Actor Jake Gyllenhaal says he was “sold” on being part of new Netflix horror Velvet Buzzsaw after reading the script in just two hours — but admitted he felt “disturbed” by its content.
The movie is set in the world of high-end art, where a number of grisly deaths occur following the discovery of an unknown artist’s work.
It also stars Tom Sturridge and Zawe Ashton plus Stranger Things actor Natalia Dyer. It is directed by Dan Gilroy, who worked with Gyllenhaal in 2014 thriller Nightcrawler.
At the film’s premiere in Los Angeles last night, Gyllenhaal, 38, said: “Having worked with Dan before, he sent it to me, I read it — he doesn’t send anything over email, he sends it actually hard copy, so I got it in the mail — I opened it up, I read it within two hours and I called him up and I just said I was in. It left me with a really odd feeling when I finished reading it. I like movies that don’t give you exactly what you expect and I was pretty disturbed by it, and so I was in.”
Meanwhile Dyer, 22, who attended the premiere with her Stranger Things co-star and boyfriend Charlie Heaton, said: “As an actor you’re always trying to seek out new things and try different things. It was a very different role and it felt different and that’s exciting. Of course I love playing Nancy — but it’s fun, the point is to explore different people.”
Velvet Buzzsaw is the latest film from streaming service Netflix. The platform could earn its first Oscar next month, for Alfonso Cuaron’s semi-biographical epic Roma.
Director Gilroy, whose wife Rene Russo also stars in Velvet Buzzsaw, said Netflix is one of the few publishers prepared to put its faith in “unorthodox” offerings. He said: “They are the main one, they’re one of a few. There are a couple of other places that are not afraid to make unorthodox fare but right now Netflix is leading the way in terms of investing the amount of money it takes to make some of these films.”
Velvet Buzzsaw will hit the streaming service on February 1. Stranger Things season three is due to arrive on Netflix on July 4.
