-

One of the many films to world premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was director David Wain’s great new movie, A Futile and Stupid Gesture. The film chronicles the life and career of National Lampoon co-founder Doug Kenney (played by Will Forte) and doesn’t gloss over his troubled life. If you don’t know Doug’s name, he co-founded National Lampoon with fellow Harvard students Henry Beard and Robert Hoffman and helped grow it from a local college paper to a hugely successful nationwide brand. He also worked as a writer in Hollywood on films like National Lampoon’s Animal House and Caddyshack. The film also stars Domhnall GleesonJoel McHaleEmmy Rossum, Martin Mull, Natasha LyonneThomas LennonJoe Lo TruglioSeth GreenMatt Lucas, and many other faces you’ll recognize. For more on the very funny film, read Matt Goldberg’s review.

a-futile-and-stupid-gesture-martin-mull
Image via Netflix

Shortly after seeing the film I got to sit down with Domhnall Gleeson and Martin Mull for an exclusive interview. They talked about when they first heard about National Lampoon, how they got involved in the project, the way the film breaks the 4th wall, how the script changed during production, what was altered in reshoots, and a lot more. In addition, they also played “get to know your Sundance attendee" which includes questions like drink of choice, what’s the last great movie you saw, the last TV show you binged, what’s their ideal sandwich, and other fun questions.

Check out what Domhnall Gleeson and Martin Mull had to say in the player above and below is a list of exactly what we talked about during the interview.

A Futile and Stupid Gesture starts streaming on Netflix tomorrow.

a-futile-and-stupid-gesture-domhnall-gleeson
Image via Netflix

Domhnall Gleeson and Martin Mull:

  • What’s their first memory of National Lampoon?
  • How did they each get attached to the project and why did they want to be involved?
  • Domhnall has great chemistry with Will Forte so how did they make that happen?
  • How the film breaks the 4th wall and lists tons of apologies.
  • Memorable moments from filming.
  • How the film gets to recreate scenes from Animal House and Caddyshack.
  • Did the script change during production?
  • They talk about what was done during the reshoots.
  • What do people want to talk about when they meet them?What was the last great movie they saw?
  • What’s the last TV show they binge watched?
  • What do they collect?
  • Drink of choice?
  • What’s their ideal sandwich?
  • What are the first websites they go to when they first go online each day?
a-futile-and-stupid-gesture-image
Image via Netflix
a-futile-and-stupid-gesture-joel-mchale-chevy-chase
Image via Netflix
a-futile-and-stupid-gesture-will-forte
Image via Netflix