Latest news with #JakeGyllenhaal
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The ‘Brokeback Mountain' Scene We Can't Stop Thinking About 20 Years Later
Jack Twist, I swear: the gay cowboys are back! Brokeback Mountain arrived on screen in 2005 with great anticipation and even greater reviews. Twenty years later, the film is hitting theaters again for a special anniversary re-release. It's clearer now than ever just how immediate and far-reaching the film's cultural impact was, its tale of star-crossed male lovers in the American west forever imprinting on our moviegoing hearts. One of the film's standouts was Michelle Williams, launching her career to the stratosphere with one of the film's most memorable, oft-quoted moments: the entrance of 'Jack Nasty' to the lexicon. The scene occurs after a Thanksgiving dinner, where Heath Ledger's Ennis joins his now ex-wife Alma (Williams) and her new husband, all keeping face for the sake of the children. In a moment alone together, Alma confesses that she caught Ennis in a lie about the nature of his fishing trips with his old friend, Jake Gyllenhaal's Jack Twist. She sputters, a knot of anger and fear of the secret she dare not name. With years of pent up venom and lack of understanding, she finally snarls out 'Jack Twist? Jack Nasty!' Two decades on, 'Jack Nasty!' has become one of the film's most enduring lines and a shorthand for retrograde, unsophisticated viewpoints on queer people. But Brokeback Mountain hasn't always inspired jokes affectionate to the source material. No matter all the critical hosannas it received, the film was still plagued by several controversies in its original release. There was hand-wringing over its moniker as a 'gay cowboy' movie, the heterosexuality of its creators, and an ensuing backlash and dismissal in a Bush-era homophobic culture. Ernest Borgnine famously snubbed the movie during its Oscar race, telling Entertainment Weekly, 'If John Wayne were alive, he'd be rolling over in his grave.' Even at the Oscar ceremony–where the film won three awards, but famously not Best Picture–there were gay jokes. Though a benchmark for queer cinema in the mainstream, the film became synonymous with gay jokes. 'Many, many more people have told a Brokeback Mountain joke than have seen the movie. It's one of those things that has really transcended itself," the director of the Center for the Study of Popular Television once told The Advocate. 'Jack Nasty!' stills remains something of a punchline. Alma's place in the love affair between Ennis and Jack has inspired Reddit threads, fancams, and, of course, lots of memes. In twisting Jack's name into a slur, Alma has become an online stand-in for Karen-esque homophobia, even if the film affords her more understanding than that would suggest. While 'I wish I knew how to quit you!' became a line used to mock the film's sentiment in 2005, 'Jack Nasty!' became an iconic one for the film's knowing, intended audience. The reverence for Alma is peak queer irony. But the line's quotability all comes from the tragic earnestness flowing from Williams' performance. At the time, Williams was only two years removed from her run on Dawson's Creek as the rebellious Jen Lindsay. She had pivoted to small roles in several independent films, such as The Station Agent, but none of them managed to shed the shadow cast by the soapy teen drama until Brokeback. Even withering reviews that questioned the mildness of the film's gay explicitness, such as one published by Slant, were effusive about her performance: 'But Michelle Williams, as Ennis's wife Alma, may be the true standout here, fascinatingly spiking her unspoken resentment for her sham of a marriage with a hint of compassion for Ennis's secret suffering.' Compassion? Um, sure. But the unanimous praise for Williams' Oscar-nominated performance still stands. It was the first sign that Williams was one of the major performers of her generation. 'I never really had attention on me before in that kind of a way, and I think that that attention can be sort of destabilizing,' Williams said later, 'I think I felt a little bit frozen for a moment, creatively, about where I would go next, because I felt so free to try things before that, because I didn't think anybody was really paying attention or really cared that much.' Earlier this year, Williams joined Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live and discussed knowing the film's immediate impact at the time. 'People were so open about it,' she said, 'You don't really get an opportunity to see a lot of grown men cry.' With the film back in theaters this weekend, the opportunity comes once again. 'Jack Nasty!'? Jack Weepy!
