Turns out that Jake Gyllenhaal also co-wrote his new film

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The Guilty heads to Netflix next month – and Jake Gyllenhaal’s talents are not just to be found in front of the camera for this one.

The Guilty is a Netflix-bound remake of Gustav Möller’s locked-down, high-tension Danish thriller, that went by the same name in the UK. The film’s recent trailer spotlights that it comes from Antonie Fuqua, “director of Training Day and The Equalizer” and Nic Pizzolatto, “writer of True Detective.”

We’ve seen a copy of the shooting script though and also learned that there were also script contributions from none other than the film’s star, Jake Gyllenhaal.

The cover page credits the script with the words “By Nic Pizzolatto, Current Revisions by Jake Gyllenhaal” and calls itself a “Production Draft.” This won’t be the final, WGA-approved credit block – there’s no mention of Möller and his original screenplay, for one thing – but it’s a trustworthy indication that the film actually went before cameras with some of its words scripted by Gyllenhaal.

I did wonder for a moment if this suggested the script draft was a transcript, and Gyllenhaal had improvised or ad-libbed sufficiently – something the film’s set-up would seemingly encourage – but, well, that’s not what the cover sheet implies with its “Production Draft” label.

Gyllenhaal has no IMDB credits for writing, whether credited or uncredited on screen, but it looks like The Guilty will become the first. Could it be the beginning of a new phase in his movie-making career? I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Gyllenhaal script something else for, or maybe with, Fuqua soon – the two appear to have a trusting, collaborative relationship.

The Guilty premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival this weekend, will get some wider cinema screenings from 24 September and then roll onto Netflix on 1 October. Möller’s original is already widely available as VOD, download and disc.

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