(Left) Amanda Seyfried as Nina Winchester in ‘The Housemaid’. Photo: Daniel McFadden/Lionsgate. (Center) Tramell Tillman in ‘Severance’, now streaming on Apple TV+. (Right) Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird in ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.’ Photo Credit: Murray Close.
Preview:
Amanda Seyfried, Rachel Zegler and Tramell Tillman will appear in musical adaptation ‘Octet’
Lin-Manuel Miranda is directing the movie.
It follows people struggling with digital dependence.
Going full speed ahead on musical adaptation ‘Octet’, director Lin-Manuel Miranda (no stranger to stage work himself), has found the cast for the movie version.
The New York cast of stage musical ‘Octet’. Photo: Joan Marcus/WNYC Studios.
With a script and score by Dave Malloy, directed by Annie Tippe, the show follows an octet of people struggling with digital dependency, charting their compulsions using only the analog vibrancy of their own voices. With witty lyrics, shimmering harmonies and virtuosic solos, ‘Octet’ sings of connection, redemption, hope — and how we can be truly present with each other.
It opened off-Broadway on May 19, 2019, at the Signature Theatre in New York City, before ending its run on June 30. That was followed by a west coast premiere with a five-week run at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in 2022.
Here’s Miranda’s statement on tackling the musical for the screen:
“I haven’t stopped thinking about ‘Octet’ since I saw Annie Tippe’s premiere production in November of 2019. Dave Malloy’s score is versatile, brilliant and grows more relevant with each passing year. It won’t leave me alone so here we are.”
Sydney Sweeney as Millie Calloway in ‘The Housemaid’. Photo: Daniel McFadden/Lionsgate.
Preview:
The sequel to ‘The Housemaid’ is scheduled to shoot this year.
Star Sydney Sweeney and director Paul Feig are both in talks to return.
It’ll once again adapt a Freida McFadden book.
Aiming to strike while the iron is hot and people are still talking about the first movie, Lionsgate has quickly given the thumbs up for a sequel to psychological thriller ‘The Housemaid,’ which has been doing solid business at the box office since December 19 (to be exact: $75 million domestically in its first 17 days of release and $133 million worldwide, with more countries still to come).
(L to R) Sydney Sweeney as Millie Calloway and Amanda Seyfried as Nina Winchester in ‘The Housemaid’. Photo Credit: Daniel McFadden/Lionsgate.
Trying to escape her past, Millie Calloway Sweeney) accepts a job as a live-in housemaid for the wealthy Nina (Amanda Seyfried) and Andrew Winchester (Brandon Sklenar).
But what begins as a dream job quickly unravels into something far more dangerous—a sexy, seductive game of secrets, scandal, and power.
‘The Housemaid’s Secret’ will see Millie working for another family that –– surprise, surprise! –– harbors some dark secrets. We suppose there wouldn’t really be a movie if they didn’t.
Returning screenwriter Rebecca Sonnenshine has been at work on the new script, which Feig should be filming this year. And with a third book already on shelves (“The Housemaid is Watching”), we can expect more if the sequel does well.
‘The Housemaid’s Secret’: the studio and director talk
(L to R) Brandon Sklenar, Amanda Seyfried, Sydney Sweeney and director Paul Feig at the Lionsgate presentation at CinemaCon 2025 in Las Vegas.Photo: Lionsgate.
Here’s Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Chair Adam Fogelson on the decision to kickstart the sequel:
“It’s clear from both the global box office and from the outpouring on social media that audiences have responded strongly – and audibly – to the totally unique and truly theatrical experience of ‘The Housemaid’ and want to know what happens next. We believed in these stories from the very beginning, and we are beyond excited to bring the next chapter of Millie’s story to life on-screen in collaboration with our outstanding creative partners Todd, Paul, Laura, Carly, Alex, and Sydney. ‘The Housemaid’s Secret’ is another wildly thrilling book in Freida’s series that has captivated readers worldwide, and we look forward to translating it into a similarly rousing and riotous moviegoing experience.”
And here’s Feig on the sequel:
“It’s been thrilling to see audiences around the world fall in love with The Housemaid and the incredible work of our talented cast and crew. We’re lucky that Freida McFadden has already extended Millie’s journey on the page, and that we get to work with Rebecca Sonnenshine and Lionsgate to bring this next story to audiences.”
When will ‘The Housemaid’s Secret’ be in theaters?
