Tag: Victorian

Margaret Qualley is working on her British accent in preparation for the psychological thriller Victorian Psycho

Margaret Qualley has worked with the likes of Shane Black (The Nice Guys), Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things and Kinds of Kindness), and Ethan Cohen (Drive-Away Dolls), and she had a prominent role in Coralie Fargeat’s Oscar-nominated body horror film The Substance. She has more interesting collaborations ahead, as she has worked with Richard Linklater on the Lorenz Hart biopic Blue Moon (where she stars alongside Ethan Hawke), re-teamed with Ethan Cohen for Honey Don’t!, where she co-stars with Chris Evans, Aubrey Plaza, Charlie Day, Billy Eichner, and Talia Ryder (Qualley plays a private investigator looking into a cult led by Evans), and will be working with Sanctuary director Zachary Wigon again on the psychological horror thriller Victorian Psycho. The Wigon film will be heading into production soon, and during an interview with IndieWire, Qualley confirmed that she’s working on her British accent.

Wigon will be directing the film from a screenplay written by author Virginia Feito (Mrs. March), based on her upcoming novel of the same name. Victorian Psycho has the following synopsis: In 1858, a young, eccentric governess named Winifred Notty (Margaret Qualley) arrives at the remote gothic manor known as Ensor House. Winifred’s responsibilities include teaching the children table manners and educating them about their family’s history, all whilst hiding her psychopathic tendencies. As Winifred assimilates into life at Ensor House, staff members begin to inexplicably disappear, and the owners of the estate begin to wonder if there is something amiss about their new governess. Thomasin McKenzie, whose previous credits include Old and Last Night in Soho, will be playing a nursemaid at Ensor House who befriends the eccentric new Governess.

The film is being produced by Dan Kagan under his Traffic. banner, along with Wigon and Sebastien Raybaud, in association with Anonymous Content. Nick Shumaker and Bard Dorros serve as executive producers. Anton is providing the funding and representing international rights, launching sales at the upcoming American Film Market. U.S. rights are co-represented by Anton, UTA Independent Film Group, and CAA Media Finance. A24 has acquired the domestic distribution rights.

When this project was first announced, Wigon provided the following statement: “As soon as I discovered this thoroughly insane and unforgettable character, I knew I had to introduce moviegoers to Winifred Notty. I am beyond thrilled that the utterly fearless Margaret Qualley will be bringing this complex antihero to vivid life. Virginia Feito’s screenplay is an audacious blend of psychodrama, satire, gore and mystery. With horror aficionado producer Dan Kagan and the support of Anton and Anonymous, I cannot wait to make Victorian Psycho.” Kagan added, “From its first few pages to its terrifying ending, Victorian Psycho entirely delivered on its promise of being a ride like nothing I’d read before. I couldn’t be more excited to be bringing this movie to life with our partners at Anton and Anonymous.” And Qualley had this to say: “Working with Zach [Wigon] again feels like a rare gift, and I can’t wait to step into this twisted world he’s created.“

Speaking with IndieWire, Qualley said, “I’ve never done a British accent before, so that’s terrifying. I’ve been working on the accent, and my poor husband, I’ve limited our movies to only British accent movies. I read this book on the Victorian life and it was really interesting. It’s just kind of amazing how much we’ve evolved in such a short time period. And I’ve been wearing a corset around the house to get comfortable with that. It’s actually not as bad as you think if it fits well, and it’s kind of fun. I’m just trying to get used to moving a little bit differently.” Despite working with a lot of great directors, she isn’t planning to direct anything herself any time soon. “Richard Linklater inspired me to do more of what I do already. I don’t really have any big directing ambitions, but I really value directors and I feel like I am doing such a different thing than they are. I really like just love working with people that I feel like know more about movies than I do and learning from them.“

Are you looking forward to hearing Margaret Qualley try out a British accent in Victorian Psycho? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.