Verity’s journey from book to the big screen began well before the self-published novel hit the New York Times bestseller list in 2018. Hoover was inspired to write her first thriller due in part to feeling disappointed in a horror film’s unearned plot twists, as well as her own desire to step outside the contemporary romance genre in which she’d authored 16 books and earned millions of fans.
“I have a dark sense of humour and am definitely not as romantic or emotional as the characters in some of my books,” says the author, who published Verity on her own in 2018. “I love isolating characters and
putting them in creepy places or having them cut off from the outside world and facing challenges on their own.”
Producers Alex Hedlund and Nick Antosca snapped up the film rights as soon as they could. “I read the
book in the spring of 2019, and I knew instantly that I had scratched off a winning lottery ticket; there was something really special here,” says Hedlund. “It was provocative, it was sexy, it was fun, it was shocking. It had all these different flavours, and that was even before I really understood who Colleen Hoover and her fan base was. She seems to have her finger on the pulse of what people relate and empathise with better than most contemporary authors.”
Antosca, who also wrote the screenplay, says Verity reminded him of his favourite classic thrillers like Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca and others. “Colleen’s book is fun, it’s juicy, it’s kind of disturbing, and it’s
over the top in a really delicious way. And I think that’s why people respond to it so much, and it leaves
you with questions.”
After they set up the production with Amazon MGM Studios, they set out to find the right director to bring their vision to life. Hedlund says Michael Showalter (The Idea of You) was always top of mind.
“I love the way that he approaches character, emotion and particularly moments of intimacy in his films and I felt like that was going to make or break Verity,” he says. “Those more intimate moments are very delicate and they really help drive the story forward. I knew that Michael was going to have a great handle on making the actors feel comfortable and finding the emotion within those scenes.”
Showalter and his producing partner Jordana Mollick are longtime fans of psychological and erotic thrillers and have been wanting to make one for years. “I made a couple movies with Amazon and love working with them,” says Showalter. “They sent us the script and asked us to take a read. I was very familiar with Colleen Hoover, and I’m intrigued by her. And so I read the script and really loved it. I love
the genre. I loved all the twists and turns and the tone.”
Adds Mollick: “We both read the script and said, ‘This is it. This is what we’ve been looking for.’ And so
we became involved that day.”
For Showalter, taking on Verity as director and producer presented an ideal opportunity to explore a
favourite genre and take the audience on a theatrical thrill ride. “It’s very escapist. It’s suspenseful, it’s
sexy, it combines all these different cinematic elements and allows for humour, visual storytelling,” he
says. “I am a big fan of Hitchcock and Adrian Lyne, Brian De Palma and their movies from the ’80s and
’90s. The joy of cinematic storytelling is so present in those kinds of thrillers. And so for me, this was an
opportunity to try to do one myself and try to tell the story in a unique and interesting way. The source
material is the “north star””
When it came to deciding how faithfully to adapt the novel, everyone agreed that following Hoover’s
lead was the correct course of action. “People respond to it for a reason,” says Antosca. “It’s so compelling and it leaves you thinking and arguing. And so we just wanted to preserve and protect that feeling that people have when they finish reading.”
“The book is a big hit; people love it, so let’s make a movie out of the book,” says Showalter. “My approach was to do it the way it was in the book wherever possible. Let people see what a true adaptation would look and feel like and honour that.”
Hoover, also a producer on the project, says she knew early onthe film was in the right hands.
“I don’t give a lot of pushback when it comes to changes because I understand them and the readers were always a priority,” she says. “Even with things they had to change or cut, it’s still a great reflection of the book.”
Adds Hedlund: “She’s so open, communicative and giving with her time, wanting to make sure that the movie could stand on its own,” he says. “A huge responsibility for me as a producer was making sure that
I could earn her trust and blessing. And I think the movie is a testament to that.”
Adapted from Colleen Hoover’s best-selling novel, this seductive, psychological thriller Verity follows renowned author Verity Crawford (Anne Hathaway) and Lowen Ashleigh (Dakota Johnson), a struggling writer who relocates to the remote Crawford estate to ghostwrite for Verity. After Lowen uncovers what appears to be Verity’s chilling autobiographical notes, she wrestles with the disturbing and twisted confessions about Verity’s husband Jeremy (Josh Hartnett), and finds it hard to separate fiction from reality, manipulation from attraction, and opportunity from obsession.
Michael Showalter (Director/Producer)
Michael Showalter is an Emmy-nominated director, writer, and producer known for his ability to blend
drama and comedy to create unique, heartfelt stories that uplift unconventional lead characters. In 2018,
he co-founded Semi-Formal Productions with his producing partner, Jordana Mollick, focusing on
contemporary, socially aware film and television. As part of Semi-Formal’s multi-year first-look film deal
with Amazon MGM Studios, Showalter is behind feature films including The Idea of You, based on the
bestselling novel of the same title and became Amazon MGM Studios’ No. 1 romantic-comedy debut of all time, and, most recently, the Christmas comedy feature Oh. What. Fun. Showalter’s upcoming projects include the feature film Verity for Amazon MGM Studios and the Apple TV+ limited series The Off Weeks.
Nick Antosca (Screenwriter/Producer)
Nick Antosca is the creator/showrunner of Apple TV’s Cape Fear, Hulu’s Emmy-winning true crime series
The Act, SYFY’s horror anthology series Channel Zero, Netflix’s horror/thriller series Brand New Cherry Flavour, and Peacock’s true crime series A Friend Of The Family. He also executive produced the Hulu limited series Candy, the Syfy series Chucky, and the Hulu limited series Murdaugh: Death In The Family. Under his Eat the Cat production banner, he has an overall deal with UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group. Antosca also co-wrote and executive produced the supernatural horror/thriller Antlers (based on his short story “The Quiet Boy”) for Fox Searchlight, with Guillermo del Toro producing. His short story “Soon You Will Be Gone and Possibly Eaten” is being adapted for the big screen, starring Dave Franco and Sophie Wilde, with Egor Abramenko directing and producing under his Eat the Cat banner. He produced River, which will premiere at this year’s Toronto Film Festival as the opening night of the Midnight Madness section.
Colleen Hoover (Author/Producer)
Colleen Hoover is the author of several international bestselling novels, including the #1 New York Times
bestsellers, Verity and It Ends With Us. Colleen is also the co-founder of Heartbones Entertainment,
where she has produced films such as Reminders of Him and Verity. Colleen is grateful for her career, but
her favorite parts of life are her husband, her three boys, and her voluptuous cat, Beefy Edna.