Lionsgate has yet to confirm when the new movie might be on screens, but we’d guess it could be ready for 2027 at the latest.
Sydney Sweeney as Millie Calloway in ‘The Housemaid’. Photo Credit: Daniel McFadden/Lionsgate.
You probably won’t see another movie like ‘The Testament of Ann Lee’ this awards season or even this year. It’s a strange, often surreal, and numinous historical drama that’s frequently harrowing yet at times extremely moving. It’s also a musical of sorts, although many of the numbers are based on religious hymns and wouldn’t sound out of place in a folk horror film.
Directed by Mona Fastvold and co-written by Fastvold with her longtime partner Brady Corbet – who directed 2024’s ‘The Brutalist,’ which the couple also co-wrote – ‘Ann Lee’ is, like that film, eerily immersive in its historical period and driven by a singular performance from its star. You simply cannot take your eyes off Amanda Seyfried in this film, even if other actors are somewhat sidelined and the film itself raises questions about its subject that are never really answered.
Born in Manchester, England in 1736, Ann Lee (Amanda Seyfried) is brought up in a strict religious household, one of eight children, and sent to work at an early age in a cotton factory. In her 20s, she joins a religious sect known as the Shakers – literally the ‘Shaking Quakers,’ an offshoot of the Quaker faith that expiates sin and expresses devotion to God through ecstatic shaking, dancing, and singing.
After marrying an iron worker named Abraham (Christopher Abbott), being initiated into sex, and giving birth to four children who all die in infancy, Ann is committed to an asylum. These experiences, combined with a stint in prison for public evangelizing, trigger visions which result in her being deemed the second coming of Christ in female form.
Now known as Mother Ann Lee, Ann establishes a doctrine for the Shakers that renounces all sexual activity, which does not sit well with Abraham. Yet the Shakers also believe in gender equality, pacifism, human rights (they are appalled by slavery), and community sharing. Increasingly persecuted in England, Ann, her devoted brother William (Lewis Pullman), and a small band of followers journey to the American colonies and settle in upstate New York – but their persecution doesn’t end there.
Mona Fastvold presents all this in linear, straightforward fashion, adding surreal imagery and some showy camera moves to accentuate the more spiritual moments of Ann Lee’s life. The songs – a mix of chants, Shaker hymns, and folk melodies – are haunting enough to not clash with the film’s tone and esthetic, which veers from the pastoral to the brutal – the latter especially in the scenes where Ann gives birth, as well as a later, harrowing sequence of persecution and torture.
Where Fastvold loses focus is the story’s meaning. The Shakers espoused some truly progressive ideals, and their dancing and shaking were indeed rapturous, even bordering (at least onscreen) on the erotic. That brings Ann’s whole rigid adherence to celibacy for her flock into question, along with her own mental state and the frankly cult-like piety of her followers.
Was she channeling the divine, or was she suffering from trauma brought on by sexual dysfunction and the horrific loss of her children? How did her anti-sex mandate coexist with ‘be fruitful and multiply’? The film doesn’t make a strong case either way, and while it’s visually powerful and often dramatically moving, there’s a bit of an empty feeling at the end (especially when the closing credits reveal that there are only three Shakers left in the world today).
Amanda Seyfried has always been an exceptional actor, but she pushes herself to new heights in ‘Ann Lee.’ In a year full of raw performances by women like Rose Byrne, Jessie Buckley, and Jennifer Lawrence, Seyfried not only fearlessly embraces the extremes that are brought upon Ann – including graphically disastrous childbirths, beatings, and torture – but fully inhabits the spirituality and determination of the women.
While whatever drove Ann Lee – whether it was a connection to the divine or the throes of mental illness – is open to debate, Seyfried never leaves any doubt of what Ann herself believes. Her subtle physical transformation and beautiful singing voice only add to what is nothing less than an epic performance.
It’s a shame that many of the other characters and performers struggle to stand out in the shadow of Seyfried’s work, but Thomasin McKenzie makes an impression as her devoted assistant Mary and Lewis Pullman broadens his range as well with his portrayal of Ann’s fiercely loyal and devout brother William. Also notable is Christopher Abbott, whose face tells the story of a man who is slowly checking out of what he found so compelling about Ann and the Shaker beliefs – it’s too bad that he more or less disappears from the story halfway through.
Despite its thematic murkiness – and lapses in character development for everyone but its central figure – ‘The Testament of Ann Lee’ is still a unique cinematic experience. We can’t say enough about Seyfried’s performance, and the film as a whole is a gripping, evocative experience.
