Maggie Gyllenhaal cast several familiar faces in “The Bride,” her punk horror reimagining of the 1935 classic “Bride of Frankenstein.”
The film features her husband, Peter Sarsgaard, and her brother, Jake Gyllenhaal, and a reunion with Jessie Buckley, who starred in her feature directorial debut, “The Lost Daughter.” As for the bride’s monster groom, she landed on her “Dark Knight” co-star, Christian Bale.
“It was almost like meeting him again,” Gyllenhaal said about Bale at the film’s New York premiere on Tuesday night. “What was required of him in this movie, I needed his whole heart, his whole mind. We really needed to make friends — which we did — in order to do this.”
Gyllenhaal told Variety that her husband, Sarsgaard, “was in on the whole process” of bringing the $90 million fever dream to life, ranging from workshopping ideas to reading drafts of the script. Her brother, Jake, came into the picture later on.
The siblings have largely kept their careers separate since breaking out together in the 2001 cult-classic “Donnie Darko.” 25 years later, “The Bride” sees Maggie direct her brother for the first time, a milestone she says needed to feel right before committing.
“I always had him in mind for Ronnie Reed,” Gyllenhaal explained. “I just needed to make sure that it was really the right thing for us in our hearts before I asked him to do it. When I realized it was, then yeah, I asked him.”
Beyond longtime collaborators and family, Gyllenhaal rounded out the supporting cast with a powerhouse group of actresses, including Penélope Cruz and Annette Bening. She also convinced “Dancing With the Stars” alum Julianne Hough to return to acting after an eight-year hiatus.
“I was always a performer growing up, but I don’t know if I was ever really an artist,” Hough explained. “Life experience gives you the depth that creates great actors. I’m more passionate about it today than I ever have been because life is not easy.”
Hough previously starred 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 ABC’s reality dancing series. She believes “The Bride!” will inspire women who may feel unheard and unseen.
“This is the movie for them. Go and see this movie. You will feel so fucking fired up!” Hough took a step back and smiled, adding, “I am, clearly! I just got hot saying all that.”
Perhaps the biggest supporter of Gyllenhaal’s work is Jamie Lee Curtis, who is a longtime family friend and is the godmother to both Maggie and Jake. Amid the press tour for her upcoming series “Scarpetta” with Nicole Kidman, Curtis has repeatedly gushed about “The Bride!” on social media.
In one carousel post of red carpet photos from the London premiere, Curtis wrote (in all caps, no less), “PROUD OF MY FAMILY OF CREATIVES!” In another, she called “The Bride!” a “masterpiece” and “original punk feminist opera love story!”
“She saw a very early cut of the movie and has been a major supporter ever since,” Gyllenhaal said. “We had a great dinner after that screening. She saw the movie from the very beginning. She picked up what I was putting down.”
As Gyllenhaal begins concocting her third directorial feature, could Curtis be part of the picture? “Oh, I’d love it,” the filmmaker said with a smile. “Yeah, I’d love it.”
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