Sydney Sweeney joined director Paul Feig and her fellow The Housemaid co-stars at CinemaCon to share the tense first footage.
Amanda Seyfried and Brandon Sklenar also hit the stage for the Lionsgate presentation Tuesday to promote the psychological thriller. Hitting theaters on Christmas Day, the feature has a script from Rebecca Sonnenshine that adapts the 2022 best-selling novel from author Freida McFadden.
“Tension and scares and comedy are so wrapped together,” Feig explained about why he was drawn to a thriller despite being known for films with laughs. “It was a dream come true.”
Sweeney added that she was a big fan of the source material. “I’m a big book lover — I love reading books,” the star said. “I could not put it down. I ended up reading all three in one week.” She added about the film that recently wrapped, “There’s characters that are flawed, and they are messy.”
Seyfried emphasized how much she enjoyed filming the project and noted, “It’s gonna go to theaters — thank God.”
For his part, Sklenar said, “We just took everything to a whole other level. Andrew is pretty fucking unhinged. He’s a bit more of a force than he is in the book, I’d say.”
The Housemaid centers on Millie (Sweeney), who lands a job as a housemaid to wealthy couple Nina (Seyfried) and Andrew (Sklenar) before learning that the pair hide dangerous secrets.
Producers include Todd Lieberman for Hidden Pictures, alongside Feig and Laura Fischer for Feigco. Serving as executive producers are Sweeney, Seyfried, McFadden and Alex Young.
“I’m thrilled to have The Housemaid join our upcoming slate,” Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chair Adam Fogelson previously said in a statement from last year. “A great filmmaker and a great cast with a great script from a great book is a terrific place to start. My prior work experiences with Paul and Amanda have been nothing short of spectacular, and Sydney is as talented and compelling as can be.”
CinemaCon is the annual event for exhibitors and Hollywood studios that runs this year from March 31 to April 3. It is presented by Cinema United (formerly the National Association of Theater Owners).