Fandoms: Blame Going All Around

 

How did everyone's summer go?  Plenty of drama for you?  

If you are rendered helpless (like moi) when following a closeted celebrity couple (or individual), drama and angst automatically come as part of the package.  😉  Expect it.

One increasingly used occurrence that management teams use is what I like to call the garlic necklace, a deceptive tactic which is used to deter fans from criticizing or raising an eyebrow at their client while behind the scenes, the team is in the midst of:

• selling a gaslighting stunt 

• selling a client or couple's heterosexuality

• distracting fans/general public prior to their client taking a hiatus from public view

 

And the garlic necklace has taken on all kinds of prohibitively sensitive forms: 

• the death of a family member

• an alleged vehicular accident or arrest

• mental illness

• race

• an alleged sexual assault

• an actual staged physical "assault" 

• LGBTQ+ rights 

• a forced closet (this does not apply to Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles or other One Direction members, but because of their situation & huge fan support, it has become a noticeable new trend of manipulation & abuse by celebrities like Misha Collins and Taylor Swift)

• alleged miscarriage / abortion

• domestic abuse or assault

• death of a pet (and this is even if ownership of the pet really existed to begin with)

Seems pretty unimaginable, right? Who would lie about or use such tactics just to advance a straight narrative?  Well, when you look at Twitter trends or a garishly splashy story on Just Jared, People, a national news television show, or TMZ, you will notice that many of these stunts will involve a celebrity who is closeted.

With a more media savvy audience, there is nothing that PR or management teams won't resort to these days and Narnia Dispatches has seen many of the above strategies used with some of our favorite subjects.  Here's a few examples to illustrate the trend:

• Jake Gyllenhaal's team using the passing of real-life husband Austin Nichols' mother (and grandmother to their children) in September 2015 to peddle the fauxmance of Austin and Chloe Bennet. They staged a phony trip to Mexico which resulted in Austin allegedly needing to Face Time with his family during her passing, a very unlikely scenario.  But, who can forget:

 

 

The tawdry theatrics were also designed to cover for what had to have been Jake's eventual presence in Texas with his in-law family during their painful loss and included the participation of Austin's brother-in-law, Rowdy Stovall.  Narnia covered the situation in our post "One Year Later - Remembering Kay Vermeulen Nichols", including a timeline in the comments section.

 

• Jared's alleged arrest for the physical altercation (supposed assault and public intoxication) outside his saloon (covered in this March 2020 post), was widely covered by tabloid sites, but mysteriously has still never resulted in an actual sentencing or court hearing for that matter. The whole story now swept under a rug, only to be brought up by social media intern accounts to use as a constant narrative reminder of Jared's "temper" and "mental fragility".

Hearing for the "arrest"?  What hearing?

• Jared's alleged "very bad car accident" earlier this spring and covered in this post, used as an excuse to cancel him from the New Jersey Supernatural convention so that the whole Misha Collins "coming out as bi - coming out as straight" stunt could take place and Jensen Ackles' people could use the weekend to highlight and promote him and his debut'ing show, The Boys.

• Danneel Ackles, Jensen's beard and photo-shopped "mother" to the Ackles children, with a rainbow avatar on her Twitter account. 

 

• Jared's alleged mental breakdown/exhaustion (they couldn't seem to decide which it was), causing him to miss Jus In Bello in Italy in 2015.  The alleged breakdown was exploited a year later by his co-stars and "bodyguard" Clif Kosterman on social media, just one of several strong signs that the whole episode was yet another JibCon scam.

• Long-time meard Misha Collins deeming his character of Castiel as the "gay angel", staging a bisexual "coming out" at an opportunistically-planned Friday night dinner event, followed by a lengthy apology and retraction, professing instead to be a "straight" ally. (Can you even keep up with that?)  Prior to that NJ Con weekend, Collins and the J's team had used Castiel's "profession of love" towards the end of Supernatural's final season, to feed a Destiel/Cockles frenzy which would last and benefit them for an entire year.

• alleged assaults - Yolanda Hadid claiming Zayn Malik assaulted her in 2021, a claim that doesn't merit believability knowing Zayn's peaceful character and reverence for his fellow humans and animals.  Let's put it this way, the wrong kind of "crime" was picked for a lead-up to the "break-up" of Zayn and her daughter.  It was laughable.   

