Arts This One’s for Bradley Steinbacher
posted by on June 8 at 16:07 PM
Over bottles of two buck Chuck last Friday at my old friend Ben Gibbard’s house, I picked up some interesting knowledge from my new friend John Krasinski. You may know Ben from his indie-rock sensation band, Death Cab For Cutie, or perhaps from his work in The Postal Service. John used to be an intern on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, but you probably recognize him as the dude that plays Jim Halpert on The Office.
A few years back, while he was still waiting tables in NYC, and well before the success of The Office, John managed to sweet talk his way into buying the film rights to Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, a collection of short stories by David Foster Wallace published in 1999. I didn’t really get to the heart of what the hell Krasinski was thinking when forming his game plan for this project; frankly, I was gobsmacked by the daunting notion of adapting Wallace’s epic prose into film.
I mean, come on, we’re talking about some heavy duty writing, stuff that doesn’t scream out make a movie out of me! It’s not exactly blockbuster-making material and I would guess that Krasinski had to do some serious hustling to finance the project. I have a feeling that Wallace’s literary agent probably thought the project would never get off the ground.
But, not only did Krasinski manage to get the project off the ground, he scored a slew of interesting actors, including Oscar winner Timothy Hutton and our very own Benjamin Gibbard. It is Krasinski’s debut as a director and, based on his real-life charm and abundance of smarts, I think it’s going to turn out pretty well.
Shooting for Brief Interviews with Hideous Men wrapped early this year and the film is currently in post-production. It is the first David Foster Wallace book to be adapted to film. It is also Gibbard’s first role on the big screen. He will not be leaving his day job in Death Cab For Cutie for the bright lights of Hollywood any time soon. Whether or not the recent stamp rate increase will affect any future releases from The Postal Service is yet to be determined.
Ben Gibbard+John Krasinski.
here's those names you dropped! careful or you'll lose them.
you are soooo kewl, Kerri!
"You may know Ben from..."
Geesh, holy star-fucking...
wow, this is probably the most heinous case of name dropping I've ever seen.
we all could have done with out the you-may-know-him-from's. this is slog, for christ sakes. we all know who they are.
i so don't get the hate. this is interesting information for some people. people who are fans of DCFC and/or The Office and/or DFWallace.
huh. and here i thought it was interesting arts news about someone that lives in our community. i'm blown away by the notion of a david foster wallace movie. sorry you can't seem to see past the fact that the people making it are "names."
Agreed #6, this is some crazy news. After reading the post, i'd say that Kerri Harrop sounds like the most interesting name of em all.
well, call me ... someone who doesn't know anything... but I ONLY knew Krasinski from The Office. I actually found the whole thing pretty interesting. Thanks, Kerri!
This is further proof that the cats who make and star in "The Office" are the most interesting folks on TV right now. But the ratings suck. America's stupid. Fuck Jim Belushi.
It's just that you HAVE to mention that they are "your friends". Otherwise it would just be news about a movie. Get it? That's where it becomes name dropping.
As a straight man I have to say that John Krasinski is the cutest man in the world. Though my heart will always belong to Dwight Schrute. No, actually I think that's my pancreas....
Anyone who would intentionally watch the abysmal US version of The Office, let alone take pride in knowing one of the douches from that bastardization of a show, is a fucking idiot.
During a scene in the season finale of THE OFFICE, Jim is sitting in front of a glass door with a large name stenciled across it. That name? DAVID WALLACE. Props to the show for giving the kid a little love.
Oh My god You know Jim!?!?!So Hot!!!! We should totally go shopping and buy green tea Frappuchino's and plan our weddings this weekend!!
After 30 Rock, The Office (U.S.) is the funniest show on TV. The Venture Brothers on Adult Swim comes in a distant third.
Comparing the Office (UK) with the Office (U.S.) is like comparing apples to oranges. You may have a special preference, but that doesn't make one inherently better than the other. While I appreciated the obvious genius of the UK version, I found it way too uncomfortable to enjoy.
@14, that was a really nice thing for them to do for John, even if only ten people will ever notice.
Is Kerri Harrop a pseudonym for Kathleen Wilson?
OH MAN! THAT REMINDS ME OF THIS ONE TIME IN LAKE TAHOE, YOU MIGHT KNOW IT AS A NIFTY RESORT TOWN THAT IS PART IN NEVADA AND CALIFORNIA WITH GREAT SKIING, BUT ANYWAY, THIS ONE TIME I GOT TO SERVE JALEEL WHITE, YOU MIGHT KNOW HIM AS URKEL, A SCHOONER OF BEER! YEAH!
OH MAN! THAT REMINDS ME OF THIS ONE TIME IN LAKE TAHOE, YOU MIGHT KNOW IT AS A NIFTY RESORT TOWN THAT IS PART IN NEVADA AND CALIFORNIA WITH GREAT SKIING, BUT ANYWAY, THIS ONE TIME I GOT TO SERVE JALEEL WHITE, YOU MIGHT KNOW HIM AS URKEL, A SCHOONER OF BEER! YEAH! HILLARY DUFF ALSO WENT TO MY WINTER FORMAL! WE DANCED! WE ARE NOW CLOSEST OF FRIEND!
OH MAN! THAT REMINDS ME OF THIS ONE TIME IN LAKE TAHOE, YOU MIGHT KNOW IT AS A NIFTY RESORT TOWN THAT IS PART IN NEVADA AND CALIFORNIA WITH GREAT SKIING, BUT ANYWAY, THIS ONE TIME I GOT TO SERVE JALEEL WHITE, YOU MIGHT KNOW HIM AS URKEL, A SCHOONER OF BEER! YEAH! HILLARY DUFF ALSO WENT TO MY WINTER FORMAL! WE DANCED! WE ARE NOW CLOSEST OF FRIENDS!
MSN I NIIPET
MSN
MSN I NIIPET
MSN
MSN I NIIPET
MSN
Comments Closed
In order to combat spam, we are no longer accepting comments on this post (or any post more than 14 days old).