And setting aside the question of Ann’s convictions and the Shakers’ dedication to them, ‘Ann Lee’ is also a portrait of a woman trying to espouse and extend bold ideals and, of course, meeting resistance every step of the way. That she manages to create at least the beginnings of a truly egalitarian society, despite the odds and its own strange attributes, is akin in a way to the creation of such a challenging film itself.
‘The Testament of Ann Lee’ receives a score of 85 out of 100.
Visionary spiritual leader Ann Lee rises from obscurity in 18th century England to forge the radical religious movement that will become the Shakers. Driven by her beliefs and persecuted in two countries, Ann gathers devoted followers who come to see her as the female embodiment of Christ.
Who is in the cast of ‘The Testament of Ann Lee’?
Amanda Seyfried as Ann Lee
Lewis Pullman as William Lee
Thomasin McKenzie as Mary Partington
Christopher Abbott as Abraham Standerin
Stacy Martin as Jane Wardley
Scott Handy as James Wardley
Matthew Beard as James Whittaker
Viola Prettejohn as Nancy Lee
Tim Blake Nelson as Pastor Reuben Wright
‘The Testament of Ann Lee’ opens in theaters on December 25th.
Amanda Seyfried stars in ‘The Testament of Ann Lee’.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Amanda Seyfried about her work on ‘The Testament of Ann Lee’, her first reaction to the screenplay, why she wanted to take on the role, and how she prepared for the musical sequences.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Seyfried, Lewis Pullman, Thomasin McKenzie, and Mona Fastvold.
Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about your first reaction to reading the screenplay and why you wanted to take on this role?
Amanda Seyfried: I was very confused by the script because a lot of the hymns were just written out as bookmark. Because we weren’t sure which of the hymns we were going to use. There was a lot of moments of movement and worship that I couldn’t envision. So, I was very confused, and I told her. I was very honest about it, but I was also so curious because I couldn’t envision it, and I knew Mona could. I was like, I need to know what this is. I think I took on the role because I needed a challenge. I found it very hard to envision myself as this prominent feminist leader in the 18th century. I really admire Mona’s clarity as a director, and I just had to trust that she knew what she was doing when she cast me.
MF: Finally, can you talk about preparing for the musical sequences? Did you have rehearsal time and were you singing live on set?
AS: It was a lot of live singing, for sure. A lot of the movie is just me in that moment, which is very effective, especially when you’re singing softly or you’re in grief and you can you make certain noises on set that you might not make in the studio. We pre-recorded all the songs, many times in different ways. But then when you’re on set, things could really shift and evolve into something a little different and a little bit truer. So, that was a wonderful luxury, but also, I was a part of this for a year prior, so I dove in immediately with Daniel Blumberg, the composer. He was taking all these Shaker hymns and turning them on their heads and creating this incredible composition of minor chords and different rhythms. Things that I’ve never experienced before, he’s a magician and working with Celia Rowlson-Hall, who’s the choreographer, I worked with her for months and months, like hours and hours at the studio. Between jobs, we would do workshops with William Rexer, the DP, and Sam Ellison, our camera operator back in January of 2024. Just practicing and working with all these dancers and trying different ways of shooting and different lighting techniques and it was so much pre-production, constantly coming back together, even when we were working. I mean, Sam Ellison, the camera operator and I had shot with Will Rexer an entire television show last year. We were constantly coming back with Mona, and Mona directed one of the episodes. So, we were all together on another show being able to discuss things. On the weekends, we would get together and they would keep writing. It was just so much space and time and energy and passion underneath it all. So, by the time we got to Budapest, we were ready because we didn’t have that much time or money.
‘The Testament of Ann Lee’ opens in theaters on December 25th.
What is the plot of ‘The Testament of Ann Lee’?
Spanning 18th-century England and America, visionary spiritual leader Ann Lee (Amanda Seyfried) rises from obscurity to forge the radical religious movement that will become the Shakers. Haunted by personal tragedy yet driven by an unshakable belief in gender equality, communal living and ecstatic devotion, she gathers devoted followers who come to see her as the female embodiment of Christ. As persecution intensifies, Ann fights to protect both her followers and the incipient utopia they have begun to create.
‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ won the weekend’s box office.
James Cameron’s latest earned $345 globally.
Angel Studios’ David took second place.
