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NEWS > ENTERTAINMENT > PRODUCERS OKAY WITH JAKE GYLLENHAAL SURVIVING ‘MAN VS WILD’
PRODUCERS OKAY WITH JAKE GYLLENHAAL SURVIVING ‘MAN VS WILD’
July 7 2011
Reykjavik, Iceland – Some of the greatest stories in the human experience have been the ones of daring and feats of strength. Tracing a line through history, tales of conquest and victory were written on cave walls, immortalized in the defiance of the 
Gods, and made popular in the defeat of terrorists and criminals by muscle bound movie stars. For men in particular those stories have a great deal of potency because they are, at their core, precisely what defines the male psyche. Men are hardwired to victory.
Of course most people simply cannot do the things depicted in those stories and instead pursue their victories in bars and clubs, with fishing poles and rifles, and on their couches with their favourite sports teams. Those tales exist, and persist, precisely because ordinary men cannot do those things but still feel a need to experience the victory even if it has to be done through another. That need is exactly what ‘Man vs Wild’ has been able to capitalize on, becoming a hit program and a cultural touchstone. Through host Bear Grylls, men are able to live a life they could never even attempt in real life, an extreme lifestyle that few would even imagine attempting. Movie star Jake Gyllenhaal is no ordinary man, however, which prompted him to star alongside Grylls in the unforgiving wilds of Iceland, a trip from which he successfully returned much to the chagrin of show producers who really wanted a ratings boost for the recently struggling show.
“It was good and the interplay between the two of them was great but we can’t help 
but think that we didn’t really get what we wanted. Anytime we can do something different it’s a good thing, but, well this isn’t exactly what we had in mind,” said a show insider. “They allowed Gyllenhaal on the show because they frankly didn’t think he would make it and that that would bring a lot of attention. If they were just going to get a celebrity who was going to do everything they would have preferred someone a little more famous.”
Though popular because of his good looks, that awareness has not translated to box office popularity.
“He’s a fine actor and he’s been good in a number of movies. I can’t begrudge his talent, but we don’t do the acting thing, the prestige thing. We wanted attention and we’ve been able to spin it a little but this is nowhere close to what we had been looking for,” continued the insider. “I mean we couldn’t go too far or insurance would have us over a barrel but every time the situation got a little sketchy we were hoping. Unfortunately he’s in really good shape and has solid reflexes and so was able to get past everything that was thrown at him. It was a real disappointment for everyone involved I can tell you.”
Gyllenhaal had not been working on a movie during his filming of the show. His last few films have been major box office disappointments.
“We’ll still do okay with the show and its cut pretty dramatically but it’s still a bit of a disappointment. Hopefully people will tune in but we have very diminished expectations. Frankly, if we thought a movie star would have done well we would have gotten one. He was expendable. I mean look at his movies,” continued the insider. “Really we were hoping to replicate the success of the ‘The Dark Knight’. It seemed almost perfect having Ledger’s co-star appear in our show. It could have been the same thing. Everyone would have thought he was actually really famous and flocked to the show just like they did with that movie. I mean we wouldn’t have made a billion dollars but certainly more than we’ll make now. Oh well, lesson learned I guess.”
Gyllenhaal has signed onto a new movie since his survival.
Samantha Dryden, Entertainment Correspondent
NEWS > ENTERTAINMENT > PRODUCERS OKAY WITH JAKE GYLLENHAAL SURVIVING ‘MAN VS WILD’
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