Veronika Slowikowska to Lead Comedy 'Stephanie, Bride to Be' in Allie Viti's Directorial Debut
Veronika Slowikowska, a recent Saturday Night Live cast member, will headline the comedy film Stephanie, Bride to Be, which is now shooting in New York City. The project marks the directorial debut of Allie Viti and the first narrative feature from executive producer John Wilson, the documentarian behind HBO's How To with John Wilson. Deadline reported the casting exclusively on 11 August 2026.
The film centres on Stephanie, whose proposal party spirals into a slow-motion meltdown while she waits for her boyfriend to show up and pop the question. Amy Sedaris and Michael Imperioli play her flighty parents. Reina Hardesty appears as a surprise ex, and Lea DeLaria is an omnipresent restaurant manager navigating the chaos.
Viti wrote the screenplay with Zach Schiffman, from a story credited to all three writers: Slowikowska, Viti and Schiffman. Viti's background is in documentary television — she served as writer, associate producer and associate segment producer on How To with John Wilson, produced the Sundance documentary The History of Concrete (set for release through Magnolia Pictures on 18 September), and was an associate producer on HBO Max's It's Florida, Man.
For Wilson, the film represents a shift from the observational documentary style that made his name into scripted narrative filmmaking. His company, Peanut World Pictures, is producing the film as a co-production with JR Rappaport's Glasshouse Pictures. The producing team includes Rappaport, Peter Heres, Meryl Faye Crock, Will Deasey and Joaquin Acrich. Slowikowska is executive producing alongside Wilson, Clark Filio, Shirel Kozak of Peanut World Pictures, Mike Bucchino of Block Party Films and Tyler Bagley.
Slowikowska's profile has been climbing quickly. She joined the SNL cast in the past year and has appeared on Peacock's Poker Face and Netflix's Tires. She can currently be seen in cinemas in Will Gluck's Universal romantic comedy One Night Only, starring Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner. Her upcoming slate includes the indie Close to Nowhere opposite Luke Kirby and Craig Zobel's thriller Turpentine, which co-stars Melissa McCarthy, Connor Storrie and Paul Walter Hauser. She is represented by UTA, Artists First, and Yorn, Levine, Barnes.
No release date or distributor has been announced for Stephanie, Bride to Be.
