Source Code Infographic, Vera Farmiga SXSW interview

Spoilers ahead: The initial studio-released plot description of Source Code avoids spoiler-y talk of the fictional science within the film, simply noting that Jake Gyllenhaal’s character “cross[es] over into another man’s identity in the last 8 minutes of his life” in order to avert a terrorist attack. But in the weeks leading up to the film’s April 1 release, Summit has increasingly emphasized Source Code’s parallel reality science, and a new poster seems to reveal a few too many clues to what happens in the film.
As depicted in the poster, eight parallel train tracks curved into the same S-shaped path (S for Source Code!) head toward an explosive destination at the eight-minute mark. Ostensibly, the trade-off in hinting at these concepts is that audiences will realize Source Code isn’t just about time travel, a sci-fi conceit that’s been explored exhaustively in other films that have come before. (According to screenwriter Ben Ripley, Source Code’s science is much closer to what real life theoretical physicists suggest is possible.) And of course, how the characters within the film negotiate these parallel tracks and get to the end is what the filmmakers hope will draw audiences in — that, and the prospect of watching Jake Gyllenhaal charm/save his way through the same 8-minute loop for 90 minutes" Source: www.cinemablend.com


It's difficult enough for an actor to work off of another highly animated actor. It is another thing entirely to have to act the majority of a film off of a camera alone. That is where actress Vera Farmiga (The Departed, Up in the Air) found herself in Duncan Jones' Source Code. Vera Farmiga as Carol Goodwin in "Source Code" (2011)

She plays Goodwin - Jake Gyllenhaal's guide and connection to the "outside" as he attempts to uncover first-hand who bombed a train. I had the honor of sitting down with Farmiga at SXSW to discuss working with Duncan, her character, not wanting to look into the camera, and the straight-man approach she took working against Jeffrey Wright's crazy eccentricities. Source: www.firstshowing.net

Portraits of Jake Gyllenhaal at 'Source Code' L.A. Press Conference

Jake Gyllenhaal at 'Source Code' Press Conference in Los Angeles on 18th March, 2011, Beverly Hills, CA


Jake Gyllenhaal tells Access what he would do if he could time travel like his character in his new movie, “Source Code.” Also, Jake chat about having the same “crude sense of humor” as co-star Michelle Monaghan.

Source Code is great solid sci-fi raw material

"The general reaction to this film , when it premiered at Austin’s SXSW film festival this week, was amazing. Not only did the audience applaud the film when it wrapped up, but it seems like Source Code is on everyone’s lips. I always appreciate fresh ideas when it comes to sci-fi movies. There’s a lot out there right now, less re-imagined and more re-hashed. Source Code is smart and new without relying too much on what has come before it.That being said, it does deal with quantum physics and parallel dimensions and all that great solid sci-fi raw material. Where it really excels though is in the well-written, smart script and the touching emotional aspects of the story. Source Code is one of those films that will keep you thinking long after you’ve left the theatre. It reminded me a little bit of 12 Monkeys as far time travel and predestination themes, but it came across as less bleak. Either way, the film is a real treat and is a must see". Source: wegotthiscovered.com

EW: Why was Duncan the right fit?

JG: What always scares me is people tend to lose character and a sense of “Why?” on a behavioral, human, psychological level when they’re dealing with something that can be entertaining. When you deal with something that is potentially commercial people just say “Oh, we’ll get to that later.” The movie was not anything I wanted to make unless it was with someone who was a real visionary. And humor too. Duncan has a great sense of humor—dirty and dark and great. I think the great thing about sci fi is there’s a little bit of a campy quality always. I don’t think anybody should take themselves too seriously in time continuum.
Jake Gyllenhaal smiling at "Source Code" SXSW Festival Premiere, 11th March, 2011, Austin, TX

EW: Did you stay to watch the movie?
JG: I did. My best friend lives in Austin and he came with his girlfriend. Literally he grabbed my leg at one point and then at another time, in that scene where I jump off the train, he was like “Oh my god, what the hell?!” I was like “Yes!” Source: insidemovies.ew.com