Time of India
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Dave Bautista in talks to board 'Road House 2'
(Picture Courtesy: Facebook) Actor and former wrestler Dave Bautista is in negotiations to join the cast of "Road House 2". As reported by the entertainment news outlet Variety, the "Guardians of the Galaxy" actor has been offered a role in the project from Amazon MGM Studios. "Road House 2" is a sequel to the "Road House" reboot starring Jake Gyllenhaal in the lead role, which released in 2024. The film went on to receive a positive response from the audience. Following, the sequel to the project was announced. Directed by Guy Ritchie , "Road House 2" will have Gyllenhaal reprising his role of an ex-UFC fighter, Dalton, from the previous film. The original film released in 2006 and was directed by Scott Ziehi. It featured Johnathon Schaech in the lead role.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Road House 2 Cast Adds MCU Star as Possible Villain
Amazon MGM Studios has officially enlisted the first key cast member, who will be joining the cast for its upcoming sequel to the 2024 action remake. This comes nearly two months after it was announced that The Gentlemen director Guy Ritchie had signed on to helm the project. Guardians of the Galaxy vet Dave Bautista has been tapped to star opposite returning lead star Jake Gyllenhaal in Road House 2. The former WWE wrestler will reportedly be playing a former fighter, just like Gyllenhaal's character. At the moment, it's unclear if he would be playing the sequel's newest antagonist or not. The first installment featured UFC champion Conor McGregor as the main villain. The casting search for the new characters is still underway. Ritchie will be directing from a screenplay written by Bad Boys: Ride or Die's Will Beall. This marks Ritchie's reunion project with Gyllenhaal, after previously working with Gyllenhaal in the 2023 action drama movie The Covenant, which received positive reviews from both critics and audiences alike. Ritchie is succeeding the first installment's director, Doug Liman, whose return was unlikely following his public criticisms of Amazon and MGM Studios over their decision to release the movie through streaming instead of giving it a wide theatrical release. The Road House remake was directed by Liman from a screenplay written by Anthony Bagarozzi and Charles Mondry. It received a Tomatometer rating of 60% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 205 reviews. The first movie also starred UFC star Conor McGregor, The Suicide Squad breakout Daniela Melchior, Billy Magnussen (Game Night), Gbemisola Ikumelo (The Last Tree), Lukas Gage (The White Lotus), Hannah Love Lanier (A Black Lady Sketch Show), Travis Van Winkle (Accepted), B.K. Cannon (Switched at Birth), Arturo Castro (Broad City), Dominique Columbus (Ray Donovan), Beau Knapp (Southpaw), and Bob Menery. (Source: Nexus Point News) The post Road House 2 Cast Adds MCU Star as Possible Villain appeared first on - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More.
New York Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Never Quitting ‘Brokeback Mountain'
'I wish I knew how to quit you,' says a frustrated Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) to his secret lover Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) in a now emblematic scene from Ang Lee's 'Brokeback Mountain,' the celebrated gay-themed drama based on Annie Proulx's 1997 short story. The film was originally released in December 2005, but is back in theaters this June for a 20th-annivesary Pride Month reissue. Jack's sorrowful line came to synthesize the doomed love affair between the two rugged men for whom the majestic landscapes of Wyoming became a sacred romantic hide-out — the only place they were free to express desire and tenderness for each other. But that line, and the notion of two men who embody an archetype of American masculinity falling for each other, was both parodied and memed in pop culture — often reduced to 'the gay cowboy movie' — even while the film received critical raves and Oscar nominations (eight, including best picture, a prize it lost to the movie 'Crash'). Arriving at a political turning point in the United States, 'Brokeback Mountain' struck a chord far beyond cinephile circles. For the film critic and author Alonso Duralde, who wrote a book about queer cinema history called 'Hollywood Pride,' the film was a watershed moment for representation in mainstream Hollywood. It was distributed by Focus Features, the indie outfit of Universal Pictures, with a revered director and up-and-coming stars, which meant it could potentially have a wider reach and impact. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
The rise of the Broadway ‘bro show'
Edward Price wouldn't be mistaken for a Broadway junkie. A straight guy in his 40s, Price splits his time between New York City and the Hudson Valley and rarely shells out money to see shows. But in recent weeks, he's been an unlikely Broadway regular, venturing alone to see two plays: 'Othello,' starring Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal, and 'Glengarry Glen Ross,' starring Bob Odenkirk, Kieran Culkin and Bill Burr.
