Hyde Park International calls the film a 'mad gem' that is hilarious, smart, and utterly original, promising a life-affirming experience amidst the chaos.
The casting is pure indie royalty. Pegg, Duplass, and Osment are teaming up for a script that mocks our phone addiction, with the directors also starring in the chaos.
Shooting begins spring 2027. Hyde Park acquired all international rights ahead of AFM. It is the second feature for directors Leder and Kotcheff since 2019's 'The Planters'.
If your phone explodes, at least Simon Pegg is there to make it funny. This is the anti-tech satire we didn't know we needed.
The apocalypse is coming, and it’s going to be hilarious. Simon Pegg, known for his high-octane stunts in the "Mission: Impossible" franchise, is trading in his stunts for a suit as he steps into the role of a Hollywood agent in the upcoming dark comedy "My Phone Died." The film, which has just been boarded for sales by Hyde Park International ahead of the American Film Market, promises a satirical look at what happens when our digital tethers literally blow up.
Joining Pegg in this end-of-days farce are Mark Duplass, famous for his work in "The Morning Show" and the horror hit "Creep," and Haley Joel Osment, who recently starred in "Blink Twice" and is known for his iconic role in "Sixth Sense." The premise is as timely as it is absurd: smart phones start exploding around the globe, ending the world as we know it. But for a ragtag group of survivors, this isn't just an end—it’s a weird new beginning.
Pegg plays Gus, a Hollywood agent who narrowly escapes the phone apocalypse, while Duplass takes on the role of one of Gus’s self-obsessed clients who doesn’t survive the initial blast. Osment rounds out the trio as a recovering alcoholic and social media influencer, navigating a post-smartphone world with his character Francis, an Amish woman who abandoned her community for him. The directors, Hannah Leder and Alexandra Kotcheff, aren’t just behind the camera; they’re also in front of it, with Leder playing a heavily pregnant agoraphobic wannabe actress and Kotcheff playing Francis.
This self-referential casting suggests a level of creative control that indie darlings love. This isn't the first time Leder and Kotcheff have teamed up for a feature. "My Phone Died" marks their second writer/director collaboration, following their 2019 acclaimed indie comedy-drama "The Planters." The film is a production of Fire Tiger Films and Thank You So Much, the respective companies of the two filmmakers.
Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park International has secured all international rights, signaling strong confidence in the project's global appeal. Carl Clifton of Hyde Park didn't mince words in the press release, calling the script a "mad gem of a movie" that is "hilarious, smart and utterly original." He praised the "genuine warmth" the directors bring to their characters, predicting a "totally adorable, zeitgeisty and life-affirming movie" despite the explosive subject matter.
The filmmakers themselves see the project as a reflection of our current cultural moment. "Our world feels like it’s teetering on the brink of mind-blowing innovation and total self-destruction," said Leder and Kotcheff in a joint statement. "'My Phone Died' is our grappling with that, and our nostalgia for simpler times." With shooting set to begin in the spring of 2027, audiences will have to wait a bit to see how this satirical take on tech dependency plays out. For now, the industry is buzzing about this powerhouse trio of Pegg, Duplass, and Osment, who seem perfectly cast to navigate a world where the most dangerous thing you can carry is a lithium-ion battery.