Once again, it’s James Cameron’s world, and we’re just living in it.
The filmmaker’s latest trip to the moon of Pandora, ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash,’ heated up the frosty box office, opening top of the charts with $88 million.
And while that figure puts it behind the launch of 2022’s predecessor ‘Avatar: The Way of Water,’ it’s never in the opening that ‘Avatar’ movies really perform, and this new franchise entry is likely to hang around the charts, hoovering up cash.
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The new movie also represents some hefty figures for the filmmaker in particular, representing his biggest global launch (more on that below) and the second-biggest start for a movie this year (squeezed in between fellow Disney stablemates ‘Zootopia 2’ and ‘Lilo & Stitch.’)
Overseas, the new ‘Avatar’ entry took in $257 million, leading to a global launch of $345 million. That is, as mentioned, the best international start for a Cameron movie.
According to Cameron himself, the movie needs to perform in order for him to keep making ‘Avatar’ films:
“It is one metric f**k ton of money, which means we have to make two metric f**k tons of money to make a profit. I have no doubt in my mind that this movie will make money. The question is, does it make enough money to justify doing it again?”
Now, we wait to see what sort of staying power ‘Fire and Ash’ displays…
What else happened at the box office this weekend?
‘David.’ Photo: Angel Studios.
With a big-screen Goliath dominating the chance, it seems somehow fitting that faith-based outfit Angel Studios chose to release ‘David,’ a kid-friendly story inspired by the Biblical tale of the warrior who took on the giant, and spun-off from TV series ‘Young David.’
The movie made $22 million on 3,118 screens, arriving in second place and marking the best three-day opening for Angel.
In fifth place was ‘Zootopia 2’, which is still doing great business. It added $14.5 million in its fourth weekend on release, tallying $282 million domestically to date and a massive $1.27 billion globally, making it the most successful Hollywood release of the year so far.
Finally, opening 10th, Timothée Chalamet-starrer ‘Marty Supreme’ made an impressive debut in limited release, earning $875,000. That doesn’t sound much until you remember it opened on just six screens ahead of an expansion planned for Christmas Day.
That represents $145,933 per theater — the best of the year and highest average since ‘La La Land’ in 2016, according to studio A24.
Amanda Seyfried as Nina Winchester in ‘The Housemaid’. Photo: Daniel McFadden/Lionsgate.
Preview:
Amanda Seyfried is attached to star in ‘Skinny Dip.’
It’ll adapt the Carl Hiaasen novel.
Bill Lawrence, Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis are aboard to produce.
When a project has been tried by at least two companies beforehand, you start to wonder whether it’ll ever see the light of day. Yet ‘Skinny Dip,’ adapted from Carl Hiaasen’s novel, is still swimming away in development.
And there is some positive forward movement on this one, as Amanda Seyfried is now attached to star.
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The nascent series currently has a home at Amazon, with ‘Once Upon a Time’ duo Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis aboard to write and executive producer, while Bill Lawrence –– no stranger to Hiaasen’s work following his successful adaptation of the writer’s ‘Bad Monkey’ for Apple –– producing via his Doozer production company.
More on the series’ difficult development journey is lower down the page…
(L to R): Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried in ‘Jennifer’s Body’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
Assuming it makes it to screens this time, Seyfried would play Joey Perrone, whose second anniversary didn’t go quite as planned.
She expected earrings, but instead, her marine scientist husband Chaz had alternate plans. After unexpectedly finding herself on the other side of those plans (he pushes her off a cruise liner!), she vows to get revenge.
Teaming up with a disgraced ex-cop, Joey sets out to make Chaz pay.
What has happened with ‘Skinny Dip’ so far?
Michael Keaton in the documentary ‘Clemente’. Photo: Mtuckman Media.
A year later, Quibi took a crack, also to no avail. Then, earlier this year, HBO/Max was developing the series with Horowitz, Kitsis and Lawrence attached, but ultimately passed.
While you might guess Apple would be next up to try its hand (given the Hiaasen/Lawrence/‘Bad Monkey’ history, it has actually landed at Amazon.
(L to R) Sydney Sweeney as Millie Calloway and Amanda Seyfried as Nina Winchester in ‘The Housemaid’. Photo Credit: Daniel McFadden/Lionsgate.
