Amanda Seyfried (“Les Miserables,” “Red Riding Hood”) stars as Louise, the woman who would break the hero's heart in, Universal Pictures' new comedy “A Million Ways to Die in the West”(opening exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas nationwide on Sept 3.)

In the film, after sheep farmer Albert (Seth MacFarlane) backs out of a gunfight, his fickle girlfriend, Louise (Seyfried) leaves him for another man. When a mysterious and beautiful woman named Anna (Charlize Theron) rides into town, she helps him find his courage and they begin to fall in love. But when her husband (Liam Neeson), a notorious outlaw, arrives seeking revenge, the farmer must put his newfound courage to the test.

The filmmakers wanted to find an actress who was right in the "Goldilocks" zone, someone who could express that artful balance between a woman whom you don't really want the guy to end up with because she's not the nicest person, but a character who still has enough redeeming qualities that you don't think the guy is an idiot for pining after her. Someone "just right."

Actor-writer-director Seth MacFarlane found everything the team wanted in accomplished actress Amanda Seyfried. He explains: "Amanda is a great example of someone who is perfectly cast. There was the scene on the log where she's talking to Albert and is about to dump him, and I remember thinking, 'God, she is nailing it. She's either the world's greatest actress, or she's cut down a bunch of guys like this.' Amanda is very sweet, so I quickly learned it wasn't the latter; she's just extremely good."

Seyfried was initially surprised at her casting. She advises: "Most of my projects haven't been comedy." Discussing her character, the performer shares: "Louise is a selfish young lady who dumps Albert in such a blunt, insensitive way because he's not getting it. She is enamored of Foy, town's most successful businessman, and how awesome she thinks he is that she can't quite see who he really is. Foy's very charismatic and he's got balls, while Albert has no balls at all... figuratively speaking of course. Foy's attractive to her because he has confidence and sex appeal, and his moustache is really hot."

Although Theron's and Seyfried's characters were at odds, that's where the similarities between the actresses ended. Theron explains that she struggled with the biting dialogue that was directed toward her on-screen nemesis: "I found myself constantly looking at Seth and saying, 'I can't say that. It's Amanda, come on.' There is a line where I have to tell her she looks bad in this dress. I was thinking that I am just not that good of an actor. I mean, look at her! She's like a little doll."

“A Million Ways to Die in the West” is distributed by United International Pictures through Columbia Pictures.

Undisputed blockbuster action hero Liam Neeson stars as notorious outlaw Clinch Leatherwood in Universal Pictures' new comedy “A Million Ways to Die in the West” (opening exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas nationwide on Sept 3.)

In the film, after sheep farmer Albert (Seth MacFarlane) backs out of a gunfight, his fickle girlfriend leaves him for another man. When a mysterious and beautiful woman named Anna (Charlize Theron) rides into town, she helps him find his courage and they begin to fall in love. But when her husband (Liam Neeson), a notorious outlaw, arrives seeking revenge, the farmer must put his newfound courage to the test.

Producer Scott Stuber recalls how Neeson's casting came about: "For our ultimate foil, we sat around like little kids saying, 'I hope we can get someone like Liam Neeson. Wouldn't that be amazing?'" Turns out that they didn't have to dream. "I've been lucky enough to have worked with him before, and he was a fan of Seth's, so it was a terrific get."

Actor-writer-director Seth MacFarlane knew that Clinch was pivotal to “A Million Ways to Die in the West” because the character had to be believable. He explains that Neeson was the man for the job: "Clinch is a character that has to seem like he is in a drama for everything to work. He is a bad guy who has to be dealt with: a real situation. That's an anchor that you have to have in a comedy like this. You have to believe that the bad guy's a legitimate threat, and Liam did that masterfully."

Prior to meeting with Neeson, MacFarlane had an idea of what kind of accent he wanted Clinch to possess. The Irish-born actor had similar thoughts. MacFarlane says: "I love Liam's speaking voice, so when he came in I thought, 'God, I hope he doesn't do a Western accent.' He just has such a resonant, powerful speaking voice. The guy can read the phone book, and you sit up and take a listen."

Recalling his rationale for playing Clinch as a Northern Irishman, Neeson offers: "A few years ago, my kids came home from school and said, 'Dad, you're on Family Guy!' So I watch, and Seth lampooned me as Liam Neeson doing a Western, strangely enough, and what my accent would be like. So, when we agreed to do this, I said, 'I'll only do it, Seth, if I can play it in my Northern Irish accent...as homage to Family Guy.' So he agreed."

Neeson discusses how he brought his background to the story: "Clinch is a classic baddie in the Western tradition; he's a gunslinger. I'm from the north of Ireland originally, and I've made him very pure and broad Northern Irish. I imagine his real name was probably Trevor McBraid, but he changed his name to Clinch Leatherwood when he came to the Wild West."

The performer found working with MacFarlane to be an enjoyable experience, commending: "Seth's quite a remarkable Renaissance young man. He's always up and breezy, and open to suggestions and ideas. If he doesn't like them, he'll say so, and if he does then he'll incorporate them. He's very acute at giving you a note. If a beat isn't working in a scene, he'll change a line or suggest something for you to try."

“A Million Ways to Die in the West” is distributed by United International Pictures through Columbia Pictures.