Pee-wee Herman, Jake Gyllenhaal and Duncan Jones at SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas, March 12, 2011

"Only at SXSW will you see Jake Gyllenhaal and Pee-wee Herman teamed up. While attending the ongoing festival in Austin, the two recently paired up to create short videos explaining each other’s projects. Herman explains what Gyllenhaal’s new film Source Code is about, while Gyllenhaal attempts to explain what The Pee-Wee Herman Show on Broadway is about. Pee-wee’s Broadway show will be airing on HBO Satuday, March 19th, while Source Code is set to hit theaters on April 1st". Source: collider.com


Jake Gyllenhaal kicked off the South by Southwest interactive festival with the premiere of his new movie Source Code in LA on Friday night. The actor chatted about the film and also teased a top-secret upcoming project (the new Bourne film, perhaps?), but an awkward run-in with a fan who tried to snap a picture of the star in the bathroom almost put a damper on the evening. Get the scoop on Jake's bad SXSW encounter! Source: www.popsugar.com

"Donnie Darko" celebrated in Genre Films at the Spirit Awards

Jake Gyllenhaal leaving the Vanity Fair Oscar party in LA on 27th February 2011
Jena Malone (Jake's co-star in "Donnie Darko") attending The Vanity Fair Oscar Party in LA on 27th February 2011

"Best First Feature category has been a hotbed for filmmakers who quickly make their mark with genre films. Although audiences didn't immediately embrace Richard Kelly's time-travel drama "Donnie Darko" in 2002, the Spirit Awards instantly recognized the qualities that would make it a cult classic with nods in the Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay categories. Jake Gyllenhaal and Jena Malone as Donnie and Gretchen in the theatre scene from "Donnie Darko" (2001)

Last year, the biggest stir when nominations were announced came with the announcement of Oren Peli's "Paranormal Activity" the surprise box office hit that was made for just around $15,000 by a software programmer and went on to gross $107 million domestically with the simple premise of a couple tormented by supernatural house guests.

Still of Ashley Bell in The Last Exorcism (2010)

This year, another found footage flick found its way into the category with "The Last Exorcism" which also earned a nomination for its star Ashley Bell in the Best Supporting Female category for her portrayal of a young woman that appears to be possessed by the Devil. Incidentally, the film isn't actually the first from director Daniel Stamm, whose previous mock doc thriller "A Necessary Death" won an audience award at the AFI Fest in Los Angeles in 2008 and brought him to the attention of executive producer Eli Roth after the film's original directors, screenwriters Huck Botko and Andrew Gurland had to leave to direct their other script in development, the comedy "The Virginity Hit." That bit of luck gave Stamm the chance to show his mettle on a substantially larger (but still meager $1.8 million) budget and paired him with Roth, who has injected a much-needed sense of humor into the usually deadly serious arena of horror.
The somewhat tricky nature of Spirit Award paperwork led to a similar nomination oddity in 1997 and 1998, though it was no less prescient when Larry Fessenden picked up the Swatch Someone to Watch Award a year before the Spirit Awards would nominate him again for Best Director - the catch is they were for both for the same film "Habit". Still, there's no argument here about acknowledging Fessenden, who has gone on to become one of the most prominent and important promoters of independent genre films, both as a director himself on films like 2006's Ron Perlman frightfest "The Last Winter" but as the chief of Glass Eye Pix, which has produced such films recently as "Bitter Feast" and "The House of the Devil", introducing the world to filmmakers like Ti West and Joe Maggio.

Duncan Jones director of "Source Code" (starring Jake Gyllenhaal) was a revelation with his indie debut "Moon", a low budget sci-fi film.