And can I include the whole staged "Oscars Slap" melodrama with Will Smith and Chris Rock, complete with People cover?

 

courtesy of the checkout counter at my local Hy-Vee

 

Specific names won't be used on the use of a life-changing loss like a miscarriage as a garlic necklace, but let's say that it has become far too commonly used in Hollywood for the last several years.  Not only happening too often, but accompanied with heavy social media coverage, Just Jared posts, and Instagram oversharing.  That kind of a devastatingly personal loss is one so deeply felt, it has broken up marriages and forever affected many parents.  Yet, some celebrities share details and emotions for the whole world to see - not just once, but multiple times via different avenues of media.  Like, 'oh, you didn't hear the story? Let me go over it again, and provide even more personal details.' - type frequency.  It's so mind-boggling of an over-sell, that the "heartfelt" confession is simply not believable.

Simply put, these seemingly off-limit topics are used by publicity teams to prevent malleable fans from doubting their stories.  For the fans who are skeptical and more analytical, the off-limit topics are used to intimidate them from questioning out loud.  Who's going to want to be seen doubting a drinking problem (as has been used with Liam Payne)?  Who's going to want to be seen doubting talk of a broken arm/shoulder?  Or a mental breakdown (both having been used with Jared Padalecki)?

Or how about masculine sensitivity?  Like crying?  Narnia has dubbed Creation Entertainment with the name 'Creation Theater' for a reason. Here's a melodramatic example that appeared allll kinds of scripted, from the recent Supernatural Toronto convention.  Jared Padalecki becomes "overwrought" while on stage because he had just talked on the phone with his oldest son Tom, who was at summer camp.

 

 

 

 

We're not referring to a misting up or watering of the eyes either.  We're talking about a theatrical delay with Jared unable to talk, and having to step away (so he could work himself up as though he were filming a scene?) for a few moments.  When the moment came, he brandished his prop, I mean his handkerchief/Kleenex in hand, which he proceeded to use for an extended time because I guess the tears just wouldn't stop. Of course, Jared's outburst prompted the consoling body pat by Jensen, this particular one coming on Jared's knee.  

After all, Jared is known for being emotional, right?  Nothing wrong with that.  But in all these years of convention panels and interviews, how many times has it been brought up by these two men how they were tucked away in Vancouver filming Supernatural for nine months out of the year, away from their families?  In fact, many J2 fans delighted in believing that the children were desired by the beards, were for the beards, and primarily cared for by the beards.  As Odette and the twins were added, a narrative held tightly to the hearts of many Spn Gos commenters was that these guys didn't want those last-born children.  Remember this convention panel from 2017?  Because both Jared and Jensen fed that narrative, along with the help of interns on twitter and in group chats.

 

 

 

Nor was Jensen excluded from this narrative.

 

"I don't know why they agreed to it then. They didn't have to. Jensen hasn't once seemed happy about having the twins and Jared couldn't even remember his daughter's name." - April 2017

 "Check this out 

Jensen's face how could anyone think that these two men wanted all these kids" - April 2017 

 

 

Or both men:

 

smh

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Getting back to present 2022, wasn't that Jared and the beard Genevieve allegedly over in Italy for some kind of romantic "getaway" leading up to the Toronto convention?  Where were the children at the time?  Then, Jared comes "home" and promptly has to leave for the convention? No separation sadness anywhere in sight.

Sell your "heartbreak" somewhere else, Jared.  Narnia's not buying one second of the display, one which was designed to hide that he was actually with Jensen, along with the children for summer break, just like Jake and Austin do every summer with their kiddos.  Tale as old as time.

And what was this display at the same convention?  For what it's worth, the fan does sound like she was jesting and Jared looks as though he's somewhat kidding as well, which would then increase the chances that the theatrics were scripted and the fan, a likely plant.  Let's put it this way - Narnia would not be surprised at all.  If Sony can plant fans in the audiences of concerts, fans can be planted at conventions and I think this has been going on with Creation Theater and the J's for who knows how long.

 

Is Jared trying to act like Louis Tomlinson here?  Even in jest in this situation, it's a tired look.  And the cowering behind Jensen like a four-year-old running to Mom, even more unappealing for a 40-year-old who's making good money from these meet & greet's, photo ops, and Gold/Silver packages.  Not sure who came up with this lousy idea...

