Guillermo Del Toro On ‘Nightmare Alley’ Best Picture Nom: “This Is A Great Blessing’

The Searchlight Pictures noir drama Nightmare Alley is a Best Picture nominee, one of four noms for the film that stars Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara and an ensemble that includes Willem Dafoe, Ron Perlman, Toni Collette, David Strathairn, Richard Jenkins, Holt McCallany, Clifton Collins Jr, began its theatrical run as a color film, but now an atmospheric black and white version is in theaters. This is the first film del Toro has directed since The Shape of Water, which won him Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director. Before that, he was nominated twice for Pan’s Labyrinth. He wrote Nightmare Alley with Kim Morgan, adapting the William Lindsay Gresham novel.

“I am very happy and grateful,” del Toro told Deadline. “The key is to be in the conversation. We are very proud of our film and the work everyone delivered. This is a great blessing. We are in great company with filmmakers we admire and we thank the Academy and feel elated. Maybe the pandemic affected me in ways that I may not even see, but it was very moving and very cherished to get this surprise and love this morning. Covid showed us all how tenuous it is to plan, craft and release a film. And how being in this craft is a joy not to be taken for granted,” said del Toro, who produced the film alongside J. Miles Dale and Bradley Cooper.