The Ups & Downs Of "Brokeback Mountain"
Posted:  Tuesday April 26th, 2005 4:12pm
Source:  After Elton
Author:  Garth Franklin

Ang Lee's upcoming film "Brokeback Mountain" about two young cowboys (Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal) who tumble into love while herding sheep through the Wyoming mountain range during the early '60s, was excluded from the Cannes screening schedule altogether reports After Elton.

Given Ang Lee's track history, the elimination from the running at Cannes is of note, especially since the contenders this year are helmed by indie cinema darlings like Lars Von Trier, David
Cronenberg, Wim Wenders, Jim Jarmusch, and Gus Van Sant (who was originally slotted to direct Brokeback). However, Cannes has also never accepted a film of Lee's for competition, and reportedly don't particularly like him. So the film's rejection from the lineup may have nothing to do with the movie itself, rather with who's directing it.

Why the project didn't measure up at Cannes remains unknown, though the trades reported two weeks earlier that "Brokeback Mountain" was "looking wobbly for Competition," and confided that the film reportedly "underwhelmed the selection committee."

This comes at odds with other recent reports that many studio executives were "moved to tears" at a recent screening of it. "It's a great American love story," says a source to the paper who confirmed it is unabashed about the gay relationship that is central to the
film and there are sex scenes. Whether the famous Heath Ledger skinny dipping photos that surfaced last year were part of the film is unsure though they won't be in the movie's final edit.

One of my most reliable sources who also happens to be one of Dark Horizons' greatest supporters (and a really good friend) also confirmed that people were crying and loving the film at a recent US screening. In fact the move to December 9th seems primarily for Oscar chances and that both "Brokeback" and Cameron Crowe's "Elizabethtown" are looking likely to be big contenders for awards next year.

- posted by Ally 
- written by: Garth Franklin
- Credit: Dark Horizons 
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TORONTO - Hollywood stars Salma Hayek and Jake Gyllenhaal joined Canadian Inuits in the Arctic Circle for a traditional spring dance on Earth Day Friday, seeking to highlight the effect of global warming on northern Canadians.

The celebrities joined some 1,000 Inuit — half of whom were children — in their traditional dress and followed elders onto an ice floe to form the image of an Inuit drum dancer. From the air, photographers were able to see the humans spell out the words: "Arctic Warning: Listen."

Hayek told reporters on a conference call Friday from the Arctic frontier of Iqaluit, Nunavut that the Inuit were survivors. "We have a lot to learn from them if we follow their wonderful wisdom. Just listen to the land."

The Natural Resources Defense Council, which sponsored the event with Global Green USA, said even conservative scientific estimates show that half the summer sea ice in the Arctic will melt by the end of this century, as the region warms another 7 to 13 degrees.

The softening permafrost has already driven caribou and polar bears further north. The World Wide Fund for Nature said earlier this year that many polar bears and some seal species could face extinction in just decades because of global warming.

"Global warming is an abstract concept to most people; we know it's happening, but we can't really visualize its effect," Gyllenhaal said. "Unfortunately, the Inuit people put a human face on global warming, they are literally melting away. They are the canary in the coal mine."

Many scientists argue that global warming is caused by emissions from the burning of fossil fuels collecting in the Earth's atmosphere.

"Each of us has a stake in combatting global warming, and the Inuit have reminded us that the clock is ticking," said Matt Petersen, president of Global Green. "While our federal government in the U.S. fails to act, we must follow the lead of places, such as California and Canada, that are actively reducing their global warming emissions."

Some six million Canadians were expected to attend thousands of events to celebrate the 35th Earth Day, such as picking up garbage and planting trees. Canada has some of the world's most pristine forests and seas and Canadians are fiercely proud of efforts to protect their abundant natural resources.

- posted by Ally 
- Credit: Yahoo! News
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Gyllenhaal, Downey Align for 'Zodiac'

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Mark Ruffalo is in negotiations and Jake Gyllenhaal and Robert Downey have signed on to "Seven" director David Fincher's long-gestating thriller "Zodiac."

Gyllenhaal will play Robert Graysmith, the journalist and author of the two books, "Zodiac" and "Zodiac Unmasked," upon which the film is based. Downey will play fellow reporter Paul Avery, and Ruffalo would play the San Francisco homicide inspector in charge of the case.

The books revolve around the real-life tale of a serial killer known as the Zodiac Killer, who terrorized San Francisco for 25 years. Graysmith and Avery worked at the San Francisco Chronicle, which the killer used as a conduit to communicate with authorities.James Vanderbilt is adapting the books for the project, which Phoenix Pictures is producing.

Warner Bros. Pictures and Paramount Pictures are co-financing the picture, with Paramount handling domestic distribution while Warners oversees international output. Warners is the lead studio on the project.

Ruffalo just wrapped the remake of "All the King's Men" for Columbia Pictures. His recent credits include "Collateral," "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and "We Don't Live Here Anymore." His upcoming releases include the Rob Reiner-directed comedy-drama "Rumor Has It" and the romantic comedy "Just Like Heaven."

Gyllenhaal has appeared in "The Day After Tomorrow," "The Good Girl," "Moonlight Mile" and "Donnie Darko." His upcoming film work includes the screen adaptation of David Auburn's Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Proof," the Ang Lee-directed "Brokeback Mountain" and "Jarhead," directed by Sam Mendes.

Downey's screen credits include "Gothika," "The Singing Detective," "Wonder Boys," "Two Girls and a Guy" and his Oscar-nominated lead performance in "Chaplin." He's currently onscreen in the art-house film "Eros." Upcoming films include "Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang" and "Goodnight, and Good Luck," a drama about broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow, directed and written by George Clooney.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

- posted by Ally 
- Credit: Yahoo! News
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"Rumored" Songs to be in Brokeback Mountain

- By Rufus Wainwright-"Shut Down The World" aka "Leaving You", aka "Cowboy Song"

- Willie Nelson is singing "He Was a Friend of Mine" (with Larry Campbell, Tony Garnier, George Recile and Mickey Rafael) for Brokeback Mountain

- it will also feature songs written with Bernie Taupin to be sung by Willie Nelson and Emmylou Harris.

- and the Theme of the movie will be "All The Wild Horses" sung by Ray LaMontagne, from his debut album Trouble(

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO SAMPLE

- posted by Ally 
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