Jake Gyllenhaal to film 'Trip of a Lifetime' (aka UMP) in Eastern Europe? And you can go too! Brothers Oscar buzz and U2's Winter

If you have enough of the green stuff (or, if you're in Britain, purple stuff with some silver, a bit of blue and maybe some dark grey bits) you could bid for a day on the set of the new Doug Liman production. Not only that, you could get to flutter your eyelashes and test your chat up lines on its star, Jake Gyllenhaal!


Yes, there is a new auction up and running and it's important for several reasons (aside from the fantastic oppportunity of being able to distract Jake from his next shot with your 'I love you, Jake' tattoo): 1) This movie may still be going ahead after all (at a time to be determined); 2) It's no longer Unnamed - it's 'Trip of A Lifetime' (I think I prefer UMP); 3) Part of it is to film in Eastern Europe. Full details here - on the understanding that if you bid and win you have to take me. Вы понимаете меня? (apologies if that was accidentally rude...)


Brothers has had another TV Spot which you can see here (thanks Monica!). There's little new in it but it does strengthen my view that, as far as this film's trailers go, less is more. It also has more kissing in it - I like that in a trailer.


Brothers is starting to gather that sweet aroma of Oscar fever (a reference to Jake's appearance on Heart FM a couple of years ago). One site has seen a confirmation of category placements and this is what we see:

Maggie Gyllenhaal - Crazy Heart - LEAD
Seth Rogen - Funny People - LEAD
Meryl Streep - It's Complicated - LEAD
Alec Baldwin & Steve Martin- It's Complicated - SUPPORTING
Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince - pulling the same campaigning as "The Departed," it has it listed as For Your Consideration 'THE ACTORS'
Max Records - Where the Wild Things Are - LEAD
Tobey Maguire - Brothers - LEAD
Jake Gyllenhaal & Natalie Portman - Brothers -SUPPORTING


So, not only do we have Jake Gyllenhaal, we have Maggie, and we also have that same old situation of Jake being in a Supporting category potentially up against some fine actors, including a brother-in-law and a co-star (Peter Sarsgaard and Alfred Molina). Perhaps they could share.

Another Brothers Oscar possibility comes from its closing song - U2's Winter. No argument here. Enjoy.



Includes pictures from IHJ.

A new Prince of Persia still, a new Sesame St picture, Brothers rumours and Jake Gyllenhaal's advice to 2012 star

If ever a photograph of Jake Gyllenhaal deserved a new post, it's this one. Simply stunning - many thanks to IHJ for finding this.


Another new image of Jake, this time with more ostrich octopus, reminds us that the new anniversary season of Sesame Street is underway, with a chance that Jake may feature today briefly. But then we thought that about yesterday too. I think we're in this for the long haul, but just think how it will benefit our spelling. Thanks to BBMISwear for finding this! I still marvel at how someone thought that pulling an octopus off Jake's head was a handy definition of 'separate'.


Brothers meanwhile continues its softly, softly progress towards release. Jeff Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere has been lamenting the lack of screenings just like the rest of us but he has heard a whisper: 'I'm told there's some kind of "special screening" in Manhattan slated for 11.22, and an L.A. premiere screening set for 12.1. Sheridan is currently in Toronto preparing to shoot Dream House, a psychological thriller with Daniel Craig starring. He flies to Ireland tomorrow and returns to this side of the pond a week or so later.'

With all these projects coming together, here's a reminder (as if we need one) that not everything comes to pass. The enormous variety of Jake's roles cannot fail to catch attention, as is reflected in this interesting article about 'Why Hollywood's Hardest-Working Actord Deserves an Oscar'.


A little film opens this week - 2012 (The Film With The Trailer as I like to think of it). One of its stars Amanda Peet has spoken of why she took the job: 'Question: So, was it the overall nature of the film that appealed to you? Peet: Well, I thought the script was a page-turner, and I thought that it had some nice character moments, even though it was this big action movie. And then I called Jake Gyllenhaal, and I said, "What's it like to work with Roland Emmerich?" And he said, "It's a dream. Go - run, right away, and go work with him." And he was right. Because he's so lovely, and so easy and so supportive and gentle.' And Jake's not bad either.

