Jake Gyllenhaal talks presumed innocent and the state of Hollywood

In an age where television today offers countless video streaming options, how can anyone choose which shows are truly worth your time?

Longtime television creator David E. Kelley, who was the mastermind behind hit shows like Ally McBeal, The practice And Big little liesnow offers a new limited Apple TV+ streaming series titled Presumed innocentwhich he says will be your next worthy episodic obsession.

Based on Scott Turow's bestselling 1987 book and brought to the screen with a more modern technological twist by Kelley and his creative team, Presumed innocent stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Chief Deputy District Attorney Rusty Sabich, a married family man who finds himself in the hot seat when the co-worker he was having an affair with is found brutally murdered, with Sabich as the prime suspect.

Kelley, who is a writer, executive producer and showrunner on Presumed innocent, said: “The burden that all of us, as creators, must first address is: Why? Why this show? There is so much to discover. Why should people care about this one? If we can't satisfy ourselves, then we shouldn't do it. In this particular show, I think the first and best answer to Presumed innocent is it really good. No one is going to watch this show and say, Hey, I'm going to move on. Our goal is to touch the viewer and keep them captivated, enveloped and passionate about what will happen next, in terms of plot and also in terms of the characters.

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Along with Ruth Negga, Peters Sarsgaard, OT Fagbenle, Renate Reinsve and Bill Camp, Gyllenhaal also serves as executive producer on the project, alongside Kelley and JJ Abrams. So what does it mean for the longtime Hollywood leading man to have an active hand on both sides of the camera at this point in his career?

Gyllenhaal told me: Look, I mean, I definitely think I was working with two television behemoths, production-wise, so I was there to observe and collaborate creatively, but as an actor as well. , I still had a lot to do. TO DO. Rusty is bombarded with things on the show. I mean, it's like we're constantly throwing a million different things at him. He added: As we started getting into all of this, especially filming the show, it became a total devotion to Rusty, but I loved being able to learn from the minds of David and JJ and the show's incredible group of producers.

Kelley said about having Gyllenhaal as a fellow producer, he obviously has great creative instincts — he does them all the time in his work. I've been lucky enough to work with actors who have the kind of acuity that adds to the creativity and execution of the show – Nicole [Kidman] and Reese [Witherspoon] with Big little lies I did this, and Jake here. As far as working with the actor, once the page is created and we go on set, then it's about the actor and the director, really in my process.

The eight episodes of Presumed innocent chronicles Sabich's dramatic and emotional journey, as he seeks forgiveness for his affair from his wife and children, while also becoming a defendant in a murder trial, as viewers will constantly wonder if he actually committed this horrible crime – and if not, then who did?

Fagbenle plays newly elected District Attorney Nico Della Guardia, who, alongside Sarsgaard's character, the enigmatic Deputy Tommy Molto, leads the prosecution against Sabich.

Fagbenle being no stranger to projects in Hollywood, previously The Handmaid's Tale, wonders Black Widow And BootyI wondered what the actor enjoys most about the entertainment industry today that gives him enthusiasm and optimism about it all.

Fagbenle said: Oh, it's true! What a great question. I mean, it depends what we compare it to – I still think we're kind of in the golden age of television. We worry that attention spans are getting smaller and smaller, and everyone says to me, “Well, I sat down and watched eight hours of the TV show.” It feels like we still have the ability to tell great stories and we were telling them when we had these streamers, who provide a platform for great artists, including directors, to make a great series like this -this. I think there are many reasons to be optimistic, as well as many reasons to try to protect what we have and move forward.

Gyllenhaal added: I think, as always, because of technological advancements, we are evolving rapidly and had to move and change and adapt, based on all of these things. I think, as OT said, it's pretty exciting – the possibilities – as long as we maintain the quality of the story and our desire to be artist-driven, and let the minds that are truly brilliant and so good at this keep doing the job. the things that they do best and aren't just dictated by technology – so I think we were in a really interesting situation. So, I'm just glad people are going back to work and getting back into it. It’s a wonderful business – it’s an incredible form and we’ve dedicated our lives to it.

Kelley said take charge Presumed innocent of his latest project, The Limited Series seemed perfect to me. I never really tried to make films. Movies are hard to make in two hours – I don't know how they do it, but I also wasn't looking to do 100 hours of anything. I'm too old, so the miniseries was the right place. I love this idea of ​​7-8 hours and then being able to move on.

He also took stock of recent discussions surrounding a third season of Big little lies, saying, “Never say never,” especially if Nicole and Reese are leading that charge. Lots of scheduling conflicts – nothing happening yet, although Liane [Moriarty] working on a book. Yeah, it would be great to have these people back in our lives – Madeline, Celeste and so on.

Returning to Presumed innocentI concluded my conversation with Gyllenhaal and Fagbenle, wondering what they would say to their on-screen characters, who find themselves on opposite sides of this complex murder trial.

Gyllenhaal said of Sabich: “Take a nap, man.

With his Fagbenles character, Guardia, doing everything he can to condemn Sabich, he then said: “I would say, don't sleep. Keep on going. Earn!