comes with filming on location, cast, crew, equipment and security, the daily court proceedings went on without any interruptions.

Actor and Washington, PA native Charles Hoyes was cast in the role of Jake's lawyer. While he couldn’t provide additional details Hoyes gushed about working with Jake.

" 'He’s a fantastic actor to work with,' the Thousand Oaks, Calif., actor said. 'I’m just playing off of him.'

Hoyes said he auditioned for the role a while back but learned only Wednesday that he got the part.

'I wasn’t sure if they were going to change the role or not,' he said."

The chief clerk for the Washington County commissioners, said the they were contacted this summer about using the courthouse and were more than happy to show off their building and courts. The production company was charged only $1,000 to use the space,  with the money earmarked toward a future building restoration project.

While not many pictures have appeared of Jake and crew in action for Southpaw , a couple of pictures from the courthouse did pop up.

Jake wasn't the only hitting the courts, so was Austin via his twitter.

My kind of gal - AUS10

 What kind of gal is that Austy?

The plastic variety?

The one that can pull off wearing a hoop?

Or maybe you just like the mythological ones that don't exist in real life.... ;) 

And while  he may not be The Man in the Yellow Hat,  Austin will be in his yellow suit in the short We Can't Help You  which is now available to watch on Nobudge.com

Bronx Cheer

Southpaw has moved on to filming in the southside Pittsburgh neighborhood of Carrick.  But it needed a little help to make it look more like the Bronx.

Check out how you fake graffiti for film.

It's so close that Jake won't feel out of place wearing a Yankees hat in the neighborhood.

Filming is expected to take place around the Brownsville and Maytide streets in Carrick through the beginning of next week.

And just to make sure the neighborhood knows that this is not New York, the production company made sure to let them know what's going on.

There have been many in the neighborhood tweeting of seeing Jake and the crew along with the trailer park that pops up at every  film site.  There are still lots of sightings of Rachel McAdams who plays Jake's wife who dies.  Not sure how that all fits in the whole story, maybe flashbacks?  or will it be Ghost meets Rocky?

A little Bronx bonus :  The letterhead gives a sneak peek at what the Southpaw logo looks like. 

Rolling with the Punches

Southpaw continues filming and there are new things to know in addition to Rachel McAdams dating status.

Some of the rides for Southpaw

Police cars and even "big yellow taxis"

 And how Billy Hope rolls when he's on the top. Bentley style.

 

A little clarification:  When a wedding isn't a wedding.

OMG thought this was a wedding scene, but it really was a scene from a screen charity event and it involved a charity organization in a real way.

 The production crew of “Southpaw” had approached Auberle, a faith-based Catholic agency that assists troubled children and families, and requested the use of their facility in McKeesport as a filming site.

In return, approximately 100 members of Auberle and their guests would serve as extras during the filming of the gala in the beautiful ballroom at the William Penn on Grant Street.

The  Auberle organization, which was founded in 1952 and is home-based in McKeesport.

The agency serves over 3,000 at-risk children and families each year in 16 program areas, primarily in eight Southwestern Pennsylvania counties.
Auberle was recently named Agency of the Year in the United States by the Alliance for Children and Families, which is the largest network of human services organizations in the country.

Once known as the “Boystown of the East,” Auberle has grown into new service areas and today more than two-thirds of its clients are served in their home, school or in their community.

Fibble Wiggle Wobble

Southpaw is continuing to create the story of (The Great White) Billy Hope  by recreating a downtown Pittsburgh location into Madison Square Garden.

But behind the scenes there was some story telling too.   US Magazine was reporting that Jake, Rachel, director Antoine Fuqua and the cast and crew finished up shooting in Indiana PA with letting loose and getting a little wobbly.
  
The costars let loose at Brenda & Ken of Wolfies Pub with about 60 others following a private dinner at Donatellos Restaurant.

"The owner of Donatellos bought them all a round of shots when they first walked in the door to get the party started. Rachel and Jake, along with the director and crew, were on the dance floor and mixing it up," the source tells Us.

McAdams, 35, sipped on a Grey Goose martini and later switched to a Maker's Mark on the rocks during the fun night out. Gyllenhaal, for his part, stuck to Guinness -- that is, when he wasn't doing Trey Songz's Wobble Dance! "He wasn't bad at all," the source notes.

Also curious is the last line of the story:

McAdams is currently dating boyfriend Patrick Sambrook. As Us exclusively revealed, Gyllenhaal got back together with ex-girlfriend Alyssa Miller in February after a brief split.

Weren't they just trying to sell Jake and Rachel dating? At the beginning of their own article?

But there is more fiction than fact to this story.

 Southpaw finished up filming in Indiana, PA before the film's 4th of July break.

 While it is good press for the movie, it is also timely to run this story due to the recent announcement of Rachel's ex Ryan Gosling is about to become a father with girlfriend Eva Mendes who is 7 months pregnant. Rachel is not going to be seen sitting at home upset that she wasn't the Mother Goose for Ryan's goslings, she wants to be seen to have moved on, on, on, on.  And it's not bad for Jake either because it sounds like he was around in Pittsburgh this whole time ( The Vineyard?  What??? What Vineyard trip?)

And about Jake's Wobble, there was this comment left on Just Jared that covered that and the date issue too.

They were with other people from the movie at Donatello’s. Then Fabio, the owner of Donatello’s brought them to Wolfie’s. There’s even a picture of Jake standing around at Wolfie’s in his hoodie and baggy gym shorts. Not dancing. They had a wrap party for the extras who worked at the location in Indiana, PA. The movie crew and cast has moved to Pittsburgh as of June 30th. . So all this happened before the 4th of July.