Oscar-winner Charlize Theron (“Snow White and the Huntsman”) stars in Universal Pictures' new comedy “A Million Ways to Die in the West” which will be shown exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas nationwide starting Sept 3.

In the film, after sheep farmer Albert (Seth MacFarlane) backs out of a gunfight, his fickle girlfriend leaves him for another man. When a mysterious and beautiful woman named Anna (Theron) rides into town, she helps him find his courage and they begin to fall in love. But when her husband (Liam Neeson), a notorious outlaw, arrives seeking revenge, the farmer must put his newfound courage to the test.

For their leading lady, writer-director-star MacFarlane and his team loved the idea of having Charlize Theron take on the role of Anna. From the director's first meeting with her, he knew she was the perfect fit. He states: "I love it when an actor comes in with a very strong pre-existing point of view about what they want, and it shows on screen. With Charlize, from the first time we discussed the role, she got what this was. It's like she was wired into my brain. She has a great presence, and I knew that she would bring this character to life in a powerful way."

While Theron has been more recognized for her dramatic work, the Academy Award-winning actress had been eyeing a new genre to push herself as a performer. She shares: "I've been interested in comedy for a while, but it's been tricky because audiences know me so well doing something very different. In fact, what also interests me is odd comedy. Those are very rare. The combination of this script and Seth directing was a slam dunk for me. I started begging instantly...I closed the script and started begging."

Theron explains the reason she felt a kinship with Anna: "She is the character that I have fallen in love with the fastest. We have a lot of similar traits, and I felt like I understood her straight from the beginning. Even though she hates the West, she is not jaded or cynical."

Working with MacFarlane felt like a breath of fresh air to Theron. She commends: "Seth makes it odd, because that's just his thing. It feels original, and it doesn't feel regurgitated. Actors say that all the time, but I really feel like this is something unique. There is something about the film that feels like a throwback to the '70s."

In fact, as both Theron and MacFarlane were stepping out of their professional comfort zones, they were initially a little nervous to work together. Producer Jason Clark explains: "Charlize joined us for this read-through. Seth was incredibly nervous because Charlize is an Oscar-winning actress. She came in and was as nervous working with him because comedy is something that she hasn't had a lot of experience with. That instantly brought a terrific chemistry to the relationship."

Producer Scott Stuber knew from the moment he watched them interact that Theron had nailed it. He offers: "Charlize is obviously beautiful and an immensely talented actor who's proven herself in dramatic roles. So when we heard she wanted to try her hand at comedy, we jumped at the chance to cast her. Luckily for us, she does comedy just as well as drama, if not better. People will really be blown away by her."

“A Million Ways to Die in the West” is distributed by United International Pictures through Columbia Pictures.

Universal Pictures' new comedy “A Million Ways to Die in the West” starring Ted McFarlane, Charlize Theron, Amanda Seyfried, Liam Neeson and Neil Patrick Harris will be shown exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas nationwide starting September 10, 2014.

Seth McFarlane (“Ted,” TV's “Family Guy”) once again stretches the boundaries of comedy and propriety as writer, producer, director of and actor in “A Million Ways to Die in the West.” He tells the tale and plays the lead in the story of Albert Stark, a soft man in hard times who is trying to figure out how to escape this godforsaken frontier that seems to be trying to kill him—and everyone else in it—at every turn. A sheep farmer whose fickle girlfriend, Louise (Amanda Seyfried), leaves him when he backs out of a gunfight, Albert feels like a chump.

Adding to Albert's distress and feelings of inadequacy, Louise takes up with the town's most successful businessman, arrogant moustachery owner Foy (Neil Patrick Harris). And what Albert can't dream of offering in terms of financial stability and facial hirsuteness, Foy has in spades.

But when a mysterious and beautiful gunslinger named Anna (Charlize Theron) rides into town, she helps Albert begin to find his courage and they start to fall in unexpected love.

Nothing comes easy in the bitterly unforgiving Old West, and further trouble ensues when Anna's husband, Clinch Leatherwood (Liam Neeson)—a notorious outlaw whose name strikes fear into the hearts of the citizenry— arrives seeking revenge on the man whom he thinks has made a dishonest woman of Anna. Reluctantly, Albert must now put his newfound courage to the test in a one-man-left-standing gunfight that will earn him Anna's hand and long-denied respect in the Wild West...or another unmarked grave forgotten in the annals of history.

Joining Albert in his quest are his best friend, Edward (Giovanni Ribisi), the unfailingly nice and extraordinarily naive town shoe repairman, and Ruth (Sarah Silverman), Edward's girlfriend who is just as chaste with him as she is whorish with her brothel clients.

Directed by MacFarlane from a screenplay that he wrote with Alec Sulkin & Wellesley Wild, “A Million Ways to Die in the West” also co-stars a comedic lineup of MacFarlane favorites including Ralph Garman as Dan, one of the more colorful Old Stump locals, and Alex Borstein as Millie, the madam of the whorehouse who can't quite put her finger on her best employee's oddly chaste relationship with Edward.

Christopher Hagen and Jean Effrion come aboard the production as Albert's grizzled parents, George and Elsie, who are similarly trying to avoid getting killed for merely existing in this day and age. Evan Jones portrays Lewis, a particularly vile member of Clinch's gang.

“A Million Ways to Die in the West” is distributed by United International Pictures through Columbia Pictures.