TV & Movies
Glen Powell & Sydney Sweeney Embraced The Curse’s Spoof Of Their Rom-Com Promo
Powell’s reaction got flagged for “potentially sensitive content.”
When Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney filmed a clip to introduce the trailer for their upcoming rom-com, they apparently didn’t realize they’d be promoting Emma Stone and Nathan Fielder’s new black comedy series, too. And yet, just a day after their Anyone But You promo aired, they saw their intro repurposed for The Curse. Both actors soon reacted to the “situation,” sharing exactly how they feel about what went down.
The “Copied” Promo
Sony Pictures dropped the Anyone But Here trailer on Nov. 16. It begins with a 15-second intro in which Sweeney and Powell banter back-and-forth about whose movie it is, teasing their characters’ enemies-to-lovers dynamic. The next day, viewers saw almost the exact same scene play before the Curse trailer, but this time, it was Stone and Fielder in their places. Their parody didn’t try to hide its inspiration: She wore a pink top to match Sweeney’s, he donned a white polo shirt like Powell’s, and they even used a nearly identical blue backdrop.
IGN put the two promos together in one video, and the mash-up reveals very few differences in the actors’ lines. The biggest change is that Sweeney and Powell bicker over their “new movie,” while Stone and Fielder reference their “new show.”
Fielder, who co-created the series with Benny Safdie, took the joke further by posting a statement (created in the Notes app, of course) on Instagram that claimed he had “just been informed” about the “similarities” between the two introductory clips. “I want to be very clear - we shot this promo over six months ago,” he wrote, “and I am seriously concerned that the marketing team at Sony Pictures somehow saw our promo and copied it.”
A Joint Joke
Fielder’s satirical statement also jokingly claimed that it was “unfortunate” he, Stone, Powell, and Sweeney had “been put in this situation,” but in reality, people affiliated with both projects appear to be in on the joke. Anyone But Here director Will Gluck got in on the action by posting his own Notes statement that claimed they “did indeed steal the trailer launch idea.” Addressing the Curse team, he added, “I know words are hollow, but please in the holiday spirit, try to forgive our missteps.”
The Curse’s Nathan Fielder and Anyone But You’s Will Gluck released satirical statements about their projects’ nearly identical promo clips.
Sweeney showed her approval by dropping two face-with-tears-of-joy emojis in the comments of Fielder’s post sharing the Curse trailer. Meanwhile, Powell upped the ante. He replied to the trailer on X (formerly Twitter), writing, “@NathanFielder it doesn’t count unless you go the hole way…” Note the spelling of the word “hole”: He included a still from his film showing his bare backside — and ended up being flagged for “potentially sensitive content.”
In the end, the marketing stunt seems to be benefiting both projects. Dare we say the crossover could be this winter’s version of “Barbenheimer”? You can watch Anyone But You in theaters “soon,” according to the trailer, and then marathon The Curse, which has already started streaming on Showtime and Paramount+.
