Jake Gyllenhaal and Antoine Fuqua are reteaming for the first time since boxing drama, Southpaw. But to make this reunion happen, they’re working around the COVID-19 dangers with a single-location remake of Danish thriller, The Guilty.
Deadline reports Fuqua will direct Gyllenhaal in an English-language version of The Guilty. Scripting is Nic Pizzolatto, the crime writer best known for creating HBO’s True Detective. For those unaware, The Guilty played at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, and centers on a benched police officer who is answering 9-1-1 calls while awaiting his trial. The night before he’s to go to court, he received an emergency call from a woman who has been kidnapped. While stuck at the dispatch station he uses every tool at his disposal to save the woman.
The remake was first announced a couple of years ago, with Gyllenhaal helping to put it together as a producer.
“I couldn’t be more excited to work with Antoine again,” said Gyllenhaal. “Our time together on ‘Southpaw’ was one of the great artistic experiences of my career, and I cannot wait to be back on set with him again. ‘The Guilty’ is a special story, and one that we all feel very close to.”
Shooting on The Guilty begins in November, and is being designed to work easily within the COVID-19 safety guidelines. Don’t be surprised if more single-location films enter development for much the same reason.
