Cracking the "Source Code" at the Hollywood Premiere

Los Angeles – When Jake Gyllenhaal took to the red carpet on Monday, March 28, at the Arclight Cinemas in Hollywood for the premiere of his new mind-bending film "Source Code," he was all smiles. For unlike many of his earlier projects, he was really happy to be part of this one, as the movie is one that he had a big hand in bringing to the screen.

It all started with the script by Ben Ripley, then came together through Gyllenhaal's love of the story, about a soldier who is used in a sort of time-travel experiment.

"The first time that I read it I loved it," the actor explained at an earlier press day for the film. "It just got better and better and better and more tense and more engaging as I went on." So Gyllenhaal decided to take the plunge, and enlisted director Duncan Jones to join him. Jones, who is currently most famous for being David Bowie's son as well as the director of one film, "Moon," was Gyllenhaal's first choice for a collaborator.

"Duncan is a great guy and I think that people get that," Gyllenhaal said.

Also along for the time-twisting thriller are stars Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga and Jeffrey Wright, who joined Gyllenhaal and Jones on the picture-perfect California spring night for both the screening and after party, also held at the Arclight. Farmiga, who recently got an Oscar nomination for her work in "Up in the Air," agreed that Jones is the kind of Hollywood director that every actor dreams of being around.

"It wasn't the role for me here. It was Duncan Jones," she revealed. "I adore 'Moon.' I thought that it was something very, very special and when I read 'Source Code' it was the same intricate puzzle that he presented in 'Moon' and I love having my noodle challenged and finding something to chew on. I wanted to be a piece of that puzzle."

Jones' talent for making actors looked good also drew a crowd of other thespians to the "Source Code" premiere, perhaps in the hopes of meeting the hot auteur. Famous faces on hand included Tara Lipinski, Mike Epps and Matthew Gray Gubler of "Criminal Minds" fame, as well as Carla Ortiz, Logan Lerman and Kristin Cavallari, who brought NFL quarterback Jay Cutler of the Chicago Bears as her escort.