How did you feel.... *SPOILER*

[S4M985]

When BECKY finally met Jake?


Me personally, i remember when it happened in real time, and i was very excited for her. Second time around reading it in the book, I felt FOR her... I personally, think it was a turning point for her, that, coupled with the reactions from everyone else, it proved that Becky and/or PG, just wasnt *into* it anymore? BUT i was glad the before she quitshe said words "Jake Watch" to him, and looking him in the eye... i was happy she got that at least....Just my opinion...

Thoughts??

... discuss!

[coffeecat]

I remember it "for real" the first time too. I was a little confused - like, does PG/Becky really love Jake or does she really not care about him? I was thinking last night after the Poetry Reading chapter, that JakeWatch wasn't really about MEETING Jake, it more about talking about meeting Jake. DYKWIM?

[Vanessa]

Since I wasn't around during JW, I can only say how it made me feel reading her experience in the book. I can completely understand how she felt, because it would have been very disappointing to me if I had been in her shoes. I truly don't care to ever meet the dude myself, even though I adore him. It would totally kill my illusion of what he is to me in movies & all. I know he definitely is far from perfect & has his very private life that he tries to maintain, but he really should try harder with his fans. I know if I were running a fansite for him and wanted to do what she tried to do for the fans, it would have crushed me when it fell far short of the ideal experience that it should & could have been.

[coffeecat]

Sept 30, 2010 12:23:24 GMT -5 Vanessa said:

Since I wasn't around during JW, I can only say how it made me feel reading her experience in the book. I can completely understand how she felt, because it would have been very disappointing to me if I had been in her shoes. I truly don't care to ever meet the dude myself, even though I adore him. It would totally kill my illusion of what he is to me in movies & all. I know he definitely is far from perfect & has his very private life that he tries to maintain, but he really should try harder with his fans. I know if I were running a fansite for him and wanted to do what she tried to do for the fans, it would have crushed me when it fell far short of the ideal experience that it should & could have been.

I agree with everything you said, Vanessa.

[S4M985]

I totally agree... i think the whole experience really fell apart when she saw him in the doorway on his phone.. being... NORMAL

Once you've realised that, how can you have a reaction like those other "fangirls" ill call them! haha

[callmemo]

I think it's that you have this build-up to it. Then when the exchange actually happens, you're just like, "Wait. That was it?!" Meeting him really is very anticlimactic.

But, I agree with Sam, at least she was able to utter Jake Watch to him once.

[Prophecy Girl]

I feel weird commenting on this discussion...but I'm going to do it anyway! ;D

Something that didn't make it into the book, mainly because it didn't really fit with the flow of the story, is that I didn't get a hold of a few of my friends when I was making all of those phone calls in Toronto. One of them I'd been out of touch with for quite some time, and we didn't wind up talking until much later...after Jake Watch ended in fact. When I told her the story, her response was, "That's all he said to you? What a bastard."

She was the only friend who responded that way and I gotta say I really appreciated that from her. I was so resigned to the fact that he was going to be impersonal and that the encounter was going to be boring. I knew it, and yet I was still hoping to be excited by it. And everyone I talked to just assumed that it was a big deal for me. But here was this friend whom I hadn't talked to in months, who was looking it from a completely different perspective, and who called it exactly like it was.

In the grand scheme of things, it wouldn't have taken any more effort of Jake's part to lie to me and say, "I'll check out your site," or even, "Thanks for the support." I think what makes me so sad about the whole thing is that I wasn't even hoping for that from him anymore. I even said in the book that I wasn't expecting anything from him. And that's a really defeatist attitude - to put that much of yourself into something for another person and just accept that that person won't acknowledge it. I know he didn't get a choice in getting me as a fan, but narcissistic as it sounds, I remain convinced that he could have done a hell of a lot worse...

If I had to do it over again, I would have yelled at him more. But I remain glad that I got to say the words "Jake Watch" to him!! I'm not sure it was worth all the effort it took to get to that point, but at least I accomplished what I set out to do.

[Prophecy Girl]

OH GOD, I totally killed this thread. I apologize for that...

[joelliea]

Reading this thread, I actually have some things in my mind. But I don't want to jump in yet cause I haven't read the book, and I'm not sure I get the correct picture just by reading the particular post in Jake Watch. So yea ..

[S4M985]

Joelliea have you read it yet??!!

