Ian McKellen Pissed Off at Jake

[Nicole]

So, this thread was really going well on IMDb......until it abruptly got deleted.  So, I thought I'd start it again here.

This is the article referred to:

http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/mckellen%20blasts%20gyllenhaal_30_03_2006

So, thoughts?  Opinions? 

[vkm91941]

Much as I respect Sir Ian, I think his comment is a bit of over reacting and does more to reinforce the sterotypes of the gay community than any thing these actors have said.  I thought it was very brave of Jake and Heath to admit their fears and their need to confront and over come their hidden homophobic thoughts in order to take on these roles.  It never came across as disrespectful to me when taken within the context of his whole statement..JMO

[henrypie]

I thought the thing about Helen Mirren was the cherry on top of a sundae of silliness -- couldn't take his comment very seriously.  I get his feeling, but I feel as if he's giving him a hard time unnecessarily.

[chefjudy]

 I have always been a big fan of Ian, his portrait of James Whale should go down in movie history as one of the great roles ever.  But I doubt that Jake was trying to be offensive in any way to gays in his statement - it was just a difficult thing for him to do - fortunately, onscreen it came across very natural and I might add, beautiful to watch........... 

[starboardlight]

I do see Ian's point. I sometimes wish people would just get over the guy kissing guy thing, but reality is, the apprehension is there. I don't know if it's different in England, but here in the US, it's been drilled into us. I'm a gay man and I was scared to kiss a man at one point in my life. I give Jake credit for admitting that it scared him. I also give him credit for being able to challenge himself and confront that fear, and not just confronting it, but pulled out an unbelievably compelling performance for us.

[monimm18]

I give Jake credit for admitting that it scared him. I also give him credit for being able to challenge himself and confront that fear, and not just confronting it, but pulled out an unbelievably compelling performance for us.

Amen.

I think Sir McK is taking things a bit too personally and negatively. Of course Jake was scared, he was going to play a gay man by examplifying it with actual kisses, for a mainstream and predominantly homophobic audience that might reject his role, his film and even him for doing it. It's a totally different thing than a man, gay or not, kissing a woman in a film, that thing is accepted already. I thought Ian McKellen was capable to realize the difference... His comment would be justified in a world free of homophobia, where one can kiss anybody on screen without fear of driving their carrier in a cul de sac.

[delalluvia]

I think Ian is overreacting.

Jake was just being honest.  And it also allowed other men to empathize with him - new experiences can be scary and intimidating if you're not used to it, I don't care what experiences they are.

[rtprod]

Okay, like I posted this afternoon, I disagree with nearly everyone.

You're an actor -- get over it.  Stop.  Now.  It's another human being, and Heath very nicely said this in Rolling Stone.  Kissing another person is not awful no matter what the sex.  New?  Yes.  Uncomfortable?  Maybe a little.  But the level of apprehension and hurdles Jake claims he faced were not believable or professional to his craft.  I know, I know, he's a young kid, etc.....

European actors are very candid and complimentary about their same-sex onscreen trysts.  No ego or fears or defenses.

Jake, for all the Gyllenhaalics who will crucify me, continued on ad nauseum (anyone see the Oprah hand-kiss?  Now that grossed me out) about his prejudices, fears, etc., though I think it was Ang Lee who said that Jake's personal feelings came out in the tent scenes (or the first one)...

Go ahead -- give me hell!   

Sorry guys...   

rt

[delalluvia]

Okay, like I posted this afternoon, I disagree with nearly everyone.

You're an actor -- get over it.  Stop.  Now.  It's another human being, and Heath very nicely said this in Rolling Stone.  Kissing another person is not awful no matter what the sex.  New?  Yes.  Uncomfortable?  Maybe a little.  But the level of apprehension and hurdles Jake claims he faced were not believable or professional to his craft.  I know, I know, he's a young kid, etc.....

European actors are very candid and complimentary about their same-sex onscreen trysts.  No ego or fears or defenses.

Jake, for all the Gyllenhaalics who will crucify me, continued on ad nauseum (anyone see the Oprah hand-kiss?  Now that grossed me out) about his prejudices, fears, etc., though I think it was Ang Lee who said that Jake's personal feelings came out in the tent scenes (or the first one)...

