The two stars are coming together for the first time in an adaptation of Joan Didion's novel.
Anne Hathaway and Ben Affleck are coming together for the first time in the new Netflix political thriller, The Last Thing He Wanted. The streaming platform debuted the first trailer for Dee Rees’ adaptation of the Joan Didion novel about various characters caught up in the Iran-Contra scandal.
In the film, Hathaway plays a veteran Washington, D.C. journalist, Elena McMahon, who abandons the 1984 campaign trailer for her father, Dick (Willem Dafoe). She’s soon guilted into running a fool’s errand on his behalf, which finds her at the center of the very thing she’s trying to expose. Affleck plays the mysterious Treat Morrison, whose presence may mean more problems than answers. Rounding out the cast are Rosie Perez, Edi Gathegi, Mel Rodriguez, Onata Aprile and Toby Jones.
In September, the 36-year-old actress revealed the surprising request Rees made ahead of filming the movie. In order to get into the character of Elena McMahon, Rees suggested Hathaway gain 20 pounds.
"At 16 years old, it was 'Congratulations, you have the part. I’m not saying you need to lose weight. I’m just saying don’t gain weight.' Which of course means you need to lose weight," Hathaway recalled, before sharing another way body positivity was encouraged on set.
"So I had that, then 20 years later I have Ane Crabtree [the costume designer for The Last Thing He Wanted] asking me what my body does on my moon -- which I realized meant my period -- so she can make adjustments for me," Hathaway said. "It was just this beautiful thing."
The project is also Hathaway’s first film of 2020, coming out ahead of the anticipated remake of The Witches. Affleck, meanwhile, has a busy year ahead with The Way Back coming in March and Deep Water set to hit theaters in November.
The Last Thing He Wanted will make its world premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 27 before debuting on the platform on Feb. 21.
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