[joelliea]

Sam, yes I have . In fact, I'm almost done with my 2nd reading.

Got an entry about the book, link is on my sig below.

I'll response to this thread once I can put my fingers on keyboard (typing from portable device like this one sucks, cause I tend to write long heheheh).

[joelliea]

Ok. Are we talking about two encounters? Chapter 6 and Chapter 13?

Here is one illustration.

"A gorgeous international artist was coming to town for a concert. This was one of the rarest visit. After lobbying hard with the promoter and the artist's rep., a local fans club had been granted an opportunity to welcome him at the airport. 120 female fans gathered in that evening, half of them were teenagers. They prepared flowers, gifts, fancy paper flags and banner. They wore bright orange uniformed t-shirts with the club's name printed in glitters. They rehearsed a chant, continuously calling the artist's name in perfect rhythm. Some of them even managed to make friends with the airport securities. The group's leader only set two strict rules: behave and do not stand or move from the designated welcoming spot. So there they sat obediently on the floor, in rows, at one corner outside the arrival gate. O, did they create one awesome scene; they attracted attention from media and all the people passing, spreading their contagious anticipation to the surroundings. The artist was planned to walk by and stop in front of the group, so they could see and greet him without any barriers. Finally there was a hush that their star had arrived. The air was quickly filled with tension. The chanting started ascendingly, the flags waved cheerfully, the cameras were ready to shoot. And there he was. Wearing casual outfit and a baseball cap. And that's all the group could see of him. He was tightly covered by a bunch of securities, who dragged him away really fast. He couldn't stop to meet his fans as planned. Doubtedly he could see the flowers and gifts presented in a desperate way; the fans, as sweet as they could, had changed their position from sitting to kneeling, trying to reach him and getting his attention. He was that close to them, really close. They could easily jump in front of the outnumbered securities and forced the ring to loosen up. But the girls stayed put. They behaved and nobody moved from their spot. They didn't stop chanting while they saw their object of affection slipping away right before their very eyes. And then at the end of the corner, they saw him stopped and turning his back around. He was trying to see his devoted fans through the gap between his securities body. He waved his hand up high, flashing his brightest smile that only could be seen by the lucky people within his range. He managed to do that for a split second, before he was pushed back and was again dragged quickly to nowhere. He was gone, just like that. Leaving his fans drowning in their disbeliefs. Flowers and gifts remained untouched. Not a single decent picture was captured.

I sat right there among those girls, at front row, at the end of that corner. I saw everything. I saw excitement degrading into tears, I felt many hearts broken. The group's leader - the founder of the fans club, one of my best friends - caught me with her eyes. She shook her head. The silence of disappointment and betrayal was alarming. A big fat bold question mark hung invisibly. Why? What happened? We followed the rules. We behaved. We thought we did it right. But then how could it go so terribly wrong??

So afterwards we got our answer. Apparently there were some of the club members (they didn't join in the welcoming group) who went too far in that evening. Out of the leader's knowledge, they bribed some airport authorities to let them go inside the terminal, and they waited until the plane landed. Then they went INSIDE the plane to see the artist before he could alight. They pinched his cheeks, (suspectedly) trying to kiss him and following his every moves. That was why security went nuts in protecting him. But these shameless stalkers had got their benefits. And those nicer fans outside had got nothing. Effin' generalisation".

Here's another illustration:

"I'd been idolizing one male singer. I started it quite early in his career, simply because I really loved his singing voice. He was described as talented and down-to-earth. His fans opened a mailing list. The group was very active and always, always besided him. In their mind, he couldn't do anything wrong. Even when he sang out of tunes and forgot the lyrics almost in every shows. He was absolutely spoiled by his fans. No fans ever threw criticism. Until I jumped into the group. I thought he had so much potential, but spoiling him at this early stage would do no good. So once in a while I gave them my honest thoughts. Turned out, the group's founder and administrators acknowledged me. Most of these leaders knew the singer personally. I didn't know it was a good news or a bad news. So I had my advantages. Coincidentally, or not, I got a chance to see him in a private occasion, with permission from one of the group's admins. Only my friend and I. We met the singer and his older brother, also two other admins. At first, we only wanted to shake his hand and said hi. My friend brought her camera. And we were encouraged to take pictures. I could tell the picture taking felt like an obligation. He was not friendly. He smiled but said nothing. He was close but awfully unreachable. We didn't think we gave any pressure to him at all. We didn't show any hysteria that might scare him away. Yet, he faced us with this wall around him. My friend was happy enough with the pictures, but I - who had no expectation on any pictures whatsoever, was hit by this moment of truth pretty hard. If this were the way he treated two fans in a comfortable situation among his family and friends, how would he treat his fans outside the comforts? His brother was friendly enough seeing that the little brother did have admirers. Why couldn't he at least pretending the same? Did he know who I was, for being the most vocal in criticizing him? I doubted he had time to visit the group and found me there, also I was NOT that bad. And to my defense, if he couldn't take criticism, he was not worthy a good artist. Ok. Then what about my friend who never did any harm? As if this weren't enough, I played dumb and bit him, 'Can I have your phone number?'. He looked at me in an eerie calmness, smiled and bit me back, "No." I would never forget the intimacy.

