Everything to know about Sydney Sweeney’s ‘Americana,’ also starring Paul Walter Hauser, Eric Dane, and Halsey

KennedyEntertainment2025-07-307140

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Director Tony Tost reimagines the modern-day American west as a murderous game of cat and mouse in his new film Americana.

Filmed in 2022, Americana had its world premiere at South by Southwest in March 2023, and Lionsgate later acquired the distribution rights. It finally has a theatrical release date of Aug. 15, 2025. Based on early reviews, the crime thriller currently has a 100 percent score at Rotten Tomatoes, with film critics praising its "gallows humor, compelling performances, and a big heart" (IndieWire).

Who's in the cast?

Americana spotlights a talented ensemble including Sydney Sweeney as Penny Jo Poplin, Paul Walter Hauser as Lefty Ledbetter, Halsey as Mandy Starr, Eric Dane as Dillon MacIntosh, Zahn McClarnon as Ghost Eye, Gavin Maddox Bergman as Cal Starr, Simon Rex as Roy Lee Dean, Derek Hinkey as Hank Spears, Toby Huss as Pendleton Duvall, Harriet Sansom Harris as Tish, and Donald Cerrone as Sheriff Cole Pickering.

Halsey in AmericanaLionsgate

On the awards front, Sweeney is a two-time Emmy nominee for Euphoria and The White Lotus, Hauser won an Emmy for Black Bird, and Halsey is a three-time Grammy nominee for "Purpose," "Closer," and "If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power."

What's the plot?

While fighting over an infamous ghost shirt from Native American lore, various strangers find themselves in the middle of a murder spree that plays out in the sunny center of the United States. The central conflict over the centuries-old artifact becomes the impetus for several individuals to collide in unexpected ways.

Watch the trailer

Lionsgate released the first trailer on May 15. In the two-minute video, Hauser is surprised to learn that Sweeney has a dream of becoming a country singer. "What other kind of music is there?" she wonders aloud. Huss proudly shows off his "Lakota Indian ghost shirt," and then Rex decides to offer half a million dollars in order to "liberate that garment" from the man's collection. Chaos ensues.

Where was it filmed?

Principal photography began in February 2022 in New Mexico, where it employed local crew members and on-screen talent, per the Santa Fe New Mexican. Back then, the movie was titled National Anthem, and it filmed around the same time and in the same locations as Christopher Nolan's soon-to-be Oscar juggernaut Oppenheimer.

Simon Rex in AmericanaLionsgate

Who's behind the scenes?

Tony Tost is the film's first-time director-writer who previously wrote for TV shows like Poker Face, The Terror, and Longmire. Americana is produced by Alex Saks, shot by Nigel Bluck, edited by Peter McNulty, and composed by David Fleming.

The modern-day Western genre

Americana is the latest neo-Western made with contemporary audiences in mind, blending elements of crime thrillers and black comedies with a modern sensibility. Other examples in the genre include No Country for Old Men, Hell or High Water, and the Yellowstone TV franchise.

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