TORONTO 鈥� These days, Amanda Seyfried isn鈥檛 one for playing it safe 鈥� even if she works in an industry that鈥檚 becoming allergic to risk.
So when Atom Egoyan offered her the lead in his psychological opera drama 鈥淪even Veils,鈥� she didn鈥檛 think twice about reuniting with the Canadian director for their second film since 2009鈥檚 erotic thriller 鈥淐hloe.鈥�
鈥淭his was such a complex role. And also, it was scary and challenging in a way that I'm always looking for,鈥� the 39-year-old says during a visit to Toronto last week.
鈥淚t鈥檚 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鈥檚 got to be worthy of my time.鈥�
Asked why she thinks projects like 鈥淪even Veils鈥� are rarer to come by, Seyfried replies bluntly: 鈥淪tudios are afraid.鈥�
The film stars Seyfried as Toronto-based theatre director Jeanine, who鈥檚 asked to helm a restaging of Richard Strauss鈥� 鈥淪alome,鈥� 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 鈥淪even Veils鈥� 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.
鈥淚 thought it was going to be pretty straightforward to make, but then once the train leaves the station, you go, 鈥極K. This is actually very challenging,'鈥� 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鈥檚 schedule proved to be a 鈥渞eally expensive鈥� logistical headache, he says, noting there were multiple hurdles along the way 鈥� 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 鈥淢ean Girls,鈥� was generous with expletives while sharing a lively rapport with Egoyan.
鈥淚t's really important to make these movies and to get people to help you make these movies," says Seyfried.
"I鈥檝e 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鈥檚 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.鈥�
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 鈥渢here are audiences鈥� for his style of cerebral indie dramas but suggests the entertainment landscape has become 鈥渟o splintered鈥� that funders are more cautious of market trends, "and so that dictates a budget.鈥�
He credits a 鈥渟crappy鈥� team and 鈥渁 visionary producer鈥� in Rhombus founder Niv Fichman with helping bring the project to life.
Fichman was also on the COC鈥檚 board in the '90s and recommended Egoyan to direct the 1996 version of 鈥淪alome.鈥� Coming off the heels of his 1994 sexual obsession drama 鈥淓xotica,鈥� 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 鈥淪alome鈥� in 2023, he wanted to see a female director take the helm 鈥� 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.
鈥淪even Veils鈥� is distributed by Elevation Pictures in Canada, and XYZ Films and Variance Films in the United States. Egoyan says it鈥檚 taking longer for indie dramas to find distribution in an era where streaming services have changed how films are measured for success.
鈥淪treaming services are about algorithms, and they know exactly how many people will watch this type of thing,鈥� he says, which makes it harder for certain films to find their place.
Still, he points to the success of 鈥淭he Brutalist鈥� and recent Oscars sensation 鈥淎nora鈥� as proof that indie dramas can break through.
Seyfried says she鈥檚 most drawn to 鈥渟crappy,鈥� demanding roles at this point in her career. After her Oscar-nominated performance in 2021 crime drama 鈥淢ank,鈥� she stars in Crave鈥檚 opioid-crisis series 鈥淟ong Bright River,鈥� premiering this month, and will play the lead in Mona Fastvold鈥檚 upcoming religious historical drama 鈥淎nn Lee.鈥�
鈥淚 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,鈥� she says.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 5, 2025.
Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press
