EXCLUSIVE: Quiver Distribution has taken North American distribution rights to the romantic end-of-days thriller When I’m Ready, starring Andrew Ortenberg, June Schreiner, Thalia Besson, Lauren Cohan, and Dermot Mulroney.
Quiver and Briarcliff will jointly oversee theatrical release which is set for Feb. 7, 2025 followed by a digital release on Feb. 14. Quiver will handle the home entertainment release of the Ortenberg written movie.
Directed by Andrew Johnson, When I’m Ready revolves around a young couple, Rose and Michael, on a road trip across the country during the last days before an extinction event, as asteroids threaten to wipe out all life on earth. While journeying to see the girl’s grandmother one last time before they perish, they fight to find meaning and adventure in the world’s final week. Along the way Rose and Michael encounter a rotating cast of lost souls from different backgrounds, each looking for something very different out of the end.
When I’m Ready is a collaboration with Briarcliff Entertainment and 19th Hole Productions.
Cohan plays Julia, a former beauty queen holding out hope for last minute love while riding out the end with her daughter Apryl (Luciana VanDette). Cohan spent over a decade starring on ‘The Walking Dead’, and currently leads the spinoff series ‘The Walking Dead: Dead City’. It’s her first on-camera film appearance since her role in 2018’s Mile 22 opposite Mark Wahlberg.
Mulroney plays Keith, a solitary drifter spending his final days scavenging and in search of human connection. He starred in the box office hits, Scream VI and Anyone But You.
Besson, one of the stars of the recently released season of Emily in Paris and the daughter of French filmmaker Luc Besson, plays Michelle, the leader of a pack of young hedonistic party-goers on their way to an end of the world rave.
Bryan Curtis of The Ringer voices a radio DJ updating citizens on the progress of the asteroids as the hours tick down.
Producers on the pic are Ortenberg, Eli Samek, Jordan Dykstra, Robert Ballo and Tom Ortenberg. EPs are Clay Pecorin, Russell Geyser, James Masciello, Matthew Sidari and Ellen Wander. 19th Hole, the label founded by Ortenberg and Samek, handled production with Quiver and Briarcliff now teaming up for the domestic distribution. FilmBridge International is selling the international.
Larry Greenberg and TJ Smith represented Quiver Distribution in the deal for rights to When I’m Ready, with Jordan Dysktra negotiating on behalf of the filmmakers.
“We’re so incredibly excited to get When I’m Ready out there in the world, and couldn’t ask for better or more supportive partners than the team at Quiver. We set out to make an end of the world film unlike any other, and we can’t wait for audiences to see it,” said Andrew Ortenberg.
The pic reps a reteam for Quiver CEO Jeff Sackman and Briarcliff CEO Tom Ortenberg, as the two worked together in the early days of Lionsgate in the late 90s.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with writer/producer/star Andrew Ortenberg and director Andrew Johnson to bring this audience-pleasing YA apocalyptic romance to audiences across North America.” said Quiver Distribution Co-Presidents Berry Meyerowitz and Jeff Sackman. “We hope this is the first of many collaborations during what will inevitably be a long and illustrious career.”
Below is the trailer: