In news that feels concocted in a lab to send Twitter into a flurry, Josh O’Connor and Paul Mescal are set to co-star in a period romance film. Production company End Cue announced The History of Sound on Friday, a movie that’s being billed as a “universal love story” set in WWI. Filming begins next summer on-location in the U.S., U.K., and Italy.
O’Connor and Mescal both emerged as actors-to-watch in recent years. The former is hot off an Emmy win for playing Prince Charles in Netflix’s The Crown, while the latter earned a nomination for his role as the chain-wearing Connell Waldren in Hulu’s Normal People. The pair has also shared an Oscar-winning co-star in Olivia Colman, who played O’Connor’s onscreen mother, Queen Elizabeth on The Crown and acted alongside Mescal in the upcoming awards drama The Lost Daughter.
The History of Sound will be helmed by Oliver Hermanus, director of the BAFTA-nominated LGBTQ drama, Moffie. It will be adapted by Ben Shattuck (husband to actress Jenny Slate) from his eponymous Pushcart Prize-winning short story, which can be read here via The Common literary journal. Producers include Andrew Kortschak, Lisa Ciuffetti, and Andrea Roa, per The Hollywood Reporter.
“I instantly fell in love with Ben Shattuck’s flawlessly beautiful short story and knew I had to be involved in its journey to the screen,” Hermanus said in a statement to the outlet. “Paul and Josh are two of the most promising actors of their generation who will share with us deeply soulful performances. This is an unexpected love story that needs to be told—it is a journey through the life of America, across the 20th century and the traditions of American folk music, all seen through the bond between two men immersed in the history of sound. This undeniably powerful story will certainly resonate with audiences the world over.”
The movie centers on two young men, Lionel (Mescal) and David (O’Connor), who “set out to record the lives, voices, and music of their countrymen” during WWI, according to THR. “In this snatched, short-lived moment in their young lives, and while discovering the epic sweep of the USA, both men are deeply changed.”
Petition for Olivia Colman to complete her unofficial Mescal/O’Connor trilogy begins now.
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