Updated to add a slightly different version of the anecdote from Parade: '"I e-mailed Jake Gyllenhaal, who was in Day After Tomorrow, before I signed on. I said, 'Is Roland Emmerich great or is he a nightmare? Tell me the truth because life is short and I need to know what's up.' And Jake replied, 'He is the most divine, great person to work for ever and you should run and do it.'"'

Includes pictures from IHJ.

New interview with Jake Gyllenhaal on the set of PoP (we have ostriches) and a standing ovation for Brothers

How long has it been since we've had a proper interview with Jake Gyllenhaal? It's been a long time coming but today we have a full interview with Jake, dating from ComingSoon's visit to the Pinewood set of Prince of Persia in November last year. It's a wonderful interview, not least because Jake describes the experience of working with ostriches. And a new picture.


'ComingSoon.net: You've done big movies like "The Day After Tomorrow" and you must have had some opportunities to do a franchise movie, so what was it about this particular franchise that made you want to be involved in it? Jake Gyllenhaal: I think just on a personal front, it was just so unlikely and so unlike anything I'd ever played really, and any type of movie that I think anyone would expect, that I just kind of wanted to do it. (chuckles) It felt like that personally, but also, more than anything, when I talked with Mike Newell about it, it wasn't just like your normal video game adaptation. It was an actual massive epic that they had in the works. They had a real classic story that was emotional and real and filled with just ridiculous turns and twists, I mean, all over the place. Every day, when we work, is filled with keeping in mind where you were and how you got there and what's happening here and who fooled whom. It's like "The Usual Suspects" every single day, and that makes it intriguing to me, just on a story point. Also just the fact that these movies, if they're going to get done, they should be done by the best and I think that Jerry Bruckheimer in particular is the one to make them.'


'CS: Had you ever played the game before and do you feel any sort of responsibility playing such an iconic character? Gyllenhaal: I feel a responsibility because I think the prince in the video games, he has a personality and you know his story, but I think a lot of video games as an actor, just putting that kind of expression onto a character. You get to make a new path for what the character is as opposed to being nervous you're going to screw up that's already there. That to me I like and I think is fun. I've played a lot of real people in my life... Actually, there's equal pressure in real people than video game characters, which is sort of strange. Yeah, I've played the game a lot more when I was really young, and I know the game in its Atari-like version. I went online when I first started researching stuff for the role. What was really important was for me personally to bring some sort of realism into this world that is not always fully based on reality. So often you can hide in all that stuff so easily, and to look at what say a real Persian prince would look like and then who the Prince of Persia is in the video game and then a whole slew of inspiration in between there.'


'CS: How did you develop the character or bring your own character? Gyllenhaal: (laughs) 40 days and 40 nights of misery. The most important thing for me always is just somehow playing against what's there. The development of the character was massively physical at first, just getting in shape and doing all that stuff and learning Parkour, learning how to swordfight, learning how to get into the mentality of a warrior, somebody who as written is someone who can really fight. That was a big part of it for me, and I knew that if I got through that, then I knew I'd be halfway there. And then the rest of it is just being able to... we worked on dialect and I have a British accent in the film and everyday on set, I'm in my accent and I very rarely bring it out only for special occasions, my real accent. All of those things. I could go into really pretentious crap for you, but I don't like doing that. I'm going to lay off of it, but there's just a lot of it.'


'CS: We heard that you went through some massive training, so can you talk about what your regimen was? Gyllenhaal: God, there's so many jokes I can make right now (laughter)... but we only have ten minutes? Really, it's basically just a lot of training, working out with a lot of running and all different kinds of sports. I'm someone who really doesn't love to be inside so just being outside and running around and training as if I was going to battle, but it also happens to be based on a video game so he has to very agile in a lot of other ways then you would normally... it's not just gladiator-style fighting although we have all of that. It's also having to be able to jump up walls and climb up walls and run on walls and all of those things. Basically, simulating all that through training, so when I get to the day and someone comes up with an idea and they're like, "Hey, I think it would be a really great idea if you ran up that wall," I say, "Okay."'


