Thursday, October 24, 2019

Ace Comic Con 2019: Fast Times in Rosemont IL with Jake Gyllenhaal - Pt II


Part I under this link
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On Thursday, Oct 17, Jake spent time in a very valuable way, by participating in the Headstrong Annual Gala (formerly called Words of War).  The Gala is an evening of dinner, entertainment and auction to raise money for the mental health treatment of post 9/11 (Iraq and Afghanistan) war veterans.  Assistance is confidential, cost and bureaucracy free.  Headstrong Project serves the states of New York, California, Pennsylvania, Texas, Maryland, Virginia, Washington D.C., New Jersey, Illinois and Colorado. 

Here is the history of the Words of War / now called Gala since its inception, with Jake involved from the start:


Wednesday, May 8, 2013 - Jake attends w/ Anna Chlumsky and
                                           Anthony Edwards at IAC Building
Wednesday, Oct 1, 2014 - Jake attends w/ Seth Meyers and Adam
                                         Driver at Tribeca 360
Monday, Oct 19, 2015 - not attended by Jake. Seth Meyers, Chris
                                       Rock, Olivia Wilde in attendance at One 
                                       World Trade Center 
Monday, Oct 17, 2016 -  Jake attends w/ Seth Meyers, Adam 
                                        Driver and Caleb Wells at Pier 60
Monday, Oct 16, 2017 - Jake attends w/ Seth Meyers and Chelsea
                                       Clinton at Pier 60
Thursday, Oct 18, 2018 - Jake attends w/ Seth Meyers and Joe
                                        Quinn at Pier 60
Thursday, Oct 17, 2019 - Jake attends w/ Seth Meyers and singer
                                         Liz Callaway at Pier 60


Fans of Jake will recognize what have become annual pictures with the founder/former executive director and now current chairman of Headstrong Project, Zachary Iscol.



A U.S. Marine veteran of the Iraq war, Zachary Iscol has some shared ties with Jake and those in his personal or professional circles. 

• Iscol grew up in Pound Ridge, NY.  Remember, Pound Ridge is where Ryan Reynolds and his beard, I mean "wife" Blake Lively are supposed to live. Pound Ridge, aka the 'burbs'.  Back in 2017, Reynolds blabbed too much and told Michael Strahan on Good Morning, America that he & Jakers had become the best of friends during Life filming; that they "hung out all the time". "Up in the 'burbs".  LOL!  Start this clip at 02:00 and watch Reynolds soon stammer over confirming how Jake lives next door to him out in the suburbs of New York.  Pound Ridge.  Classic. 




• Iscol, his wife and two small children have a vacation home on Martha's Vineyard.  The home is a guest house that used to belong to his parents.  Zachary's parents are good friends of former President William Clinton and Senator Hillary Clinton, and he with their daughter, Chelsea.  His mother Jill served as Co-Chair for Hillary Rodham Clinton for New York Senate's Finance Committee and as National Vice-Chair of Hillary Rodham Clinton for President's 2008 Financial Committee.  Father Ken has owned and operated mobile and personal communications businesses.  He is deeply involved with Cornell University, serving on advisory councils and is a Life Member of the Cornell University Council.  Both Ken and Jill Iscol have been so involved with Cornell that the University Board of Trustees have recognized them as Foremost Benefactors.

Jake's family spent many summers and holidays on the Vineyard and depending on which source you choose to believe, Jake dated Chelsea Clinton when they were teenagers at the encouragement of their parents OR...Jake and Chelsea were both invited to dinner at Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen's.  

Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen are also good friends of the Clinton family.  The Clintons attended Ted and Mary's wedding, and then Ted and Mary attended daughter Chelsea's wedding.  Both Chelsea and Zachary Iscol attended Sidwell Friends School...the ties are endless and include who else?  Jake's man of 17 years, Austin Nichols.  How is this?

Ted Danson is very involved with Oceana and in fact, co-wrote (with Michael D'Orso) a book called Oceana: Our Endangered Oceans and What We Can Do To Save Them.  The book published in 2015 and Ted spoke about the subject and his book as part of the Ken and Jill Iscol Distinguished Environmental Lecture series at Cornell University. 


Danson founded the American Oceans Campaign (AOC) in 1987 to alert Americans to ocean abuses. In 2001, AOC merged with Oceana, which works to show citizens how they can participate in protecting and restoring marine resources. - Ted Danson to deliver Iscol Lecture April 20 (2015) - Cornell Chronicle






So now, having learned this, is it surprising any longer to see how Austin became involved with Oceana?



 











And in this Iscol-Danson-Clinton-Gyllenhaal Friendly Neighbors kind of way, Danson has helped out Jake and Austin.






















