Ted Lasso's Brett Goldstein admits he cut heartbreaking film's 'totally different' ending at the last minute
SPOILERS: Apple TV+'s new sci-fi romance All of You was co-written by Ted Lasso star Brett Goldstein, who also shared a heartbreaking real-life detail about the ending
Warning - this article contains major spoilers for All of You.
Fresh sci-fi romance flick All of You, co-penned by and featuring Ted Lasso's Brett Goldstein, initially boasted a completely different conclusion that was altered at the last minute.
The Apple TV+ movie that's presently showing in cinemas tracks two close pals, Simon (portrayed by Goldstein) and Laura (Imogen Poots), in the near future where scientists have mastered a DNA examination to locate people's perfect partners.
Laura undergoes the test and apparently discovers her ideal companion, but Simon has quietly nursed deep emotions for her for years.
They ultimately begin a clandestine romance when Laura realises she returns those sentiments, but she struggles to break away from her spouse Lukas (Steven Cree) and their youngsters, reports the Express.
Director William Bridges took charge of the production, drawing from a short film he created with Goldstein more than a decade ago.
Here's your final spoiler alert - at the movie's conclusion, the pair eventually choose to go their separate ways and Simon emotionally admits to Laura that he'll always miss her.
During a Q&A screening in London this week, Goldstein revealed: "So, the ending of the film was always that, but that wasn't the last line of the film.
"You make a film three times, in the script, then you make it again when you film, then you edit.
"When we wrote the script, the last line we loved, we were so proud of it. This is how it should end. And the original ending was a callback joke."
Earlier in the film's closing moments, the pair debate whether being truthful about their emotions sooner might have stopped Laura from sitting the exam.
Disclosing that the original screenplay pushed this concept even further, Goldstein continued: "It ended with [Simon] asking, 'If I told you not to go in to take the test because I love you, would it have stopped you?' And she goes 'Nahhh'. That was in the script! And we loved it."
Nevertheless, the creative team recognised that leaning into the raw emotion of Simon and Laura's final goodbye created a far more powerful ending.
"And then, as we started filming the film, and the whole thing felt so much more emotional than we had imagined, and as we were getting nearer and nearer to shooting the ending, we were like 'It doesn't feel right'," Goldstein added.
"I think the whole point is they never say what they mean, they're always making jokes, so at the end for anything to have changed he has to say the truth and not make a joke.
"Me and Imogen were such wrecks and we were just f*****g crying, and Will just came over to me and went 'just say what you feel' and that's what came out. It just happened on the day."
The scene wasn't just altered at the eleventh hour - director Bridges disclosed they never actually filmed the originally planned conclusion as the day's intense feelings overwhelmed everyone involved.
The scriptwriters confessed that they also had to axe a "brilliant" monologue from Zawe Ashton when her character Andrea, Simon's girlfriend, realises he's smitten with Laura.
Despite Ashton's stellar performance, director Bridges discerned that the essence of the scene could be communicated through meaningful glances between the characters.
"Zawe's look, I remember that being haunting," Poots reminisced. "An amazing piece of acting."
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As for the finale, the ultimate farewell between Simon and Laura evidently left the actors as moved as the movie's viewers.
"We really hung out a lot in between takes, we'd be laughing and hanging out," Goldstein recalled.
"And that was the only day between takes that we sort of quietly stood at separate ends of the balcony until we finished the scene."
The film is currently showing in select cinemas and also available on Apple TV+, so you can either savour this heart-fluttering yet heart-wrenching romance on the big screen or have tissues at hand in the cosiness of your own lounge.
All of You is now playing in UK cinemas and available to stream on Apple TV+.