Regarding the Gyllenhaal rumor
According to the internet, Jake Gyllenhaal is playing Captain Marvel. I’ll be sure to let the studio, producers, and director know.
Sigh.
It’s frustrating how in the digital age, random speculation turns to fact in about .003 seconds. And once it starts, it’s like a tire fire: any attempt to extinguish it merely creates a lot more smoke.
Since it’s impossible to put the conflagration out, we can at least try to figure out how this case of celebrity arson began. My hunch is that it was a combination of factors:
- The announcement that I got hired to write the movie.
- The Captain Marvel illustrations that ran with the story, leading to questions of, “Who does that look like?”
- Gyllenhaal’s recent visibility in Zodiac.
- Jake’s sister Maggie being hired for the new Batman.
- Recent trailers and leaked photos from Spider-Man 3, re-igniting…
- …the old rumor that Jake Gyllenhaal was replacing Tobey Maguire.
Amplifying all of these factors is what I call the Sticky Celebrity Constant: associating a recognizable star with a concept makes it exponentially more interesting. For example…
Re-hab. Depressing.
Britney Spears in rehab. Fascinatingly depressing, like a clown with cancer.
Adoption. Laudable but dull.
Angelina Jolie adopting again. Worth at least five minutes on The View.
Established screenwriter hired to adapt obscure comic-book character. Yawn.
Jake Gyllenhaal considering playing obscure comic-book character. Hooray!
But the thing is, he’s not considering. I can pretty much assure you he’s never heard of the project. And we’ve never discussed him. We’ve never seriously discussed anyone.
After several months of meetings, casting has come up exactly zero times. There’s no casting list. If there were a list, Gyllenhaal’s name would probably be on it, but trust me: there is no list. There’s no start date, no release date, no movie whatsoever. There’s just a script to be written. Which I should probably get back to.
But if you happen to bump into the internet, please tell him what I said.
Articles
March 16th, 2007 at 4:10 pm
I bumped into the Internet and he said to tell casting that this is a loud hint.
March 16th, 2007 at 4:25 pm
Ah, he denies and yet delivers a clue… “We’ve never seriously discussed anyone.” In other words, cast has been discussed jokingly. Which makes Dr. Ryan Reynolds the obvious - and only!- choice to play Captain Marvel.
March 16th, 2007 at 4:29 pm
Call me jaded but how about…
March 16th, 2007 at 4:52 pm
Beckylooo (#4):
I really don’t think Gyllenhaal’s reps would bother starting a rumor. It doesn’t help their client. It just becomes an annoying question for him to answer in every press interview for the next four years.
March 16th, 2007 at 4:52 pm
I can never honestly see Jake playing a superhero. Unless of course, you count Donnie Darko, which was his best film. So adorable in that.
C’mon. The obvious choice for Captain Marvel is Christopher Walken. The guy’s a frickin’ legend.
March 16th, 2007 at 5:07 pm
Just a warning: I’m testing out a new live-preview comment system. So if you’re having trouble posting a comment (server errors, whatnot) please drop me a note.
March 16th, 2007 at 5:58 pm
“Captain Marvel screenwriter John August confirms, ‘If there were a list, Gyllenhaal’s name would probably be on it.’” — that’s how these pesky rumors out-of-contextly thrive on the Internet.
March 16th, 2007 at 7:48 pm
“…there were a list, Gyllenhaal’s name would probably be on it…”
So, you’re saying that Jake Gyllenhaal probably will play Captain Marvel?
March 16th, 2007 at 9:26 pm
Patrick Warburton please! Every page of Superman/Shazam: First Thunder I was thinking he could do it well. Looks like him, has the height and size (Cap is not a small individual), and in a couple of months with a trainer could look more chiseled–ala a superhero.
March 16th, 2007 at 9:28 pm
I heard “Jake Gyllenhaal” and “Captain Marvel” mentioned together on the internet in the screenwriter’s blog. Time to call E!
Also, John, the new live preview system freaked me out when I was commenting on the previous post just a few minutes ago as I thought it was some kind of new-fangled government spying device. But now that I know it was you, I think it’s a nice idea. It gives us a chance to see how sexy our comments will look in Courier.
