Jake Gyllenhaal lost 20 pounds for his role as Lou Bloom, a young man who submerges himself in Los Angeles’ nocturnal world of freelance crime journalism. The spooky crime thriller was written and directed by screenwriter Dan Gilroy (The Bourne Legacy), husband of Gyllenhaal’s co-star Rene Russo. Nightcrawler will be released on Halloween Day, October 31, 2014. The weight loss gives Gyllenhaal a truly gaunt, haunted look–and it fits the freak show atmosphere of the film perfectly.
FlicksAndBits describes the film: “Finding a group of freelance camera crews who film crashes, fires, murder and other mayhem, Lou muscles into the cut-throat, dangerous realm of nightcrawling — where each police siren wail equals a possible windfall and victims are converted into dollars and cents.” What that doesn’t mention is that Lou Bloom fits right in–because the inner workings of his mind seem about as dark and sinister as night on the mean streets of LA.