Amanda Seyfried last played a New York parishioner at the Venice Film Festival, where she had a film for “First Reform” in 2017 at the Film Festival to premiere the film. For her latest trip to Lido, she has returned almost 300 years ago, but heads towards a full-fledged religious leader.
In “Anley’s Will,” premiered in the competition on Monday, she plays Anley, the 18th century founder of Christian Sect The Shaker. Born in Manchester, England, Lee moved in 1776 with a small follower to the United States, and despite experiencing many personal traumas, he helped to establish a utopian society known for sexual equality, utilitarianism, utilitarian songs and cerivation (Shaker’s numbers are ultimately only three at the moment).
The film is watching Safriedeed sing on screen for the first time since “Mama Mia 2” from director Mona Fastbold, who co-wrote with his darling “Brutalist” at the Venice Boeing Awards last year and his partner Brady Corbett (co-written by this). However, the actress is not sure it can be classified as a song. “Despite Sing? Anti-Sing?” Whatever it is, she admits that notes don’t come easily, and sometimes “the sound of animals” forced her to be born out of Lee’s “sadness and despair.” To reach the right voice point, she claims that “I had to release my shit.”
Speaking to Variety, Safried is a comedy with Sydney Sweeney, hoping that “Brutalist” selfishly wants “Brutalist” to succeed in Venice to pave the way for this film, Maxine Peak plays an important role that she doesn’t know yet, playing a comedy with Sidney Sweeney.
“Anley’s Will” is described as a musical, but it is not actually a biopic, not a musical, but in reality it is not a biopic. How would you describe this movie?
It’s a celebration. That’s experience. It’s so different, and it’s hard to describe for me as someone who’s not very good at explaining things. But it felt very brave and very scary. But once we filmed it, we lifted it up.
Have you seen it in full already?
I saw an early cut. Brady (Corbet) couldn’t understand how to connect a computer to a TV, so he saw the whole thing on his iPad. Like three idiots.
Mona told me she warned you about the film. Is that true?
That’s not when she’s. We all make decisions based on art and business, and you are always walking the tightrope between these two. But we don’t have to pay for everything. Because at the end of the day, we are all artists. Most artists want to be challenged, do something new and want to be part of something collaboratively avant-garde. But I said, “Do you want me, Mona, are you sure? There are other young British actresses who can certainly nail the accents.” But she said: “God, you can make this for me!” I knew it was difficult. However, Mona brings the same people around her. So I was, yeah, I wanted to be part of the family over the weekend and drink some natural wine.
You sing with this, but it’s on a register that is very different from “Les Mis”, especially “Mamma Mia.” Have you stretched yourself out loud?
Some of them were not singers. That’s not the case! Getting away? Anti-song? Many of them were animal sounds as opposed to melodic sounds. And it wasn’t about listening to me. In a studio in Budapest, I was listening to myself, but it wasn’t happy – it was stressful because I understood that it didn’t have to sound beautiful in a beautiful way to me. It was like a woman on her knees. And it was hard and fucking. To find a voice of passion, life, sadness and despair, I had to release my shit, ears, needs, Amanda’s needs, so we did the song “The Treasure of Man” that gives birth many times. I realized it took me a long time to stop listening to myself while I was singing. “What were I doing?” I was listening to myself all the time, and it was full of self-loathing.
But did you enjoy singing on screen again?
I did it. I love singing. And I love the way I make you feel when I act. After my first week in the studio, after working on two main songs before I started filming, I knew exactly what Mona was, so I felt it was great. But I remember lying on the floor with me and my dog (Finn, an almost 16-year-old Australian shepherd from Sayfried).
There is an ambiguous sense of whether Anne Lee was sacredly inspired or an opportunistic cult leader. Have you noticed that you use the same muscles you played Elizabeth Holmes?
No, not everything, that’s what it is. I follow people like Anne everywhere. Just like I did to Mona. I didn’t feel that at all because I felt I could get nothing but the community. She wasn’t trying to get rich by signing people to shaker classes. I think she was totally certain and believed that anyone who needs to be saved or wants to join the community was welcome. It felt really beautiful. Like a utopia. There is a big difference between (Lee and Holmes). Certainly they are both leaders, but their intentions are everything. Anne’s intentions never wavered. What a cool shitty woman!
How did you find Anne’s Manknian accent?
It’s incredibly difficult. I had so many nightmares about people liked: what is she saying? My job is to keep you fully committed to the story. And my fear was that it didn’t work. That’s why I kept telling Mona, you don’t want to win the British?
Was there any inspiration for Manknian to try and get the right tone?
Maxine Peak. She was my beacon. I love to know where she grew up. She knows very culturally and is very passionate about where she comes from. And the internet had her on a silver platter for me.
Does Maxine know her important role in this film?
no! She doesn’t know she is Anley.
Mona said she flew to Venice for the world premiere of “The Brutalist” with Brady and took a short two-day break from “Anley” production in Budapest.
Yes, and Brady stayed and got the Silver Lion, we kept thinking: They are paving the way for us! They are two different animals – you can’t compare “brutal” and “Ann Lee”, but they are both extraordinary and you want Venice to see it. We thought it was a really good sign for us – is it selfish? But no, that was good. But it was exhausting for them.
I love how they turned into an indie film-making couple in this great power, but they’re not interested in making anything other than their own films. It’s very exciting.
Absolutely, when you’re working, if you’re not doing what you want, life has no meaning. And they are always going to celebrate independent films. As soon as the studio comes for them, it’s no longer fun. Studios are perfect for certain things. It’s great to have money to make something. But they found a way to make these films with a really good artist who barely wants to do it for the beans. It’s proof of the people they are, the leaders they are, the artists they are. They keep people back together. It’s very difficult to make an independent film, but they figured it out.
Where will you go after “Anley”? What came next?
I want to do comedy very badly. That’s why I’m “The Housemaid” is coming out. I came out with this giant tent pole movie on Christmas Day, along with Sydney Sweeney and “Ann Lee.” I don’t know how to explain “The Housemaid,” but I saw it the other day and didn’t enjoy it much in the theater. I don’t know when I laughed at the end. And it was my own film! I was making it and had a ball that looked like it was playing this quirky Nutso character. It’s like a party, that movie. Honestly, I love it so I might actually sneak up and go and see it after Christmas dinner.
