A24’s ‘The Moment’ Brings Together Charli XCX, Rosanna Arquette, Kate Berlant, and More
A24, arthouse producer/distributor extraordinaire, is set to produce “The Moment,” a drama (scheduled for 2026) about a musical artist’s life in the spotlight, conceived by the famed pop singer/songwriter Charli XCX. In addition to being credited with its story, XCX is also the film’s star and co-producer. No specific release dates have yet been announced, but “The Moment” does already have an extensive cast list and a teaser on Instagram that must be avoided at all costs by those with flashing-light sensitivities.
Charli XCX’s 2025 Forays Onscreen
Charli XCX is best known for her work as a singer-songwriter and record producer. Her musical career began in 2008; since then, she has released a total of seven studio albums and written singles for such films as “The Fault in Our Stars” and “Barbie.” Prior to 2025, she’s only appeared onscreen in documentaries and short films (though she also lent her voice to the animated films “The Angry Birds Movie” and “UglyDolls”).
Now, XCX seems to have opened a floodgate for her acting career. She has acting credits in three non-documentary feature films this year, including a leading role in the drama “Erupcja” and the role of Mother Nature in “Sacrifice,” an action comedy that stars Anya-Taylor Joy and was released on September 6 at the Toronto International Film Festival.
XCX is slated to act in four upcoming films. Two of these films are scheduled for release in 2026; one of these two is “The Moment,” in which she will portray an up-and-coming pop star who experiences all the complications of her new celebrity as she gets ready for her first headlining arena tour.
A Cast of Well-Known Actors – and More Musicians
Charli XCX is but one name of renown to be found in the cast list for “The Moment.” Other actors named thus far include Rosanna Arquette (“Pulp Fiction”), Alexander Skarsgård (“True Blood”), Kate Berlant (“First Time Female Director“), and Kylie Jenner (“Keeping Up with the Kardashians”).
Moreover, as a musical artist turned actor, XCX will have plenty of company: singer and Broadway-musical actor Isaac Powell has also been cast, as has XCX’s executive record producer A.G. Cook (who is also the film’s composer). The cast includes a couple of former non-actors from other sectors of show business: namely, beauty editor Tish Weinstock and Mell Ottenberg, a wardrobe stylist who is also editor-in-chief of Interview magazine. Aside from XCX, none of these cast members’ roles is yet known. Considering that this is a film about show business, have Cook, Weinstock, and Ottenberg been cast to lend authenticity to roles as characters who belong to their respective non-acting occupations?
An Inspired Teaser – Filled with Flashing Lights
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(Seizure Warning, Contains Strobe Effects)
On October 9, Charli XCX released the first teaser for “The Moment” on her Instagram. This advertisement, which is nearly one minute in length, is quite brilliant. It’s scored to Icona Pop’s “I Love It” and flashes strobe lights from beginning to end – “COULD CAUSE SEIZURES,” reads an opening warning, and I can’t stress enough that this is true of the entire rest of the teaser.
On this flashing screen are displayed all the upcoming film’s credits – director (Aidan Zamiri), writers (Zamiri and Bertie Brandes), composer, story by, and 17 actors. The name of each actor is displayed several times in the same shot, with copies of the name filling up the screen. This effect is most dramatically demonstrated with the name of its main star, Charli XCX, which is first shown only once before copies of the name rapidly increase in number to fill the screen, then decrease and increase once more. After all the actors’ names comes “The Moment,” after which come the words “I just want this moment to last forever.”
This whole teaser is an ingenious little snapshot of the delirious excitement and narcissism that one feels during one’s greatest moment in the spotlight. If the film itself proves just as clever and effective, “The Moment” may well go down as a great film about the many feelings – wonderful, awful, and transient – that accompany a rise to stardom.