'CS: What has been the most fun part of making a movie like this? Is it the battles? Is it riding the horse across the desert in 103 degree heat? What's the best part? Gyllenhaal: (laughs) The best part of the movie I think is... God, I mean, you play like this when you're a kid. This is how you play when you're a kid, and you go outside and I remember specifically many times I would go outside and be like, "I play him and you play him and let's fight!" And we're just like doing that every day. (laughs) So the best part of it for me is because I've never done a lot of fighting—sword fighting, hand-on-hand, any type of combat that there is and any type of evasion and persuasion. More than that also I find really fun is being able to get humor and performance in the middle of it all, which I find so difficult. I have utter respect for people who can put that kind of thing, a performance or any type of feeling while you're battling someone, because that's like chewing gum and walking at the same time and that's really tough for actors. (laughter) It really is difficult, and it's a fun mindwork to say, "Okay, at this point, we can put that piece in." That's what I enjoyed the most. I actually enjoy the heat, so I did enjoy that and I think Morocco was unreal. We were shooting as if we were shooting an independent film. You know we were moving, moving, moving and I just love to move quick, so we were running around and picking it all up really quickly.'


'CS: So you weren't complaining about the 103 degree heat? Gyllenhaal: The one promise I made to everybody on this film, 'cause most of them are British and I'm from Southern California, is that I would not be complaining on this film about the heat. And I didn't. I do, I enjoy it. I think the desert is actually a place of clarity. It's a wonderful place to be I think, when you're equipped with lots of water and food and making a massive big budget movie. (laughs)'


'CS: You talked about the humor in the film and we were just watching Mike direct and he seems like a funny guy. What's it like working with him and watching him trying to keep all this together? Gyllenhaal: (laughs) It's really funny actually. No, it's great working with Mike. I think it's such an unlikely cast of characters in this movie, which I think is so f*cking great. That's a part of it that I think is fun. No one's out to prove anything. Everyone's out to discover something, and that's the difference between this movie and so many movies like it. The type of ego on this movie is about working together as opposed to everyone for themselves, and Mike is... to think about the guy who directed "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and is directing this movie. Obviously, he's done "Harry Potter" and other big films, but to think about that sensibility within this is what... it's been great. Every day is bigger, faster, funnier. But like not funny in a laughable kind of way, but always finding the reality of the situation, 'cause these movies can really get into (puts on dark serious voice) "I'M GOING TO DO THIS NOW" You know what I mean, and that's just not what we're doing here. We're trying to find real in it.'


'CS: So are you looking forward to shooting one or two more of these films assuming the first one does well? Gyllenhaal: Yes, the truth is after doing this it's going to be hard... well, I don't know if it's going to be hard, but it's definitely going to be a different mentality to go back and do much smaller types of movies, but yeah, there's type of high when you make a movie like this, a type of excitement every day that is infectious. There are days that you get tired and some of the people I work with say to me, I'm like, "Man, I'm going to be exhausted. I'm going to need rest when I get done with this movie," and they're like, "You're going to rest for two weeks and you're going to want to make another one like it." (laughs) And it's kind of true. On my days off, I worked out twice on my Sunday off, because that's where my head is. I'm prepared for whatever comes our way.'


'CS: I wanted to ask about the parkour stuff, because we've seen a few guys dressed as you doing some of the stunts Gyllenhaal: A few of them? 14 guys. CS: I'm curious about that because it is a sport that's very difficult to learn and master, so I was wondering how much of that stuff you're able to do and how you learned how to do it. Gyllenhaal: Well, I worked in L.A. for a few weeks before I left for London. We had a month of rehearsal in London, and I worked in L.A. with just Parkour guys and obviously, David Bell has been on set with us and he's been working... I haven't been working directly in terms of technique, but he's designed a lot of stuff, and surprisingly, a lot of the things they taught me and asked me to do, just start to come easily when you start isometric type of workouts, a lot of hanging and a lot of training your body to move precisely and landing in the right away. A lot is about landing. Anybody can run and jump as far as they can but landing it is the hardest part, which is why you have the four guys outside looking like me. (laughter) I mean, I just learned it. If there's one thing on this movie I've learned so fast is that when someone asks you to do something, you have to try it and see if you can do it, and if you don't do it the first time, then you have to try again. If you miss it three times then somebody else has to do it, but if you don't try to do it, then you'll regret it for the rest of the time, because that's what these movies afford you, an opportunity to do crazy sh*t that you wouldn't normally be able to do. (laughter)'


'I remember there's a whole scene with ostriches in the movie and there are real live ostriches, not CG ostriches. There's not a CG'ed ostrich in this movie. They're all real ostriches, highly paid, and we were all briefed on them for weeks before like "They're these massive destructive creatures that can tear your heart out with their claws." (laughs) I swear to God I never thought of an ostrich this way! And I was shaking in my boots when they finally brought them out and they're (does an ostrich impression) and I walked up to it and one of my stuntmen was in the ring with them, and finally, I was like, "When am I going to be in a f*cking cage with ostriches again in my life? I gotta get in here!" So I got in there and they were the sweetest things. I did everything with them, I eventually did that, but every day is like that. You gotta get in there and you gotta do it and that is an experience I'll never be able to... well, hopefully ostriches will come back again... either in reshoots or hopefully in a second one. That sort of sums up the movie. (laughs)'

What wouldn't I give to see the Gyllenhaal Ostrich Impression....?

