Who did Amanda Seyfried play in 'Jennifer's Body'? Actress says the marketing of the movie "sucked"

It has been almost 16 years since the Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried starrer came out. The project didn’t have an ideal commercial or critical success, but the Mean Girls actress still thinks it is “a perfect movie” that suffered from poor marketing.

In a recent GQ interview, Seyfried broke down some of her “iconic characters,” including Anita "Needy" Lesnicki, which she portrayed in Jennifer’s Body. The childhood best friend of the titular character (played by Megan Fox), Needy, has been depicted as a nerdy teenager.

Anita Lesnicki is among the main characters in the 2009 comedy horror film. During the latter part of the film, she goes on a quest to stop the rampage caused by her human-turned-succubus friend. In a shocking turn of events, Needy attains supernatural powers after getting bitten by Jennifer.

The film received a negative reception, garnering only 46% positive reviews from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. In the later years, Jennifer’s Body amassed a cult-like following, with Vox calling it a “feminist cult classic” in 2018, especially in the wake of the #MeToo movement.

In her recent conversation with GQ, Amanda Seyfried praised Jennifer’s Body and criticized its marketing campaign.

“The marketing [of Jennifer’s Body] sucked. It just did. We all agree Karyn [Kusama] is like a fierce advocate of women and storytelling. She is able to enhance the relationships between women on film and TV.”

Amanda Seyfried continued,

“She's able to mine everything she can. And she's very, very human and she's very sensitive. But I felt like she cared deeply about this story underneath all of it. She just got it all and she put it together so beautifully, and the marketing team cheapened it like it was just you know a romp, a gory romp I I think they ruined it.”

Seyfried’s opinion is not a newfound belief. In 2009, S.T. VanAirsdale, while writing for now-defunct Movieline, cited marketing as one of the reasons behind the movie’s failure.

Amanda Seyfried describes Jennifer’s Body as “a perfect movie” with poor marketing

While remarking on her iconic roles, the Mamma Mia! star adored the Karyn Kusama-directed film. She lauded the movie for its VFX, writing, stunts, and more and said,

“I can’t critique this movie, it’s, to me, a perfect movie. It’s got balls. Diablo Cody [Brook Maurio] was outspoken and beautiful and smart and funny.

She added,

We were expressing a certain angst in a very, very specific comedic way, in a very specific genre. God, the special effects were so incredible, there were stunts, there was like everything that you could want, and girl-on-girl action. And if critics criticize anything, it would be the marketing.”

The film has retrospectively garnered praise from its fans, and the speculations around its sequel have also picked up. Brook “Diablo Cody” Maurio, who won an Oscar for Juno’s screenplay, told Bloody Disgusting about their desire to work on the next part of Jennifer’s Body. She talked about the film finally getting the praise it initially deserved and was quoted saying,

“Yes! I wanna do a sequel. I am not done with Jennifer’s Body. I just need to find… I need to partner with people who believe it in as much as I do and that hasn’t really happened yet. I need someone to believe in it who has a billion dollars.”

Earlier this month, Amanda Seyfried hinted at a potential sequel being in the works. She was on the red carpet for Seven Veils when she teased the film. The 39-year-old actress again commented on the sequel during her GQ interview:

“I think that Karyn and Diablo were a really good team. And Megan and I are a really good team. You know, I'm looking forward to the sequel. They're working. They're working on it. I already said ‘thumbs up.’”

Amanda proclaimed that she loves Needy and wants to portray her again if a sequel is ever made.