The funniest man you know is directing the twistiest, darkest movie of the year

Dylan StablefordFri, October 2, 2026 at 12:53 PM UTC

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At the U.K. premiere of Verity in London last month, director Michael Showalter said it was a “lifelong dream” to make an erotic psychological thriller.

“It's a dream come true for me to direct a film like this,” Showalter said on the red carpet. “I've always loved the thriller, the erotic thriller, the psychological thriller.”

That may sound strange coming from someone who began his career in a comedy troupe that became The State, MTV’s short-lived 1990s cult sketch comedy series; hosted The Michael Showalter Showalter, a satirical talk show on CollegeHumor.com; and released a stand-up album called Sandwiches & Cats.

But for those who have followed Showalter’s rather unusual path to becoming a Hollywood director, to see him now helming a major motion picture starring Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett is actually not too surprising.

Michael Showalter in a sketch from MTV's "The State."

For one thing, Showalter worked with Hathaway on The Idea of You, a 2024 romantic comedy-drama that he directed.

“She’s a true artist; she gives 10,000 percent of herself to her work, and she’s a wonderful human being,” Showalter said of Hathaway in an interview with the Credits. “But I love working with her because of what she brings creatively. She has a million ideas, so much passion, and as a director, that’s more than you could ever ask for. She is constantly trying to find ways to make her character more interesting and complicated; she’s totally fearless and completely committed. Any opportunity I can get to work with her, I will always take.”

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But Showalter has worked with plenty of other A-listers too.

The Eyes of Tammy Faye:He directed Jessica Chastain and Andrew Garfield in this 2021 biographical drama that chronicles the rise and fall of televangelists Tammy Faye Bakker and Jim Bakker. Chastain won an Oscar for her portrayal of Tammy Faye.

The Dropout: He also directed the 2022 Hulu miniseries about the rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes starring Amanda Seyfried, who won an Emmy Award for her portrayal of the disgraced Theranos founder. The show earned Showalter two Emmy nominations.

The Baxter: Showalter made his directorial debut in 2005 with this Brooklyn-set rom-com in which he starred alongside Elizabeth Banks, Michelle Williams and Justin Theroux, who plays his fiancée’s old boyfriend who returns to her life just before their wedding.

Hello, My Name is Doris: In 2015, he directed Sally Field in a coming-of-age romantic comedy that drew critical praise, especially for Field. “She’s funny, she’s fragile, she’s fierce, she’s incedibly lovable,” Showalter said of Field’s performance. “And I think Sally encapsulates all of what we see in this character.”

The Big Sick: In 2017, Showalter was again behind the camera for The Big Sick, another rom-com-dram, which earned an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay for writers Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon, and won the Critics Choice award for Best Comedy.

Wet Hot American Summer: Showalter’s first brush with Hollywood success was with a 2001 ensemble comedy he cowrote and starred in alongside Paul Rudd, Amy Poehler, Bradley Cooper (in his big screen debut), Molly Shannon, Elizabeth Banks and other former members of The State.

For Verity, which was adapted from Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel of the same name, Showalter said he was inspired by old Alfred Hitchcock movies and ‘80s and ‘90s erotic thrillers, including Fatal Attraction, Basic Instinct, Body Double and Jagged Edge.

“Jagged Edge is one of the movies that inspired me,” he told the Credits. “I don’t think that’s a movie a lot of people know now. One thing I love about Jagged Edge is how glamorous it is. The actors are so good-looking, the clothes are so nice, and the locations are so gorgeous. Hitchcock’s Hollywood films in the 1950s also have a sense of glamour. They felt incredibly aspirational and escapist.”

Anne Hathaway and Josh Hartnett in a scene from "Verity."

Showalter said he was also inspired by Hoover’s book, which he described as “twisted, dirty, and a little kinky” — elements he wanted to bring back to the big screen.

“I think that, for whatever reason, that primal sexuality you saw in those movies where there’s carnal attraction — that deep, primal thing that you see in an erotic thriller — for a time was at odds with some of the things going on culturally,” Showalter told Variety. “And maybe, for whatever reason, people are open to it again in a way that they hadn’t been for a while.”

Verity will be released in theaters on Oct. 2.

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”