One of the many films to premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was John Krasinski’s second directorial feature, The Hollars. Scripted by James C. Strouse (The Winning Season), Krasinski plays an aspiring artist in New York City suffering from an overall lack of joy in his life. When his mother gets sick, he races back home and is forced to deal with his dysfunctional family, a screw up brother, a high school rival, and a jealous ex-girlfriend. While you’ve seen this type of story before, the reason the film works is the cast. Krasinski has assembled a great group of actors (Anna Kendrick, Sharlto Copley, Richard Jenkins,Margo Martindale, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Charlie Day and Josh Groban) and each has a chance to shine. For more on the film read Adam's review.
During my exclusive video interview with John Krasinski, he talked about why he wanted to direct the film, what it means to premiere at Sundance, landing financing, the lessons learned from his directorial debut that he applied to this second film, who he invites to his friends and family screening and if they really give him honest feedback, his first cut versus the finished film, upcoming projects, and more. Check out what he had to say below.
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John Krasinski:
- 0:00 - What it means to be at Sundance.
- 0:46 - Plot of The Hollars and why he wanted to direct it.
- 2:13 - The lessons learned from his directorial debut that he applied to this second film.
- 3:21 - The process of landing financing.
- 4:23 - First cut versus the final film.
- 5:22 - Who he shows the film to for advice (including Rian Johnson).
- 6:23 - How to measure if criticism among friends is honest.
- 7:33 - Length of shooting schedule.
- 8:34 - Shooting on digital. What camera did he use and why.
- 9:34 - Upcoming projects (including producing and theater).