I think the movie people wants to hype Jake & Rachel as a couple and make it look like something is going on, but this is old news if you are from Pittsburgh and follow the movie shooting. They are doing this because they don’t want Rachel to look bad now that Ryan is having a baby with Eva.

But as for  Jake drinking Guinness, and doing the Wobble. Jakey - we know you have the moves, we've seen your moves in Jarhead.



Then again - maybe you  just prefer doing The Wiggle and having your Grey Goose in  private.

Burgers and Dogs

What else would be appropriate just days before all the Independence Day festivities but burgers and dogs.

Looks like Jake is a fan not only of the 'Burgh but BRGR.  The BRGR food truck has been called to the set to provide burgers and fries.  Pittsburgh Magazine had a tipster  spill the word that the BRGR truck was called out to an undisclosed location where Southpaw was filming to help with late night cravings of the cast and crew.

Yes Jake went for the "junk" food, but you know with Jake that's really not junk.

BRGR was named one of the Best Restaurants in Pittsburgh has 3 locations (including PNC Park) as well as their food truck. Burger choices include dry-aged prime grass fed beef, turkey, salmon or black bean-corn falafel.  The Button Buster, a beef burger topped with braised beef short ribs, white cheddar cheese, béarnaise sauce and crispy onions. Also a favorite their spiked handcrafted shakes — the salty caramel is combination of vanilla ice cream, bourbon, caramel sauce, sea salt and vanilla bean. Add some truffle fries and that's how junk goes gourmet.

But man does not live by burgers alone this week - what's the 4th without some dogs, and  it's all going down in the 'burgh.

It was the 10th Annual "Weiner 100"  at Kennywood Park Amusement Park

And the winner of the heavyweights? Oscar Mayer von Wienerschnitzel the First

It's the summer of Pittsburgh.

Punch Back

A little more Punch to Southpaw.

Page Six is reporting that 50 Cent (Curtis Jackson) will play a promoter who’s part of the entourage of the cocky, aggressive, volatile boxing champion Billy Hope.

 Jake and 50 at the premiere of End of Watch.

Billy fully expects to ride out his career with his massive winnings, adoring fans, beloved wife, Maureen, and their 10-year-old daughter but when his temper triggers a fight and shootout that leaves his wife dead, Billy’s life spirals out of control. After he loses his house, money and daughter, he begins to find his way back to some kind of balance with the help of an amateur trainer (Forrest Whitaker).

Southpaw is still filming in Indiana, Pennsylvania, and will soon shift to Pittsburgh for the remainder of their summer filming.

and some Throwback (shirts optional)

Knockout Punch

The Weinstein Group is adding more punch to Southpaw this time signing on former boxing champion turned actor Victor Ortiz to the cast according to Deadline.com

"Ortiz signed on to portray Ramone, a flyweight kid from the streets with real sparring potential. The character parallels Ortiz’s own rags-to-riches story of rising from childhood as a foster kid, to brawling his way to the championship belt in 2011. It’s the second significant role for Ortiz, who makes his feature film debut later this summer as one of the Young Expendables in Expendables 3"

It looks like Jake got his onscreen training day look with a very close cut. He has been seen around Pittsburgh driving, going to Whole Foods, and out to eat with castmates including his newest Ortiz.

Pulling some more punches

There are more castings happening for Southpaw over the next few weekends.  They are still looking for more people to play the fight crowds and background extras. It looks like they are filming from mid June through mid August - so it will be a PA Summer for Jake.  (Look out for the Pirates pics - no no Austin as pirate but Jake at the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball game)

One more thing the cast call sheets have given is more information about the movie.

"Cocky, aggressive, volatile middleweight champion Billy Hope (Jake) fully expects to ride out his career with his massive winnings, adoring fans, beloved wife, Maureen, and their 10-year-old daughter, Leila. 

When Billy’s temper triggers a fight and then a shootout that leaves Maureen dead, Billy finds his life spiraling out of control. After he loses his house, money and then, Leila, to a group foster home, he begins to find his way back to some kind of balance with the help of amateur trainer Titus “Tick” Willis.  

Tick has his own demons but he proves to be the perfect trainer to make Billy a better fighter, man and father." 

We have heard Forest Whitaker has been rumored for Tick but nothing has been confirmed as of late.

Which Way Weekend

Word is that Jake's left NY and has  been spotted in Pittsburgh

And Austin's  tweeted -  Vegas Baby!

And it almost Memorial Day weekend.

So what does that mean?

From what OMG's seen over the last 7 years.


Someone's getting into some trunks this weekend.

And not these.

 And not anywhere were people think either are.

And if Jake does get seen in Vegas (even magically days "after" Austin's announced return)  it's all about the training for Southpaw.

Speaking of Southpaw and this weekend.  Here's a chance to be a part of the movie.
 
The story, apparently set in New York, will film in Indiana, Pa., and Pittsburgh. Shooting will take place in Indiana, Pa., from mid- to late June and in Pittsburgh from early July to early August.

Hope Films Inc. will hold an open call for paid extras on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Indiana Mall (use entrance near Sears and look for signs), 2334 Oakland Ave., Indiana, PA 15701. The mall is about 60 miles from Pittsburgh, just beyond the IUP campus.

In Indiana, more than 1,000 men and women age 18 and older (all types) will be needed during the course of eight days to portray boxing spectators. Extras will have the opportunity to work multiple days. Others also will be needed for Pittsburgh filming.

All hopefuls also can visit www.movieextraspittsburgh.com and download a form, attach a recent photo and send by email or regular mail.