Swifties, rejoice! Taylor Swift is set to make her feature directorial debut for Searchlight Pictures. The production company revealed that the 11-time Grammy winner will direct the mystery film project from an original script she wrote.
Searchlight, the Disney-owned company behind recent films The Banshees of Inisherin and The Menu, as well as enduring Oscar-winners Black Swan and Slumdog Millionaire, gushed about bringing Swift's talents in-house.
"Taylor is a once-in-a-generation artist and storyteller," Searchlight Presidents David Greenbaum and Matthew Greenfield said in a statement. "It is a genuine joy and privilege to collaborate with her as she embarks on this exciting and new creative journey."
While Swift is one of the most successful musical acts of all time, the singer-songwriter is no stranger to the director's chair. She's been helming her own music videos since 2008. (Remember the documentary-style video for "I'm Only Me When I'm with You"? Yeah, she directed that.)
Swift wrote and directed All Too Well: The Short Film, a 14-minute musical tragedy (ahem, opera) about two lovers slowly drifting apart. Based on Swift's song "All Too Well," the short film stars Stranger Things's Sadie Sink and Teen Wolf alum Dylan O'Brien.
All Too Well: The Short Film won Best Longform Video at the 2022 VMA Awards, making Swift only the second female artist ever to direct the winning video in that category. Swift is also the first artist ever to take home three VMA Video of the Year awards, with wins for All Too Well: The Short Film, 2019's "You Need to Calm Down" and 2015's "Bad Blood."
Swift's directorial prowess has earned the recognition of one Guillermo del Toro. The Oscar-winning writer-director gave a glowing rundown of his meeting with the singer to W Magazine:
"She's a very accomplished director, she's incredibly articulate and deep about what she's trying to do—and what she will do," said del Toro.
That's high praise from the best of the best.
Since All Too Well: The Short Film screened at both the Tribeca and Toronto film festivals, Swift has been on the press circuit promoting the project, which is eligible for best short film consideration at the 2023 Oscars in March. Swift recently shared a behind-the-scenes video on YouTube, in which the writer-director's process can be glimpsed in all its glory:
We could very well be saying, "Oscar winner Taylor Swift" in the near future...
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