U-571

Jake News:

New! 5/2/2000 - U-571 still torpedoes the competition (sorry, couldn't help it) at the box office. This past weekend, it took in a respectable $12.2 million, for a total of $38.1 million overall. It beat newcomers "Viva Rock Vegas" (why oh lord, why make this film?), "Frequency," and "Where the Heart Is."

4/25/2000 - U-571 is tops at the box office after its first weekend, earning $20.3 million in 2583 theaters, for a $7859 average. There are several reviews, nicely excerpted, at Rottentomatoes.com's U-571 page - so far, the film's more "fresh" than "rotten." It seems to be a film (yeah, I haven't seen it yet!) that doesn't lend itself to reviews of actors--the good reviews cite it as a rockin' good, pulse-pounding action pic, not a character study. There are thus very few JakeMentions (TM) as yet. His character has been called "shady," "haughty," and (gulp) "wimpy." Considering most of these critics are guys anxious for some violent blowed-up-real-good action, I shall assume that these terms should be translated into "complex," "well-bred," and "intelligent," respectively.

Ooh wait, I just found a quote at Mr. Showbiz, that master of all things Hollywoodish, where critic Richard Jameson calls Hirsch "a sallow-faced git...who mostly communicates in clipped German except for the announcement that he will be in operational control of the mission." Ain't it amazing how so many critics hate smart characters?

3/31/2000 - Official U-571 site now has bio info on Jake and the rest of the cast. Happy day, Jake is listed fifth in the credits--below only Matthew McConaughey, Jon Bon Jovi, Bill Paxton, and Harvey Keitel. Not too shabby!  And check out the great background image of Jake-as-Hirsch looking pretty intense.  Also, if you are looking at the "enhanced" version of the site, click on the "Mission" section and you'll recognize the voice as Jake's.  For more new details, including an interesting couple of quotes from Jake, click here to visit our U-571 section.

3/22/2000 - If you've seen the full version of the trailer, you may recognize the gentle tones of Jake throughout the voiceover!  In this trailer (there are a couple out there), Jake is quite prominent throughout: Hirsch appears to be an intelligence agent specializing in secret codes.  It's Hirsch who briefs the others on the mission, and he seems to be one of the leaders of the men.  Don't miss our obsessive and detailed look at Jake-ish moments in the trailer!

8/2/1999 - Jake's character in U-571 has a name: Lt. Hirsch!  At least it seems that he's playing an American.  I had the dread feeling he'd be a Nazi.

3/5/1999 - Filming has begun in Rome for "U-571," Jake's newest feature. "U-571" stars Matthew McConaughey ("A Time to Kill," Universal's upcoming "EDtv"), Harvey Keitel ("Pulp Fiction"), Jon Bon Jovi ("Moonlight & Valentino"), and David Keith ("Indian in the Cupboard").

Jake's role is uncertain; all we know is that this WWII film follows a a group of Americans involved in a daring plan to steal the Enigma coding device from a Nazi U-boat in the Atlantic. Allied intelligence needs this machine so that they can decipher enemy movements and stop the attacks on convoys carrying vital supplies across the Atlantic.

Does he play a German? An American naval officer? Or even a Brit? (The "Enigma" machine was decoded by British intelligence, not Americans. We shall see!  For more info, see our Media page. 

New! According to a post on our new message board, it appears Jake is a newlywed! At U-571's opening down in Austin, TX (a benefit for the Austin Film Society), our poster Shannon and her husband met Jake - and his new bride. Shannon says our boy Jake was quite gracious and friendly. His new wife's ID is unknown, but she could be Nora Ariffin, the co-star of "Skin Art," with whom Jake has been involved for several years. Whoever the lucky lady is, congratulations to them both!

Apparently Jake became friends with David Keith during the U-571 shoot, because he was in attendance at Keith's mid-April wedding. Click here to check out the story from the Knoxville News-Sentinal.

Here's a quick sample of some of the big photos waiting for you on our U-571 page. It's a long wait when you get there, but oh-so-worth it! 

8/2/1999 - Long drought of info over!  In mid-July, it was announced that Jennifer Lopez will star in "The Cell," a thriller about a top scientist (uh, Lopez) who delves into the mind of a comatose killer to try and discover where he's keeping a kidnapped girl. Jake's listed in the Variety summary of the film, though there's no indication of his role. The cast listing so far--hopefully in role size order--is: Jennifer Lopez, Vince Vaughn, Vincent D'Onofrio, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Dylan Baker, Jake Weber, Pruitt Taylor Vince (bet he's the serial killer!), Patrick Bauchau, James Gammon, Gerry Becker, Catherine Sutherland, Gareth Williams, and Musetta Vander. The Avery Pix production (filming starts 8/2) will be distributed by New Line Cinema.

Also, you can check out a positive review of the film from the New York Times, right here in our new Cherry section. Here is a link to Blockbuster Video's page for Cherry.  (Not currently available for sale, but you might get lucky at your  local Blockbuster rental counter!)

In Too Deep

8/2/1999 - In Too Deep opens mid- to late-August!  I've seen two dates so far--August 11 or 27. But still no details on Jake's character. Check out the official site (pretty skimpy right now) at Dimension Films. BTW, I was wrong--Tucci doesn't play the drug kingpin! He's actually the tough-as-nails police captain.  

12/8/1999 - Jake has joined the cast of "In Too Deep," a Miramax crime thriller starring Omar Epps (ex-Dr. Gant in "ER"), LL Cool J, Pam Grier, and Stanley Tucci. Also in the cast are Nia Long ("Soul Food"), Veronica Webb (yes, the model), Hill Harper (from Spike Lee's "He Got Game"), and singers Jermaine Dupri, Nas and Mya.  Directing is Michael Rymer--not sure about his credits yet.  With this cast, we can expect something pretty interesting! More info as we learn it. Check out the Media page for an article about this film.

Apparently, in this based-on-a-true-story film, Epps plays an undercover officer for the Boston Housing Authority and the Drug Enforcement Administration who goes "in too deep" in the drug world he's infiltrated.  The actual cop, named Jeffrey Coy, brought down a drug kingpin in 1990 but ended up addicted and traumatized.