March 16th, 2007 at 10:07 pm
From as far back as 2003 - THE ROCK as been rumored as being linked with playing Captain Marvel - that’s good casting, that’s awesome casting! Gyllenhaal equals “Brokeback Rock of Eternity”. ’nuff said.
March 16th, 2007 at 10:30 pm
I heard a rumor that James Cameron will be directing it and the characters are all CGI. Also, John August is to be replaced by a screen writing program running on Blue Gene.
Oh, and the trailer is already up on YouTube.
March 16th, 2007 at 10:52 pm
Out of childish curiosity & lack of patience, what is the first line of dialogue that you wrote for the script?
By the way, this new way of posting comments makes me feel like I am being watched. Every mistake I make, every edit, redo, undo, redo, undo I make is seen by someone laughing, telling his friends, ‘this guy will never be a writer.’
March 17th, 2007 at 1:07 am
please, let me play captain marvel, pleeeaaasee!
March 17th, 2007 at 4:33 am
“…there … a list, Gyllenhaal’s name … on it…â€?
Now that’s more like it.
March 17th, 2007 at 5:32 am
Judging by the picture under the “Big Red Cheese” heading, Michael C. Hall (the gay white guy from Six Feet Under) would be a good choice imo.
March 17th, 2007 at 9:57 am
Who are they saying that Gyllenhaal would play? Far too old for the teenage boy version, not nearly buff enough to play the post-Shazam version. A teenager says Shazam and turns into someone that looks like Jake Gyllenhaal? That’s a whole other movie. Probably not a great one.
March 17th, 2007 at 11:17 am
Hi John, I’m a 40+ year-old long time certified Captain Marvel/Fawcett history nut. I hope you get a chance to explore The Marvel Family web site (where most of your hardcore Marvel fan base lives!) if you haven’t already: http://www.marvelfamily.com/ We’ve certainly waited a very long time to see a good Captain Marvel image that can beat Hollywood’s 1940 serial film still considered the best produced at that time. And while I don’t know if there is another Tom Tyler out there for the starting role. I have a little observational nugget I came across for the starting role whenever the casting begins: If your hopefully looking for an Alex Ross, Otto Binder image that has both the physical size, looks and smile- you may want look-up former Major league baseball star Dante Bichette. I saw him on a Colorado Rockies interview recently during a spring training game this month and he still looks perfect for the roll. I hear he lives somewhere in Orlando, Florida now but you can find his ‘mug’ splattered throughout the net if it sounds intriguing. I hope whatever direction you choose to go in your creative process you find as much joy in the character and his history as we have!! Best Wishes and Hope!! PS> A 1930’s -40’s retro golden age heroes homage extravaganza not unlike the recent King Kong film by Peter Jackson would be this old comic book fanboy’s dream film!
March 17th, 2007 at 11:19 am
Jake should play Captain America. Someone please make this happen!
March 17th, 2007 at 12:04 pm
I know that in the pitch that John proposed to the studio, Billy Batson will turn into one of his preferred celebrities everytime he screams Shazam! So we’ll have The Rock, Johnny Depp, Tom Cruise and Eminem all playing Captain Marvel.
March 17th, 2007 at 2:50 pm
As someone who deals with Jake rumors on a daily basis, THANK YOU. It’s nice to have a straight-to-the-point answer. But if you’re wondering what Jake would look like as Captain Marvel, we at Jake Watch already have you covered, in the form of a fantastically terrible Photoshop job.
http://jakegyllenhaalwatch.blogspot.com/2007/03/super-jake.html
March 17th, 2007 at 5:55 pm
Obscure? Obscure? What? The big red cheese is one of the most popular underwear perverts (long story) of all time!
Take it back, John. Take. It. Back.
March 17th, 2007 at 11:23 pm
Um, DougJ, why in the world would James Cameron direct a completely different superhero movie? I’m pretty sure he wants to move on after Aquaman.
Also, speaking of Aquaman, Jake Gyllenhaal is filling Vincent Chase’s shoes in the sequel, so he’s a no-go for Captain Marvel.
March 18th, 2007 at 1:32 am
None of you guys are Adam Baldwin fans? - - might be a name to consider for the list … just saying.
March 18th, 2007 at 3:28 am
Dante Bichette? This guy? http://www.spitter.com/spitter_050700.htm Wow, it screams Captain Marvel to me.
