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Posted in: Lionsgate, Movies | Tagged: lionsgate, paul feig, the housemaid
The Housemaid Director Says He Wanted to Trick Fans
Paul Feig explains how he tried to twist The Housemaid’s story so that even book readers “almost kind of forgot the book for a while.”
Article Summary
- Director Paul Feig aimed to mislead both book fans and newcomers with fresh twists in The Housemaid film.
- The movie adapts Freida McFadden's bestselling thriller, focusing on suspense and shifting character dynamics.
- Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried star in a tense story blending loyalty, secrets, and psychological suspense.
- The film covers only the first book, leaving fans eager for future adaptations of the Housemaid trilogy.
The Housemaid is Paul Feig's latest thriller, and while it enlists an attention-grabbing pairing in Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried, it really owes its existence to the book that came first. When it originally hit shelves in 2022, Freida McFadden's best-selling novel, The Housemaid, quickly became a breakout, with critics and readers enjoying its twisty plotting and slow unraveling of its characters. And now that the movie adaptation is finally in theaters, viewers are getting the chance to see how much Feig leans into that energy while still incorporating his own style.
However, that specific mix of fans who know every beat of the book and newcomers who go in blind gave Feig a specific challenge.
Paul Feig on Trying to Tackle The Housemaid Plot for Pre-Existing Fans
Talking to Screen Rant about bringing the story to the screen, he explained that one of his main goals was to keep everyone guessing, including people who already know its core secrets. "What was really fun, too, is trying to fool the audience so much that the book readers kind of forget what the plot is, and I think people get so involved in the first hour of what they think they're rooting for, that it's really fun. I've had book readers say, 'I almost kind of forgot the book for a while.'"
On screen, The Housemaid follows Millie Calloway, an ex-con who takes a live-in job with the wealthy Winchester family in Long Island. Early on, Nina Winchester seems like the unhinged, manipulative wife, while Andrew feels like the reasonable husband, and Millie appears to be the outsider simply trying to get by. Though, as the days go on, shifting power dynamics start to peel back what is really happening inside the house.
Still, the film only tackles the first chapter of McFadden's trilogy, leaving The Housemaid's Secret and The Housemaid Is Watching on the table, with Millie basically stepping into a different phase of her life. And considering that Feig is invested in making the story feel both familiar and fresh, we're definitely intrigued by the prospect of seeing how he reinvents the next chapters of Millie's story.
The Housemaid is in theaters now.
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