Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick to Star in a Film Made by the Director Behind 'Bridesmaids'

A recipe for success.

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Take a sprinkle of Anna Kendrick's wit, deadpan delivery of one-liners, and ability to make even the most normal situation awkward. Add a spoonful of Blake Lively's dramatic stares, contagious laugh, and self-deprecating humor. Finish with a slight dusting of film director Paul Feig, who is best known for directing the 2011 hit film Bridesmaids and 2016's Ghostbusters, both starring comedic royalty Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy.

Blake Lively

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What do you get? A Hollywood cinematographic phenomenon. (Probably.) That's our prediction anyway, given the news that Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively are reportedly in talks to star in Feig's upcoming thriller, A Simple Favor.

According to Deadline, the thriller is based on a book by American writer Darcey Bell, which is in the same vein of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train, and details a mommy blogger in a small town whose best friend suddenly vanishes.

Amazon describes the book as "a remarkable tale of psychological suspense—a clever and twisting free-fall of a ride filled with betrayals and reversals, twists and turns, secrets and revelations, love and loyalty, murder and revenge."

The film will reportedly be produced by Feig's producing partner Jessie Henderson and will start shooting in August in Toronto, three months before the release date of Kendrick's Pitch Perfect 3 (December 22) and a month before Lively's All I See Is You (September 17).

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Katie O'Malley

Katie O’Malley is the Deputy Digital Editor, at ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find her managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and social media content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals, implementing new digital strategies and compiling endless data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. Since joining in 2016, Katie has written features on everything from sex addiction, and the use of tear gas during protests to virtual cuddling, ‘friendship fade’ and access to contraception post Brexit. Her list of interviewees over the years include those with Oprah Winfrey, Benedict Cumberbatch, Reese Witherspoon, Emma Stone, Zoe Kravitz etc.