John Krasinski (best known for his leading role on The Office) gracefully made the transition to director in his 2009 adaptation of David Foster Wallace stories Brief Interviews with Hideous Men. Now he's back at the fest with his second directorial effort The Hollars, and also adds producing to his repertoire with Kenneth Lonergan's Manchester By The Sea. Thomas Middleditch is a comedian and actor known for his role as Richard on Mike Judge's Silicon Valley and also stars in the Sundance World Premiere Joshy (directed by Jeff Baena).
In one of the more entertaining hour long panels from the Cinema Cafe, these two storytellers go head to head discussing the state of creativity, whether college is helpful or not and stretching your abilities to the max. What starts out as a jokey improv routine ends with some legitimately important words of wisdom (including what John Krasinski learned from working with Michael Bay):
Krasinki On Directing
"Be collaborative. The #1 idea should end up on screen, no matter who says it. Once you get that crew and you get that cast, we’re all in the same boat and we’re trying to make something good. So just follow that and go with it. It’s too often you do see people quelling a really good idea because it’s not theirs, and that’s terrible."
Middleditch On "Being an Octopus"
"This is gonna be a really weird metaphor, but think of yourself as an octopus. If you don’t have all eight tentacles out waiting to suck on something that takes you down the current, you’re not using all of your abilities. And that means generating content with your friends so that people might one day notice you."
You can livestream future Cinema Cafe episodes (including tomorrow's session with Werner Herzog and Joshua Oppenheimer) at the Sundance YouTube Channel.
For more, see our complete coverage of the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.
No Film School's video and editorial coverage of the 2016 Sundance Film Festival is sponsored by Blackmagic Design.
