No Hard Feelings director says he wrote the role for Jennifer Lawrence

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Exclusive: Gene Stupnitsky speaks to Total Film about Jennifer Lawrence's starring role in No Hard Feelings

No Hard Feelings
(Image credit: Sony)

No Hard Feelings director Gene Stupnitsky wrote the role of Maddie specifically for Jennifer Lawrence.

"I didn’t know she would do it, but I wrote it for her," Stupnitsky tells Total Film magazine for its new issue – which is out on newsstands on May 25. "We thought it was interesting to make the character angry. There’s a rage in her that I don’t think she’s fully aware of, and the mask drops when she’s with Percy."

"The characters came from the circumstances," explains Stupnitsky. "Who is the woman who answers this ad? How desperate is she?"

Maddie is an Uber driver on the brink of losing her home and car, so it's safe to say she's pretty desperate. Percy's parents offer her a Buick Regal if she agrees to "date his brains out" and help him get out of his shell.

The cast includes Matthew Broderick as Percy's father, Lauren Benanti as Percy's mother, Natalie Morales, Scott MacArthur, Hasan Minha, Kyle Mooney, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach.

Check out our exclusive look at Lawrence in the new movie above, alongside Moss-Bachrach's character.

Stupnitsky previously told Entertainment Weekly that the idea stemmed from a real Craigslist sent to him by producers Marc Provissiero and Naomi Odenkirk. "I read it, and I thought, 'This is wild. Who is the woman that answers this ad?' And I thought, 'Oh, that'll be a great role for my friend Jennifer Lawrence."

No Hard Feelings is out in cinemas on June 23, 2023. This is just a snippet of our interview in the new issue of Total Film magazine, which features Christopher Nolan's epic Oppenheimer on the cover. The magazine hits shelves this Thursday, May 25. Check out the covers below:

Total Film cover

(Image credit: Total Film)

If you’re a fan of Total Film, why not subscribe so that you never miss an issue? You’ll get the magazine before it’s in shops, with exclusive subscriber-only covers (like the one pictured below). And with our latest offer you can get a free STM ChargeTree worth £69.99. Head to MagazinesDirect to find out more (Ts and Cs apply).

Total Film cover

(Image credit: TOTAL FILM)
Joel Harley
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