"Oh, look how Jensen is scowling at the fan! He is not kidding!"  *eyeroll*

 

 

Oh, but it's "Protective!Jensen"!!  And J2 fans love "Protective!Jensen"!

smh

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Protective!Jensen, which is all just a part of the narrative of minimizing Jared and enabling his "fragile", "problematic" (i.e. the flipping off) narrative, while elevating the narrative of "tough-guy protector" Jensen Ackles to the rescue. 

Because who on earth would question smoke and mirrors going on where there was crying concerned?  Or the death of a parent or pet?  Accusations of sexual assault or harassment?  What fan is willing to stick their neck out on such suspicions?  Why, it would make the fan out to be some kind of heel, right?  

"No one ever believes the victims!"  

Who wants to defy the existence of "toxic masculinity!"?

I am for human rights. If they openly profess to be an LGBTQIA ally, it's highly doubtful they would be a member of the community, right?  They would say so!

What kind of person would I be to question this out loud?  

Who would even lie about such off-limit topics?  What kind of person would lie about an assault?

These kinds of thought processes are precisely why garlic necklaces have become a popular deterrent used by management teams against fans. 

🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹

While we're on the subject of Jared, Jensen and Crew, never has there been such longevity in blaming of the fans than in their fandom.  On July 18, long-time benefactor and enabler Richard Speight tweeted this podcast promo which focused on an attention grabber: Jensen talking about Jeffrey Dean Morgan.  The tweet involved an alleged typing error on Speight's part (on the left) and correction by a fan (on the right).

So, Speight came back with a snarky reply to her biting, correcting tweet,

In other words, he was accusing her of being accusatory towards him.  And amazingly, this exchange then inspired the Stands account to go on this over-the-top, multi-tweet rant, which started off with this one:

Continuing with these,

Stands' tweets came twenty-seven minutes after Speight's snarky one.  Just 27 minutes.  While that kind of quick timing is not entirely questionable, this is:   all of Stands' tweets were identically time-stamped at Jul 18, 2022 at 09:22 CT.   There were five (5) tweets, all lengthy.  So to have the exact same time stamp, are we to believe that @Stands immediately began typing them as soon as Speight tweeted so that he could release them all at once?  

Or were they prepared in advance and scheduled for release all at once? 

And as for Speight, he claims his tweet involved a simple typo.  But as one part of the Narnia team pointed out in a tweet, when you're transcribing, you have to stop/start an audio several times so that you can get an accurate caption.  If it's simply a typo, how does "defense to" become "offense to" when the 'd ' is on the left side of the keyboard and the "o" is on the right?

And not quite sure who says that they take "a defense to".  Usually, one "defends" something, not "takes a defense to".  It was a very odd way to phrase that sentiment.

How far in advance was this whole scripted escapade planned?  And what would be the purpose, besides just gaslighting the fandom?  Perhaps it was in the last tweet by ol' @Stands:

"Over the last few years, I've watched the cast drop off one by to protect their own mental health from it."

Was that a cryptic tweet to help explain the gradual dismantling of the Supernatural fandom as a J2-centered one, so that later on, fans can look back and talk about how the "toxicity of the fandom" caused their own demise?

"The fans are literally destroying the thing they love and replacing it with lies."

Yet, with a Winchesters prequel in the works, that's hard to say, particularly as both Jared and Jensen continue to recycle former guest stars of the original show because they're already safely in the fold of knowing who the real couple is.  

So whether it's teasing glimpses of an easily-misinterpreted and controversial tattoo or it's the intentional exclusion of Jared from a Random Acts T-shirt campaign in mid-February 2016, or it's a take-your-pick of any of the Jib-Con conventions with all of their heller-peddling antics, fans are told that it's their fault for misinterpreting...over-reacting...driving off the actors...

Let's not forget yet another fan scolding/blaming tirade by none other than "bodyguard" Cliffie Kosterman.  Remember this one from 2019?  I mean, it starts out right away with, "To the haters out there",

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I mean, does Mr. Kosterman really want us to dissect that fib-filled rant, starting with the endorsements of the beards?  LOL! They're beards, Kosterman, just knock it off.  We don't have time for these theatrics today.  Kosterman's old post is just Exhibit Y at this point.  😏

But hey, here's my podcast I still need you to listen to.  

