Maggie Gyllenhaal has cast some familiar faces in The Bride, a punk horror reimagining of the 1935 classic The Bride of Frankenstein.
The film also stars her husband Peter Sarsgaard and brother Jake Gyllenhaal, and reunites her with Jesse Buckley, who starred in her feature directorial debut, The Lost Daughter. As the bride’s monster groom, she ended up with her “The Dark Knight” co-star Christian Bale.
“It was like seeing him again,” Gyllenhaal said of Bale at the film’s premiere in New York on Tuesday night. “What I needed from him in this movie was that I needed all of his heart and mind. We really needed to make friends, and we actually made friends to do that.”
Gyllenhaal told Variety that her husband, Sarsgaard, was “involved in the entire process” of turning her $90 million fever dream into a reality, from workshopping ideas to reading drafts of the script. Her younger brother Jake appeared later.
The brothers have kept their careers largely separate since co-starring in the 2001 cult classic Donnie Darko. Twenty-five years later, The Bride marks the first time McGee will be directing his brother, a milestone that McGee said needed to feel right before taking on the role.
“I always had Ronnie Reed in mind,” Gyllenhaal explained. “Before we asked him, we had to make sure in our hearts that it was really the right thing for us. When we realized it was right, we asked him.”
Beyond his longtime co-stars and family, Gyllenhaal has cast a strong supporting cast of actresses, including Penelope Cruz and Annette Bening. She also convinced “Dancing with the Stars” alum Julianne Hough to return to acting after an eight-year hiatus.
“I’ve always been a performer growing up, but I don’t know if I was ever really an artist,” Huff explained. “Life experience provides the depth that makes a great actor. Today, I am more passionate than ever because life is not easy.”
Hough has previously appeared in the 2011 remake of Footloose, the Nicholas Sparks romance Safe Haven and Adam Shankman’s jukebox comedy Rock of Ages, after winning two seasons of the ABC reality dance series. She believes in the “bride”! It will inspire women who feel unheard and unseen.
“This is a movie for them. Go see this movie. You’re going to be so excited!” Hough took a step back and added with a smile, “Obviously it is! I’m just excited to hear you say that.”
Perhaps the biggest supporter of Gyllenhaal’s work is Jamie Lee Curtis, a longtime family friend and godfather to Maggie and Jake. During the press tour for his upcoming series Scarpetta, in which he co-stars with Nicole Kidman, Curtis went on a number of rants about The Bride. on social media.
In a carousel post featuring red carpet photos from the London premiere, Curtis wrote (in all caps), “Proud of my creative family!” In another message, she called out “Bride!” A “masterpiece” and “original punk feminist opera love story”!
“She saw a very early cut of the movie and has been a big supporter ever since,” Gyllenhaal said. “After the screening, we had a wonderful dinner. She watched the movie from the beginning. She understood what I was putting up with.”
Gyllenhaal has begun planning his third directorial film, but is there a chance that Curtis will also be involved? “Oh, I would love to,” the filmmaker said with a smile. “Yes, please.”