Too often these days, a trailer for a new movie sells you a different experience than the one you eventually end up seeing – making something darker look funnier than it is, for example. There’s no such problem with ‘The Housemaid’: based on the best-selling novel by Freida McFadden, director Paul Feig’s adaptation is exactly what it promises: a campy, twisty psychological thriller, laced with laughs and a narrative that almost makes fun of itself – until it doesn’t.
Feig – who seems to find his best groove lately with potboilers like this and ‘A Simple Favor’ – navigates the story’s twists and turns mostly successfully, aided by his trio of lead performers. While the film’s third act spins off the rails a bit in terms of tone and control, it still manages to be entertaining, with a crowd-pleaser of an ending that will send audiences out satiated.
Story and Direction
(L to R): Sydney Sweeney as Millie and Amanda Seyfried as Nina in ‘The Housemaid’. Photo: Daniel McFadden/Lionsgate.
Millie Calloway (Sydney Sweeney) applies for a job as a live-in housemaid with Nina Winchester (Amanda Seyfried), a seemingly pleasant if high-strung homemaker who lives in her extravagant Long Island mansion with her rather cheeky daughter Cici (Indiana Elle) and handsome, charming, and effortlessly attentive husband Andrew (Brandon Sklenar).
Millie, despite lying about her background and hiding the fact that she’s sleeping in her car and on parole after serving 10 years in prison, gets the job – only to find out once she starts that Nina is hiding a few secrets of her own, including the fact that she spent nine months in a psych ward for reasons revealed much later. Right off the part, Nina’s mood swings and capriciously cruel treatment of Millie indicate that something is wrong, along with the suspicious behavior of the groundskeeper, Enzo (Michele Morrone, from Netflix’s ‘365 Days’ sexathons). Luckily, Andrew is there to comfort Millie – even if his lingering glances indicate that he wants more than that.
(L to R) Brandon Sklenar as Andrew Winchester and Amanda Seyfried as Nina Winchester in ‘The Housemaid’. Photo Credit: Daniel McFadden/Lionsgate.
For much of its first two-thirds, ‘The Housemaid’ follows a seemingly conventional narrative almost to a fault, but the go-for-broke performances from its leads, precision needle drops, and Feig’s skillful balancing act of camp and psychological cat-and-mouse keep it thoroughly engaging. The world of wealth and privilege that the Winchesters inhabit is also roasted quite handily, thanks to Andrew’s almost ridiculously snooty mother (Elizabeth Perkins) and the local housewives, who at one point gossip about Nina after she leaves the room – even though Millie, who is all but invisible to them, is still there and can hear everything.
‘The Housemaid’ becomes predictable enough at a certain point that it almost screams that a twist is coming – one that is more or less telegraphed – and when that rug-pull is revealed, the movie tumbles into some surprisingly darker territory. It’s in the final third that Feig and screenwriter Rebecca Sonnenshine lose some of their grip on the material, diverging a bit from the book and stretching things out a bit too long with one betrayal or turnaround after another. Yet ‘The Housemaid’ still wraps up nicely, its conclusion both satisfying and leaving the door open for a continuation (McFadden did write two follow-up novels).
Cast and Performances
(L to R): Amanda Seyfried as Nina and Sydney Sweeney as Millie in ‘The Housemaid’. Photo: Daniel McFadden/Lionsgate.
‘The Housemaid’ opens one week before ‘The Testament of Ann Lee,’ also starring Amanda Seyfried, and you’re not likely to see two more different performances in theaters this year. That’s a compliment to the immense range of Seyfried, who plays Nina as an unpredictable weather pattern whose next ferocious storm will be followed just as quickly by a brief ray of sunshine. She keeps the audience off-balance throughout with a broad-strokes, jangling energy and does pampered housewife just as well as she does colonial religious leader.
Sweeney is more low-key as a counterpoint, and a bit more limited in her range here than in her underrated ‘Christy’ from earlier this fall, but her seemingly submissive surface seethes subtly with a coiled watchfulness and smirking sense of play. As Andrew, Brandon Sklenar has the necessary physical presence to sell the character’s in-your-face masculinity, but otherwise his initial blandness comes across almost as a parody yet suits the contours of his character.
Final Thoughts
Sydney Sweeney as Millie Calloway in ‘The Housemaid’. Photo: Daniel McFadden/Lionsgate.
‘The Housemaid’ may feel at times like one of those lightly erotic true-crime dramas that are the stock-in-trade of Netflix (and there is a smattering of sultry scenes here), but Paul Feig and his leading ladies give it a cinematic gloss and a sense of satire that may often elude that oversaturated genre.