My jewelry to buy.  

My video.  

My T shirt.  

My saloon to patronize.  

My brewery.   

My book of poetry.  

My sibling's book.  On and on and on.   Which are fine, if those goods/services bring a fan satisfaction.  But the power that the salesmanship brings, to the point where these folks feel like they can lie to their customers every which way with stunts and "wife" stories at conventions, and then turn around and rip their customers (fans) up one side and down the other for reacting to a daring behavior, is not fine.  It's a two-way road between vendor and customer, don't ever forget that.

Here's a little advice. Don't let TPTB gaslight you, the fans.  Believe what your gut tells you the first time around.  Believe your eyes when it comes to this whole group because they've been manipulating fans since the early days of the show, when the network and show-runners realized they had a real-life couple with a serious relationship on their hands, and had to figure out how they could continue the show with all its money-making conventions, yet keep that couple closeted.

In fact, the blaming of fans has become a very popular tactic of management teams to try and keep voices contained. And yes, not so dissimilar to all the One Direction dramatics we  here at Narnia have grown accustomed to as well.  Two very different fandoms, with one big thing in common:

Hint: Where you hang your clothes at the end of the day.

pic sources:  criminalelement, tzr, communitypearljam, abord deImpala

our playlist:  Shame - The Motels

                     Hands Clean - Alanis Morissette

                     Blame It On Me - George Ezra

                     Blame - Calvin Harris (feat. John Newman)

Jake Gyllenhaal's Four-Year Project of reBirthing "A Life"

Come on, who hasn't been here before? 

LOL!  What is it with those kind of blinds and eventually, they won't stay up and one side will sag lower than the other and it's either all the way up or all the way down or bust.  You keep trying to "fix it" and well - forget it.

And sometimes the "fix" just makes things worse.   The attempt can be gallant, such as these civilian-planted flower gardens by pothole vigilantes who tired of waiting on repairs...

But in the case of a few "fix-it" attempts by Jake Gyllenhaal's team after a revealing Seawall/A Life podcast dating back to February earlier this year, it looks like there have been a couple of little flower gardens sprouting up just from that one big pothole. 

Such as, you ask?

[Just for background, Jake and Tom Sturridge performed this very emotional set of plays at the The Newman Theater in New York City, from January 26 through March 24 of this year. Following the brief Far From Home promo tour, both actors are back at it for another stint at the Hudson Theater on Broadway, one that began August 8 and runs through September 29.] 

So for one, let's take a second look at this quote from the writer of A Life, Nick Payne.  The quote comes from the lengthy WNYC podcast that both Nick Payne and Jake took part in earlier this year. This was Nick Payne talking about Jake in his play, A Life:

"He has this tremendous depth...like, the emotional resource - the well of it is huge. And so I knew that I could write a sort of emotionally deep show that's structurally really complex to ask an almost athletic task of him and he would be able to do it with no problem." - Jake Gyllenhaal and Nick Payne on a New Public Theater Production - February 7, 2019

At 16:40:

 

As pointed out before in our post from February 10, called "Sunday Musings: Is it Morf or Is It More Like Morph?", that statement made it sound like Jake has had a vast array of life experience from which he could draw and bring the role of Abe (as a father-to-be and an offspring who has lost a parent) to life.  His statement was very revealing of someone like Jake who is deep in the closet and has a family to hide.

Perhaps the podcast slip could explain why this second round of play promo has super, hyper-focused on a PR-mantra of Jake's that has come around routinely in the past.  Give this brief clip from a CBS "Sunday Today" guest stint of Jake's a watch and listen to:

someone for the love of god make jake gyllenhaal a father he’d be such a great one 🥺 pic.twitter.com/l5qHmO5M94

— ems (@616MYSTERlO) July 29, 2019

"You know.  I am not a father." - Jake on CBS's "Sunday Today" with Willie Geist.

Okay, Jake, got it!  (For the 5,459th time).  Oh, wait.  There was more.

Jake Gyllenhaal Reveals That He Hopes 'to Be a Father One Day' https://t.co/uvS5Qg5eH3

— People (@people) July 25, 2019

In an excerpt from the Daily Fail article above, we are told:

The 38-year-old actor is currently playing a father-to-be in his new one-man Broadway show Seawall/A Life, and said taking on the role has made him realize he'd love to have children of his own someday. - "Jake Gyllenhaal Says He Wants to be Father as He Plays Dad-To-Be in Broadway Show Sealife/A Life" - Daily Mail, July 25, 2019


And there was EOnline:

Jake Gyllenhaal is dreaming of a day filled with diapers and pacifiers. 