Go ahead -- give me hell!   

Sorry guys...   

rt

Hiya rtprod,

Yeah, Heath said that, but he also said he and Jake horsed around and 'joked' while filiming the actual tent scene.  Obviously after so many takes, they get used to kissing each other, but first off?  Obviously there was some apprehension.

Yeah, they're actors,so why is Heath still nervous on stage?   You could just say 'he's an actor!  Get over it!'.  That won't make him less shy or nervous doing a performance in front of an audience.

[rtprod]

Hi Del,

I think Jake was talking (on and on and on) about something other than just the general overall nervousness of acting. 

He was, at every turn, asserting his offscreen heterosexuality (if that even turns out to be the case we are not yet sure), distancing himself from the characters by alternately claiming they were straight guys who just happened to fall in love, etc., combined with his talk (and talk) about his own prejudices, etc. 

Why not just do like Gael Garcia Bernal, Antonio Banderas, Stephane Rideau and Javier Bardem (who said he personally had to find a way to be attracted to his costars in Before Night Falls)?  They all praised the material, their director and costars as attractive, said the experiences were about learning and growing as people, and certainly pleasant. 

Jake's push-pull of the press, material and his own odd takes on the characters and his sexuality really turned me off.  And I like Jake, so I have no bias against him.  I found his remarks increasingly bizarre and sort of offensive, though he didn't intend them as such.

Just my twenty cents or so.

rt

[starboardlight]

Okay, like I posted this afternoon, I disagree with nearly everyone.

You're an actor -- get over it.  Stop.  Now.  It's another human being, and Heath very nicely said this in Rolling Stone.  Kissing another person is not awful no matter what the sex.  New?  Yes.  Uncomfortable?  Maybe a little.  But the level of apprehension and hurdles Jake claims he faced were not believable or professional to his craft.  I know, I know, he's a young kid, etc.....

European actors are very candid and complimentary about their same-sex onscreen trysts.  No ego or fears or defenses.

Jake, for all the Gyllenhaalics who will crucify me, continued on ad nauseum (anyone see the Oprah hand-kiss?  Now that grossed me out) about his prejudices, fears, etc., though I think it was Ang Lee who said that Jake's personal feelings came out in the tent scenes (or the first one)...

Go ahead -- give me hell!   

Sorry guys...   

rt

and he did get over it. i just think it's cool that he admits to having to confront the internalized homophobia. It would be ideal if we didn't have homophobia, but truth is, it's there in us. Even the most liberal of us, even gay men, have internalized homophobia. Admitting it is not a crime. It's actually the first step to confronting it.

[delalluvia]

Hi Del,

I think Jake was talking (on and on and on) about something other than just the general overall nervousness of acting. 

He was, at every turn, asserting his offscreen heterosexuality (if that even turns out to be the case we are not yet sure), distancing himself from the characters by alternately claiming they were straight guys who just happened to fall in love, etc., combined with his talk (and talk) about his own prejudices, etc. 

Why not just do like Gael Garcia Bernal, Antonio Banderas, Stephane Rideau and Javier Bardem (who said he personally had to find a way to be attracted to his costars in Before Night Falls)?  They all praised the material, their director and costars as attractive, said the experiences were about learning and growing as people, and certainly pleasant. 

Jake's push-pull of the press, material and his own odd takes on the characters and his sexuality really turned me off.  And I like Jake, so I have no bias against him.  I found his remarks increasingly bizarre and sort of offensive, though he didn't intend them as such.

Just my twenty cents or so.

rt

Jaike's words on 'straight guys' was very early in his interviewings.  Remember, Jake hasn't been exposed to so much interviewing in his entire life, probably.  He got better at interviews as time went on.  And also, he realized how some of his words could be taken out of context or misinterpreted or perhaps he just didn't express himself as well as he wanted to.

Ian - actor par excellence - should know that.

[rtprod]

Hi Starboard,

I agree with you that admitting it is not a crime.