So, I remained watching him from a distance. I kept my opinions unbiased, I supported the group, but when it came to criticism, I didn't hold back. I became sweeter and harsher. Strange, the group still opened to my sarcasms. Or maybe they somehow could read between my lines. Chances to see the singer and taking pictures with him kept coming. Once or twice I followed the mainstream. I still like his singing, a lot. He made me happy when he delivered fine performances. He wasted my precious time for every bad shows. Some people thought I knew him personally cause I seemed to know many things about him. Maybe I did know him. I had my inside sources. And I observed him as a person who flawed. I saw him played favorites. I noticed how he communicated with his audience on stage, but he completely ignored his fans once he was off the stage. (He's more tactful in the contact number enquiries though, he referred them to his manager). He let securities dragged him away from his fans and only stopped if he was forced to. Still making it seems reluctant. Was he afraid of his fans? In his defense, someone confirmed that he was just being cautious, cause unfortunate incidents might happen when it involved crazy crowd. CROWD. Not FANS. Double effin' generalisation.

On a lighter note, the last time I met him was at his second movie premiere. (Yea, he's joining the acting department too). One admin re-introduced me to him, 'This is Julia. You remember her, do you?'. I offered my hand, he shook it and said, 'Of course I remember. How can I forget?'. I wanted to believe him, but I had problems. And because the movie was not as good as it was hyped among the fans, I bashed everything - including him - in my review. I posted it on his Facebook fanpage."


What do you think? And how on earth are these stories related to Chapter 6 when PG got the back of Jake's backside instead of his front? Or to Chapter 13, when PG got his autograph but he didn't show any appreciation to Jake Watch AND to her?

(Here I am, answering question with question . Not even sure if this is all on-topic. I just love posting it particularly in this thread )

Moral:
1. Celebrities may take caution, but it is not fair to think all fans are inconsiderate samewise.
2. Celebrities should master the skill of diplomacy and pretentions. For the fans' sake, LIE!
3. Celebrities cannot and should not use security as an excuse to run away from the fans. Securities only do their job as instructed. And celebrities have all the power to overrule things. They can freeze time and use all means to please the fans, if they're willing to. It lies in the heart to apppreciate their loyal fans.
4. Celebrities should aware that without fans, they are nothing. If somehow they feel threatened, they'd better go back from Point No. 1 to No. 3 or quit being celebrities.
5. To sum up all points, PG, you have my sympathy. Jake's a fool, I felt frustrated just by reading his meaningless response. Where's justice for Jake Watch?
6. If this post didn't make any sense at all or really confusing you, pardon me. Because I wrote this in green. The color of envy. PG has seen Jake Gyllenhaal in flesh! They had a (short) conversation! She got his autograph! Gaaaaahh!!!

[S4M985]

Joelliea! Thankyou for that, that was really really good! GOD I WANT TO KNOW WHO THOSE PEOPLE ARE...

Stab in the dark for singer/actor #2- Justin Timberlake?!

You should write a book also!!!

[Prophecy Girl]

Joelliea, that was amazing. When I first saw that you'd posted two stories, I thought you were going to post accounts that had gone really well. But it was so much more powerful that you had stories that complemented my own. Your list is incredible. It's a list I wish I had written; everything on it is true and echoes exactly what I think based on my own experiences.