While sitting down with Sunday TODAY's host Willie Geist to discuss his Broadway play Sea Wall / A Life, the actor got candid about having a family in the future. "I do hope to be a father one day," the actor mused.

Perhaps the baby bug hit while performing onstage. - eonline - Jul 25, 2019

The opening paragraph in a story by Vanity Fair:

His performance in the monologue A Life is intimate and character-free, playing a man facing the parallels between the death of his father and the birth of his newborn child (neither of which, it should be noted, Gyllenhaal has experienced firsthand).  - Vanity Fair August 2019



Yes, noted.  So why do you keep telling us this...

If People, eonline, PopSugar, and The Daily Fail aren't enough to show this time around that Jake couldn't be more serious about his yen for fatherhood, how about Time magazine?

However, for six nights a week during a brief stint on Broadway this summer, Gyllenhaal is transforming into what may be one of his most alien characters yet: a regular bloke, with the same daunting problems nearly everyone faces, the departure of a parent and the arrival of a child.

[edit.] 

The actor, 38, has no wife, no child and two living parents, TV director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner. He doesn’t even really, he says, have a home. - In a New Broadway Play, Jake Gyllenhaal Attempts Something Radical: Normalcy via TIME.com

Or the New York Times:

Mr. Gyllenhaal is not a father.  Or a mother, he added, though the script asks him to briefly assume the role of Abe's wife.  His sister, (the actress Maggie Gyllenhaal, has given him notes, particularly in the birth scene.) He covers his character with his own fantasies of what it would be like to have a child or to lose a parent. - "Men Who Aren't Afraid of Tears", The New York Times, July 31, 2019  

We just lose count at this point, don't we? If we don't know by now, even a mallet to the head isn't going to pound this one home. LOL!

No, it appears obvious that there has been an all-out campaign to re-emphasize that Jake is not a father nor is he married, therefore the play could not possibly consist of material that he could relate to.   I think I hear Zayn Malik singing in the distance -  ♪♫ "A whole new world!" for Jakers.  ;-)

Ahem.  It's also interesting how several of the articles made sure to point out that Jake had not suffered the loss of either parent, something which most of his fans already know, but apparently was necessary to repeat in numerous articles.  

Most people familiar with Jake's background also are fully aware that there has been no change in his marital or "non-parental" status.  To the general population, who go to see his movies and/or plays, Jake is a bachelor, part of the "swinging single" crowd, perhaps currently "dating J. Cadieu", and both of his parents are most obviously alive.  Nor does he have any children, right?  Yet, look at the heavy-handed, repeated reminders on both subjects.

It's too bad that rather big pothole of a quote from Nick Payne came first, isn't it? Before all of the extra-curricular.

And as for A Life suddenly making Jake realize that he wouldn't mind having a mini-me, it's also too bad that dating back as far as 2006, at the young age of 25, Jake had already been spilling his innermost, personal desire to People:

Well, look at that! In 2006, which was one year before Baby Tile would be born in October of 2007, People was calling him a Family Guy.   Because he said what?

"I want a lot of kids.  Two or four. Not six. It's torture after four."  How about 5 then, Jake? 7? 8?  Hmmm.  Looks like his train missed its station stop on that trip, doesn't it?  LOL!

And what about in 2017 when he told People, once again, that he wanted to be a father?

"I want to continue becoming more of an adult than I already am," he says of his future.  "Hopefully with a family of my own." - Jake Gyllenhaal Opens Up About His Desire To Be a Father: I Want a 'Family of My Own'

Oh, and since we're taking this memory lane trip, there was the year 2015 during the whole Southpaw promo (where Jake played a dad, once again, to a daughter):

The 34-year-old actor, who plays a boxer and grieving father to 13-year old actress Oona Laurence, in drama 'Southpaw'', hopes his character's personal life one day becomes a reality for him. He said: "I would love it not to be fictional." - The Mirror UK - Aug 1 2015

lol.  But seriously - he already had it in his mind in 2006, 2015, and 2017, that he wanted children. But now in 2019, he's saying that performing in A Life has suddenly put the idea into his head? 

