FILM · 2014 · USA
Nightcrawler
- Directed by
- Dan Gilroy
- Runtime
- 118 min
- Studio
- Sierra/Affinity, Bold Films
69 archived facts 6 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
When Lou Bloom, desperate for work, muscles into the world of L.A. crime journalism, he blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story. Aiding him in his effort is Nina, a TV-news veteran.
69 Interesting Facts About Nightcrawler
Interesting Facts (37)
- #001
Contains a major spoiler — show
The producers took particular care that Lou Bloom not have a "character arc," because they believed he would become a specific type of person and would remain that way as an adult. This is also why Lou attacks and robs a security guard in the first scene; it was important that the audience not think Lou became a worse person because of his work as a nightcrawler, but instead realize he had been malicious from the start.
- #002
Jake Gyllenhaal and Riz Ahmed rode along with real "nightcrawlers" in Los Angeles to prepare for their roles.
- #003
Director Dan Gilroy on the film's momentum: "I think it's absolutely to some degree an indictment of local television news, but I want to cast a wider net in the sense that we all really watch this footage. I hope an audience member takes it further and maybe asks, 'Why am I watching this footage, and how much of this footage do I want to incorporate into my own soul?'".
- #004
Apparently Riz Ahmed, who plays Rick, was not familiar with Bed Bath & Beyond and pronounces it oddly when he stops at a red light (39:54). "Someone corrected him and every take that he did it the right way and wasn't nearly as good," so they kept his first attempt.
- #005
The coyote theme became so strong that it was considered as an alternative title.
- #006
The Raishbrook Brothers (real "stringers" who trained Gyllenhaal and Ahmed in preparation for the film) make a small cameo near the beginning of the film, when Louis arrives too late to the fire in the building. They are the last two people to leave the scene. They would later go on to produce and appear in the Netflix series Shot in the Dark (2017).
- #007
In the restaurant scene where the two hitmen eat inside, the film's technical police consultants had conflicting opinions. One said the police would wait for backup and then line up with shotguns at the ready, but another recalled that when he and his partner were street cops, they would enter the establishment and order at the counter as a way of checking the accuracy of a search. They preferred the latter because it built the tension better.
- #008
At Dan Gilroy's first meeting with Jake Gyllenhaal, the actor asked the writer how he saw the character. He said Dan told him, "I see it as a success story," and Gyllenhaal burst out laughing while agreeing 100 percent. Both loved the idea of "eliminating any of the classic moral labels" that typically define a character.
- #009
For the scene in which Lou lays out his grand career plan to Nina, Dan Gilroy's note to Jake Gyllenhaal was to play it as if he were proposing marriage to Nina.
- #010
During production, Riz Ahmed and Jake Gyllenhaal stayed awake and ate junk food to help them stay in character. On one of these all-night sessions, Riz introduced Jake to Angel Delight, a classic British dessert. Jake liked it so much that he asked for it to be added to the options offered by catering.
- #011
Contains a major spoiler — show
During a Q&A, director Dan Gilroy said he saw Lou's manic drive as an "infection" that spreads to every character Lou interacts with throughout the film. At the film's close, the point where Lou's company vans part ways on different streets is, as Gilroy described it, "the infection spreading through the veins of the city."
- #012
The plant Lou waters in his apartment was originally a dog in the script. Both were meant only to keep Lou from being unlikable, but they changed it once the dog kept getting in the way.
- #013
The first newsroom scenes were shot at Los Angeles's KTLA studios. "They were going to kick us out if a big story broke."
- #014
While following the killers in the SUV, it was Tony Gilroy's suggestion that Rick point out that Lou's car is red and that following that closely isn't a good idea.
- #015
The restaurant scene where Lou eats a small piece of chicken was the first protein Jake Gyllenhaal had consumed in two months. The actor, who was practically starving and determined to keep his weight down, had actually asked the crew to remove the food.
- #016
The film's climax was shot on Laurel Canyon Boulevard. In the San Fernando Valley, it is just a few blocks from the site of the famous 1997 shootout between two heavily armed bank robbers and the L.A. Police, in which both robbers were killed.
- #017
To prepare for his role, Riz Ahmed met homeless people living in Skid Row.
- #018
Jake Gyllenhaal's character introduces himself to the detectives as Lou. Early in the film he corrects his assistant for calling him Lou, saying "It's Louis." He uses Lou to seem relaxed and approachable with the detectives, and Louis to seem authoritative with his assistant.
- #019
The creators consulted RMG News, a Los Angeles-based "stringer" organization owned and operated by Howard Raishbrook, Austin Raishbrook and Marc Raishbrook, who also appeared in the Netflix original series Shot in the Dark (2017). The two brothers appear briefly as extras in the film after Lou arrives late to the fire.
- #020
The film Jake Gyllenhaal's character watches on television when the knight's helmet is removed is The Court Jester (1955), starring Danny Kaye.
- #021
The line "You have to make the money to buy a ticket" appears only once in the film, but Jake Gyllenhaal insisted on recording it in different styles on every set because he knew it would work in the trailer.
- #022
The background crew for the driving scenes included a NASCAR driver and one of Sweden's best ice drivers.
