Irish actor and Galway native Emmett Hughes, who wrote, produced, and starred in the award-winning film The O’Briens, is set to write and star in the upcoming independent thriller Axis.
The film, based on his original concept, will be set and shot entirely in Los Angeles. Actress and director Aisha Tyler, of such acclaimed TV shows as Friends, Archer, 24, and Criminal Minds, is set to produce via her company Hot Machine Films as well as direct.
Axis unfolds over a single day inside a car navigating the highways of Los Angeles, with much of the story being driven forward by phone calls with the main character, who finds himself in an unexpected race to avert a personal crisis.
Several actors are attached to provide character voices, including Irish actresses Paula Malcomson of Ray Donovan and The Hunger Games, and The Fall's Bronagh Waugh. Jonathan Sadowski (Live Free or Die Hard ) and Tyler are also attached to voice characters. Tyler and Hughes collaborated most recently on the drama Ar Scàth, shot entirely on location in Galway in December of last year.
In addition to a traditional screening format, the film will also be shot for 3D viewing, allowing the audience to look 'inside' the car as the story unfolds, and creating the feeling that viewers are actually embedded within the story, giving a truly immersive filmgoing experience.
Director Tyler said: “Axis provides an exciting opportunity to use innovations in 360-degree photography in a robust new way. By utilising a contained setting in a fresh way, using new techniques, we are creating an opportunity to engage in storytelling that is both expansive and limitless. This movie is going to be a whole hell of a lot of fun to make.”
AXIS is currently in pre-production. Principal photography is scheduled to begin in 2016.
