Nightcrawler marks the directorial debut of screenwriter Dan Gilroy and tells the twisted tale of a young man who stumbles upon the underground world of Los Angeles freelance crime journalism. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Louis Bloom, a character who exists in a world where it’s easier to get an internship or a minimum wage job than it is to get full time work, and he is scrambling to find anything that pays.
While driving home one night, he comes across a car accident which two cameramen start filming in hopes of selling footage to Los Angeles news stations. Louis picks up on the idea, buys a video camera and a police scanner and starts doing freelance work on his own. Eventually, he hooks up with a woman named Nina (Rene Russo), who oversees a local news station and purchases his footage. From there, they cross an endless number of journalistic boundaries in pursuit of the best and most violent footage available.
Nightcrawler is one of the most deliriously twisted movies to come out this year, and I absolutely loved it. So, it was with great excitement that I attended the film’s press day, where I had the chance to speak with Gyllenhaal and Russo. We discussed how they prepared for their roles, what the character’s actions say about the world around us and much more.
Check it out in the video above and be sure to catch the film as soon as you can, as it’s now playing in theatres everywhere.