Playful and fun at some points, unnervingly dark at others, ‘The Housemaid’ might end up being what some grownups want for date night at the movies this holiday season instead of talking Disney animals or the blue cat people of Pandora (not that there’s anything wrong with those, of course). At a time when pulpy, provocative, adult-oriented movies are harder to find, ‘The Housemaid’ may be just the help you’re looking for.
‘The Housemaid’ receives a score of 80 out of 100.
Amanda Seyfried as Nina Winchester in ‘The Housemaid’. Photo: Daniel McFadden/Lionsgate.
What is the plot of ‘The Housemaid’?
When Millie Calloway takes a job as live-in housemaid to the wealthy yet moody Nina Winchester and her attractive, charming husband Andrew, it’s only a matter of time before dark secrets, bizarre occurrences, and hidden passions erupt in the Winchesters’ seemingly perfect lives.
Who is in the cast of ‘The Housemaid’?
Sydney Sweeney as Millie Calloway
Amanda Seyfried as Nina Winchester
Brandon Sklenar as Andrew Winchester
Michele Morrone as Enzo
Elizabeth Perkins as Evelyn Winchester
Indiana Elle as Cecilia Winchester
Megan Ferguson as Jilianne
Ellen Tamaki as Patrice
‘The Housemaid’ opens in theaters on December 19th.
(L to R): Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried in ‘Jennifer’s Body’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
Preview:
Director Karyn Kusama has offered an update on the ‘Jennifer’s Body’ sequel.
Original writer Diablo Cody is working on a script.
The 2009 original has become a cult favorite.
While it may not have set the box office alight back in 2009 (partly due to some questionable marketing decisions), horror comedy ‘Jennifer’s Body’, which starred Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried, has become something of a cult classic.
And now its director, Karyn Kusama is confirming previous chatter that a sequel is in the works.
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Talking to Deadline, Kusama revealed that she had spoken to Diablo Cody, who wrote the original and learned some details about the sequel –– more on that below.
She’s also happy that the movie has a following:
“I’m just so grateful that the film managed to find its audience, perhaps on a different timeline than any of us might have expected or hoped for, but I’m just so thankful that the work continues to speak to people. I’m just so satisfied by that.”
Megan Fox in ‘Jennifer’s Body’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
The 2009 film follows Jennifer Check (Fox), a demonically possessed high school student who kills her male classmates and devours their flesh in order to survive, while her bookworm best friend Anita “Needy” Lesnicki (Seyfried) must find a way to end her killing spree.
What has Karyn Kusama said about the sequel?
Amanda Seyfried in ‘Jennifer’s Body’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
This was what Kusama had to say about the sequel following Cody saying she was ready to write it and Seyfried had teased the possibility of one:
“I know she’s working on it right now, and I’m very excited to hear what comes of it. I know some of the bones of it, so I’m not going to give anything away, but it sounds fun and crazy like the first film. And I have no doubt that Diablo will do something absolutely incredible with it.”
When will the ‘Jennifer’s Body’ sequel be on screens?
With the movie still at a very nascent stage, there is zero word on when it might start shooting, let alone arrive in theaters.
Megan Fox in ‘Jennifer’s Body’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
Sydney Sweeney as Millie Calloway in ‘The Housemaid’. Photo: Daniel McFadden/Lionsgate.
Preview:
The first images of Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried in ‘The Housemaid’ are online.
Paul Feig directed the new thriller.
It adapts Freida McFadden’s bestselling novel.
While Sydney Sweeney has seen her rising star hit a bit of turbulence of late, with a few cinematic flops and plenty of controversy over recent adverts, the actor is hoping that some upcoming projects will restore its sheen.
Amanda Seyfried as Nina Winchester in ‘The Housemaid’. Photo: Daniel McFadden/Lionsgate.
Rebecca Sonnenshine (‘The Boys’) adapted Freida McFadden’s bestselling 2022 novel, which follows Millie (Sweeney), who is trying to escape her past.
She accepts a job as a live-in housemaid for the wealthy Nina (Seyfried) and Andrew Winchester (Brandon Sklenar, ‘It Ends With Us’).
But what begins as a dream job quickly unravels into something far more dangerous — a sexy, seductive game of secrets, scandal, and power. Behind the Winchesters’ closed doors lies a world of shocking twists…
‘The Housemaid’: the filmmakers speak
(L to R): Amanda Seyfried as Nina and Sydney Sweeney as Millie in ‘The Housemaid’. Photo: Daniel McFadden/Lionsgate.
