>> UPDATE: More proof that Austin Nichols wasn't in Leadville. Austin was in Detroit filming movie 'LOL' - no mustache, no beard:
> No Austin Nichols in sight
Leadville Race Briefing and Medical Check-in by Brandon Fuller
Posted 2010-08-20
After leaving the assembly, we heard rumors of Hollywood stars in the mix. Turns out Jake Gyllenhaal of gay cowboy fame was up in the rafters in a big beard and hat. We haven’t figured out his role in this yet but the lowdown seems to be a Born to Run movie in the works. They aren’t filming the movie right now. I am thinking they are doing some scouting and maybe some “day in the life” stuff so they can then portray it in a film? Seems silly since its such an event in itself and doesn’t need to be acted in my opinion. Anyway, here is a back shot of him. He is in the hat with backpack. I wussed out on getting a picture. Wasn’t sure I cared enough.
Jake and Austin, 2006 · source
Different height, different head shape, different hair color, different ears ... not Austin Nichols. ·
bigger picture
Leadville photo · source, all sizes
Jake and Peter in Leadville, more photos:
Jake and Peter, two photos
Jake, two Twitter photos
Eric Orton @BornToRunCoach Oct 30
#TBT Running and hanging with Jake G and crew at Leadville 100 - 2010.
> Reason for visiting Leadville
Lovin Vacay, 'some "them" time after the birth of one of their kids', Leadville Love-In?
Nope, that's just bad J/A fiction. Here's why:
>> Jake Gyllenhaal on David Letterman (11/17/2010) - Part 1/2
Jake talks running, Born to Run, Peter and his visit to Leadville.
>> Christopher McDougall: The Powells.com Interview
Posted by Shawn Donley, April 19, 2011
Christopher McDougall, author of Born to Run
Shawn: I've heard rumors that there may be a Born to Run movie in the works. Is that true?
McDougall: I think I'll really believe it's true when I've seen it for the fifth time. But where it stands now is I got this surprise phone call from Peter Sarsgaard, whose brother-in-law is Jake Gyllenhaal. They're both great actors in their own right. They asked me to meet them in Leadville, Colorado, last August because they wanted to check out the race and do some research on ultrarunning.
Where it stands now is Peter is slotted to direct the movie, and he's got a script in hand, and we'll see where it goes from there.
>> Peter Sarsgaard To Direct And Write Born To Run But Will Jake Gyllenhaal Star?
Posted June 20, 2011
Sarsgaard’s association with Born to Run was first noticed in August last year when McDougall’s appearance in the famous Leadville 100 race in Colorado was accompanied by a crew and cameras – plus the crowd-drawing Peter Sarsgaard and his brother-in-law Jake Gyllenhaal. Despite being more than able runners themselves, the actors didn’t compete in the endurance event. They watched, observed and filmed.
Sarsgaard is currently looking for funding for Born to Run, which will be produced byKathy and Frank Marshall. The aim is to shoot through the winter in Sierra Madre, Mexico.
>> Peter Sarsgaard is 'Born to Run' after a monstrous 'Green Lantern'
JUNE 15, 2011
He's prepping to start shooting the indie "Very Good Girls" this fall, but Sarsgaard eyes lit up when the topic of his passion project, an adaptation of "Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen," came up. Sargaard just finished his first draft of the script the night before and was ecstatic about the possibilities of his directorial debut.
Working with producers Kathy and Frank Marshall among others, the book tells the story of author Chris McDougall who journeyed to find the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico's Copper Canyons, a tribe of Indians who have mastered techniques that allow them to run hundreds of miles without rest. His adventure also finds him meeting the mysterious loner Caballo Blanco as he trains for, according to the book's synopsis, "a fifty-mile race through the heart of Tarahumara country pitting the tribe against an odd band of Americans, including including a star ultramarathoner, a beautiful young surfer, and a barefoot wonder."
"We’re going to try to make, you know, a kind of wild dirt magazine sort of version of 'Born to Run' that honors the true free spirit of what a lot of these people are like," Sarsgaard says. "I was drawn to it because I wanted to play Caballo Blanco and then I got drawn into directing it and now I don’t feel comfortable [doing both]."
An avid runner himself, Sarsgaard is seeing the action in the story within the races which he views almost as traditional "chase" scenes.
"There’s something out there that you’re trying to get. It’s the guy who’s in front of you. And then there’s all sorts of different narratives within the run because there’s different races going on. There’s the race within the race, you know? And because these races are very long, you know they’re 100 miles and stuff, there’s all the stuff that happens. So, it’s not just a boring drama about the running."
To say Sarsgaard is passionate about the project is an understatement. I joked with him, "You’ve actually pitched me on the movie. I’m actually very excited about it."
"It’s going to be really cool," Sarsgaard says. "And I’m going to find a way…I’m working with some people in finding a way to really make the running dynamic and wild, you know, for Sierra Madre can be running through incredible country."