Anne Hathaway, the Oscar-winning actress best known for her roles in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’, ‘Les Misérables’ and ‘The Princess Diaries’, will take on one of her most unconventional roles yet. The upcoming film ‘Mother Mary’ sees her stepping into the shoes of a pop star, away from the characters that made her a household name in the first place. The 43-year-old plays a character navigating a psychosexual relationship with a fashion designer played by Michaela Coel.As director David Lowery revealed in an interview, one very specific artist shaped his vision of the character more than anyone else: Taylor Swift. The ‘Love Story’ singer’s influence on the film was not subtle. It was structural, visual and intentional.
How Taylor Swift Adapted Anne Hathaway’s ‘Mother Mary’
David Lowery told Empire magazine, “Her Reputation concert film is one of the best concert films ever. It’s really phenomenal. And our concert sequences, we went over that over and over again. You wouldn’t believe how long we were talking about Taylor.”He added: “We took three songs from Reputation and broke them down shot by shot, and we looked at them like, ‘Okay, if we were to do these, how much would it cost to do these shots in visual effects?’ We used that as a budgeting tool because we didn’t know how to pull ourselves together to actually pull off a stadium concert show on a minimal budget. We were literally using Fame as a guide. I can go on all day about Fame.“Lowery also revealed that she attended one of Swift’s concerts with Hathaway, and the actress gave her a friendship bracelet inspired by the singer during the taping. He said, “When we walked, Annie gave me a Taylor Swift-esque pearl bracelet with ‘Anti-Hero.’I definitely brought a lot of Taylor Swift to the table in terms of who Mother Mary was. A lot of times I’d be like, ‘Imagine Taylor Swift in 10 or 15 years,’ who could be this kind of character.“
Anne Hathaway on the Challenges of Playing ‘Mother Mary’
The role wasn’t just creatively demanding. It was also logistically difficult. Hathaway told Vogue that most of the film’s music wasn’t finished by the time they started shooting, meaning she had to perform without knowing the songs at all.He said: “I had to come to terms with being a beginner. The humbling of it, showing up every day knowing you’re going to get sucked in. And it has to be good. You are not ‘bad’. You’re just a beginner. Coming to this mindset, I had to throw away some things that were hard to throw away. It was welcome. But it was hard, the way transformational experiences can be hard.’He added: “It was so confusing. I had to learn, because if I had music for a year before I turned on a camera. I would tattoo every note into my soul, and there would be a whole process, very detailed. And I didn’t have that available. In the end, I’m very grateful that I couldn’t take control.”‘Mother Mary’ has no confirmed release date yet. With Hathaway entering the world of pop stardom and Swift’s ‘Reputation’ era serving as a creative blueprint, the film is already one of the most interesting projects on the horizon.
