As I’ve stated many times, The Office is probably my favorite show on television, not just because it makes me laugh, but also because the writers do such a phenomenal job making the audience feel like they are really getting a peek into these characters’ lives. They don’t feel like blown up caricatures, they feel like real people. John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer keep Jim and Pam true to life, and have the incredible ability to make you invested in their characters and their relationship. Krasinski not only directs his first feature, he also wrote and stars in it. Titled “Brief Interviews with Hideous Men,” it is based on a book of short stories by David Foster Wallace. He spent his first Office paycheck to buy the rights to this film, and a staged reading in college was what made him decide to become an actor. I recently attended a screening of the film, and got the chance to interview Krasinski after to ask him about his passion project, and of course, a few questions about The Office. Read on to find out an EXCLUSIVE Office scoop that he gave just to The TV Chick!

I asked him why this book of short stories resonated with him so much:

“I did a reading of it in college–a staged reading. I think that there are few authors that write the way that David wrote. I think that his perspective and view of the world is so specific and unique that he forces you to take in what he’s saying. Whether you like it or not, it forces you–it’s like a weird, incredible talent that he had to allow you to bring the material in and decide how you felt about it. And he always challenged you to look at these characters or anything that he was writing in a few degrees differently, before you made any decisions. So for me, being a junior in college, this was sort of an epic, existentialist [thing] to be like oh my God, look at the world in a different way, this is amazing. Sort of brass tacks later on, but it was a good start.

For those who haven’t seen the movie yet (you really should!), Sarah is the narrator. I asked him if it was his goal to create such an objective narrator.

“Absolutely. I think that was the way it was presented in the book. I think the power of the book is what you get from it, so I didn’t want to tell my audience what to feel. I wanted to give them the experience as if it were documentary-esque. It’s absolutely not a documentary but I wanted it to be deliberate as if people were just seeing it.”

David Foster Wallace is an incredibly complex writer. I wanted to know how hard it was to adapt his work into film.

“This book, in particular, because it was written as dialogue was a lot easier. The first big challenge was editing down the material without losing any of the impact. Hopefully, we did that but the cerebral side of everything is kind of what makes him special. So I tried not to take it all out. This book in particular was presented as immediately it’s some of the best acting material I had ever read. Hopefully the actors felt the same way. It’s so incredibly complex and it has the perspective of the world that only this author has been able to achieve, in my opinion. I pray for the people who are trying to do Infinite Jest and by the way, that’s still going on…that toil. But to me that was one of the things that was very intimidating about doing a movie was I knew how big of a film fan he was. And trust me, I was incredibly tempted to go do some crazy David Lynch shots. At the end of the day, you realize that you are such a fan of his…like I was…that the words are going to do the work for you. “

Shifting from actor to director is a big change, but Krasinski said that he had amazing actors to work with.

“It became incredibly obvious right away that I should just sit back and shut up. So anytime that there were slight adjustments, it was really fun to be able to talk to them without saying think about your parents and what you’re going through. They were like do I need to turn this way, or this way. I would say the left would be great. And that was all we needed to do.”

Krasinski’s passion shines through in the entire movie and he was even able to speak to David Foster Wallace before his death to get his blessing to make the movie.


“It was really scary, because I think [there] are liberties that you are taking. I wanted to be as close to the book as I could, and when you start taking any liberties, it’s terrifying. But we had a phone conversation, when he gave me his blessing to do this, which was thrilling. And one of the things he said that was so great was that it’s completely surreal that someone’s making a movie out of my book because books are supposed to be written, and then they go on a shelf. That’s what they do. The fact that it’s going beyond that is very weird, and I’m not really sure I’m going to see your movie. I just wanted to say that right up front. And I was like “got it.”

In true Jim Halpert form, he even made fun of himself: “Dealing with the actor was the hardest part. Total diva. Once we got all red M&M’s in his trailer, he came out.”

And interestingly enough, he wasn’t even supposed to play a part in the film.

“I was going to do the really cool thing and not be in the movie at all. And if it went poorly, be like “It’s all the actors’ fault.” We actually had a scheduling conflict, we were about 2 weeks away from shooting that scene, and I think the only thing on my resume that made me above the other actors, is that I had read the book 100 times. So people were like “okay, well we’re not going to explain this whole thing to someone, maybe you should just go do it.” And it was the scariest thing I have ever done, truly, acting wise. I was really scared, and I hope I did people justice.”

After this experience of writing and directing a feature film, I had to ask if he could see himself writing or directing an episode of The Office.

“I think I am directing one this year. Fingers crossed. You just got the scoop! I haven’t told anyone yet.”

And being The Office fan that I am, I had to ask about what to expect for Jim in the new season.

“The wedding coming up I think is one of the most terrifying episodes to hear about, and then you see the writers and what they did with it, and I think honestly it will be one of our greatest episodes. It’s one of those things where I think we all start getting–we all got really choked up shooting the scenes that we were doing for the wedding — we had sort of –a little bit of a walk down memory lane in different ways seeing all the characters and what they’ve meant to these characters. And then you realize that you’ve actually been on the air for almost six years. It’s mind-numbing. So it’s a real celebration for Office fans who have been watching for a while. And even if you haven’t, it’s just a really great episode.”