In general, indie filmmakers have long pushed the boundaries that often prevent even most mainstream films from presenting the world as they know it, so it only makes sense that many work in horror and science fiction, where at its best, they can offer effective social commentary in a way few other genres of films can be. That the Spirit Awards chooses to acknowledge it keeps the ceremony on the cutting edge and always ahead of what's next". Source: www.ifc.com

Time travel: Inception, Donnie Darko, Source Code, Looper, etc.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Arthur in "Inception" (2010) directed by Christopher Nolan

"Inception" Timeline graphic

"Death is not an event in life: we do not live to experience death. If we take eternity to mean not infinite temporal duration but timelessness, then eternal life belongs to those who live in the present. Our life has no end in the way in which our visual field has no limits." — philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein

"Up to this point in his career, Jake Gyllenhaal can be found, most notably, in an unique and surreal cult film ("Donnie Darko"), in sharply observed American indies ("The Good Girl," "Lovely & Amazing"), tense Middle East conflict dramas ("Jarhead," "Rendition"), a David Fincher-directed serial-killer thriller ("Zodiac"), an English-language remake of a Danish dogma piece ("Brothers"), and an Oscar-winning love story between two men ("Brokeback Mountain," opposite Heath Ledger, of course).
Michelle Monaghan and Jake Gyllenhaal as Christina and Colter filming "Source Code" (2011)

"Source Code", "a science-fiction action thriller" with Vera Farmiga, Michelle Monaghan, and Jeffrey Wright, from Duncan Jones, the director of the eerie art-house android piece "Moon".Sam Rockwell as Sam Bell in "Moon" (2009)

"Love and Other Drugs", a romantic comedy with Gyllenhaal as a pharmaceutical salesman who woos Anne Hathaway. Ed Zwick wrote and directed.
"Annie and I definitely got pretty intimate, because there are a lot of love scenes in the movie, a lot of sexy scenes in that movie. You have to let it all hang out, so to speak." Source: www.newsobserver.com

Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Bobby in "Uncertainty" (2009)
Bruce Willis in W magazine photoshoot (2009)

"Rian Johnson’s sci-fi thriller Looper, starring Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is scheduled to begin filming in January 2011, according to Production Weekly.
The script, written by Johnson (Brick, The Brothers Bloom), is set in the near future a few decades before the invention of time travel. An unseen crime syndicate sends its victims back in time where the bodies are shot and disposed of by blunderbuss-wielding killers called “loopers.”
Gordon-Levitt is one of these loopers, carrying out his deadly duty until the arrival of his future, 57-year-old self (played by Willis). Unable to “close his loop” and end his future, Joe and “Old Joe” go on the run from the syndicate. It’s very 12 Monkeys, but the characters, particularly a woman named Sara, are reminiscent of early entries in The Terminator series. A telekinesis mutation only amplifies the action and mind-bending suspense. I checked out one of the early drafts and it is one of the best scripts I have ever read. This is absolutely a project to watch for, sci-fi fans.Johnson’s latest and Duncan Jones’ upcoming film Source Code are two excitingly fresh perspectives on time travel that I can only hope will reinvigorate the genre. While Ridley Scott’s Alien prequel is worrying fans of the classic original(s) and the Star Trek series is gearing up for its twelfth space mission, a new generation of bright filmmakers — those two, plus District 9’s Neill Blomkamp, Tron: Legacy’s Joseph Kosinski, Carl Rinsch and several others — are ensuring science fiction will continue to be a source of creativity, limitless possibilities, and boundary-breaking technology long after Scott, James Cameron, and George Lucas hang it up. Hyperbolic, maybe, but I’m geeking out over what’s to come". Source: www.newsinfilm.com

Kim Fowley, Joan Jett, Cherie Currie and Kristen Stewart talk about "The Runaways"

-So what was your reaction to seeing the film?

-I have two of them. On a good day, it’s a musical version of "Rebel Without a Cause," and on a bad day, it's a nighttime soap opera with some rock 'n' roll music. From a marketing perspective, it's a coming-of-age movie that works.

-And the actor Michael Shannon's take on you?

-Micheal's a genius. Michael is the new Christopher Walken.

-He comes off as a bit insane.
Michael Shannon as producer Kim Fowley in "The Runaways".

-It’s Cherie Currie’s version. Remember, Cherie wrote the book, and they adapted her book for the screenplay. That’s her impression of me, and they expanded it and used poetic license.

