Nightmare Alley: Fans cannot cope with Cate Blanchett’s hilarious entrance to film premiere

‘I love one dork and that dork is Cate Blanchett,’ posted one fan

Cate Blanchett appeared in giant size at the Nightmare Alley premiere in New York last night (1 December), sending fans into a frenzy.

The new movie is Guillermo del Toro’s first film since his 2017 Best Picture winner, The Shape of Water.

Based on William Lindsay Gresham’s 1946 novel, Nightmare Alley stars Bradley Cooper as Stan Carlisle, a carnival entertainer and master manipulator.

Carlisle’s skills and showmanship are noticed by the upper classes of society, and after starting to move in those circles, he meets Cate Blanchett’s Dr Lilith Ritter, a corrupt and dangerous psychiatrist.

Rooney Mara plays Molly Cahill, the carnival’s kind young woman who claims to be able to channel electricity as “Mamzelle Electra”.

Blanchett virtually attended the event from London, and her face appeared on an giant screen behind the cast as they took part in a Q&A on stage.

In one clip from the night, Blanchett can be seen looking mortified at being blown up to such a huge size on screen.

See all the best clips and reactions from the night below.

Cooper is already generating Oscars buzz with his performance. Variety’s Ramin Setoodeh, who was at the premiere, tweeted: “Bradley Cooper will likely earn his fifth Oscar nomination for acting for #NightmareAlley.”

Fandango critic Erik Davis added: “Guillermo del Toro’s #NightmareAlley is haunting & seductive in the way it draws you into its story about a man lost in his own long con. Steadily unsettling & wildly gripping by the end – the scenes between Bradley Cooper & Cate Blanchett are fantastic. Deliciously old fashioned.”

Nightmare Alley will be released in the UK on 21 January 2022.