But actors, dealing with material this sensitive and meaningful to so many people, need to be careful about how much offscreen baggage they attach to it.  It can spoil the viewing experience when we are trying to imagine how fantastic and beautiful a love scene is for Jack Twist if Jake Gyllenhaal has distanced himself from it and given uncomfortable anecdotes about the shoot. 

This is true of Debra Winger and Richard Gere, who did not get along during An Officer and a Gentleman, and it's true of Jake, in my opinion. 

rt

[monimm18]

Go ahead -- give me hell!   

LOL, nah, we luv ya anyway, but I wanted to point this out for ya:

European actors are very candid and complimentary about their same-sex onscreen trysts.  No ego or fears or defenses.

I think European actors are in a different situation than the American ones. The European audiences are less homophobic than the American one, IMO because of the totally different role and position religion has in Europe. It would take me pages to compare the European and the American audiences, they are alike and yet so different on so many levels and issues, but I noticed that, however controversial and detested a role an actor played, they never get the axe from the public or the film industry over there.

You're an actor -- get over it.  Stop.  Now.  It's another human being, and Heath very nicely said this in Rolling Stone.  Kissing another person is not awful no matter what the sex.

I thought his fears were more about how the scenes will be viewed by the audience and the consequences, but I might be wrong. Also, there are so many speculations on his sexuality that maybe he was just trying to make sure this role won't start another wave of rumors. I think, nobody likes to be labelled something they're not (or something they're not ready to admit they are...)

Jake, for all the Gyllenhaalics who will crucify me, continued on ad nauseum (anyone see the Oprah hand-kiss?  Now that grossed me out)

That, I agree with. I was uncomfortable watching him doing the stupid hand kiss thing; I thought he was just trying to be funny and went too far. He kinda does that, you know - remember the Conan pissing gesture, or the Ellen shirt off thing.

I think it was Ang Lee who said that Jake's personal feelings came out in the tent scenes (or the first one)...

Just curious when Ang said that and what he really meant by it.

 

[slayers_creek_oth]

I think Ian is overreacting......misinterpreting what Jake said and it almost seems to be a little out of context....

JMO

[rtprod]

Ian - actor par excellence - should know that.

I think that Ian, like many other gay people, got tired of these "out of context" and incongruous remarks popping up in so many different interviews.  I don't think Jake intended any harm at all.  But he was speaking with some very loaded sentences and phrases, about a topic close to the heart and identity of millions of gay men.  That takes more TLC than Jake offered; more political correctness. 

I'm not attacking him, rather I'm saying that he was careless and over-elaborated on things, and in areas, the he should have been more reserved and thoughtful about. 

rt

[RouxB]

I think it is human nature to want to be validated-I think Ian McKellen's reaction stems from this. We want our choices to be reflected in others. I can understand what he is saying but I don't agree that Jake handled the question inappropriately. Being apprehensive about an experience one has never had is not a indictment of the experience-it's just a human reaction.

Some years ago I got mad crush on a same-sex co-worker (me being straightish). After walking to our cars after work one day she kissed me. I freaked out (but of course kissed back first!). The next day I was totally in love.

Yes, Jake is an actor but he is also human and I think he pretty much prooved he "got over it".

[opinionista]

I think Jake was being honest about what he felt. Ian McKellen has to understand that it probably wasn't easy for a young rising star like Gyllenhaal to do what he did in Brokeback especially after hearing over and over that taking such a role would be career suicide. When he was filming he didn't know what the public reaction would be, or whether he was indeed killing his career. So, Jake reaction's was normal considering the situation. I don't think it was just the kiss but the whole thing.

Mr. McKellen should thank Gyllenhaal for agreeing to do a role that nobody else wanted instead of criticizing him for feeling afraid.

[Ellemeno]

the funny thing for me is, the main thing I want to say about this is - Helen Mirren is hot!

[kirkmusic]

 "or the Ellen shirt off thing. "


JAKE TOOK HIS SHIRT OFF ON ELLEN?!?!?!?  Does anyone have that on a youtube video or something?

I for one think that somewhere along the line the reporter got things exagerated.  Jake calling the intimate stuff "terrifying" doesn't seem like him, and I think Ian McKellen has better things to do than publicly chastise a 25 year-old for being insecure.  Just a thought.