“Brief Interviews with Hideous Men” is out at the IFC theaters in New York and Los Angeles. But it is also available to everyone who subscribes to IFC on Demand. This is truly a wonderful, intense, thought-provoking movie that you shouldn’t miss.

The Office continues its 6th season on Thursdays at 9pm on NBC. Look out for Krasinksi’s directorial debut!

The Office is back in production, with Season 6 set to premiere September 17th and I recently had the chance to speak to Mindy Kaling about what’s to come. Kaling does double duty on the show, serving both as a writer and a cast member - playing the role of the eternally bubbly Kelly Kapoor.

Kaling talked about writing a pivotal episode this season, Kelly’s taste in men and more – not to mention her recent deal with NBC, that has Kaling developing her own series.


IGN TV: The Michael Scott Paper Company storyline was a pretty big departure for the series. Going into this year, are things a bit more back to normal for the time being?

Mindy Kaling: Yes. I think the show is going to stay in that classic Office stuff for awhile – for at least six to eight episodes. The wedding episode is the fourth one and that has some kind of crazy stuff in it, but I think because it is the wedding and people have been waiting for so long, we’ve earned it a little bit for that one. Plus, you can’t have a wedding in an office! But everything else will be good old fashioned Office episodes with A stories and B stories inside the office.

IGN: You’re writing the wedding episode, right?

Kaling: Yes, [Office Executive Producer] Greg Daniels and I are co-writing the wedding episode.

IGN: The many rabid Jim & Pam (or “Jam”) fans are going to expect a lot. Does that put the pressure on?

Kaling: I know! Well, the thing about writing with Greg is it’s not like writing with just another writer, because the buck kind of stops with him, because he’s my boss. I’ve been nervous about pissing him off and stuff! But he loves Jim and Pam, or Jam, more than almost anyone. Of all the people on the show, he’s the most committed to the extreme romantic aspect of the show.

IGN: How do you determine who writes a big episode like that?

Kaling: I think Paul Lieberstein, who’s now the showrunner, he just has an idea of whose voice he’d like to see on something. And I think when I did the two-parter last year, “The Lecture Circuit”, that maybe he was thinking, “Okay, well this episode should be funny, but have serious stuff too,” which is what this [wedding] episode hopefully will be.

IGN: Kelly has had a busy love life the past year. How is she doing this season?

Kaling: Somebody said to me, “Kelly’s into black men” and I’m like, “I guess she is!” Kelly loves black men. Obviously there’s going to be some stuff with Ryan again, because they have a… BJ [Novak] and I love acting together, because we’re like best friends. We always think of scenes when we can be together, and unfortunately, they’re almost always romantic. But actually, there’s going to be a lot of music and dance for Kelly this season, because I love music and dance… But in a relatable Office way!

IGN: I really loved the dancing in “Cafe Disco” last season. It seemed like it had to be fun to shoot, because you got to be so goofy and just dance together.

Kaling: Yes, it was completely fun to shoot. And someone like Ed [Helms], who is now like a movie star, basically… To get him to come back to our dingy little office and cut a rug is so fun. I feel like it’s really rare and it’s just great. When he and Steve [Carell] do stuff like that, you’re like, “Oh my god, someone would pay a lot of money to see this, and I work here.”

IGN: We recently went back and reviewed the second episode of The Office, and our writer, Travis Fickett, noted that Kelly was quite different back then.

Kaling: Completely, yeah.

IGN: His theory was that perhaps Michael so damaged Kelly during “Diversity Day” that she reverted to her high school persona.

Kaling: That is a great rationalization! The actual thing that happened was I said, “I am not wearing that outfit for another four years! I am 25 years old!”, because that’s when we started the show… No, I was 24 then. My god. I’m 30 now, because I’ve been doing the show for so long! But I was like, “I can’t!” Everyone changed though. Nobody really looks the way that we used to.

IGN: Congratulations on your development deal.

Kaling: Thank you!

IGN: I know it’s still early, but any ideas you’re mulling over?

Kaling: Yeah, I do. I would love to do an office-set comedy. It’s not going to be a mockumentary I think, because Mike and Greg, I think they do it well enough that I don’t want to try. I just want to do a straight up theatrical show with scoring. Maybe it’s dated to do a straight comedy now, but 30 Rock does it!

IGN: Are you on any sort of timetable with that? Are you aiming to have a show for next fall, or two years from now?

Kaling: Next fall would be amazing. I’ve wanted a show since I was a little kid, so I’ve had lots of pre-production time on this! I would love to finish the script sometime soon and maybe get a cool producer attached and do it. It seems like NBC is the no-brainer network if you’re a woman in comedy right now, so I feel like if they want to take a risk in me now, they’re crazy, but I might as well strike while the iron is hot!

IGN: If your own show began while The Office is still going, have you thought about what would cause Kelly to leave Dunder Mifflin?

Kaling: I feel like there’s not enough murders and deaths in half-hour comedies. So if we can think of a really creative way to kill her, that would be it.

IGN: [Laughs] It could be a mystery thing.

Kaling: Like a Simpsons, “Who shot Mr. Burns?”

IGN: Yeah. “Who killed Kelly?”

Kaling: God, I can already see Greg rolling in his grave when I propose that Kelly gets murdered. He’s like, “What show do you think we are?!”