Jake

[silkncense]

Yes, but the difference here is that Daniel Day-Lewis' comments will most likely not be shown or replayed on Fox News/some idiots' radio shows and made a mockery of.

I hope Jake will have the strength & conviction not to care.

[Brown Eyes]

he and Heath together form one of the cultural iconic landmark images of our time....

Just bouncing off of this... and Eric's response on this too.

Man, some of these images take on incredible intensity.  Maybe now more than ever.  Lately I feel like I'm seeing some of these things with new eyes.  There's an intimacy about all of these that I feel like I'm sensing in a new way now.

At the moment, these images take on a special power in trying to imagine, even a tiny, little bit, of what Jake's memories of Heath must be like.   To me, it's just so profound to think of them sharing the experience of creating these images together.  And now, with the loss of Heath so soon, some of these images will be how Heath really is permanently recalled in the public imagination.
 


<img src="http://www.divshare.com/img/midsize/3611719-a17.jpg" border="0" />


<img src="http://www.divshare.com/img/3611721-17e.jpg" border="0" />

<img src="http://www.divshare.com/img/1668338-15e.jpg" border="0" />

<img src="http://www.divshare.com/img/1668337-be0.jpg" border="0" />

<img src="http://www.divshare.com/img/3611722-fa5.jpg" border="0" />



<img src="http://www.divshare.com/img/midsize/3611720-c82.jpg" border="0" />

[LauraGigs]

Well, they created those images together — along with the gaffers, lighting guys, assistant directors, and animal wranglers who were within feet of them at shooting time.

Not to negate what you're saying though Amanda.  I agree that Heath and Jake, through all the intense discussions and preparations they did together, have a unique bond.  And it must be bizarre, being half of the Janus-like images from Brokeback, and losing the "other half".

[BBM-Cat]

You're right LauraGigs, you hit the nail precisely on the head...it's the stark realization that 'the other half' is missing which intensifies the grief...especially because it's so final and permanent - it feels like the yin-yang is out of balance just as in BBM, when Jack or Ennis were without the other.


Those images are lovely Amanda, thank you for posting them. Though certainly they have been viewed many times before, they do take on a new meaning and are very poignant - I could never tire of them. I can only speculate that it would be extremey difficult for Jake to even think about those moments of filming BBM together...how incredibly painful.

[Sandy]

I think we all took solace in the fact that although Jack died, Ennis still lived.  Heath was Ennis, so when Heath died, it feels a little like BBM did too.

[Brown Eyes]

For what it's worth, someone over at brokebackslash posted the link for this article about Jake. It's from The Daily Telegraph.

Godfather Jake Gyllenhaal's silent agony
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23105747-5001021,00.html?from=public_rss

-------------------------------------------------------------

January 25, 2008 12:00am

JAKE Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger's best friend and Matilda's godfather, has been left to grieve on his own and has not been seen since the actor's death.

According to TMZ, people on the set of his new film, Brothers, are helping the star keep it that way as he is too distressed to talk to media.

Gyllenhaal is currently filming in New Mexico and has been holed up in the studio. There are no plans to stop the film's production to give Jake time to fly to New York to be with Michelle Williams.

The set has been closed to non-crew members and extra security has been hired to keep photographers at bay and to ensure the actor's privacy, according to TMZ.

Now that two-year-old Matilda is left to grow up without her doting father, the responsibility to keep Heath Ledger's memory alive falls partly on her famous godfather, Jake Gyllenhaal.

Jake, Heath and Matilda's mom Michelle Williams, bonded on the set of their Academy Award-winning hit Brokeback Mountain, for which they all received Oscar nominations.

"Heath and I are best friends now making the film was very intense for us," said Jake, 27, who played Heath's sheep-herding love interest in the Blockbuster hit. He described being Matilda's godfather as "an amazing honor," he told Page Six.

"I remember being in rehearsal, and the two of them had googly eyes with each other," he has said of the romance between Matilda's parents.