March 18th, 2007 at 5:30 am
Internet rumors…..
Me: So, I read that “The Da Vinci Code” had originally been purchased as a sceleton for Season 2 of “2″
Kiefer Sutherland: What? Where did you read that?!?
Me: Errr…On the Internet.
Kiefer Sutherland: (Huge grin) Well, I produce that show. That´s fucking bullshit.
Me: Yes….Well. (subtext: I fell like a royal asshole).
Note the namedrop, though.
March 18th, 2007 at 5:31 am
eh….fEEl (and do again)
March 18th, 2007 at 10:00 am
Well, if the adult version of CM is played by Patrick Warburton, you can always hire David Spade to play the teenage CM.
March 18th, 2007 at 4:41 pm
This sounds like Big with a superhero story.
March 19th, 2007 at 4:51 am
Check out Dark Horizons:
Finally, “There’s no casting list. If there were a list, Gyllenhaal’s name would probably be on it, but trust me: there is no list” said scribe John August about recent talk that Jake Gyllenhaal will be cast in the upcoming “Shazam” film.
Ha!
March 19th, 2007 at 11:18 am
Hey John. I do a weekly column for MovieWeb.com called The Week in Review, and in writing my column today, I came across that story we ran, along with many others I assume, of Gyllenhaal’s rumored involvement in Shazam. But before you blame the Internet, the source we ran for this rumor was New York Times columnists George Rush and Joanna Rush Malloy. It was in their Wednesday, March 14 column that you can see here: http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/rm/2007/03/14/2007-03-14pornindustryenemiesgoatithotandh.html It’s under their Side Dish section. Just thought I’d let you know.
Brian Gallagher
P.S. We also ran your rebuttal to the rumor from this very website as well: http://www.movieweb.com/news/90/18490.php
March 19th, 2007 at 11:26 am
Oops. Rush and Malloy are New York Daily News columnists, not New York Times. Not sure why I wrote that, but yeah. Everything else is true.
March 19th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
I’m sure Jake Gyllenhaal replacing Vincent Chase on Aquaman II has fueled this speculation …
March 19th, 2007 at 1:46 pm
How about the rumor that “The Nines” got picked up by Newmarket. Is that true?
March 19th, 2007 at 2:38 pm
We don’t need another pretty boy with no bulk to play a superhero. It didn’t work for Brandon Routh and it won’t work for Jake. Shazam is a big boy! The Patrick Warburton suggestion is surprisingly great. I’m sure the Hollywood bigwigs wouldn’t go for it, but he has the bulk, the voice and the chin to deliver a great Captain Marvel. Anyone YouTube the old Shazam TV show on YouTube yet? Memories….
March 19th, 2007 at 6:09 pm
Any and every superhero should be played by Bruce Campbell. No further discussions are necessary.
March 19th, 2007 at 9:43 pm
Everyone knows that the internet isn’t a him. Rather, it’s a series of tubes. Gwsh.
March 19th, 2007 at 10:43 pm
Just to be clear, and in defense of the “Internet”: The rumor about Jake Gyllenhaal’s casting first appeared in the New York Daily News and a column by Rush & Molloy: http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/r_m/index.html … Though the Internet sometimes propagates rumors, the tabloid media and MSM are as guilty of perpetrating misinformation as the Web. So there.
March 20th, 2007 at 4:44 am
See, Jake Gyllenhaal as Spiderman makes perfect sense as I always confuse him for Tobey Maguire anyway! Therefore that’s his superhero Alter Ego…
As for Captain Marvel - I really hope you can use the name for the film because Shazam is just terrible…!!!
March 20th, 2007 at 8:29 am
Thank you, Patrick. Yes, it was the N.Y. Daily News, and not the internet, that propogated this rumor. That crazy series of tubes may have blown it up, but it didn’t start the fire.
March 20th, 2007 at 10:51 am
Umm Patrick, I already cleared that up in my reply, number 31 and 32. Thanks tho
March 25th, 2007 at 8:33 pm
John, will you please clear this all up by confirming this will be a film from Pixar?
;D
ps. the Rock rumor was his playing Black Adam in the film, not the big red cheese himself…
March 26th, 2007 at 1:48 pm
Patrick Warburton? Great choice, but he’ll always be The Tick.
