Letters

THE NEW JAKE

Dear Interview,

I was tickled to torment to see your breakout actor of the month was Jake Gyllenhaal [August 2002]. He was brilliant in Donnie Darko and I look forward to seeing every one of his films.. repeatedly. The photographs by Rodolfo Martinez are stunning! Mr. Gyllenhaal has a starring role in my fantasy life. That crooked smile of his just floors me!

ERIC COBURN Portsmouth, NH

Dear Interview,

Your label of "breakout actor" does indeed seem an apt one for up-and-coming hottie Jake Gyllenhaal. When I read in your piece that he had not one, not two, but three big movies coming out this fall (and more on the way!), and costarring roles with such big-time leading ladies as Jennifer Aniston, Catherine Keener and Susan Sarandon, I realized just how right you were. And then, of course, there's that impishly seductive face. No wonder he's being cast for roles in which he has affairs with his womanly co-stars. Isn't that how another Hollywood heartthrob got his start? Brad Pitt better watch his back.

S. CASHIN Pittsburgh, PA

Dear Interview,

Who is photographer Rodolfo Martinez, and who is this Jake Gyllenhaal he captured so beautifully in your August issue? Thank you for my favorite Interview interview and photo feast in a long time!

HECTOR CANOVAS Via the Internet

Dear Interview,

Susan Sarandon's interview with Jake Gyllenhaal struck me as the ultimate Warhol concoction--a terrific pairing of a hunky new actor with an established star, speaking in the Warholian setting of the ladies' room in one of NYC's hottest restaurants. That the two actually had something interesting to say, about themselves and their work, was icing on the cake.

D. RICHERT Baltimore, MD

THE APPLE DOESN'T FALL FAR FROM THE TREE

Dear Interview,

Elijah Blue, a.k.a P. Exeter Blue I, may not have grown up in a medieval castle, but from what I've heard, his mom's (Cher to you and me) L.A. digs aren't too far off. In fact, reading Milla Jovovich's interview in your August 2002 issue, it struck me that Blue clearly learned a thing or two from his mother. Admittedly, I don't know Deadsy's music, so it may be unfair to say this, but much of what Blue had to say seemed sort of pretentious to me--whenever a singer starts referring to his band as his "brainchild," it doesn't exactly make me want to run out to the nearest Virgin Megastore. Still, you have to acknowledge these guys for having the courage to set out in some new directions and for not worrying a whole lot about what sort of reaction they might get. Personally, Cher's Bob Mackie getups are more appealing to me than her son's carefully crafted academic posing, but their understanding of how important it is to stand out in the world of entertainment clearly comes from the same place. This guy could go far.

NAME WITHHELD Via the Internet

A LEGEND IN THE MAKING?

Dear Interview,

When I was a kid and my mother made me vacuum the house, the one thing that made it bearable was that I could sing at the top of my lungs and no one would hear me (if they were lucky). My singing voice, of course, comes nowhere close to Ashanti's [August 2002], but I couldn't help but feel a kinship to her when she acknowledged that she was discovered belting out a tune over the family Hoover. Ashanti may have just done for housecleaning what Lana Turner did for sitting at a lunch counter.

STEVE SPINOZA Via the Internet

Dear Interview,

Save for her upcoming foot surgery, I can't think of any reason Ashanti would have to sing the blues, new or otherwise--she's got a killer voice that's taking her on a journey to fame and fortune, she's such a gifted athlete that she was offered a scholarship to Princeton, and what's more, she's hot. Some people have all the luck! If she didn't seem like such a nice, down-to-earth person I'd probably hate her. The fact that I'm cheering her on instead says a lot about Ashanti, and about how she was raised (all that housecleaning when she was growing up seems to have done a lot for her). Thanks for an inspiring piece--I'm going to go dust the house now.

NAME WITHHELD Via the Internet

PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST

Dear Interview,

Thanks for the knockout photographs of Asia Argento [August, 2002]. Paul Jasmin is one of all-time favorite photographers, and in my humble opinion these images are up there with his very best. I can already see the makings of his next published collection. Bravissimol

P. STROUB Philadelphia, PA

Dear Interview,

As an aspiring writer and someone who struggles constantly with letting my creative juices loose, I was interested to hear Asia Argento say that it is much harder for her to write when she's feeling happy (or even close to it) than it is when she's sad. I'd always chalked the image of the tortured artist up to cliche, but maybe there's more to it than that. In any case, I owe a debt to Asia--now I have a real excuse for not writing: I'm just too darn happy!

NAME WITHHELD Via the Internet

L.A. Palms. Photographer: KARL LAGERFELD.