And what about the "changes" to the play? This was Nick Payne's play. How many times does one hear about someone else making substantial changes to a playwright's work? Never mind major rewrites for a play that is already only about 45 minutes long with not one word of endorsement or reaction from the original writer? But that's precisely what is being emphasized in this second production of A Life.

How different from the first production this past winter when Nick Payne attended the opening night in February,

 

In the current summer's run, much of the promo mentions, press interviews, opening night, and pictures have involved director Carrie Cracknell.  It's ironic that one of the interviews featuring Cracknell, via Theatermania.com, is entitled "Seawall/A Life Director Would Rather You Forget She Was Ever There".   And yet, she's been a highly featured part of the production this summer. 

above at a photocall on June 5 with Jake and Tom Sturridge. Nick Payne not in attendance.

above - Broadway Opening Night, Cracknell with Riva Marker (Jake's partner in his production company Nine Stories) and Seawall writer, Simon Stephens.  Nick Payne was not in attendance.

View this post on Instagram

Hour 19 of Carrie Cracknell — the incredible director of Seawall / A Life — teaching me ‘Chopsticks’. Kidding. I can’t play chopsticks. It’s too hard.

A post shared by Jake Gyllenhaal (@jakegyllenhaal) on Jul 24, 2019 at 6:34am PDT

 

The above photo from Jake's Instagram post features director Cracknell during rehearsals. In the podcast linked earlier in the post, starting at 18:41, listen when the interviewer asks Jake,

"As you're working on this piece [A Life], this monologue, and Carrie's working with you, what kind of questions did you have for her, about doing this?"

Jake answers with:

"Uh, you know, it's been a - actually, a relatively long process with Nick for me. I...Nick gave me the piece as just a comment on a show that we did together, the beautiful show he wrote, Constellations."

Jake goes on to say how "for about four years", he "would write him (Nick Payne) and say 'can I do this piece?"

Now, several months later, here's what Cracknell has to say about the origins of how A Life came about, via Theatermania:

I began this conversation with Jake after he'd seen a show of mine at the National. He had had a long-standing interest in what was then called The Art of Dying and has become A Life. I had seen The Art of Dying — the original work that Nick [Payne] made — when he performed it at the Royal Court, and it was such a sensitive and honest piece by Nick that at first I think Nick didn't feel that he wanted to revisit it. He couldn't even really imagine anyone else performing it because he had written it for himself to perform. And then Jake and I started collaborating with Nick, and we had this idea for him to start thinking about how it had felt for him to become a father, as well as talking about the loss of his own father. So he then went on an extraordinary journey to rewrite the piece and to try and find a new angle on it so it could fit Jake's voice. It has become a piece that's written from a totally different direction with the context of loss inside it. In a way it's about becoming a man — the transition from being a child to the acceptance of the responsibility of parenthood.

Theatermania, July 25, 2019



Oh??  But I thought earlier this year, Jake said he had been given the piece Art of Dying during the Constellations (another play by Nick Payne) run. And that he proceeded to write Nick Payne every year for four years, pleading for him to let him perform it?  Jake was in Constellations in early 2015, so four years later would be 2019.  Sounds about right.  But this misses other parts of Cracknell's story, doesn't it?

And if one listens to that podcast which was published in February this year, it's clear that by the time the second production began, there has been some re-writing of history going on with regard to the origins of A Life in the press.  Does it all go a bit deeper than just about Jake having experienced what a father-to-be is like?   

The Art of Dying is the original piece by Nick Payne which he himself performed at the Royal Court Theater in July 2014.  His father passed away in 2010 from a heart ailment, and anyone who has suffered the loss of a parent can certainly understand and identify with the grieving process that one goes through.

Because Nick Payne isn't mainstream famous (at least here in the States), we don't know exactly when his daughter was born, but in this article "Wanderlust Writer Nick Payne : Everyone is Sexually Frustrated" from the "Go London" newsletter and dated September 3, 2018, it is stated that he has an 11-month old daughter. So his baby would have been born in late 2017.

Jake states that he first read Art of Dying during the run of Constellations which was in early 2015, although he had already known Nick Payne since 2012 and performed two of his other works: If There Is, I Haven't Found It Yet in 2012 and Constellations in 2015.  

