1. Interviewed Stifler.
2. Received the gospel from Charlie Kaufman.
3. Been plunged into the deepest depths of the human condition.
Austin Film Festival took place this past week, and though I was out of town for a quarter of it and busy for the rest of it, I did happen to catch a special screening and perform an interview, which amounted to a more than sufficient amount of excitement for one week.
On Monday morning, I traveled to the Four Seasons downtown for a chat with writer-director David Wain and actors Seann William Scott and Jane Lynch of the new comedy 'Role Models,' which premiered at AFF on Sunday.
I'd caught an earlier screening before the AFF premiere - I enjoyed the film, but maybe not as much as I enjoyed my specially reserved press seat next to Ain't it Cool News. All pretentiousness aside, I did like the movie - nothing too memorable, but enough healthy laughs to keep me entertained for 99 minutes.
Director David Wain
Seann William Scott, Paul Rudd, and Jane Lynch
David Wain, Seann William Scott, and Jane Lynch were endlessly gracious and hilarious. You can find our conversation here.
Only when I began transcribing the interview did I realize that more than half the conversation I had recorded would not fit in a print interview, so what you see is probably a quarter of the banter. A few highlights:
David, this film is quite different from some of the work you’re most well known for (“Wet Hot American Summer”, “Stella”). How was the experience doing this type of big-budget comedy?
DW: I had caviar. I had gold-plated cameras. I had “fluffers.”
SWS: I was one of them.
DW: It’s just different type of material, definitely a different machine behind it, but the actual process of making the movie itself was exactly the same. It’s still just figuring out the best actors, figuring out the best way to tell the story. The tools you have to tell the story no matter what the budget are the same. It was a great experience learning the other side of it.
The film had a great cast. And there were many actors that had worked with David Wain and with each other before. What was the dynamic like on set – did you all get along great?
SWS: It was funny – I hadn’t had a chance to work with any of the cast before. But it was really great for me; I’m a huge movie buff and I’d been a fan of the “alternative comedy.” “Wet Hot American Summer” is one of my favorite comedies, so it was a big opportunity to work with all the guys. But it did seem like all these people knew each other, so at times I kind of felt like the new kid at school.
DW: We beat him up sometimes.
SWS: They raped me.
DW: Then we realized that he was a lot bigger than us.
All of you have played some memorable comedic characters. How similar are you to these characters? Any disclaimers you’d like to present about roles you’ve played?
JL: I don’t think I could do something if it wasn’t in me somewhere. You know, I choose not to lead with the type of narcissism that [her “Role Models” character] Sweeney has, but it’s right under the surface.
DW: How similar are you to your character in “40 Year Old Virgin”?
JL: I don’t have any of the sexual entitlement. But I do have power issues.
DW: Do you ever just count up your IMDB number?
JL: On a daily basis.
DW: I read about myself on the Internet every day. I get Google alerts.
[Side note: It looks like we've neglected him, but Paul Rudd is in this movie. I was originally scheduled to interview him last week, but he pulled out due to a family emergency.]
Now #2 and 3 on my list of things I've done this week all pertain to the Tuesday night AFF premiere of Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut, 'Synecdoche, New York' at the Paramount. Coincidentally, Tuesday's word of the day on dictionary.com was none other than synecdoche! Fate? Yes.
Kaufman himself was present at the screening, performing a Q&A session following the film. The prospect of having him there to sort of elucidate the film was inevitably a futile endeavor - that man is simply on another plane of thought. At times he could hardly comprehend the simple questions the audience presented, and other times he was purposefully enigmatic, believing the power of the film lies in its subjectivity and ability to transform over time. Kaufman is undoubtedly the most cerebral and intellectual screenwriter working in the industry today, and though he gave little or no answers, he was a pleasure to be in the presence of.
As for the film itself, a review is in the works, and an overall very positive one. Conflicting reviews have been surfacing, from those blindly applauding its merits to those dismissing it as pretentious dribble. Personally, I see absolutely nothing pretentious about Kaufman's films - he merely strives to portray the deepest, most basic truths about the human condition.
'Synecdoche, New York' opens today in New York and Los Angeles; 'Role Models' opens November 7