You can read much more about ComingSoon's visit to the set here, as well as an interview with Gemma Arterton. In the next report, we are promised details of the ostrich race itself.


The other great news today is that the LA Times informs us that Brothers and Jim Sheridan received a standing ovation on Sunday for this 'tough little movie' at the Director's Guild. You can read a full account here. We also get another new Brothers picture.

Another good day! Includes pictures from links and IHJ.

Jake Gyllenhaal, the next in a fine quirky line to play superhero - 'He's a good fighter but... he's not Conan the Barbarian' - and The Chest

In order to avoid accusations of too little too late, Lionsgate is attempting to redeem its softly, softly approach to publicising Brothers by some wanton and gratuitous exploitation of Jake Gyllenhaal's chest. I'm delighted to say that this is an approach that works.


The Brothers website has added dimension today I'm pleased to say, including the incorporation of two trailers and some new publicity stills. Meanwhile, although we've not had proper reports of Jim Sheridan's Q&A at the DGA in LA yesterday, the emotionally-charged tweets suggest a great success. Anticipation increases!


Jake meanwhile is leaping up the ProIMDb scale, having ascended 200 places this week. This is what happens when one has the happy feeling that Jake is in every movie coming out in 2010 and is being cast in all of them for 2011.



The gaming community is hopefully coming to terms with a much loved game being given the movie treatment. GameInformer magazine has been looking at the Prince of Persia film as 'the blockbuster that turns video game from an afterthought to a summer mover staple. For game fans, there's a lot to look forward to.' It's the film that 'could help prove out the genre.' Here is the article for any gamers amongst us, including myself.



And of the film itself, 'Most importantly, it stars Jake Gyllenhaal, who, while not known as an action hero, has the acting chops to create a character that really resonates. Here again, video games seem to be learning from the success of comic book films. 'Some of the best superhero or comic-book movies lately have been with really good, quirky actors who are putting on the tights for the first time, so to speak,' says Jordan Mechner. 'Robery Downey as Iron Man, Christian Bale as Batman, Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man. I was really glad when they cast Jake because he has the vulnerability, intelligence, and humour that are such an important part of who the Prince of Persia is, as I imagine him. He's a good fighter but he doesn't exist to fight; he's not Conan the Barbarian.'' - Thank heavens for that.




Incidentally, should you wish to write to the Prince of Persia, there's a good chance GameInformer is where your letter may turn up...



Many thanks to BBMISwear for the scans! Pictures from Lionsgate.

[Updated update] Jake Gyllenhaal cast in scifi Source Code! Duncan Jones to direct. Brothers trailer no. 3

[Updated update] Forgive the ugliness of this post - things are moving fast! There is a slightly new Brothers trailer today - the differences are very minor, but I'll take anything I can get for Brothers. Source.



This scene below is the only significant addition for Jake Gyllenhaal's character.


[Another update] Duncan Jones has now tweeted confirmation - details here. Some bits and pieces from Duncan: 'true.. its a good step up in budget and ambition too. Im excited to work with Jake G too. cool guy. I like him.' 'Source Code came with an offer hard to refuse.' 'Hopefully it will be a little more professional than Moon, and we will have a proper online presence as we go.' Good! See below for more updated links about the script.

The Post

This story has just been published (and now in Variety): 'Philippe Rousselet’s Vendome Pictures has announced its first project, teaming with Mark Gordon on the sci-fi thriller Source Code starring Jake Gyllenhaal. Summit International has already pre-sold rights to more than 15 territories at AFM. Duncan Jones, fresh from his critically acclaimed low budget sci-fi Moon, will direct the story of a US soldier who wakes up in the body of an unknown commuter and is forced to live and relive a train bombing until he can find the perpetrator. Ben Ripley wrote the screenplay with revisions from Billy Ray.'