- #023
In Lou's interview with the detective after the police chase, Jake Gyllenhaal's character is seen holding his ground and challenging Michael Hyatt's Det. Fronte. "There was definitely a tension while shooting that scene because he was so in character, go ahead, try to get that out of me."
- #024
After finishing the script, Dan Gilroy sent it to his more established brother Tony Gilroy. His older brother told him the script was completely compelling. In fact, everyone who read it wanted to work on the film, something rare in the film industry.
- #025
The eyeglasses billboard Lou passes recalls the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby; both stories touch on the idea of the American Dream and its flaws.
- #026
It was shot over four weeks at more than 80 different locations.
- #027
Dan wrote the role of news producer Nina Romina for Rene Russo, who happens to be his wife.
- #028
The Chinatown Express on West 3rd Street, where the confrontation takes place, is a real restaurant.
- #029
The fourth Gilroy appears at 1:08:30, when John's daughter Carolyn Gilroy shows up as Nina's assistant Jenny.
- #030
Jake Gyllenhaal rarely blinked on camera to make Louis Bloom seem more unpleasant. He had also used this in Donnie Darko (2001).
- #031
Hollywood films very rarely show a relationship with an age gap in which the woman is the senior partner. It is interesting that the relationship between Nina and Louis is only hinted at.
- #032
The news segment in which Lou's home-invasion footage airs, with the news anchor's commentary guided by the voice in Nina's ear, is compared by some to a similar scene in James L. Brooks's masterpiece Broadcast News (1987), in which the producer wears an earpiece.
- #033
Tony Gilroy dislikes the home-invasion scene in which Lou enters the child's room because there is no baby anywhere.
- #034
The scene in which Lou sells the refrigerator footage to Nina over Frank's (Kevin Rahm) sweater-clad objection was shot at sound stages owned by the Scientology Center. They are among the oldest sound stages in Los Angeles, dating back to 1919.
- #035
In Showtime (2002), in which she starred alongside Robert De Niro and Eddie Murphy, Rene Russo played the director of a news outlet called "Maxis" that resembles "TMZ." Maxis is a news channel whose helicopter camera crew and vans follow the police and pull in big ratings.
- #036
The surname of the first family whose home Lou trespasses into is Cahill, the same surname as Jake Gyllenhaal's character in Brothers (2009).
- #037
This film has nothing to do with the Marvel comic book character Nightcrawler, a member of the X-Men. However, many actors in this film would later work on Marvel projects. Jake Gyllenhaal played Mysterio in Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019), and Rene Russo played Frigga in the MCU films Thor (2011), Thor: The Dark World (2013) and Avengers: Endgame (2019). Riz Ahmed played Carlton Drake/Riot in Sony's Venom (2018).
Production Story (19)
- #038
In the scene where Jake Gyllenhaal shouts at himself in the mirror, Gyllenhaal became so absorbed in this improvised scene that the mirror broke and he cut his hand. After nineteen hours of work, he was taken to the hospital by the director, where a four-hour surgery and forty-six stitches followed, and he returned to the set six hours after being discharged. This is why Gyllenhaal's hand is behind his back in the scene where he delivers his slogan to the junkyard owner.
- #039
The producers took particular care that Lou Bloom not have a "character arc," because they believed he would become a specific type of person and would remain that way as an adult. This is also why Lou attacks and robs a security guard in the first scene; it was important that the audience not think Lou became a worse person because of his work as a nightcrawler, but instead realize he was malicious from the start.
- #040
Director Dan Gilroy on the film's momentum: "I think it's absolutely to some degree an indictment of local television news, but I want to cast a wider net in the sense that we all really watch this footage. I hope an audience member takes it further and maybe asks, 'Why am I watching this footage, and how much of this footage do I want to incorporate into my own soul?'"
- #041
Apparently Riz Ahmed, who plays Rick, was not familiar with Bed Bath & Beyond and pronounces it strangely when he stops at a red light (39:54). "Someone corrected him and every take that he did it the right way and wasn't nearly as good," so they kept the first take.
- #042
Many actors auditioned for the character of Rick, but while most played him as a relaxed, pot-smoking surfer type, Dan loved that Ahmed played him much more sorrowfully in the audition.
- #043
It is partly based on the career of Arthur "Weegee" Fellig, the first photojournalist known for reaching crime scenes quickly by tuning in to police radio broadcasts.
- #044
Writer/director Dan Gilroy came up with the idea for the film after hearing that in the 1930s a crime reporter first installed a "police scanner" in his car, photographed crime and accident scenes and sold them to newspapers. "I thought it was a very interesting intersection between commerce and crime. Before I could do anything about it, Joe Pesci made a film called The Public Eye, which effectively killed that specific idea." He moved to LA afterward and learned about the present-day "nightcrawlers." Dan knew he wanted to direct the film after writing it, and since this would be his directorial debut, he turned to his brother Tony for help. He sent the script to Tony, who thought Dan wanted to direct it himself, and Tony reluctantly began convincing himself to do it because he had taken a break from filmmaking, but a phone call to Dan cleared up the confusion and Tony happily supported his brother's move into directing.
