The “secret” horror movie that Saw director Darren Lynn Bousman wrapped shooting in Prague last week has been revealed: its title is Cello, according to Deadline, and it stars Jeremy Irons alongside Saw veteran Tobin Bell.
Cello reportedly tells the story of an aspiring musician who comes to learn that the cost of his instrument is far more insidious than he first imagined.
Irons would appear to be the Academy Award-winner that director Bousman hinted at working with in previous social media posts. The actor won an Oscar for his performance as Claus von Bülow in 1990’s Reversal of Fortune.
The news lends credibility to a recent story that a kind stranger bought a coffee for Irons and his wife Sinéad Cusack at a Letná cafe in Prague a few weeks back.
According to a post on Twitter, a kind patron purchased a couple cappuccinos for an elderly British couple when the cafe’s payment terminal went down. Noting that the man bore a resemblance to Jeremy Irons, another patron later asked him if he was indeed the actor, and he answered in the affirmative.
Smutný britský pár. Chtěl si dát dvě cappuccina, ale v kavárně nešel terminál. A můj muž? Zvedl se, došel k baru, vrátil se se s dvěma šálky a se slovem "gift" je postavil na stolek před okouzlenou dvojici.
Inu, vzala jsem si ho, protože je boží🥰 pic.twitter.com/b1uIVAW5G4— Ilusie (@miklaras) October 16, 2021
While the Twitter post was largely apocryphal, the news that Irons was likely in Prague at the time during the production of Cello lends some credence to the story. Information about the film being shot in Prague, or Irons’ involvement, was not public at the time.
Alongside Prague, Cello also filmed in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Vienna. Director Bousman wrote that he had spent 100 days abroad on the production of the movie, with roughly the final three weeks of the shoot taking place in the Czech capital.
Prague locations utilized for the film have not been revealed, but a picture of the director and crew members recently posted to his Instagram account was snapped at the old Živnostenská Banka building on the Czech capital’s Na Příkopě street.
“I have been blessed to have many adventures in my filmmaking career. None have compared to the production of Cello,” director Bousman told Deadline.
“I was able to traverse the globe, and work with an international cast and crew. I am excited for the world to see this terrifying tale from the mind of Turki Al Alshikh and am humbled to have had a small part in its creation.”
Alongside Irons and Bell, who portrayed serial killer Jigsaw in Bousman’s Saw movies, Cello stars Syrian actor Samer Ismail and Saudi actress Elham Ali. The film was shot by cinematographer Maxime Alexandre, and Joseph Bishara (The Conjuring) will compose an original soundtrack.
Star Jeremy Irons is no stranger to the Czech capital. He previously starred in Steven Soderbergh’s recently-revisited Kafka, which shot on location throughout the center of Prague in 1991.
Irons also starred in 2000’s Dungeons & Dragons, which was shot on locations throughout the Czech Republic.
Lead photo: Irons in 2016’s Assassin’s Creed
