Guillermo del Toro has quietly started filming his new movie, Nightmare Alley. In 2018, del Toro took home his first two Oscars for The Shape of Water, with the monster horror romance winning four Academy Awards altogether (including Best Picture and Director). While he was already a widely celebrated storyteller for his work on films like Pan’s Labyrinth and Pacific Rim, The Shape of Water’s success gave del Toro enough clout to get a number of his slower-developing projects off the ground at last. That includes Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, which hit theaters last summer with del Toro serving as co-writer and producer.
Even before The Shape of Water opened, del Toro was already working with writer Kim Morgan on an adaptation of William Lindsay Gresham’s ’40s-set noir novel Nightmare Alley. Gresham’s story was previously turned into a movie by Edmund Goulding in 1947 (a year after it was published), but del Toro and Morgan are said to be drawing primarily from the original book for their upcoming film. And although there hasn’t been an official announcement, it appears shooting has already gotten underway
Producer J. Miles Dale (who’s worked with del Toro several times before, including on The Shape of Water) took to Twitter to confirm filming on Nightmare Alley has “secretly” begun. You can check out his post and set photo in the space below.
Plot-wise, Nightmare Alley tells the tale of a con man who teams up with a carnival mentalist to swindle people out of their money. Bradley Cooper and Toni Collette are playing the sleazy pair in the film, with Rooney Mara, Cate Blanchett, and Willem Dafoe costarring alongside del Toro’s longtime collaborator Ron Perlman and The Shape of Water actors Richard Jenkins and Michael Shannon. It’s a very impressive crew overall, and some are already speculating Cooper and Collette will find themselves in the Oscar race for their performances in Nightmare Alley. Neither of them has won before, but it feels like a matter of time before that changes. Cooper very nearly took home the prize for Best Actor on A Star is Born in 2019, after years of working on prestigious fare like Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle. Meanwhile, many felt Collette was unfairly snubbed for Hereditary because of the Academy’s apparent bias against the horror genre.
As for del Toro, Nightmare Alley will be the first movie he’s made that doesn’t include any supernatural or sci-fi elements. It will be interesting to see how that affects his storytelling approach, considering what a huge role the fantastical has played in del Toro’s filmography so far. It’s safe to assume Nightmare Alley will be as visually rich as his previous work, especially with Crimson Peak and The Shape of Water cinematographer Dan Laustsen serving as del Toro’s DP again. But with a cast full of heavy-hitters, the movie should provide some meaty adult drama and strong characterization to go with its stylish atmosphere.
We will let you know when Nightmare Alley gets an official release date.
Source: J. Miles Dale
