Director Robert Eggers is shouting out an unlikely figure ahead of the release of his horror film Nosferatu — SpongeBob SquarePants.
At the Los Angeles premiere of the film on Thursday, The Hollywood Reporter asked Eggers if he knew that the Nickelodeon cartoon introduced many kids to the iconic vampire. Nosferatu (also known as Count Orlok) made several appearances on the show.
The filmmaker confirmed he was familiar with the SpongeBob element and explained, “There was a show called Muppet Babies when I was a kid that would play little clips of like Lon Chaney’s Phantom of the Opera and early versions of Cyrano de Bergerac and stuff; that weird cartoon gave me exposure to a lot of movies that I watched when I was a little older with memories from Muppet Babies. So, thanks SpongeBob.”
Star Nicholas Hoult also weighed in on the phenomenon, joking he hadn’t seen it but said, “I’ve got to go back and watch more SpongeBob. And I like that that’s people’s introduction to it and hopefully this will be a reintroduction to it in a different way.”
Egger’s version of Nosferatu sees Bill Skarsgård transform into the terrifying vampire, who is infatuated with a haunted young woman (played by Lily Rose-Depp). Skarsgård’s look has largely been kept under wraps in the movie’s trailer and promotional materials, as the actor said he’s “excited for this beast to be unleashed.”
“Whenever you shoot a movie and you do a character, it’s very private, it’s a very intimate relationship you have with the film,” the actor continued. “It’s yours until it’s released and then it’s not yours anymore, it’s the world’s. So in a way, it’s a premiere but it’s also a funeral.”
Rose-Depp added that she was “astounded” at seeing Skarsgård in character for the first time and co-star Emma Corrin echoed, “It’s such a transformation, you really can’t see Bill at all and yet he’s able to bring such a human depth and quality to the character, it’s remarkable.”
The team also weighed in on the horror film having a Christmas day release, as Egger joked, “Definitely take the whole family, the younger the better.”
“I certainly hope that people come spend their Christmas mornings with us in the theaters,” Rose-Depp said. “I feel like this movie is so incredibly immersive and transportive and I feel like that’s just the most fun thing you could do on Christmas is go to the theater and let yourself be whisked away to another world.”
Ash Crossan contributed to this report.
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