In the annals of near-miss casting stories, Emma Stone's name has just gained a new entry. The Oscar-winning actress, celebrated for her transformative performances in La La Land, Poor Things, and The Favourite, once auditioned for the role of Anita “Needy” Lesnicki in Jennifer's Body, the 2009 horror-comedy that has since earned a devoted cult following. The revelation comes from director Karyn Kusama and screenwriter Diablo Cody, who recently sat down with Variety to reflect on the film's casting journey and the remarkable pool of young talent that came through the door.
During the interview, Kusama and Cody recounted the auditions for Jennifer's Body, a film that would star Megan Fox as a demonically possessed high school cheerleader and Amanda Seyfried as her tone best friend, Needy. What stood out, they recalled, was the sheer number of now-famous actors who tried out for the part long before they became household names. “We auditioned so many amazing actors and actresses,” Kusama said. “I remember seeing a young Emma Stone, a young Lizzy Caplan.” Cody, too, remembered meeting Stone for the role. Amanda Bynes was also in the mix for Needy, but it was Seyfried who ultimately landed the part, and Kusama explained why she felt an instant connection.
A Career of Close Calls
Emma Stone's road to stardom has never been a straight line. Before her breakout in Superbad and her award-winning roles later on, she spent years attending auditions, some of which brought disappointment. The failed audition for the hit series Heroes even made her question her ambitions, as she later revealed. She was also considered for the title role in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, which eventually went to Mia Wasikowska. Stone was offered the chance to appear in 21 Jump Street alongside Jonah Hill, but she turned it down to make The Amazing Spider-Man. Likewise, she chose The Help over Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch.
Against that backdrop, her audition for Jennifer's Body seems just one more road not taken. The role of Needy is central to the film's emotional core: a studious, loyal teenager who must confront her best friend after Jennifer becomes possessed by a demon and embarks on a murderous rampage. It was a part that required a convincing transformation from awkwardness to fierce resolve, and it is now regarded as a key ingredient in the movie's lasting appeal.
'There Was Something Special About Amanda'
Kusama and Diablo Cody were, of course, the architects behind that unique tone. Cody had won an Academy Award for writing Juno, while Kusama had earned acclaim for directing Girlfight. Their collaboration on Jennifer's Body was an attempt to fuse horror, satire, and feminist commentary, but the casting process was far from easy. Because the story depends heavily on the chemistry between its two leads, they needed an actress who could hold her own against Megan Fox's undeniable screen magnetism.
“There was something special about Amanda,” Kusama told Variety. “In her audition, she had a kind of pure wonder at the world, and that came through in every part of her performance. As soon as I saw her, I thought, 'That's her!'” Seyfried, who had already appeared in Mean Girls and Veronica Mars, brought an authenticity that the filmmakers felt was essential. Emma Stone was just as talented, but at the time, her persona leaned harder into comedic roles, and the filmmakers ultimately wanted someone who could embody the emotional vulnerability that Needy's journey demands.
Lizzy Caplan, who is now widely recognized for her work in Masters of Sex and Now You See Me 2, was also notable in the room. But the film's creative team were unanimous in their decision to go with Seyfried, a choice that would shape the film's strange legacy.
A Film Before Its Time
When Jennifer's Body was released in 2009, it had the misfortune of being sold the wrong way. The studio's marketing concentrated on the same-sex kiss between Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried's characters, a desperate attempt to lure young men into theaters. The trailer and posters presented the movie as a sleazy teen horror outing rather than a sharp satire with darker feminist overtones. That disconnect affected its opening weekend, and the film ended its theatrical run with a modest $31.6 million worldwide on a budget of about $16 million.
For many years, Jennifer's Body was considered a critical failure, but a reevaluation began emerging slowly as audiences discovered it on home video and, later, on streaming. Female critics and viewers, in particular, now celebrate it as a prescient commentary on female friendship, predatory male behavior, and the objectification of women in media. The film's depiction of Jennifer as a monster created by violence, rather than as a villain by nature, has provided rich academic analysis.
Kusama has spoken openly about the film's initial reception, saying that it was misunderstood and that the marketing did not reflect her and Cody's intended vision. She has also acknowledged that the entertainment industry has changed significantly since then, with a growing appetite for genre movies that challenge traditional gender roles.
Stone's Turning Point in 2009
It is a strange twist of fate that Jennifer's Body and Emma Stone's own 2009 horror-comedy were both released within a short span of one another. Stone, who did not land Needy, went on to appear in Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and Paper Man, but it was her role as Wichita in Zombieland that captured audiences' imaginations. That film, which paired her with Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, and Abigail Breslin, received strong reviews and ended up grossing $102.4 million worldwide against a budget of $23.6 million.
The contrast in box office performance between Zombieland and Jennifer's Body seemed at the time like a clear statement about which movie had connected with viewers. Yet now, with the benefit of hindsight, the comparison feels different. While Zombieland remains a beloved, fun comic romp, Jennifer's Body has morphed into a touchstone of feminist horror, often cited alongside genre-changing works like The Descent and Raw.
Emma Stone, meanwhile, continued to refine her craft. She earned two Academy Award nominations in 2015 and 2017, winning Best Actress for her portrayal of Mia Dolan in La La Land. She played Cruella de Vil in the two Disney live-action films, and in 2023 she delivered a career-defining performance in Poor Things under director Yorgos Lanthimos, which earned her a second Oscar. Her career is often cited as one of the most versatile of her generation, and it is intriguing to wonder how she might have handled the complexities of Needy in Jennifer's Body.
The idea of Emma Stone in that role is not entirely far-fetched, especially when looking at her later work. In The Help, she played a young journalist who challenges racial segregation in the 1960s; in Battle of the Sexes, she embodied tennis champion Billie Jean King with a quiet fury. Stone has a knack for building characters that feel fully emotionally alive, a quality that could have served well in the horror genre. Still, it is difficult to imagine anyone other than Amanda Seyfried in the part now, because she owns it so completely.
Audition stories like this are a matter of serendipity. Kusama and Cody could have chosen Stone or Caplan or Bynes, but they did not. Instead, they cast Seyfried, who went on to become a prolific actress in plenty of memorable films. Stone took another route to fame, but she and Seyfried both attended Golden Globe afterparties and eventually appeared together? Not quite, but they both carved their own space in Hollywood's crowded landscape.
A Second Life on Streaming
Today, Jennifer's Body is enjoying a sustained renaissance, particularly among younger audiences who have discovered it on digital platforms. The film is currently available for streaming on Netflix and Disney+, depending on the country, while Zombieland can be found on Prime Video. Having these two movies so easily accessible allows viewers to compare the disparate paths of two early 2009 horror comedies. One was a box office disappointment that found redemption through its loyal fans; the other was a summer blockbuster that remained a fixture of the 2000s nostalgia wave.
Diablo Cody and Karyn Kusama's recent reminiscences serve as a reminder that casting is as much about vision as it is about talent. Seeing Emma Stone audition must have been a tantalizing glimpse of an alternate future, but the creative choices made by the filmmakers ultimately brought to screen a movie that has become far richer than its original reception suggested. Had Stone been cast as Needy, would Jennifer's Body have achieved the same cultural impact? It is an impossible question to answer. What is certain is that the film's intended message has finally found its moment, and the curiosity about what could have been only adds another layer to its lore.
Source:MSN News