'Mark Gordon of The Mark Gordon Company will produce with Rousselet, a longtime French producer who set up Vendome a year ago backed by a $115m revolving credit facility funded by a consortium of banks. Production is set for first quarter 2010 and Summit Entertainment will release in the US. CAA packaged and arranged financing for the film. The title has been one of the hottest at the market, with rights going to Optimum in the UK, Kinowelt in Germany, Hopscotch in Australia, SND in France, Aurum in Spain, Sandrew Metronome in Scandinavia, and Belga in Benelux.'


'“Source Code is the perfect film on which to launch the Vendome slate,” Rousselet said. “The film offers a unique and engaging story that we believe will appeal to a world-wide audience. Furthermore having the opportunity to work alongside Mark and Duncan is a dream start for our company and exemplifies the types of producers and film-makers we at Vendome plan to be in business with.”'

'“Jake and I have been trying to find a project together since we worked on The Day After Tomorrow,” Gordon said. “He’s a wonderful actor and perfect for this role in Source Code.”'

Source. Updated to add that the story is now in Variety.


Interestingly, this story follows the recent tweet by Duncan Jones that he met Jake for a breakfast business meeting. This is a director I would love Jake to work with - Moon was superb. The brief synopsis suggests yet again the range of Jake. If this film does begin filming in the first quarter of 2010, it couldn't be more different from Prince of Persia and Love and Other Drugs. So, what do you think? One also wonders how this would fit in with Doug LIman's beloved Unnamed Moon Project. Whatever the case, I whole heartedly approve of seeing the movies line up...

Meanwhile, can I get in an early reminder to Duncan about the obligatory shower and towel scenes?


[Update] Thanks to Jake Fan for a link to a review of the script. I've got to say, this sounds much better than the simplistic synopsis had suggested (so long as it's better than Vantage Point).

More information here, too.

Brothers screening

Updated to add: It appears that the Brothers screening is taking place this afternoon (LA time) at the Director's Guild. Jake has been seen in Pittsburgh today and so he is unlikely to be there. Jim Sheridan, however, is and he is doing a Q&A after the viewing. Hopefully we will get some reports of the screening and what Jim has to say.
Thanks to IHJ for the pictures.

Brokeback, film of the the Noughties but still relevant - 'we all have lips'

With the end of the Noughties looming, the impulse to to make lists increases. Two newspapers - the Times and the Telegraph - have listed their best and/or most defining films of the decade and Brokeback Mountain features prominently. I'm also pleased to say that Donnie Darko also gets a nod, as it deserves.


The Telegraph lists Brokeback Mountain as its second most defining movie of the 00s. 'Director Ang Lee insists on calling this simply “a love story” but it broke new ground as a gay cowboy movie. Achingly moving, with career-high performances from Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal as the strong, silent, repressed lead characters. A stunning achievement, brilliantly executed, with an acute sense of time and location.' Fahrenheit 9/11 takes first place. This is an interesting list because it doesn't reflect on what is best but what is important, and how the cinema both reflects and prods at society. The full list is here.


The Times went for the 'best' approach and listed Brokeback at No. 17. Not a bad spot when one considers just how many movies have been made over a decade, but, still, not high enough. 'This achingly sad love story gave Heath Ledger a chance to explore hitherto unsuspected depths. It’s a hugely powerful performance — his inarticulate yearning is almost painful to watch.' I think Jake Gyllenhaal played a part in it too. Obviously, the whole point of a poll is to argue with it and this point is proved by this poll placing The Queen at No. 9 and Casino Royale at No. 8!


Time to crank open the archives chest once more and go back in time to 2005 and listen to Jake and Ang Lee (at a press conference) discuss Brokeback Mountain:


'"There are women I've done love scenes with that I'm not very attracted to, and women that I've done love scenes with that I probably should be a little less attracted to. [This is] different obviously, but there's a weird sense when you're on the set, there's definitely a performance aspect to it," Gyllenhaal said. "Everything is heightened in that way, when you're performing with another actor. When we were doing it, there was something very similar to fighting, especially the love scenes. When we kissed each other, you know whatever, we just did it -- really raw human beings, we all have lips, it just happened, you know?"'


