Hollywood producers are swarming over anyting from author Colleen Hoover that they can get their hands on, following the $350M box office of It Ends with Us. Amazon MGM set Anne Hathaway to star in an adaptation of her bestseller, Verity, and now Deadline reports that Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett will be joining her.
Nick Antosca, known for horror films The Forest and Antlers, wrote the most recent script for director Michael Showalter. The psychosexual gothic story follows Lowen Ashleigh, a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of best-selling thriller author Verity Crawford (Anne Hathaway), has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series that his wife is unable to finish after a mysterious accident. Upon arrival at the lavish Crawford estate, Lowen slowly learns that things are not exactly as they seem with the discovery of a secret, unfinished manuscript that may divulge chilling admissions about the family’s past. As Lowen ingratiates herself with Jeremy and his young son Crew, she must discern if Verity’s writings are merely lurid works of fiction or an ominous warning by a deranged psychopath.
Johnson will play Lowen Ashleigh with Hartnett as Jeremy Crawford.
Verity was self-published by Hoover in 2018 and became a huge success story when it made the bestseller list, selling millions of copies.
Johnson has had a mixed year with roles in Madame Web and Daddio opposite Sean Penn. She’ll be seen next with Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal in Celine Song’s Materialists. Hartnett has been experiencing a career resurgence following roles in Oppenheimer, Trap, and an episode of The Bear.
