USA: Stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena arrive on the red carpet for the Los Angeles premiere of the South Central police drama "End of Watch"

Record ID: 220910

  • Title: USA: Stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena arrive on the red carpet for the Los Angeles premiere of the South Central police drama "End of Watch"
  • Date: 18th September 2012
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 17, 2012) (REUTERS) ***CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** PULL OUT FROM POSTER JAKE GYLLENHAAL AND MICHAEL PENA (SOUNDBITE) (English) JAKE GYLLENHAAL ON THE FILM, SAYING: "You have seen the cop genre many, many times. The only way to really do it is to get people inside the cop car the way that has never been done before. To see
  • Embargoed: 3rd October 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVA86N1F1SD73N4L81VNC0LDXN0L
  • Story Text: Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena walked the red carpet Monday night (September 17) in Los Angeles for the premiere of their new police drama, "End of Watch."
    Set in South Central Los Angeles, the film has generated a buzz ahead of its opening, for its realistic, gritty and honorable story about those who job it is to serve and protect.
    "End of Watch," is a powerful story of family, friendship, love, honor and courage starring Academy Award nominee Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pe� as young Los Angeles police officers Taylor and Zavala as they patrol the city's hardest streets. Giving the story a gripping, first-person immediacy, the action unfolds through footage from the handheld HD cameras of the police officers, gang members, surveillance cameras, and citizens caught in the line of fire to create a riveting portrait of the city's most dangerous corners, the cops who risk their lives there every day, and the price they and their families are forced to pay.
    "You have seen the cop genre many, many times," said Gyllenhaal, in explaining the efforts to give "End of Watch," a unique edge.
    "The only way to really do it is to get people inside the cop car, the way that has never been done before. To see a story based on the cartel I think is particularly alive and kicking right now, I think it is very current.
    "But most of all, for us, it was about making a movie that was as authentic as possible. We had no desire to do it half way. We spent five months on the street with police officers, three times a week 4 pm to 4 am, fight training, tactical training with SWAT, the guy who trains SWAT. We had every intention to make it as authentic as possible."
    For Pena, that authenticity at times blurred the line between reality and fiction and in the course of film said the actors developed a real bonding.
    "We did weapons training where we were literally this close in firing a weapon and you have to trust this person a lot," said Pena.
    "I would bring him over to my family and her would play with my kid. I do feel like there was a cool brotherhood. To me there is no feeling, I just went on a family trip, then to just sit around the table with a big family, you know what I mean, it is addictive."
    The movie also stars Anna Kendrick, America Ferrera and Natalie Martinez.
    "David Ayer really understands this world, he is not saying that these guys are always heroes or that they are super human," said Kendrick, who plays Gyllenhaal's girlfriend in the film. "Sometimes they make judgment calls that as an audience member, you are not sure that it is the right choice. So, I think this is a really well balanced but really raw look at law enforcement."
    "End of Watch," which is generating an Oscar buzz on several fronts, opens in the U.S. on September 21.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register