Searchlight Pictures has officially announced the start of principal photography on Nightmare Alley, the new film from Oscar-winner Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water).
Based on the novel by William Lindsay Gresham, the film features a cast that includes Bradley Cooper (A Star Is Born), Cate Blanchett (Thor: Ragnarok), Toni Collette (Knives Out), Willem Dafoe (The Lighthouse), Richard Jenkins (The Shape of Water), Rooney Mara (Carol), Ron Perlman (Hellboy) and David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck).
The official synopsis reads:
In NIGHTMARE ALLEY, an ambitious young carny (Bradley Cooper) with a talent for manipulating people with a few well-chosen words hooks up with a female psychiatrist (Cate Blanchett) who is even more dangerous than he is.
The carnival cast includes carnival worker Molly (Rooney Mara), head barker Clem (Willem Dafoe), and Ron Perlman as Bruno the Strongman. Richard Jenkins is part of the high society crowd as wealthy industrialist Ezra Grindle.
“I’m inspired and elated to be joined by this brilliant cast,” said del Toro. “[Co-writer] Kim Morgan and I have worked with great passion to bring the dark, raw world and language of William Gresham to the screen and now we are joined by a superb group of artists and technicians to bring it to life.”