 Source: The Daily Telegraph
 
[accompanied by this picture and caption]
<img src="http://www.divshare.com/img/3613276-cc9.jpg" border="0" />
Best friends ... Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal in happier times.

[yb]

I haven't read the whole thread but I know there are some discussion about whether Jake should make a statement or not.  At first I thought Jake would make a statement after one or two days, but as time goes and Jake still hadn't done so, I am beginning to believe they do have a real friendship which goes deep, unaware to us outsiders.  Otherwise, out of courtesy, he must have already done it.  I'm not sure if this theory is correct or not, but at this time, I tend to believe it.  So, I hope the media will leave Jake alone and let him take his time until he feels comfortable to talk about Heath. 

[souxi]

I haven't read the whole thread but I know there are some discussion about whether Jake should make a statement or not.  At first I thought Jake would make a statement after one or two days, but as time goes and Jake still hadn't done so, I am beginning to believe they do have a real friendship which goes deep, unaware to us outsiders.  Otherwise, out of courtesy, he must have already done it.  I'm not sure if this theory is correct or not, but at this time, I tend to believe it.  So, I hope the media will leave Jake alone and let him take his time until he feels comfortable to talk about Heath. 

I,m in total agreement with you yb. Heath was his best friend, and they shared a bond that none of us will ever understand. Poor Jake must be devasated. I hope the media will respect his need for privacy and leave him alone to grieve for his friend.
Last night I watched some of Brokeback Mountain. Straight after that they showed "10 things i hate about you". He looked so young with his long hair.  Bless him. 

[Mikaela]

That said, what DDL said and did was lovely, and I think it's especially great that he did it, on all places, on Oprah, because she's yet another idiot who had/has no idea what kind of a genius she had sitting on her stage two years ago, and she never will.

What you said. Both about DDL, and certainly about Oprah. So far, there's no doubt in my mind that the most moving tribute I've seen, has been DDL's - someone who didn't know Heath but yet was so moved at his passing. One can only imagine what those who actually knew him are going through. Like Jake.

Thank you Amanda, for posting the images. Both the Film's poster and the dozy are certainly among those iconic cultural images.... As has been said, it's as if the yin and yang has been torn in two - the "other half lost" - you all say this so well.

Poor Jake.  

From BBM-Cat
I can only speculate that it would be extremey difficult for Jake to even think about those moments of filming BBM together...how incredibly painful.

And yet it's fairly certain that in every major portrait interview of Jake, and in relation to articles/festivals etc. to commemorate Heath, or Brokeback, or contemporary Westerns, and so forth - Jake will be made to think of those moments and recall them in public over the years of his own career. No way around that.

It's all so bisarre - such a mirror yet contrast to the film: Jack dies, in real life it's Heath. In the film Ennis grieves in secret, can never voice his grief or tell anyone, - while in RL Jake will in all likelihood have no choice but to talk about it in public.... over and over.

I only hope as time passes and grief is less immediate, that the memories of filming BBM and what they experienced then give Jake comfort and that he will appreciate being able to hold Heath's memory alive through remembering those times in interviews etc.

~~

I wonder if any of the Gyllenhaals were going to be approached to be Oscar presenters for one of the categories. If there is an Oscar show.

~~


Concerning Hugh Grant, - that hoopla was before YouTube and the multiple channels of today so we Norwegians didn't get to see the US talk shows. My understanding from the ones I saw later, and especially from articles I've read - has been that Hugh deliberately went the gamut of appearing at some shows fairly quickly in order to do damage control & look contrite etc.  - ie. the whole purpose was that they'd ask him about it. But later on, the subject was off limits at his appearances and it consequently wasn't mentioned though the audiences certainly were thinking about that when they saw him - he refused to appear and have it dragged up all anew, and that was respected. Just my understanding from afar. May well be wrong...

[Kelda]

I've been wondering - how close were Jake and Heath in recent months? Have we seen many photos of them together recently?

I'm not saying this in any way lessens how jake is feeling, but we all know that the time they spent together must have effected the strength of their relationship, and since they hadn't been workign together recently - were they still as close?