Glendale Goes Hollywood: Behind the Scenes of "Verity" Filming at Broadway Stages

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The film adaptation of Colleen Hoover's popular psychological thriller "Verity" recently wrapped production at our Glendale facility in Queens. Oscar winner Anne Hathaway plays the titular Verity Crawford, a bestselling novelist who is convalescing after a debilitating accident.

Who Else Is in "Verity"?

Josh Hartnett plays Verity's husband, Jeremy, who hires ghostwriter Lowen Ashleigh to finish Verity's popular series of novels, as she cannot complete the series herself due to her injuries. Rounding out the cast is Dakota Johnson as Lowen, who moves in with the Crawfords and uncovers evidence suggesting that the famed novelist is hiding deep and disturbing secrets from her husband. Adding another complication, Lowen and Jeremy quickly find their professional relationship tested by their mutual attraction to one another.

Ismael Cruz Cordova ("The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power") will play Corey, Lowen's literary agent and ex, and Brady Wagner (Broadway's "Merrily We Roll Along") has been cast as Crew Crawford, the young son of Verity and Jeremy. Irina Dvorovenko ("The Americans"), Lou Martini Jr. ("The Sopranos"), Michael Abbott Jr. ("Killers of the Flower Moon"), and K.K. Moggie ("Gotham Knights") will appear in yet to be disclosed roles.

Actor-turned-director Michael Showalter is in the director's chair. He is best known for his work on several popular dramedies based on true stories, including "The Big Sick" (2017), "The Eyes of Tammy Faye" (2021), and "Spoiler Alert" (2022). He has also directed other well-received films like "Hello, My Name Is Doris" (2016) starring Sally Field and "The Idea of You" (2024) starring Hathaway. As a comedic actor and writer, he was part of the comedy troupe "The State," which had a sketch comedy series on MTV in the mid-1990s. He also starred in and co-wrote "Wet Hot American Summer" (2001), an absurdist summer camp comedy that has developed a large cult following over the last two decades.

The script for "Verity" is a product of Nick Antosca, who is known for co-writing the supernatural horror films "The Forest" (2016) and "Antlers" (2021). He has also penned episodes of numerous shows in the horror and true crime genres. Antosca wrote several episodes of NBC's "Hannibal" (2013-2015) and created the horror anthology show "Channel Zero" (2016-2018) for Syfy as well as the horror miniseries "Brand New Cherry Flavor" (2021) for Netflix. In the true crime space, he created several limited series, including "The Act" (2019) for Hulu, "A Friend of the Family" (2022) for Peacock, and "Candy" (2022) for Hulu. His next major project is "Cape Fear," a small-screen adaptation of the novel "The Executioners," by John D. MacDonald, which served as the basis for both the 1962 and 1991 "Cape Fear" films.

Throughout the film shoot earlier this year, the cast of "Verity" was regularly spotted in Queens, particularly in the Glendale neighborhood where Broadway Stages has a facility with more than a dozen soundstages. The just-released limited series "The Better Sister" also utilized our Glendale facility, and HBO's popular drama "The Gilded Age" regularly uses that facility.

What Other Adaptations of Hoover Novels Are in the Works?

Last year's hit film "It Ends With Us" was the first of Hoover's novels to hit the big screen. Based on her hugely popular novel of 2016, the film made more than $350 million at the worldwide box office on a budget of about $25 million. Her 2015 novel "Confess" was adapted into a seven-episode drama series that aired on the now defunct streaming service Go90 in 2017.

Over the next 12 months, three of Hoover's novels will be receiving big screen treatments. An adaptation of her 2019 novel "Regretting You," starring Allison Williams ("Girls"), Mckenna Grace ("Ghostbusters: Afterlife"), and Dave Franco ("The Disaster Artist") will hit theaters in late October. Tyriq Withers ("Tell Me Lies") and Maika Monroe ("It Follows") will co-star in an adaptation of Hoover's 2022 novel "Reminders of Him," which will be released in February of next year. "Verity" is scheduled for release on May 15, 2026.

Since being self-published by Hoover in 2018, "Verity" has sold millions of copies and briefly topped The New York Times Best Seller’s List in 2022. The book description offers hints about what's to come in the film adaptation: "Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish. Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity's notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn't expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read. Page after page of bone-chilling admissions, including Verity's recollection of the night her family was forever altered."

Will Lowen share the manuscript with Jeremy? Or will she hide it away forever? And will Jeremy leave his ailing wife to be with Lowen? Check out "Verity" in theaters next May to find out.

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