-There’s an important line in the film in which the Kim Fowley character says the band is not about women's lib, but is instead about "women’s libido."

-That wasn’t my line. That was a line a writer or adapter created. I had a similar sentiment, but that’s not a quote.

-But I was curious of your reaction to the sentiment.

-The sentiment is right. I produced Helen Reddy, and she was a feminist. Her content and the Runaways content were different. I produced both of them.

-Was there something you wish the film had shown that it doesn't?
-We had, I thought, a crusade, to save rock ‘n’ roll. There was no punk rock. There was no MTV. We had just gone through Vietnam. Kansas was really big. No Ramones. No Sex Pistols. The Runaways, for a very brief period of time -- August of 1975 -- was the only rock ‘n’ roll band in America. That’s what I thought was the story. That’s not the story on the screen. It’s a coming-of-age story about a girl and her family issues and her musical adventures. It’s Cherie’s story, and whether it’s entertaining or factual or sad or tragic, it’s her statement. It’s interesting, enjoyable and watchable, and from that perspective, it works". Source: latimesblogs.latimes.com


"The Runaways" director Floria Sigismondi in Sundance Film Festival 2010.

"Dakota watched my [1980] movie Foxes. She sounds just like me," Currie proudly tells her identical twin sister, Marie, who has dropped by for a visit. Jett paces back and forth, wearing headphones and holding a portable monitor. "I don't want to be in Kristen's eyeline and freak her out," she says.


Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning talk to Access Hollywood about "The Runaways".

Two weeks earlier, gossip blogs reported that Jett made Stewart cry on set, but Stewart insists, "That is totally bogus." Jett elaborates: "Whatever pressure Kristen felt, she put on herself. She knew that she had a lot to live up to, and she wanted to please me."
Most of the crazy shit Cherie told us, we couldn't include -- it would be a completely different movie," says Stewart. "I don't wanna, like, out them, but they were pretty nuts." Likewise, there's no universally agreed-upon narrative. Jett calls Fowley, who cowrote many of their original songs, "a close friend," while Currie maintains he was "verbally abusive" and stole from the band. According to Shannon, Fowley told him over dinner, "It wasn't just me screaming at them. Don't make me look like a bad guy. When I'm dead, this is how people are going to remember me." Fowley's concern hints at the broader significance of films like these: They are simply more likely to be seen than a documentary. Add the hottest starlet on the planet, and the number of eyeballs increases exponentially.Guitarist Lita Ford, whom Currie claims "wasn't an easy person to get along with," and the unanimously adored but troubled Sandy West, the late drummer who co-founded the band with Jett in 1975, get less screen time; bassist turned lawyer Jackie Fox is depicted as a composite character for fear that she might otherwise sue. "I wouldn't want either of them to hate it, but obviously I have no control over that," Jett adds. Inhabiting such liberated -- if Quaalude-abusing -- characters clearly had an effect on its stars. As the filming winds down, Stewart retreats to her trailer to read lines with Jett and practice the guitar ("Put your pussy to the wood" was Jett's advice). In two days, the cast will travel to the outskirts of L.A. to reenact a 1977 Japanese gig, during which Currie rocked a white corset for "Cherry Bomb." Source: www.spin.com

Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning at Sundance Film Festival 2010.

-I thought the performances were just incredible. I'm so glad Kristen [Stewart] and Dakota became good friends because the friendship between Joan and I was so important.

-In the movie, your character initially has a problem singing "Cherry Bomb", particularly the line "Have ya, grab ya, till you're sore." Were you really that naive?

-Not at all. I had no problem singing that line. The filmmakers took a lot of liberties. If you read the book, then you'll know that my twin sister's boyfriend had raped me and took my virginity. That's why I was angry, that's why I cut my hair to look like David Bowie's. I really felt that detail was important. The filmmakers didn't. They did not want the Cherie character to lose her innocence so early in the film". Source: www.spin.com

LIVE RED CARPET VIDEO STREAM FOR 'THE RUNAWAYS' PREMIERE IN L.A.