This excerpt from the Time.com interview is also very interesting:

Abe [Jake's play character] swings erratically between the two narratives, his father's ill health and his wife's pregnancy, with the only constant being how unprepared he is for either.  It requires a lot of tricky tonal shifts, sometimes mid-sentence.  But Gyllenhaal revels in it, doing two things at the same time, blurring the edges between them.  He asked Payne for more as they developed the script. - In a New Broadway Play, Jake Gyllenhaal Attempts Something Radical: Normalcy   August 8, 2019

As "they" developed the script? In other words, Jake had input into the writing of this play when allegedly he had no firsthand experience at either becoming a father, or experiencing the loss of a parent.  

Now, what occurred in Jake's life in 2015?  His life partner Austin Nichols lost his mother on September 12, 2015, after another battle with cancer.  Being that she was Jake's mother-in-law and Jake and Austin have known each other since May 2002, Jake likely knew her from the time they met, meaning approximately thirteen years. Therefore, both men (as well as possibly their older children) were going through a tough time in 2015.

What do we also believe was going on for Jake and Austin in 2015?  We believe a Baby Tile was born in late 2015 - Baby Tile Congras.  Yep, that was Baby Tile Congras, the one where Margie Nicholson made a comment on Austin's Facebook page just after the New Year and congratulated him on the birth of his new daughter.  

And although Jake's team worked frantically trying to argue that she had posted on the wrong Facebook page, creating a "Nicholson" Facebook family scenario seemingly overnight to try and back up their claims, the belief that Jake and Austin did have another child is solidly backed up by Jake's rash of now-familiar trips to the Los Angeles medical center that year:  

Aug 24, 2015
Oct 2, 2015
Oct 3, 2015
Nov 11, 2015 (while wearing the Austin shout-out Chicago Bulls cap)

[These visits were looked at a bit more closely in Day 4 - Doctors Orders of our 30 Days Masterpost.]

And then there has been that matter of Jake and Austin sending a shoutout to each of their offspring with a photo op together or like 2018, an Instagram post love-call.  And for Baby Tile Congras?  Jake and Austin allowed themselves to be "caught" in a photo together at SXSW 2016 on March 12, just a few months after the birth of their daughter.

These moments have been too rare since 2012 for them to be dismissed as "accidents" or "well, they're still friends, after all".  That picture above was only the second time Jake and Austin had been in a photo together since the New York City pap walk with the nanny, er - "mystery girl" chaperone in November 2012.   They have become the Sea of Stars.  The White Peacock.  The Human Stone Henge.   Halley's Comet!  The -

Oh.  *smirk*  Sorry, I got excited there for a moment. ;D

But in 2015, Austin was going through two life-changing events and Jake was right there with him.  There is the deep loss of losing a parent, the sadness over a grandparent not being able to see a new grandchild, the possible guilt and/or conflict over being excited about the upcoming birth of a child, and then the joy when the new baby arrives.  Both men experienced most or all of these emotions.  And that is why it is so easy to see why Jake wanted to do Art of Dying, which evolved into A Life.

Note the Time.com quote again:  "He asked Payne for more as they developed the script." 

And while Art of Dying is Nick Payne's story and no doubt A Life also reflects his feelings about becoming a first time father, how much of A Life is about Jake and Austin?  Art of Dying was written about the 2010 passing of Nick Payne's father. He did not become a father until late 2017, so that is significantly later. 

Whereas Austin was going through the illness and loss of his mother and the prospect of becoming a father once more, simultaneously in mid-late 2015. And Jake was losing his mother-in-law and also about to become a father as well.

From Time.com again, note what the article says:  "But Gyllenhaal revels in it, doing two things at the same time, blurring the edges between them." 

In 2015, Jake and Austin were going through both experiences.  At the same time. 

As Payne said, Jake had a "well" of firsthand experience to draw from - Is it because A Life became more about his and Austin's 2015 story?

There was also this intriguing 2014 quote from the London playwright in the Sydney Morning Herald discussing Jake and his selection of certain projects over others:

"He's been very nice about the work and he's not someone who needs to do a play so he only does the projects he's got a personal interest in." - UK Playwright Nick Payne's Award-Winning 'Constellations' on Broadway with Jake Gyllenhaal, The Sydney Morning Herald, August 15, 2014

From the previously mentioned article in the NY Times entitled "Men Who Aren't Afraid of Tears" dated July 31, 2019:

During rehearsals [of Constellations], Mr. Payne gave him (Jake) an early version of "A Life", a monologue that the playwright had performed himself.