- #045
When Rick meets Lou for the job interview, they sit in a booth at a diner. The same diner is used in Drive (2011) as the restaurant where the protagonist's love interest works.
- #046
Despite its dark subject matter, Jake Gyllenhaal said that he and director Dan Gilroy spent most of the shoot laughing and joking around.
- #047
They shot the first newsroom scenes at KTLA studios in Los Angeles. "They were going to kick us out if a big story broke."
- #048
While following the killers in the SUV, Rick's remark that Lou's car is red and therefore following so closely isn't a good idea was Tony Gilroy's suggestion.
- #049
Bill Paxton gained weight and grew a mustache for the role. He thought someone living such a nocturnal lifestyle wouldn't worry too much about their health and fitness.
- #050
The restaurant scene where Lou eats a small piece of chicken was the first protein Jake Gyllenhaal had consumed in two months. The actor actually asked the crew to remove food because he was starving and determined to keep his weight down.
- #051
After the scene where Lou shows the newsroom his footage of the Fear House, the news director cuts to a bird's-eye-view food commercial featuring wolves. The film follows this theme of predatory animals in its portrayal of Lou, and because the Fear House story marks Lou taking a big step into the ordinary world of journalism, the commercial ends with the slogan "Dinner is Complete."
- #052
A "burn" is the amount that exceeds the budget you spend in a day, and the night they shot the Mexican restaurant scene between Lou and Nina, they burned 40 thousand dollars because the two were doing such great work that they kept going.
- #053
Jake Gyllenhaal rarely blinked on camera to make Louis Bloom appear more unpleasant. He had also used this in Donnie Darko (2001).
- #054
- #055
They compare the news segment in which Lou's home invasion footage is broadcast, with the news anchor's commentary guided by the voice in Nina's ear, to the similar scene in James L. Brooks's masterpiece Broadcast News (1987) with the producer in the ear piece.
- #056
In Showtime (2002), in which she starred alongside Robert De Niro and Eddie Murphy, Rene Russo played the director of a news program called "Maxis" that resembles "TMZ". Maxis is a news channel where the camera crew in the helicopter and the vans follow the police and get big ratings.
Behind the Scenes (3)
- #057
In the scene where Jake Gyllenhaal shouts at himself in the mirror, Gyllenhaal became so absorbed in the improvised moment that the mirror broke and he cut his hand. After nineteen hours of work, the director took him to the hospital, where he received forty-six stitches in a four-hour operation, and he returned to the set six hours after being discharged. This is why Gyllenhaal keeps his hand behind his back in the scene where he delivers his slogan to the junkyard owner.
- #058
The photo of Lou sitting at the news desk on the studio's camera monitor was suggested by cinematographer Robert Elswit.
- #059
Dan Gilroy traveled to Atlanta during the shooting of the film Prisoners (2013) to talk with Jake Gyllenhaal about the project. That visit secured Gyllenhaal's commitment to the film.
Characters & Cast (5)
- #060
Many actors auditioned for the role of Rick, but while most played him as a relaxed, pot-smoking surfer type, Dan loved that Ahmed played him as much sadder in his audition.
- #061
Jake Gyllenhaal lost nearly 30 kilos by eating only cabbage salad, chewing gum and running 24 kilometers a day. He also barely slept during the shoot.
- #062
Riz Ahmed was attending a friend's wedding in Los Angeles, and his manager suggested he meet with Dan Gilroy. The director was familiar with Ahmed's previous work and thought he was wrong for the role. But two minutes after Ahmed began auditioning, he completely changed his mind.
- #063
Bill Paxton gained weight and grew a mustache for the role. He reasoned that someone living such a nocturnal lifestyle wouldn't worry much about their health and fitness.
- #064
In addition to starring, Jake Gyllenhaal was heavily involved in nearly every stage of the film's production.
Easter Eggs & References (1)
- #065
Dan Gilroy drew inspiration from other films featuring anti-heroes, such as Ace in the Hole (1951), Taxi Driver (1976), To Die For (1995) and The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999).
Deeper Meaning (4)
- #066
Dan Gilroy devised a backstory to help explain how Lou Bloom becomes the amoral and damaged "survivor" seen in the film. In the end, however, he removed the entire idea from the script, because he wanted neither to spend too much time on Lou's origins nor to make him sympathetic.
- #067
The musical cues in the film represent the musical cues in Lou's head.
- #068
After the scene where Lou shows the newsroom his footage of the House of Horrors, the news director cuts to a bird's-eye-view food commercial featuring wolves. The film follows this theme of predatory animals in its portrayal of Lou, and because the House of Horrors story marks Lou's big step into the world of ordinary journalism, the commercial ends with the slogan "Dinner is Complete."
- #069
Contains a major spoiler — show
When Louis (Jake Gyllenhaal) switches to the Dodge Challenger, Rick (Riz Ahmed) spills gasoline onto the new car while filling the tank. Lou punishes him for it and threatens to destroy him, foreshadowing Rick's fate when Lou deliberately lets him be shot near the end of the film while he "threatens to compromise" the operation.
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
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