‘How It Ends’ Director Zoe Lister-Jones on the Universal Appeal of Timothee Chalamet

The cast and crew of “How It Ends” discussed the “apocalyptic comedy’s” connection to pandemic-era life and the worldwide appeal of the phenomenon that is Timothée Chalamet.

Co-writers and directors Daryl Wein and Zoe Lister-Jones, along with star Cailee Spaeny, joined Sundance Film Festival’s Variety Studio presented by AT&T TV to discuss the makings of their film, which depicts one woman’s journey through Los Angeles as she attempts to make it to her last party before the world ends. The “whimsical” film also stars Lister-Jones, Olivia Wilde, Fred Armisen, Helen Hunt, Lamorne Morris and Nick Kroll.

When creating the film, Wein said he and Lister-Jones wanted to tap into the “inner self” and reflect on the monotony induced by the pandemic.

“It definitely felt like the world was maybe going to be over,” Wein said. “We were faced with so much uncertainty … we tried to face those fears head-on and that turned into this dialogue between Zoe and I about wanting to channel all those emotions into our art … while it’s not about the pandemic, there’s some crossover in terms of the feeling you have when you’re alone.”

For her part, Lister-Jones, whom Wein jokingly referred to as the “resident expert” for all things Chalamet, included a reference to the actor in the film.

“Second to Cailee Spaeny, Chalamet is my muse, though I’ve never worked with him,” Lister-Jones said. “He’s my muse in his absence. For me personally, in ‘Call Me By Your Name,’ I found his character — and then the phenomenon of him becoming a sex symbol — so exciting just in terms of a new generation of man that was sexually fluid, that was embracing his divine feminine, also in what he wears on the red carpet. He seems like a cool New York dude.”