Ted Danson, Chlo Bennet and Austin at Oceana 2014





















Ted Danson, Hassie Harrison, and Austin Nichols allegedly at Oceana 2018


• Zachary Iscol and his wife (the former Meredith Melling) were first introduced to each other by Ariel Ashe.  Ariel also played matchmaker for sister Alexi and her future husband, Seth Meyers.  And we all know how often Seth Meyers has been helpful to, I mean affiliated with Jake.  ;-)

All kinds of additional six degrees of separation going on, isn't there?  The Iscols no doubt are part of the Gyllynichols inner circle of trust.  

The final nail in this coffin would be the fact that Zachary Iscol's gala event now annually occurs around Baby Tile No. 1's birthday.  Narnia has discussed this subject before.  If it isn't precisely on Baby Tile's birthday of Oct 17, it's the day before, two days after.  On its inaugural date, the event was held in May.  Then, in 2014, it was Oct 1, which was inching closer, wasn't it?  Since that time, this Gala has provided a place and commitment in New York City for Jake to be placed while his significant other Austin is GPS-placed in either Los Angeles or Austin, TX.  



The Headstrong Project started out small: helping veterans in smaller numbers and limited territory (New York City metro, San Diego, Houston).  Now, years later their territory has grown, as has the number of veterans assisted and help provided.  Notice the venue growth in the timeline at the top of this page.  The inaugural year, the Words of War was held at an office building called the IAC Building, located in the Chelsea neighborhood of NYC on 18th Street.  The next year, it was held at Tribeca 360, which is considered a premiere NYC venue with breathtaking views of NYC and a capacity of 700 guests.  In 2015, the event moved again to One World Trade Center which is also known for its views of the city and the 11th most expensive building in the world.



Since 2016, the Gala has been located at Pier 60, NYC's largest waterfront wedding and event venue.  Last year in 2018, the Gala raised over $2 million.  A selfie with Seth Meyers and Jake auctioned off for $25,000.   Very impressive.  Yes, the Headstrong Project is doing a lot of good, helping many well-deserving veterans.  No one is ever going to downplay or criticize this.

These folks are generous of their time and desire to help.  The donors are absolute do-gooders.  All hearts are in the right place.  

How many of the attendees however, do you think are aware that Jake has a son who was turning 12 on October 17, the night of this year's Gala?

Usually when a fundraiser becomes popular or successful enough to become an annual event, whether it be a 5K/10K walk, church chili supper, holiday craft show, or auction, it's recommended to hold it around the same time each year (i.e. first Monday of May) so that donors have an idea when to expect it.  In the case of the Headstrong Gala, the date is down pat; regardless of the day of the week it is.





















Iscol, Jake, Adam Driver in 2016, Oct 17
















Jake, Iscol, Seth Meyers in 2017, Oct 16
























Seth Meyers, Iscol, Jake in 2018, Oct 18

















Jake, Seth Meyers in 2019, Oct 17

















Iscol, Jake in 2019, Oct 17


This past weekend, Austin was scheduled for Walker Stalker in Atlanta, GA.  Austin doesn't attend as many Walker Stalkers as he did when he was an active member of the show.  But the one Walker Stalker he has done is this year's Atlanta convention.  Normally, Austin works the Saturday and Sunday's of the conventions.  This year?  Jake's Team sent him to work on Friday, Oct 18.  The day after Baby Tile's birthday.   The convention's autographs started at what time on Friday?  3 p.m., eastern time.
 
In other words, Management wanted it to appear that Austin needed to be in Atlanta by morning, possibly even flying out the night before?  Which would have made departure on Baby Tile's birthday, the 17th.  As if to prove this very point, the first picture of Austin with a fan posted on Twitter at precisely 16:01 in the afternoon, 4pm CT.  


and later,


The need for Jake and Austin to be visibly active with others on special days has been a trademark pattern of public relations, with one of their more notable exercises being the three (3) straight years that Jake was papped with Marcus Mumford during the time surrounding Austin's birthday, which is April 24.

2011 - Jake traveling with Mumford & Sons during their 
           famous Railroad Revival Tour, April 22-27
2012 - Jake allegedly attending Marcus Mumford/Carey Mulligan's
           wedding, beginning April 19 in the UK ending up in NY on
           April 24
2013 - Jake appearing with Mumford and Mulligan on April 20 at
          the Tribeca Film Festival and April 23, with Marcus at the
          Knicks/Celtics game in New York.

