TORONTO — These days, Amanda Seyfried isn’t one for playing it safe — even if she works in an industry that’s becoming allergic to risk.
So when Atom Egoyan offered her the lead in his psychological opera drama “Seven Veils,” she didn’t think twice about reuniting with the Canadian director for their second film since 2009’s erotic thriller “Chloe.”
“This was such a complex role. And also, it was scary and challenging in a way that I'm always looking for,” the 39-year-old says during a visit to Toronto last week.
“It’s not easy to find projects like this. And if I'm going to be away from my family, it's got to make sense. It’s got to be worthy of my time.”
Asked why she thinks projects like “Seven Veils” are rarer to come by, Seyfried replies bluntly: “Studios are afraid.”
The film stars Seyfried as Toronto-based theatre director Jeanine, who’s asked to helm a restaging of Richard Strauss’ “Salome,” an opera once brought to life by her late mentor and lover. As she delves into the production, she begins to confront lingering scars left by her mentor, as well as her father, which influences her creative vision.
The film is imbued with exceptional realism thanks to Egoyan's deep access to an actual Canadian Opera Company production of "Salome" that he directed in 2023.
Egoyan says he initially envisioned “Seven Veils” as a smaller project but embraced the chance to involve an actual working company. The COC allowed his film access to the set, cast and orchestra at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, where the real "Salome" was mounted.
“I thought it was going to be pretty straightforward to make, but then once the train leaves the station, you go, ‘OK. This is actually very challenging,'” Egoyan says of the 19-day shoot, which also cast COC singers including Ambur Braid, Michael Schade and Michael Kupfer-Radecky.
Shooting around the opera’s schedule proved to be a “really expensive” logistical headache, he says, noting there were multiple hurdles along the way — from securing financing to finding U.S. distribution. Although it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2023, "Seven Veils" is only hitting theatres Friday.
Seyfried, who broke out in 2004 for playing a ditzy blond in the teen comedy “Mean Girls,” was generous with expletives while sharing a lively rapport with Egoyan.
“It's really important to make these movies and to get people to help you make these movies," says Seyfried.
"I’ve been telling you, Atom, that people trust you. They want you to make movies. They want you to tell your story with your voice, your style, because you are a master of that," she says, turning to the director.
"And yet, it’s harder to make movies. It's harder to get funding for movies, even if you're doing it in Toronto, in your home city, with your friends.”
The film was made for $9 million and produced by Rhombus Media and Egoyan's Ego Film Arts, with additional funding from Telefilm Canada and Ontario Creates.
Egoyan says he knows “there are audiences” for his style of cerebral indie dramas but suggests the entertainment landscape has become “so splintered” that funders are more cautious of market trends, "and so that dictates a budget.”
He credits a “scrappy” team and “a visionary producer” in Rhombus founder Niv Fichman with helping bring the project to life.
Fichman was also on the COC’s board in the '90s and recommended Egoyan to direct the 1996 version of “Salome.” Coming off the heels of his 1994 sexual obsession drama “Exotica,” Egoyan seemed a natural fit for the job.
The opera tells the story of Jewish princess Salome, who becomes increasingly infatuated with John the Baptist and requests his beheading when he rejects her. Egoyan says when the COC revisited “Salome” in 2023, he wanted to see a female director take the helm — an idea he explores in his film.
"If you can't change the actual production, you can create an imaginary space where you do. So you create a character that wants to change the production," he says.
"Wouldn't it be great to see what a woman would do with that role?"
"I would have had Salome behead him herself," adds Seyfried.
“Seven Veils” is distributed by Elevation Pictures in Canada, and XYZ Films and Variance Films in the United States. Egoyan says it’s taking longer for indie dramas to find distribution in an era where streaming services have changed how films are measured for success.
“Streaming services are about algorithms, and they know exactly how many people will watch this type of thing,” he says, which makes it harder for certain films to find their place.
Still, he points to the success of “The Brutalist” and recent Oscars sensation “Anora” as proof that indie dramas can break through.
Seyfried says she’s most drawn to “scrappy,” demanding roles at this point in her career. After her Oscar-nominated performance in 2021 crime drama “Mank,” she stars in Crave’s opioid-crisis series “Long Bright River,” premiering this month, and will play the lead in Mona Fastvold’s upcoming religious historical drama “Ann Lee.”
“I feel way more fulfilled in my life now because I'm making choices based on what really moves me, as opposed to making choices just to keep up momentum or whatever it is that we delude ourselves into thinking matters,” she says.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 5, 2025.
Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press