“The film captures everything fans loved about the book — the secrets, the tension and the twists. We can’t wait for audiences to immerse themselves in the experience.”
And this was Feig’s comment:
“ ‘The Housemaid’ is pure entertainment –– a sexy and surprising rollercoaster ride of a movie that will keep audiences on the edge of their seats. This movie is the kind of insane fun that you’ll want to watch over and over this holiday season. So bring your friends and wear your pearls because you’ll definitely be clutching them!”
Finally, here’s Sweeney on her role and the film in general:
“[Millie is] the type of character I love to play: complex, strong and with a little something up her sleeve I can’t wait for fans to see how hard we all worked to bring ‘The Housemaid’ to life.”
When will ‘The Housemaid be in theaters?
Michele Morrone as Enzo in ‘The Housemaid’. Photo: Daniel McFadden/Lionsgate.
Backed by Lionsgate, the movie will bring its plot turns to theaters on December 19th. Happy twistmas!
(L to R): Sydney Sweeney as Millie and Amanda Seyfried as Nina in ‘The Housemaid’. Photo: Daniel McFadden/Lionsgate.
(Left) Sydney Sweeney in ‘Euphoria.’ Photograph by Eddy Chen/HBO. (Right) Amanda Seyfried in ‘The Crowded Room,’ premiering June 9, 2023 on Apple TV+.
Preview:
Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried are boarding a new thriller called ‘The Housemaid.’
Paul Feig is set to direct the movie for Lionsgate.
Rebecca Sonnenshine is adapting the bestselling novel by Freida McFadden.
These days, if a studio can entice Sydney Sweeney to star in their movie, they will put Sydney Sweeney in their movie. Lionsgate is no doubt happy, then, that the ‘Immaculate’ and ‘Anyone But You’ actor has sealed a deal to star in a new thriller called ‘The Housemaid’ alongside Amanda Seyfried.
The film –– which will adapt Freida McFadden’s popular novel, rather than have anything to do with the Korean movie of the same name –– will see Paul Feig in the director’s chair.
With Rebecca Sonnenshine (who has written movies such as ‘The Keeping Hours’ and ‘Within’) adapting McFadden’s book, ‘The Housemaid’ sees Sweeney playing Millie, a struggling young woman who is relieved to get a fresh start as a housemaid to Nina (Seyfried) and Andrew, an upscale, wealthy couple.
But Millie soon learns that the family’s secrets are far more dangerous than her own.
McFadden’s novel has sat on the New York Times Bestseller List for over a year, and on the Amazon Bestsellers’ list for 98 weeks and counting. It also has a record-breaking half a billion pages read on Kindle –– behind only the ‘Harry Potter’ series. It has sold more than 3.6 million copies and has been translated into 40 languages.
‘The Housemaid’: The Studio Comments
‘Jackpot!’ director Paul Feig.
Here’s what Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chair Adam Fogelson told Deadline about the news:
“I’m thrilled to have The Housemaid join our upcoming slate. A great filmmaker and a great cast with a great script from a great book is a terrific place to start. My prior work experiences with Paul and Amanda have been nothing short of spectacular, and Sydney is as talented and compelling as can be.”
And here’s the statement from Lionsgate Motion Picture Group co-president Erin Westerman:
“The Housemaid is a certified phenomenon with over a year on the New York Times Bestsellers’ list, millions of copies sold, and a place on numerous critics’ choice lists. Part of the fun of the book was imagining the cast while we read it, and Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried are perfect for Millie and Nina –– they’re both mysterious, nuanced, and incredibly skilled at becoming characters who don’t reveal everything right away. We’re thrilled to team them with Paul Feig, who we worked with on ‘A Simple Favor’ and its upcoming sequel and has a proven track record of developing stories with dynamic female leads.”
As mentioned, Feig directed ‘A Simple Favor’ and most recently worked on ‘Jackpot!’ for Amazon. He has ‘A Simple Favor 2’ (or whatever it ends up being titled) heading our way next year.
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When will ‘The Housemaid’ be in theaters?
Given the schedules of those involved, we doubt this one will shoot much before mid-2025, so it may end up arriving in 2026 –– but no date has been set yet.
Paul Feig attends the World Premiere Of Netflix’s ‘The School For Good And Evil’ at Regency Village Theatre on October 18, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Netflix.
