‘Nightmare Street’ | Anatomy of a Scene

Hello, I’m Guillermo del Toro. I’m the director of Nightmare Road. [APPLAUSE] The scene we’re looking at is the first time we see the mentality and prudence of Stanton Carlisle, the main character of the movie starring Bradley Cooper. We see him for the first time in his new personality, in a tuxedo and eye-bandage, a symbol recurring in the movie. And she’ll meet Lilith Ritter, the main misogynist played by Cate Blanchett. And Stanton is doing the show, a word code divination show with Rooney Mara playing Molly. I use floodlights and cabaret play to backlight them. When I introduce Lilith, the camera sees her single and backlit by this searchlight. So these projectors are often used to highlight a moment in between. The location is in the shape of a circle because circles follow Stanton the first time he sees the cow show, which is a scary side show at a carnival. And this is a character that eats chickens and snakes, and it does it in a circular pit. And from that moment on, Stanton is surrounded by circles in the movie. “Concentrate. Any other details come to mind?” “There is an inscription. Literature. Am I correct?” “Joyful.” [APPLAUSE] And an environment in which he is outside of his depths, but which he does not yet know. “Yes, please give me the object.” “No thanks. I’ll keep it.” “Very good.” “Master Stanton, what is the object in this lady’s hand?” “Well, it looks like a golden night. A bag of gold.” [APPLAUSE] “Quiet, child. Let me ask the questions. What’s in the bag?” “Ma’am, what does that mean?” “You say it’s real, and I’m saying you’re using some kind of verbal signals to communicate between the two of you.” Stanton is not without talent, and this scene shows Stanton and Stanton superior to him and everyone else, including himself. Trying to prove it turns into a duel between the way he sees it. When we started staging the first few scenes between Bradley and Cate, I tried to keep the distance between them uneven. I wanted Bradley to walk around. When he visits her, both here and in his office, basically two tigers are circling each other. So I had Bradley do a full tour of that circle and have him come up and take a few steps. [AUDIENCE GASPS] “Nickel plated. Ivory handle. Excuse me?” And this is both a match and a seduction. It’s really a ritual and a duel, both of which I’m trying to set up. [APPLAUSE]