Anne Hathawaywas more than happy to keep this spicy scene.
So, when the actress took on the role ofbest-selling novelistVerity Crawford in the upcoming filmVerity,premiering Oct. 2, she knew some details simply couldn’t be changed from theColleen Hoovernovel.
“There’re certain things, like, Verity can be a brunette, but we can’t mess up the headboard bit,” Hathaway—who is also a producer—exclusively told E! News’Will Marfuggiin a joint interview with costarsDakota Johnson andJosh Hartnett. “We have to get that right, because it’s too specific and unusual.”
Simply put, “If we’re gonna make this movie, we have to get a detail like that right.”
The psychological romantic thriller follows Lowen Ashleigh (Johnson) as she finishes Verity’shighly anticipatednovel a car accidentleaves the author comatose.As she unravels the secrets that hauntVerity’shome while working on the unfinished manuscript,Lowenbecomes romantically involved with her husband Jeremy Crawford (Harnett).
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Verity‘s Colleen Hoover Reveals Movie Made Her Rethink Book’s Ending
And that is where the headboard situation comes into play. As in the novel,Jeremyperformsoral sex on Lowenand she coversthe sound of her orgasm by biting the headboard, hoping to make even deeper marks into the wood than Verity’s older, still prominent bites.
So, itwas an unforgettable experience for Hathaway, who quipped, “I never thought I’d bite a headboard on camera in my life, but that was just a Tuesday.”
Although Harnett didn’t put his own marks into any wood, he did see the pieces that both of his costars munched on.
“I remember going through the prop table at one point and seeing like a series of different pieces of the headboard with different bites on them,” he explained, teasing Johnson and Hathaway that they “must have sat there for a while” biting each prop.
Although the headboard scene made its way into the film, others had to take a hit. For instance, only a snippet of Lowen sleepwalking, which she has struggled with since childhood, made the cut.
“It’s just not necessarily that interesting to watch someone sleepwalk,” Johnson—alsoan executive producer on the project—told E!. “There were some really,really cool moments where she ends up outside and it’s very spooky.”
But Hathaway,Johnson and Harnett knew just how important it was to get the adaptation right.
“Right off the bat, we’re making choices that people are either gonna go with it or not,” thePrincess Diariesactress—who is expecting her third baby with husbandAdam Schulman—explained. “The house might not look exactly the way in your head when you read the book. For a lot of people, Verity is a blonde. So, you just kind of hope that people will go with your version of it and let it be its own thing.”
And they were grateful the initial reception was so positive.
“We shot this January of 2025 through March of 2025 and it was so wonderful to have the first wave of audiences see it and have them tell us that they loved what we did,” Hathaway reflected. “They thought that we got the spirit of the book correct and that’s been a real relief.”
For everything to know about theVerityadaptation before it hits theaters Oct. 2, keep reading.
Grand Central Publishing/HachetteWhat Is Verity About?Verity is based on Colleen Hoover’s best-selling novel of the same name.In the 2018 romantic thriller, struggling writer Lowen Ashleigh is hired by Jeremy Crawford to finish the popular book series created by his famous author wife Verity Crawford after an accident leaves Verity unable to finish the project.Lowen moves into the Crawfords’ home and begins going through Verity’s trove of notes on the books. But during this process, she finds Verity’s unfinished autobiography containing shocking confessions. After initially deciding not to reveal the manuscript to Jeremy, Lowen has second thoughts once she forms feelings for him. So far, it looks like the movie stays pretty close to the book.”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,” the movie’s logline, obtained by Variety, reads. “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.”John Nacion/Getty ImagesAnne Hathaway Is Playing Verity CrawfordIs Anne Hathaway really starring in Verity? If Miranda Priestly were here, she’d tell you to please bore someone else with your questions.But it’s true! In November 2024, Amazon MGM Studios confirmed The Devil Wears Prada star is playing the titular character in Verity. While Anne has yet to comment on the casting herself, she was spotted on the movie’s set in February 2025. And Colleen has made it clear she’s thrilled to have the Oscar winner—who is also a producer for the film—on board.”Verity is coming to theaters and I am so excited for this cast and the script and the director and the whole team bringing this to life,” the author wrote on Facebook in November. “Cannot wait. More coming soon!”NBC/Jamie McCarthy/NBC via Getty ImagesDakota Johnson Is Portraying Lowen AshleighMore news did come soon, and fans were fifty shades of tickled pink to find out in December 2024 that Dakota Johnson was joining the cast as Lowen Ashleigh.Like Anne, Dakota is also a producer on the film. In fact, the actress has a book club inspired by her pursuit for quality content for her production company TeaTime Pictures.
“There are a lot of people who do things like I do and they have book clubs, and I was always like, Oh, the way that I read books, it’s so different,” she told Bustle in March 2024. “I want to fall down the rabbit hole every time I read… to invest in the book, invest in the language, invest in the references.”Lia Toby/Getty ImagesJosh Hartnett Is Cast as Jeremy CrawfordAt the same time as Dakota’s cast announcement, producers revealed that Josh Hartnett would be taking on the role of Jeremy Crawford.Like his costars, the Black Hawk Down actor has stayed tight-lipped on Verity. However, he was seen filming with Anne in February.After the three main stars were revealed, Colleen shared how she felt about the cast, noting in a December Instagram post “excited is an understatement.”KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty ImagesMichael Showalter Is DirectingMichael Showalter is back in the director’s chair.According to Variety, the filmmaker is directing Verity and serving as a producer alongside Anne, Colleen, Dakota and others.Michael and Anne have worked together before, including on the 2024 film adaptation of The Idea of You.As for the writer, Variety noted the current Verity script is penned by Nick Antosca—who’s worked on TV shows like Candy and The Act—with previous versions written by Colleen and Lauren Levine, Hillary Seitz, Angela LaManna, as well as Will Honley and April Maguire.BACKGRIDFilming Has FinishedLights, camera, action!Josh and Anne were photographed filming Verity in Queens, New York in February 2025. For one scene, The Princess Diaries alum wore a high-neck, semi-sheer white dress that she accessorized with a matching belt, sunglasses and leopard-print heels. As for the Black Mirror alum, he donned a gray shirt underneath a navy suit along with a brown belt and coordinating shoes.Anne and Josh were also seen working on a scene in which they’re smiling and running as he’s sporting a white button-down shirt, black pants and a bow-tie and she’s holding his suit jacket (see the pic here).
In April 2025, Anne confirmed that filming finished.
The movie is slated to hit theaters Oct. 2, 2026.
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