When he read it, Mr. Gyllenhaal said, "I laughed and I wept and I came back to it probably monthly." He had been searching, Ms. Cracknell told me for a project, "more connected to himself than some of the things he's been doing in film recently." - Men Who Aren't Afraid of Tears - New York Times Jul 31 2019

"He was interested in playing and kind of excavating something very, very honest," she said. "and very connected to him." - Carrie Cracknell - Men Who Aren't Afraid of Tears

Excavating = to remove or find by digging.  To remove earth that is covering very old objects buried in the ground in order to discover things about the past. - Cambridge dictionary

And so it's not surprising that after a few hints and observations of Jake being able to identify with the feelings of a prospective new parent, that a stronger-than-ever campaign of "I Want a Family Of My Own" accompanied the press interviews during the summer round on Broadway to deflect from what Narnia had written back in February.

And now this author wonders about further details in A Life and how many are from Jake and Austin's personal experience.  One last contemplation stems from this quote of Jake's:

Gyllenhaal thinks of different people in his life each time he performs.
“I know it well enough now that if I can make a choice in a millisecond, I can see different things. I know, for instance, when she’s in labor that she’s in the water." - Opening Night: Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Sturridge Reveal Secrets About Their Broadway Play , August 9, 2019

"when she's in labor, she's in the water"

Knowing for so long how connected Jake's husband Austin is to water, having learned to water ski since he was two years old, surf, and fish, not to mention his involvement with Oceana and having served on its Media Advisory Board,  and currently as a celebrity supporter.  Austin and water (the ocean) are a natural pairing, stemming from his mother's water skiing champion past.  He loves Barton Springs, TX. His family vacations at Clark Lake, in Michigan.  He and Jake are believed to have stayed at Post Ranch Inn, located along Big Sur, CA as well as Tortuga Bay Resort, located along the beach in the Dominican Republic.   Water, water, water.

"Water sports are in my blood.  My uncle is in the Michigan Water Ski Hall of Fame.  I started water skiing competitively when I was 2." -  Austin Nichols in Scoop Q & A on People, June 11, 2007

Now, let's go back to the Time Inc. article and see what Jake said:

"I have been at the birth of children I love." - Jake Gyllenhaal in Time.com 

"when she's in labor, she's in the water" - Jake Gyllenhaal

And so now it seems very, very plausible that at least one of Jake and Austin's children were born underwater, a birthing practice where the baby is eased into the world from its amniotic sac (water) into warm water.  The baby won't drown because his/her lungs are still collapsed and won't breathe in air until brought to the surface.  Austin being more adventurous and water-oriented, yes, it is extremely believable that he would love to try a water birth. Hence the phrase, "she's in the water."

Interesting contemplation, isn't it? This study and analysis is not intended to "rob" Nick Payne from his work.  He did experience the subject matter of what Art of Dying and A Life are about.  Art of Dying was the original work and is the piece which got the wheels in Jake's mind turning.  The various stories of how A Life came about and who was involved in merging the two stories together (i.e, the cycle of life and death), hint that Jake had significant input. 


Jake having a...
"personal interest in"

Jake...
"he had been searching for a project more connected to himself"

Jake was...
"the emotional resource - the well of it is huge"

Indeed.

at Borders book store, May 4, 2007

the sushi lunch in Los Angeles, January 2012

at Berlinale, February 2012

                                                      at the medical center, Beverly Hills CA, 01 29 10

"The Arctic Sunrise is in Wilmington, NC. So awesome.  This boat could tell some stories." - 

@AUS10NICHOLS twitpic,  Jan 23, 2011

 

                                                the infamous Laker photos 2007

And Jake in 2019:

You don't need no stinkin' curtain when it comes to Narnia D, buddy.  ;-)

 

pic/written sources:  IHeartJake, Time Inc., naturalchild.org, Just
                                 Jared, ohmygodot, crowdrise, Time, giphy,
                                 devrant, mymodernmet
our playlist: Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
                    Story of My Life - One Direction
                    Man in the Middle - Michael Jackson