See how that worked?  Three years in a row around Austin's birthday.  And counting five years in a row on or around Baby Tile's birthday.  The purpose to show that no father would rather be attending fundraisers instead of spending time with their family on one of their children's birthday.  No boyfriend or spouse would rather spend time going to an NBA game or wedding of a friend instead of being with their significant other on their birthday.  Therefore, Jake couldn't possibly be a father.  Nor could he possibly be involved with Austin. [sarc]

This is the thinking mind of a publicist to come up with these kinds of schemes and calendar maneuvers.  And since the evening of Oct 17 was "occupied" this year, the 19th featured a new story to "book" Jake during the middle of the same day.




at "about 10:20 Thursday morning".  Thursday?  Let's see, that would be October 17.  Jake had the Headstrong Gala starting at around 6-7 pm and beforehand he's reported to be wandering the streets of NYC with time to rescue a Dalmation around 10:30-ish.  No mention of him setting down a birthday cake before reaching for the dog's leash, so kind of doubtful he would be sauntering around if he had a party to prepare for.  And that is why we were given the Dalmation Story.  When People is used to publicize a story, that is a sign of elevation and Public Relation's approval-stamped narrative deemed necessary to peddle.




Prior to the Dog Story, Mara's Team had been busying Jake's social media with another viral story, this one designed to 1) help promote the pairing of Spiderman and Mysterio for probable future films and 2) to maintain and upkeep the public burial of real-life spouse Austin.   

The awkward-at-times Ace Comic Con panel and the casual approach to the obligatory con selfie were not reflective of the message soon-to-be published on Jake's Instagram account - that he and Holland were getting married.  Zero to sixty indeed!


Notice in the visible comments to the right, who added "They say the couple who dresses the same...💓".  This shipping comment came from Jake's Source Code co-star Michelle Monaghan., whose reply starts a long thread of arguing amongst other accounts between those who don't like the joking tone, those who really believe Jake and Holland are seriously involved, and those who argue how these two men are straight.  

Imagine if they knew the real truth?  Excluding Monaghan, who of course would likely know Jake's in a legal relationship, but her account is used to post in negligence and distaste of this fact.

This activity will only continue and intensify as filming for the next Spiderman flick approaches because, well - this is Sony. The combination of power-abuser Sony and ruthless publicist Mara Buxbaum has already shown itself to be a super highway without painted lanes.  The irony of a fake gay "straight up romance" being used to hide a real-life marriage and family scenario between two actors could not be better exemplified than by this sampling of twitter accounts which were the ones selected to promote the "Getting Married" proclamation.  Notice the trend. Of course, Queerty is first.






















Towelroad.














 

Pride.com























The Fat Greek, managing editor of Towleroad News, former Sr. editor of The Advocate & HIV Plus magazines.





















Account belonging to a proud transgender individual.





















LGBT educator and editor:




















Gay podcaster and author's account:






















Musician and member of the LGBTQ community:














And on. And on. And on.   In a publicist's mind, having a client who is married and with a family, calls for secrecy.  Gay is okay as long as the promoted relationship or pap pictures involve anyone but the real life partner.  Holland being marriage material is "hot".  Austin and children?  Apparently, "terribly taboo".  

For gargantuan money, the publicist has no issue with romantically pairing that same client with another young man.  After all, movie studios and television networks are now aiming to appeal to the LGBTQ high disposable income market.  Hence, all of the "bromances" and contracting of meards.  And for this particular before-mentioned publicist, her client has been committed to a pre arranged ship marriage with a young man who is the Golden Boy of Sony, aka Tom Holland.

This same Golden Boy who himself uses a film set as an off-leash playground.



 
 Gomer Pyle is not quite so Gomer Pyle.  


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

In an entertainment industry where publicists and celebrities knock themselves out with elaborate, fake weddings (with the latest trend being to have two ceremonies, as if one isn't enough!) and "scandals" of cheating, rape, Deadbeat Dad, pedophilia, or wide age-gap relationships with the opposite sex to "prove" heterosexuality, that a real relationship of love and desire to have a family would actually be the forbidden taboo?  



Oh indeed, we know, Ted.  We know.

This author acknowledges that long ago, Jake was reported to want to lead a more open life, but was talked out of it by those surrounding him in his close circles.   The public saw a bit of a different young man with a frequent smile, one whose activities were more personally oriented.  Much has changed and now there are no more on-location filming pictures, frequent public appearances are conducted and motivated to help provide GPS locations rather than where Jake chooses to spend his down time, and if one looks at his social media, you might wonder why anyone is a fan when his publicity team purposely plants twitter memes such as:


 


Okay.

  
And after that, as we try to restore some semblance of propriety instead of serving as a petri dish for a Beavis and Butthead culture, we'll perform our own train switch and end with some encouraging, touching moments from Jake's experience at Ace Con.  Because whether or not Jake was truly "into" the whole experience, he fulfilled a commitment and was professional as always when making a public appearance.



