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John Krasinski Isn't Hideous. But His Movie May Be

By Dustin Rowles | Posted Under Trade News | Comments (18)

brief_interviews_with_hideous_men_ver2.jpg

For about as long as I’ve been familiar with John Krasinski, he’s been working on a cinematic adaptation of David Foster Wallace’s Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, a movie he wrote and directed. I remember back in ‘05, after the first season of “The Office” had wrapped, when Krasinski was doing press for Jarhead, how excited he was about making the movie. Apparently, he spent years on this script. And the thing is: It would take years to turn a David Foster Wallace book into a script, and I honestly appreciate Krasinski’s dogged efforts. But alas: I think it’s to little avail.

David Foster Wallace books will now, and always, resist cinematic treatment. His books are not meant to be seen on a giant movie screen; they are meant to be pored over — labored over, for hours, with a dictionary and a pot of coffee. His books were never about the narratives; they were always about the language. The prose. The ideas. The intellectual rigor. And, let’s be honest: The showing off.

Below is the new trailer for Brief Interviews. It features a cool cast: In addition to Krasinski, the amazingly adorable Julianne Nicholson stars as Sara, a doctoral candidate in anthropology at a prestigious East Coast university who, after getting dumped, conducts a series of interviews with men in an effort to uncover the secret thoughts that drive their behavior. She thinks she can remedy both her heartache and her academic challenges with a new research project and begins conducting a series of interviews with men. As she records the astonishing and disquieting experiences of various subjects, Sara discovers much more about men and herself than she bargained for.

Timothy Hutton, Bobby Canavalle, Will Forte, Max Minghella, Will Arnett, and Dominic Cooper, also star. It’s set for release at the end of the month.









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Comments

I think it looks fairly good. I did hear that Emily Blunt thinks it is a piece of shit. YOU HEAR THAT KRASINSKI?!? SHE DOESN'T SUPPORT YOU LIKE I DO! Why you gotta break my heart, Johnny? WHY?!?

Ahem. But really, looks interesting.

Posted by: Pinky McLadybits (aka Dangle McGee) at September 8, 2009 11:43 AM

Well I can't listen to it right now but I have to agree with the unfilmable idea. I just finished the book and I can't imagine how they're going to do it. Is the movie going to film a series of footnotes and show them at the end, after the credits?

Posted by: Optimus Rhyme at September 8, 2009 11:47 AM

His books were never about the narratives; they were always about the language. The prose. The ideas. The intellectual rigor. And, let’s be honest: The showing off.

And herein lies the problem with modern literary fiction. Authors are too impressed with their pretty goddamned words to actually do anything with them. Motherfucker, you too good to tell a goddamn story with all your perfectly crafted paragraphs? You can't write an engaging narrative with all your delicate imagery and oh-so-beautiful-it-makes-me-want-to-punch-a-child prose? Then you are wasting my goddamn time.

Posted by: Tracer Bullet at September 8, 2009 11:49 AM

Meloni and Nicholson? Is that some kind of Law & Order in-joke?

Posted by: FabMax at September 8, 2009 11:58 AM

That actually looks pretty interesting.

Posted by: BierceAmbrose at September 8, 2009 12:04 PM

I found a great place ____ W E A L T H Y S O C I A L . C O M ____. The best club for seeking the rich singles, sexy beauties and even hot celebs..I think everyone need to meet some miracle after all the terrible stuff in the news and the economy.——____——

Posted by: happyone11 at September 8, 2009 12:34 PM

I've seen this movie about twenty times, Krasinski. And modern lit is for eggheads. I'm not gonna bend over backward....wait, did you hear that? It kinda sounds like...intellectualism tonguing inexperience. In Wal-Mart panties.

Posted by: Idon'trecall at September 8, 2009 12:40 PM

Nestled on my bookshelf, in my "titillation" section, next to the extensive Bukowski array, I have an edition of 'Men In Love' by Nancy Friday. It's a thorough collection of anonymous, write-in male fantasies presented in a non-judgmental framework. I can't seem to let it go, because it's pretty amazing to read the balls-out (haha), unedited truth of male fantasy life (albeit selected, organized and presented by a female).

Amidst all the bestiality, fetishes and complex ideations described therein, there is an amazingly uncomplicated set of basic truths that set me free (as far as how I was able to relate to men and what they think, as far as I personally was concerned).

I haven't yet gotten my hands on DFW (Oh, dear job market, heed my call) but I would probably see this movie because I'm hopeful that I may one day see a film that isn't pure bullshit pablum, served up to the sex-in-the-city set.

Posted by: replica at September 8, 2009 12:57 PM

His books were never about the narratives; they were always about the language. The prose. The ideas. The intellectual rigor. And, let’s be honest: The showing off.

Hey, Cormac McCarthy manages to pull it off, including the narrative.

Posted by: Deistbrawler at September 8, 2009 1:51 PM

Whoa. Whoa whoa WHOA. Josh Charles is in this?

I'm sold. Dude is not around enough.

Posted by: Mimi at September 8, 2009 2:13 PM

As she records the astonishing and disquieting experiences of various subjects, Sara discovers much more about men and herself than she bargained for.
---
So ... she interviewed Skitz, Slim and Guess Who? and lived to tell about it?

What, too easy?

Posted by: , (TCFKAB) at September 8, 2009 2:47 PM

I'm with Mimi. Josh Charles needs more attention, Hollywood, and I will support all of his cinematic endeavours. Though I am lukeworm about this idea as a whole.

Posted by: Cruise at September 8, 2009 4:47 PM

Tracer Bullet? I like you.

Posted by: dsbs at September 8, 2009 5:30 PM

did I just see Ben Gibbard in the credits for this?

does he act now?

Posted by: kyle at September 8, 2009 7:52 PM

I am lukeworm
---
That like a tapeworm?

Posted by: , (TCFKAB) at September 8, 2009 11:49 PM

Tracer, that's a bunch on shit. There is nothing wrong with modern literary fiction. If it's good, it's still about something even if it lacks a zippidy-do-da plot to take you from A to B.

Everything doesn't need to be so easily reducible to a cliff notes summary. Everything doesn't need to have a nice, neat, linear plot so as to be easily optioned into a screenplay. Sometimes you want to curl up with a pot of coffee and labor over the language, the prose, the ideas, the showing off...


replica: Thanks for the Men in Love recommendation, I may need to seek out a copy in the near future. If (when) you get into DFW I highly recommend starting with his books of essays (Consider the Lobster, A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again). They are hilarious and brilliant, but also easy to slip into and out of without the commitment & intimidation factor of his longer work.

Posted by: Yossarian at September 9, 2009 7:32 AM

This looks awful, but Ben Shenkman knocked it out of the park as usual.

Posted by: Caspar at September 9, 2009 8:39 AM

Did you actually read Infinite Jest, or is it still sitting on your bookshelf uncreased? I found it worlds more readable than say Ulysses or Gravity's Rainbow.

Posted by: Gary at September 15, 2009 9:24 AM