Jake Gyllenhaal Comes Out Swinging With Southpaw Screening at Cannes

Actor gains early steam in Oscar race

Jake Gyllenhaal showed off his fighting skills last night at the Cannes Film Festival.

No, the Brokeback Mountain star didn't get into some boozy brawl along the Croisette—the Weinstein Company screened a sneak peek of his upcoming Oscar buzzy boxing drama, Southpaw.

Gyllenhaal, who packed on 15 pounds of ripped muscle for the role as a boxer struggling with addiction in the Antoine Fuqua-directed film, attended the screening aboard a private yacht in a Tom Ford black peak label O'Connor suit with a white dress shirt, black and white tie and black lace up shoes.

Festival delegate general Thierry Fremaux introduced the film, calling Gyllenhaal's performance "incredible and one of his best."

He said, "Jake is very extraordinary. Film after film, he is having quite a career and this film to me is maybe one of his best."

"I have to say it's a pretty good body," Rita Ora, who plays an addict in the film, told me earlier this year about Gyllenhaal's boxer physique. "I mean, Jake's got a pretty good body—that's all I'm saying on that before I get into trouble."

Guests at the screening included Mary J. Blige, pop star Charli XCX, Adrian Brody, Michelle Rodriguez and Antonio Banderas, Dita Von Teese and models Adriana Lima and Jourdan Dunn.

Southpaw wasn't an official festival entry because Gyllenhaal is a member of this year's jury.

Also starring Rachel McAdams, 50 Cent and Forest Whitaker, Southpaw will be in theaters on July 24.