How Anne Hathaway's Pop Star Drama “Mother Mary” Drew Inspiration from Taylor Swift
How Anne Hathaway's Pop Star Drama “Mother Mary” Drew Inspiration from Taylor Swift
Jack SmartTue, April 7, 2026 at 11:43 PM UTC
0
Anne Hathaway; Taylor SwiftCredit: a24; Thomas Niedermueller/TAS24/Getty -
Anne Hathaway plays a pop star making a comeback in writer-director David Lowery's new movie Mother Mary
Lowery said in a new interview that Taylor Swift, especially her 2018 concert film Reputation, inspired and informed the film
“I would often would be like, ‘Imagine Taylor Swift in ten or 15 years — that’s sort of who this character could be,’” the filmmaker explained
The inspiration behind Anne Hathaway's new film is none other than… ready for it? Taylor Swift.
Mother Mary (in select theaters April 17 and nationwide April 24) stars Hathaway, 43, as the titular character, a pop star embarking on a comeback tour. In a new interview with Empire magazine, writer-director David Lowery says he “definitely brought a lot of Taylor Swift to the table in terms of who Mother Mary was.”
“I would often would be like, ‘Imagine Taylor Swift in ten or 15 years — that’s sort of who this character could be,’” the filmmaker, 45, said of working with Hathaway. The two collaborators also ended up seeing Swift’s Eras Tour in Europe, he told the outlet.
“When we wrapped, Annie [Hathaway] gave me a Taylor Swift style beaded bracelet with ‘Anti-Hero’ on it,” said Lowery.
Anne Hathaway in 'Mother Mary'Credit: A24/YouTube
— sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Hathaway’s Mother Mary, per the movie’s official synopsis, “reunites with her estranged best friend and former costume designer Sam Anselm,” played by Michaela Coel. Lowery’s dark drama also stars Hunter Schafer, Atheena Frizzell, Kaia Gerber, Jessica Brown Findlay, Alba Baptista, Isaura Barbé-Brown, Sian Clifford and FKA Twigs.
Advertisement
Twigs, Jack Antonoff and Charli xcx also contributed original music to the film.
Swift, 36, provided more than just Mother Mary's character inspiration, as Lowery noted. The singer-songwriter’s 2018 “Reputation concert film is one of the best concert films ever. It's truly phenomenal. And for our concert sequences we looked at that repeatedly,” he told Empire.
Taylor Swift in 2018Credit: Christopher Polk/TAS18/Getty
“We took three songs from Reputation and broke it down, shot by shot, and looked at them like, ‘Okay, if we were doing these, how much would these shots cost to do in visual effects?’,” he said.
“We used that as a budgeting tool, because we didn't know how to wrap our heads around actually pulling off a stadium concert-show on a minimal budget. We were literally using Reputation as a guide.”
In short, Lowery added, “You would not believe the amount of time we were talking about Taylor.”
Mother Mary, in theaters April 17, is one of Hathaway’s many 2026 screen projects. She's also starring in the much-anticipated The Devil Wears Prada 2 (in theaters May 1), The Odyssey (in theaters July 17) and Verity (in theaters Oct. 2).
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
