CANNES, France (AP) – Jake Gyllenhaal says he was motivated by one goal above all others while shooting the fantasy “Okja”: making his Korean director giggle.
“It’s legitimately fun to get him to laugh off-camera,” Gyllenhaal said in an interview alongside “Okja” director Bong Joon-ho who was, naturally, chuckling as Gyllenhaal spoke. “You know when you get the giggle we’re going to print it and move on.”
The collaboration between Bong and Gyllenhaal was long in the making. They had met occasionally since 2007, shortly after Bong’s debut, “The Host,” introduced him as a filmmaker capable of singular genre creations.
“So many strange things happen whenever we’ve met,” Gyllenhaal said shortly after “Okja” premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. (The film will hit Netflix and some theaters on June 28.)
Take their meeting in New York in 2011. From the window of the apartment where they were talking, they could see a couple making out on a rooftop below.