Sydney Sweeney Learned A Crucial Lesson While Making Anyone But You [SXSW 2024]
If superhero movie enthusiasts are feeling a little bummed out about the genre's recent downturn in popularity, they can comfort in knowing that, as a wise woman once wrote, "Today is where your book begins; the rest is still unwritten." That particular singer and songwriter, Natasha Bedingfield, would know what's she talking about, too, having recently enjoyed a return to the spotlight thanks to her breakthrough hit, "Unwritten," being prominently featured in last year's surprise box office champion, "Anyone But You."
A loose retelling of William Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing," the Sydney Sweeney-Glen Powell vehicle is a throwback to Hollywood's pre-superhero renaissance days in more ways than one. Part fizzy rom-com and part R-rated sex farce (it's genuinely impressive how many flimsy excuses this film comes up with for its absurdly good-looking cast to take their clothes off), "Anyone But You" also marks a return to the '90s and early '00s trend of reimagining The Bard's works in a modern setting. It's as unlikely a commercial success as they come in the age of sexless tentpoles, which is exactly why Sweeney was eager to spearhead the project as both a star and producer.
"'Anyone But You' was such an incredible experience, from the beginning when I hired [director] Will [Gluck] and I hired Glen [Powell] and we sold it to Sony," said Sweeney, speaking at a South by Southwest (SXSW) panel attended by /Film's Ryan Scott. "It was always — I wanted to bring back those early 2000s rom-coms where people went and they left wanting to fall in love. And they left wanting to sing and dance in the rain and have big, romantic gestures." By the sound of it, the film's popularity has only encouraged Sweeney to approach her work with equal aplomb going forward.
Sydney Sweeney is our new genre queen
If you missed her breakout roles on HBO's "Euphoria" and "The White Lotus," then you may want to pencil in a reminder to keep your eye out for future Sydney Sweeney ventures. The young actor-producer is quickly making a name for herself as a new genre queen, between anchoring "Anyone But You" and reuniting with her longtime director Michael Mohan for what promises to be a pretty gonzo ride on the horror film "Immaculate." She's even managed to brush off the utter failure of "Madame Web" thanks to a little self-deprecation during her recent hosting stint on "Saturday Night Live."
By the sound of it, Sweeney has already learned some crucial lessons from everything she's done, whether it flew high or fell harder than Sony's latest failed attempt to build a cinematic universe out of B-list and C-list "Spider-Man" characters. With "Anyone But You" specifically, she's come to appreciate the importance of never half-assing anything. As she told the SXSW crowd:
"I didn't want to look at the rom-com as something small. I wanted to have big set pieces, and Will did such an incredible job at really amping up those set pieces in this film. I think that by creating an environment on set where we truly had so much fun and we just shared in all of that love and excitement while we were filming, the audience felt that on screen. I hope that I can create more projects where you feel that love, you feel that energy and the audience can walk away wanting that as well."
Judging by the early buzz around "Immaculate" (which premiered at SXSW), she's already put that lesson into motion. You can check out Sweeney's nunsploitation flick for yourself when it opens in theaters on March 22, 2024.