It's extremely unfortunate that so many celebrities seem to fall into this trap of either believing they're better than the people who support them or that the people who support them should all be grouped together (exactly as you were saying in both of your examples). Sometimes this doesn't have that big of an effect on the celebrity's popularity. Other times (and I honestly think this is true in Jake's case), lots of people become disillusioned over time and it's hard to ever regain the type of momentum the fanbase once had. Of all the people who owned Jake sites when I found Jake Watch, NOT ONE is still around. Not one. And not only are these people not still around, they don't want anything to do with him anymore... To me that's so sad because he attracted such unique and creative and good people.

I think the thing is that fans can really be an asset, and *most* fans are going to be respectful and never cross any lines. It creates such a powerful image to think of all of those people sitting, doing exactly what they were supposed to be doing, waiting at the airport, and remaining there even as the guy in question walked off.

And with Jake, it always seemed especially harsh because he didn't have a following like that. He didn't have hundreds of people who would show up to an airport to see him. It took me a really, really long time (and it's actually something I *still* struggle with from time to time) not to take it personally that he didn't care about what Susie and I had done. It's hard to get used to being ignored. In fact, prior to my experience in the Gyllenhaal world, I really didn't know what it was to be ignored... I was used to people liking me.

But I think what I loved most was your advice to celebrities to LIE. Totally!! The celebrity doesn't care, and will probably forget a few seconds after it happens, but to the person they're talking to, that moment can stay with them the rest of their lives. A simple "thank you" can go a long ways...

And I say ALL of this knowing full well the extent to which the crazy fans go and so on some level I understand where all the precautions come from. But when you're in the business of entertaining people, admirers come with the territory. And it's not an impossible task to take a tiny bit of time to check out who's doing the admiring and understand that we're not just nameless faces in a crowd. We are individuals. And we have lives well beyond this one area where we've come together in celebration of the work...work which was put out there for us to admire in the first place. People like us just come with the job, but there's no reason to treat that like a bad thing! We are real people just as the celebrities are real people...

(And Joelliea, I'd love to know who your stories are about, too!!)

[joelliea]

;D

Not meaning to be redundant. It's difficult to answer to this subject. I can identify the feeling you had when you met Jake, but it will not be quite the same. Because to really feel it, we have to experience it on the exact weight. So I thought it's best to put it on those stories.

I guess I was lucky. I wasn't involved in the preparation of the 1st story. I was at the airport in last minute, it was more about my curiosity and to offer support to my friend (and for the event recap). They'd prepared everything so perfect, they'd worked so hard and they were not selfish (the reason why they were sitting instead of standing, so that everyone could have same chance to see the artist clearly). Then when it happened, even my friend, she who coordinated the whole thing, couldn't see anything (let alone seeing his smile) because she sat at the opposite end. Really, it broke my heart seeing them. I couldn't imagine being them. I couldn't write and send them my recap without possibly resulting more damage, because I was bitter. I was too upset for them. Many has left the fans club, including my friend. She has delegated the club to others. Me? I was never really too attached anyway.

Before I posted the story as a "study-case" in here , I sent it to her. I still got every details right, so did she. The event happened four years ago. It takes a long way to overcome something like that, it's not easy especially when you've done so much. So how I feel for you, PG, and about this celebrity mess, you got the picture.

As for the 2nd story, again I was lucky to catch the real thing early. So I could guard myself. I could laugh at the thought of me asking for his phone number. Seriously, what was I thinking, making myself a dumb out there? (well, he should had given me his manager's number though). Still, when he said he remembered me, my heart did flutter a bit. If he lied, damn, he's good. If I hadn't known much, I would've been walking high on the moon for the rest of the evening. If he's telling the truth .. I would still be on the moon, thinking, "What, what does he remember about me? Negatively or positively? How much does he know?". Then maybe I would assume he lied, so I could come down to earth and play again.

Meeting celebrities .. either it's climactic, it feels unbelievable; or it's anti-climactic, it feels believable.

Sam, Justin Timberlake?? Noooo. ;D I live in Indonesia, where Hollywood celebrity encounters always seem too good to be true. Here I find a silver lining from Jake Gyllenhaal living out of my world. I can't be a fan too much for him, except by drooling over him in his movies (and on ISJ .. hahahah).

Ah well, at the risk of some die-hard fans reading my stories and decided to turn me in to authorities, here's #1 International and #2 Local.

(And no. I can't write a book. I will end up killing my editors.)