Taylor Swift Fans Still Can't Get Over Her Most Controversial Movie Decision
Taylor Alison Swift is many things: a record-breaking and highly decorated singer-songwriter, the owner of her own record label, a clever businesswoman, and a self-professed "cat mom." However, it can be argued that, despite a few on-screen appearances, she's not the world's strongest actress; in fact, Swift prefers to step behind the camera as a director, even inking a deal with Searchlight Pictures to write and direct a future feature film. Despite all of this, she ended up in David O. Russell's film "Amsterdam" alongside huge stars like Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, Anya Taylor-Joy, Robert De Niro, Mike Myers, and many, many more.
To be clear, Swift's role in "Amsterdam" is short and... swift. (Sorry.) She briefly plays Elizabeth Meekins, daughter of the presumably murdered U.S. Army general Bill Meekins, who seems to know something but is afraid to speak to anyone about whatever that something may be. In a relatively early scene, she's questioned by veteran Dr. Burt Berendsen (Bale) and fellow veteran and lawyer Harold Woodman (John David Washington) ... before hitman Tarim Milfax (Timothy Olyphant) quickly shoves her in front of a moving car and she's squished to death.
Swifties, for their part, can't quite figure out why their idol would even agree to a project like "Amsterdam" in the first place — and they have a lot of thoughts about the matter.
Fans can't believe that Taylor Swift agreed to be in Amsterdam
On a Reddit thread about Taylor Swift's role as Elizabeth Meekins, fans expressed their absolute shock that the songstress agreed to this particular appearance. Not only does she die pretty early into the movie, but the scene itself is utterly ridiculous, complete with stiff dialogue about how nobody is safe before Elizabeth is unceremoniously flattened by a motor vehicle.
As u/storminthedark put it, "I can't fathom why she wanted to be a part of this film." u/mosharef7 agreed, writing, "It's the weirdest thing she ever did." u/leileywow made a fair point, responding, "The Cats movie would like a word with you," though many on the thread then argued that, at the very least, Swift co-wrote an original song for the much-maligned 2019 "Cats" adaptation alongside original scribe Andrew Lloyd Webber. "Cats" is a terrible movie, but it feels like it was a passion project for Swift on some level. So why did she agree to "Amsterdam?"
u/NeonLotus11 asked perhaps the most important question, though: "I am again wondering why she was willing to work with a sexual predator just to be in a movie for a few seconds ... of everyone involved in this movie, it really seems least worth it for her." The user referred to the accusations against director David O. Russell, who, aside from being notoriously difficult, has been accused of sexual impropriety by his niece.
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
Taylor Swift's stuntwoman on Amsterdam revealed just how this scene came to life
There's no question that Taylor Swift's big moment is a little ridiculous — and eminently meme-able — but a lot of work went into the stunt. In a Vanity Fair piece about how the scene came to be, the outlet spoke to Kelly Richardson, Swift's stunt double ... who, somewhat appropriately, also worked as a stunt double for Swift's close friend Blake Lively on her oceanic thriller "The Shallows."
Apparently, Swift couldn't find time in her busy schedule to prep for the scene on-set, so production had to make do without her presence until they were set to film — and Richardson made the most of the time she had to do some research. The stunt double said she "observed how [Swift] moved, carried herself, walked, ran, and gestured," and that the performers had to consider that "Amsterdam" is a period piece that accurately reflects the era's culture in many ways.
Richardson also said that though she "cannot give away trade secrets about how exactly that stunt was created and executed," she clarified that Russell and his creative team "planned a very specific camera move to accompany the action, so the stunt was designed to work in concert with the camera move to achieve the desired result." The stunt has a silly premise, but it looks solid, thanks to Richardson's work.
Taylor Swift will simply have to conquer cinema in a different way
Between appearances in duds like "Amsterdam," "Cats," and the utterly ridiculous ensemble film "Valentine's Day," Taylor Swift doesn't have the strongest track record when it comes to her acting projects ... so the highly ambitious performer will just have to take over the movie industry in a different way. Swift made her mark on Hollywood when it came time to release the filmed version of her record-smashing Eras Tour, and in the midst of the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, she spoke to SAG's top brass directly and worked with movie theater chains on her own to engineer the movie's release on her own terms. As of this writing, the film's pre-sales exceeded $100 million, and there's no question that the film will perform exceedingly well when it hits theaters on October 13.
There's also Swift's film deal with Searchlight, which comes on the heels of her acclaimed short film "All Too Well." After re-releasing her 2012 album "Red" in 2021, Swift worked with actors Dylan O'Brien and Sadie Sink to craft a short film around the narrative of the then-long-awaited 10-minute version of "All Too Well," and she's actually been directing her own music videos for years. Swift is obviously comfortable on stage and behind the camera ... so she'll definitely thrive if she plays to her strengths, rumored "Deadpool 3" cameo notwithstanding.