Jack O’Connell and Odessa A’zion Will Chase a Flat Earth in the Feature Debut From the ‘An Irish Goodbye’ Filmmakers
Some of the most interesting movies start with a premise that sounds like a dare. A pair of lonely strangers setting out to prove something the rest of the world knows is false is exactly that kind of idea, and it just landed two of the most in-demand actors working today.
Jack O’Connell and Odessa A’zion have been cast as flat-earthers in a new romantic adventure from the Oscar-winning team behind the short film ‘An Irish Goodbye.’ The project marks a big step for those filmmakers, who are finally making the jump to features.
The casting was first reported by Variety as an exclusive on October 5, and DiscussingFilm’s post about it racked up nearly 250,000 views. The film is called ‘The End of the World as We Know It,’ and it follows two loners who meet on an epic pilgrimage to prove the earth is flat.
Writing and directing are Tom Berkeley and Ross White, who won the 2023 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short for ‘An Irish Goodbye.’ That film, which also won a BAFTA and an IFTA Award, followed two estranged brothers who reunite in rural Northern Ireland after their mother’s death.
The film is backed by Studiocanal, Working Title, Parkville Pictures and Film4. Studiocanal fully financed the project and is handling worldwide sales, with theatrical releases planned in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Benelux, Australia and New Zealand.
In a statement shared with Variety, Berkeley and White called the movie “a story we discovered hiding in the strangest of places.” They said it speaks to a collective search for meaning, belonging and love in an increasingly disparate world.
O’Connell is a BAFTA winner, while A’zion is a BAFTA nominee for ‘Marty Supreme.’ They will play star-crossed loners whose paths cross on the pilgrimage, and Studiocanal describes the movie as an “unlikely adventure in truth and love.”
The pairing is an intriguing one. In the photos DiscussingFilm paired with the news, O’Connell appears in a dark suit and tie, while A’zion has a head of dark curls, a nose ring and a skull-print sweatshirt, a contrast that seems fitting for two mismatched travelers.
Beyond the lead roles, no other casting has been announced. The Playlist noted that no release date has been set either, though it called the project one of the more intriguing romantic oddities on the horizon.
For A’zion, this is the latest in a run of high-profile roles. She broke out in ‘Marty Supreme,’ playing Rachel Mizler opposite Timothée Chalamet, and the A24 film went on to earn nine Oscar nominations, according to CinemaBlend.
She also stars in the HBO series ‘I Love LA’ as Tallulah Stiel, an influencer who moves from New York to Los Angeles. Variety reports that she will next appear alongside Naomi Watts, Sarah Paulson, Dianne Wiest and Toby Wallace in Cody Fern’s directorial debut ‘Mother Courage,’ and in an upcoming film from Justine Triet.
Her career momentum is part of what makes this casting notable. In its coverage, TheWrap called her Hollywood’s newest “It Girl” earlier this year.
Production is set to begin in Canada in November, so cameras will start rolling soon. Studiocanal and Working Title are coming off the recent global release of ‘Pressure,’ which Variety notes as the most recent project in their long-running partnership.
The flat-earth premise could easily have turned into a joke, but the filmmakers’ own description suggests they are aiming for something warmer. Coming from a pair who made a bittersweet short about grief and brotherhood, that tone seems plausible.
With two charismatic leads and a premise that is hard to ignore, ‘The End of the World as We Know It’ already has people talking. Whether it lands as a comedy, a romance or something stranger will come down to how Berkeley and White handle the leap to features.
Would you watch Jack O’Connell and Odessa A’zion’s flat-earth adventure The End of the World as We Know It?
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