Brokeback Mountain of Focus Features, James Schamus to ask if the film was ever made. Ang Lee was considering retirement after "Hulk". In an interview with "Out" magazine, he described himself "wrecked" after filming both "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Hulk". "Brokeback Mountain" "nurtured" him back into filmmaking. The casting of Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal was announced in 2003. Anne Hathaway stated that during her audition, she lied to Ang Lee about her knowledge of horse riding so that he would cast her. Subsequently, she took horse-riding lessons for two months. While the film is set in Wyoming (like the original
Jake Gyllenhaal rumors circulated regarding the actor's sexual orientation. When asked about such gossip during an interview, Gyllenhaal said: Gyllenhaal narrated the 2005 short animated film "The Man Who Walked Between the Towers", based on Mordicai Gerstein's book of the same name about Philippe Petit's famous stunt. In January 2007, as host of "Saturday Night Live", he put on a sparkly evening dress and sang "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" from the musical "Dreamgirls" for his opening monologue, dedicating the song to his "unique fan base... the fans of "Brokeback"". In 2007, Gyllenhaal starred in David Fincher's mystery thriller