Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson Improvised 'Verity' Makeout Scene, Reveals Film's Director: 'We Needed Some Stuff to Happen'

Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson took things to another level in their latest film, Verity, making one of their scenes even steamier than it is portrayed in the book.

In their upcoming film, Hathaway and Johnson enhanced some of their scenes, according to Michael Showalter, the film’s director. “It started with ‘we need some s--- stuff to happen,’” he told Variety in a recent interview.

“In the book, she’s looking at the picture of Harper, has the conversation with Jeremy (played by Josh Hartnett), she talks about how great he was, and they have this intimate hug moment that I thought had the potential to be something very sexually charged," he continued. “And it’s just a hug, but it’s between two people who are in such strange contexts and who desperately need to be hugged. What’s interesting is, Lowen (Johnson’s character) is turned on. She’s hugging him in his profound moment of grief that then turns erotic, and where do you put that energy?”

Showalter said Hathaway, who plays Verity, and Johnson improvised the scene by adding the steamy kiss that is seen in the movie’s trailer.

Showalter explained how the scene came to be. “It really evolved into Anne and Dakota saying, ‘What if while she’s making out with him, it turns into [Anne]?’ And me going, ‘If you want to do that, yeah,’ he said.

He continued, “And I thought there was something very s---, erotic about Dakota being like, ‘I’m just going to sit on your lap and start kissing you.’ She sees Jeremy and just goes there, and that felt like the beginning of something that felt transgressive. She took this thing that she wants, and he’s there for it.”

Colleen Hoover shared that she was initially nervous about the scene in the movie, which was adapted from her best-selling thriller.

“It wasn’t in the book, and I didn’t know how it was going to play out or how it was going to fit in,” she said.

Hoover later admitted that the scene was one of her favorites.

She added, “I was relieved. As an author, when they add or take out something, you hope it works, and luckily it did.”

The book Verity follows the story of Lowen, a struggling writer on the verge of financial ruin. She then lands a huge opportunity to finish a series by the best-selling author Verity Crawford. However, the story takes a turn when Lowen begins to uncover some secrets that can change everything.

The film will be released in theaters on October 2.