Nathan Fillion. There’s your guy.
March 28th, 2007 at 10:02 am
If there is ever a list then the name Victor Webster should be included for the role of Captain Marvel.
March 28th, 2007 at 3:02 pm
Mr August, I am a Shazamaholic, and I beg you to please contact Alex Ross to be your creative consultant. Please stick with the Fawcett continuity, rather than the stuff DC has added. The film must be an action-adventure with drama and lots of humor, but do not cross over into camp or parody. I kind of hope you being the writer will mean Peter Segal may step down as director and Tim Burton will step in. Of course, there has to be an Elvis Presley soundtrack for the film (IF I CAN DREAM would be a great theme song). My cast wish list: Capt Marvel–an unknown Billy Batson–Devon Werkheiser Shazam–Omar Sharif Dr Sivana–Joe Pesci Beautia–Stacy Keibler Black Adam–Oded Fehr Uncle Dudley–Micky Dolenz Freddy Freeman–Sean Flynn Mary Bromfield–Kay Panabaker Sterling Morris–Dan Aykroyd Nick Bromfield–Tom Selleck Nora Bromfield–Catherine Hicks Mr Tawny–Jim Belushi Cissy Sommerly–Emily Osment Freddy’s Grandpa–Alan Alda
April 5th, 2007 at 3:07 am
The site looks great ! Thanks for all your help ( past, present and future !)
April 17th, 2007 at 6:57 pm
Well, If we’re playing “Casting”…
Regardless of who plays the role in the film, Patrick Warburton is Captain Marvel to me. Some have said he’s too old, (Yes, being in your forties makes you really aincent.) But I personally think it’s the role he was born to play.
But if a young pretty boy is insisted upon, I’d say look at Daniel Cudmore. (Colussus from X3) Got the look, the size, the build, no ones going to say “too old” about him.
Leonard Nimoy as The Wizard Shazam
Dustin Hoffman as Sivana.
Billy- I can’t say, I don’t really pay attention to kids in films.
Sterling Morris- James Earl Jones.
As I don’t really think any of the other significant characters from the mythos should be in the movie, I have no more suggestions.
May 13th, 2007 at 2:55 am
Wait, I have one more- NO “ROCK” AS CAPTAIN MARVEL!!
June 4th, 2007 at 4:39 pm
Uh…who’s Captain what’s his name?
June 16th, 2007 at 11:09 am
The Rock should be cast as Namor the Sub-Mariner. Do not use him in Shazam.
June 29th, 2007 at 3:43 am
There is an online petition to get actor Brandon Molale cast as Capt Marvel. Molale has a link to it on his website. The guy really does look like Marvel. He may be the best choice.
September 11th, 2007 at 12:00 am
Somethig I find interesting is that it seemed that in several movies, they look at casting on a paper view only. “So-and-so has the ability to pull off this role.” But does he physically fit the bill? Michael Keaton did a decent job as Batman from an acting perspective, but he didn’t “look the part.” I’d like to see someone that LOOKS like Cap if at all possible that also has the ability to act. I realize that can sometimes be a difficult combo. I had never heard of Brandon Molale but when I viewed some shots of him on the web - wow! This guy definitely looks like him. I think that (physically) the Rock would be a great choice. I don’t know anything about his acting ability or lack thereof, but I think as far as looks go, the Rock woudl be a good choice if Molale does not take the role. I don’t think that I’d like to see Patrick Warburton take the role because he’s too…well, he’s the Tick. He makes a perfect Tick. I don’t think he would make a good serious Captain Marvel (but I can’t judge honestly since I’ve not seen him in anything else that comes to mind). He’s got that personality about him that makes him hilarious (again, perfect for the Tick) and I think that this personality, facial expressions and tone would bleed over into the movie. I’m just paranoid that this movie is going to end up being something silly and not as a serious film as the other successful hero films are.
December 30th, 2007 at 10:37 pm
I have to say Patrick!!! He has the eyebrows, the face and the movies under his belt! The man was built to play the Big Cheese!!! I’m on board!
January 8th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
here is that shirt that Jake was wearing, the one with the monkey with headphones.
http://www.monkeyfistbrands.com