Taylor Swift Will Write and Direct Her Own Feature Film
Taylor Swift is breaking into the film industry with a feature film of her own. So far, little is known about the project aside from the fact Swift wrote the original screenplay and plans to direct the film. The film will be produced by Searchlight Pictures.
Taylor Swift will direct a feature film
On Dec. 9, Variety reported Swift’s plans to jump into filmmaking. The singer has appeared in small roles in a handful of movies and previously directed some of her music videos including All Too Well: The Short Film.
According to Variety, Swift plans to make “her feature directorial debut with Searchlight Pictures. The singer, songwriter and director has written an original script, which will be produced by the Oscar-winning studio behind Nomadland and The Shape of Water.”
Searchlight Pictures presidents David Greenbaum and Matthew Greenfield released a statement to Variety about the news, saying, “Taylor is a once in a generation artist and storyteller. It is a genuine joy and privilege to collaborate with her as she embarks on this exciting and new creative journey.”
How Taylor Swift started directing
Swift co-directed her music videos for “Mine,” “Me!,” “You Need to Calm Down,” and “Lover.” With her music video for “The Man,” Swift took on the job of sole director.
She went on to direct the music videos for her songs “cardigan,” “willow,” “Anti-Hero,” and “Bejeweled.” She also directed the Disney+ concert film Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions.
Her most known work as a director is All Too Well: The Short Film starring Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brien. Swift released the short film in 2021 to accompany the release of her album Red (Taylor’s Version).
During Variety’s Directors on Directors series with Martin McDonagh, Swift explained that “The Man” music video is what kickstarted her interest in directing.
“I was writing my videos for years, and I had a video that was a very specific concept I had written, which was that I wanted to be prosthetically turned into a man and live my life as a man. And I wanted a female director to direct it,” Swift explained to McDonagh.
She continued, “And the few that I reached out to were fortunately booked. We like it when women work. So I was like, ‘I could do it, maybe.’ And when I did direct, I just thought, ‘This is actually more fulfilling than I ever could have imagined.’”
How fans reacted to the singer directing a movie
So far, reactions to Swift breaking into directing feature films have been mixed. Fans of the singer seem more open to the idea.
“I’m so excited for her and can’t wait to see what she’s crafted. My main hope is that it isn’t autobiographical or semi autobiographical. I hope it’s something new and organic for her to play around with,” one fan wrote on Reddit.
Another fan wrote on Reddit, “I think this will be really good for her! From what she’s talked about at film festivals, it seems like she’s really interested in films and is knowledgeable about the process behind directing and her peers…”
However, others seem critical of how Swift is going about directing.
“What would be great is directing films written by up and coming writers, stuff she can do for experience while they get the exposure,” one Reddit user wrote.
Another Reddit user wrote, “I wish she’d go to film school or get an mfa in creative writing, or at least take some classes. She has a lot of natural ability but no one ever seems to tell her when something is too cliched and lacking nuance…”
More information about Swift’s future feature film will be released at a later time.