'Ledger's next film after "Brokeback" is "Casanova," where he plays the most notorious lover of women, and Gyllenhaal appeared last month as a macho soldier in "Jarhead." When suggested that these roles have been seen as affirming the heterosexuality of both actors, Gyllenhaal responded without missing a beat, "I don't need to play any role to affirm my sexuality. Whatever questions anybody has about that, if they do have any questions, I welcome them," he said. "I don't need to affirm anything to anybody, that's why I picked the movies I've done and why I've picked this movie. I don't think Heath feels that way either, I mean when someone offers you 'Casanova,' gay or straight, you should do it... I think it's kind of brilliant that people go in with this idea of actors, knowing or thinking that they're straight and then that they're playing these roles too; I think it's just another degree of deconstructing that whole theory of sexuality," he said.'


'"It was written almost 10 years ago. And it just so happens that right now on television, we all love 'Will and Grace' and we all love 'Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,' and things have changed, and there is a reason why this movie is coming out now," Gyllenhaal said. Seemingly trying to avoid politics, Lee argued for the opposite. "I think if it's a love story, it's important to come out anytime. I think we don't know what love is. We know what love stories are all about and we started making them 2000 years ago. We always look for new material, precious new obstacles to tell the same old story," Lee said.'


Gyllenhaal doesn't seem to be too concerned with offending or losing any of his male fans. "Well, 'male' is broad," he said, adding, "I mean, I've been told by a lot of people I have a very faithful gay audience too, and they're male." After a statement was made about the film being highly anticipated, particularly from the gay community, the actor responded: "I think there should be high expectations for it-from the gay community, from all..." before being cut off quickly by Lee. "I don't think it's for one community. Just because they're gay doesn't mean they think alike. There are gay people who come out crying, there are gay audiences who are disappointed -- they want to see more exposure in the love scenes," the director said. "The other day after I watched it, I was walking on the treadmill and I start crying, not because I'm gay but because I'm middle-aged. You get comments from the whole spectrum."'


'Gyllenhaal gave personal examples of his family's response to the film. "My parents walked out of the movie and my father was like, 'If we weren't talking after this movie, I probably would've gone into the bathroom and kept crying.' And my mom felt the same way," he said. "And my two gay godfathers walked out going like, 'Mm-hmm.' Who is it a story for? I don't know. But it's definitely affecting people in different ways."'


Yesterday was 7 November, Pine Creek Day, a Brokie Day. It seems appropriate that I spent it in the good company of Brokies (and some giant pink reindeer). Here is a rather festive Carnaby Street.


Includes pictures from IHJ, article from the WDW Archives - as always pdf available on request.

[Updated] Jake Gyllenhaal with an octopus on his head... And a Brothers puzzle. New PoP stills

[Update: Just saw this tweet: 'i will meet Jake Gyllenhaal and Toby Mcguire on Sunday at special Brothers movie premiere, that are my wknd plans ;)' By the sound of it this event (a media screening of sorts?) will be in LA. It would be good to know more - well, there's an understatement. Jim's spoken about premieres in NYC and Ireland - let's hope we hear soon.]

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear - this is a very naughty octopus indeed. I would like to hope that no Jake Gyllenhaal was harmed during the making of this video. No wonder that octopus has a smile on its face....



It may be worth noting that Jake's word in the video is 'separate' and, according to the Sesame Street episode guide, that word features on December 4. Hmmmm.... And doesn't a certain film come out on December 4? Many thanks to Stephanie at IHJ for finding this gem. And it taught me to spell a word - bonus!





Maggie was also given a surprise...


Time to Play a Game

Thanks to the new Brothers trailer that was released yesterday we have a Spot the Difference game!





Many thanks to IHJ for the screen caps and for Stephanie's eagle eyes!

Updated to add new official stills from Disney for the Prince of Persia. Source.










Carey Mulligan, star of An Education and as good as Oscared according to many critics, spoke a little about Brothers to the Independent today: 'In the UK, however, she will next be seen alongside Jake Gyllenhaal, Tobey Maguire and Natalie Portman in Jim Sheridan's Brothers. A US remake of the Danish film by Susanne Bier, it's been in post-production for some time. Mulligan notes "it feels like a million years ago" since she made it. She plays the wife of a soldier accidentally killed by Maguire's character. "It's a small part but Jim's very playful, and he slotted me into lots of the rest of the movie. We improvised that scene more than it was written. He's such an amazing film-maker. I want to work with him and play a bigger part, if I'm lucky enough, because he's so amazing. In America is one of my favourite movies."'