Signed and posed,



was kind to the fans who had paid to see him.  I saw nothing but glowing words about his politeness and kindness (and I read a lot of accounts).  These were some of my favorite fan accounts, most of them longtime fans of Jake who were absolutely thrilled to meet him.



Aaaah yes....holding the Prince of Persia DVD.  ;-)  #BrowniePoints






















According to this fan's account, Jake enjoyed meeting his baby.  Gee, we wonder why???  :-)




This man was beyond unabashedly thrilled and I don't know, their picture is just really cute. 





This was wonderful - Married couple Andrew and Josh with Jake.  The young man on Jake's left kind of looks like Tom Daley, doesn't he?  sort of? 



 





















And a couple of funnies.  Remember back in the day when girls always said Jake smelled "so good" of cologne?  Welllllll...how times have changed.  Now it's of something a bit more domesticated, lol.





And how quickly they were all shuffled through the line:



Jake introverted?  How times have changed!  lol




And finally, last but not least (at least we can keep updating the post because who knows what the next update will be about this Dog Story) - a "correction".   This dog rescue story is like Laffy Taffy - it is stretching out quite nicely, isn't it?  Talk about getting your money's worth!




We at Narnia will always hope that Ted Casablanca's words don't prove true, that Jake and Austin's love story does not turn into "a tragedy".  Although it seems that many of my/our Jake/Austin posts center around the eccentric, the far-fetched, melodramatic and cringe-worthy, I will be the first to admit that sometimes too much blame has been placed on either Jake or Austin.  And not unlike the treatment that Sony/Syco or Simon Cowell have laid upon members of One Direction or PR minimalizing Jared Padalecki, Jake and/or Austin have also been the subject of social media posts or interviews speaking for them, planted memes or internet rumors which unfairly reflect badly on them, or made them attend events which they would never have forgone a special personal day for, had they been given the choice.  

While unpleasantries will continue, as the Ace Comic Con showed, there were still nice moments, insightful ones, and always something new to learn about either man.  That's why Narnia is still here and will continue to be.  This train track has one speed and one path as long as we're capable:  steady and onward.




For the most part, anyway.  ;D


pic sources:  Imgur, mcavoystumblr, InvitedNYC, PageSix, Giphy,
                     Know Your Meme
our playlist:  How Do You Do - Mouth and MacLean
                     Don't Cry - Asia
                     Hero - David Crosby and Phil Collins
                     Wonderful - Everclear
                     Still Fighting It - Ben Folds
                     Cat's in the Cradle - Harry Chapin

 

3 comments:

prairiegirl said...

Phew!! That took even longer today than I had planned. As I delved into the whole Iscol / Clinton / Ted Danson & Mary Steenburgen six-degree history, it was just all time consuming.

And while I knew Ted Danson had also attended the Oceana event, I did not realize how much of an environmental activist he's been, along with being a founding father of the AOC through its evolution as Oceana.

At the time when Sophia and Austin were down in the Gulf helping with the oil spill clean up, Ted Danson was right there in the news as well, talking up the same topic. And so Ted Danson's presence at the Oceana Sea of Change has even more impact, even more reflection of Austin's relationship with Jake. It started with Ted Danson, who has been a longtime family friend of the Gyllenhaal family.

So some folks can chew on that fat for awhile.



prairiegirl said...

So, don't doubt that Jake and Austin are still together. We haven't had an official pap picture for almost seven years, but we don't need it. Stick with Narnia and we'll continue to show you how we know they are. It continues to fascinate us.

Methodical Muser said...


So now, having learned this, is it surprising any longer to see how Austin became involved with Oceana?

No it’s not. Because Jake was the environmentalist in the family, dating back to his Arctic adventure on Earth Day with Selma Hayek in 2005. Jake was also the one with the connections to Ted Danson, Mark Peterson Global Green, and Oceana. By 2010, however, Jake started transitioning away from this cause and his involvement was handed over to Austin for his future stunts. The hand-off was perfect since Austin was known for his love of the water. It was around this time, as well, that Austin used Jake’s childhood friend Adam Levine to reinforce narratives and place him where PR needed him to be.

What’s most telling is how Jake receded into the background in both instances because for some reason *wink* both men could not be involved with the same organizations, or apparently friends. The benefit of this separation was Austin got his stunt opportunities with Oceana and Jake went on to new involvements with emerging organizations like Headstrong and new “friendships” like Marcus Mumford who provided alibis for Jake for three years in a row to place him far, far from home (LOL!) on Austin's birthday during the month of April. How very organic, don't you think?