John Krasinski - Away We Go (formerly the Untitled Sam Mendes Project) - News & Updates #1

girl in a cardigan · 03-06-2008, 11:11 PM

The casting has been officially released, according to Variety:

Quote:

Krasinksi, Rudolph join Mendes film
Cheryl Hines to co-star in untitled Focus comedy
By TATIANA SIEGEL

John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph will star in Sam Mendes' untitled relationship comedy for Focus Features.

Cheryl Hines has signed on to co-star.

Film follows an expectant couple (Krasinski, Rudolph) as they travel the country in search of a place to put down roots and raise a family.

Author Dave Eggers penned the screenplay with his wife, editor-novelist Vendela Vida.

Shooting is scheduled to start in April in Connecticut.

Ed Saxon is producing alongside Big Beach's Marc Turtletaub and Peter Saraf.

Krasinski will next be seen opposite George Clooney in the period sports comedy "Leatherheads," which opens April 4. He made his feature directorial debut with the upcoming indie "Brief Interviews With Hideous Men," which he adapted from David Foster Wallace's novel.

Film credits for Rudolph, a long-running cast member of "Saturday Night Live," include "A Prairie Home Companion" and "Idiocracy." She and Krasinski previously teamed for voice work in "Shrek the Third."

Hines ("Curb Your Enthusiasm") recently wrapped her feature directorial debut with the indie "Serious Moonlight," from a screenplay penned by the late Adrienne Shelly. Her upcoming film acting credits include "Henry Poole Is Here" and the animated "Space Chimps."

**blue sky blues** · 03-07-2008, 06:36 AM

Oh, I didn't know he was doing a new movie! Gah, I think this movie actually looks like it could be good.

girl in a cardigan · 03-07-2008, 12:10 PM

The news broke back in January, but casting couldn't be confirmed. Now that they are confirming casting, I decided to start a thread for it.

And I think I will be spending some quality time in Connecticut, looking for production

***Enigma*** · 03-07-2008, 04:39 PM

Thanks for starting this Jenn. I remember talking about this awhile back. The news has been everywhere today.

Sounds like fun!

Trip & Run · 03-08-2008, 05:31 AM

I had no idea.

This is awesome!

**blue sky blues** · 03-08-2008, 07:08 AM

Hee, I'm right there with you Jenn. I think I'm going to have to make a trip to Connecticut.

girl in a cardigan · 03-08-2008, 10:53 PM

I'm really interested to see how John and Maya play off each other. She seems a lot older than him, even though there's only a seven year difference between them.

***Enigma*** · 03-09-2008, 12:54 AM

It seems like a weird matchup, so it will definitely be interesting.

girl in a cardigan · 03-26-2008, 12:34 PM

Brief interview with John about this project at MTV News Blog:

Quote:

John Krasinski’s Next Project A Work Of ‘Staggering Genius’
John KrasinskiFor years, a screen adaptation of Dave Eggers’ “A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius” has been in development hell, unable to find a director ready to bring it to the big screen.

See what working with the wife can accomplish, laughed “Leatherheads” star John Krasinski. While “Genius” is still delayed, Krasinski is starring in another project written by Eggers and his better half, Vendela Vida.

“My girlfriend is Maya Rudolph in the movie and she becomes pregnant, we’re both two people that never feel they belong anywhere,” Krasinski said of the film’s setup. “So we decide to travel across the country and see a bunch of our friends. Wherever we feel like home is where we decide to settle.”

Undeniably a simple premise, admitted Krasinski, but one that allows “for a lot of character-driven scenes,” the actor enthused, crediting Eggers and his wife with writing some “pretty incredibly cool dialogue.”

And considering the addition of Mendes, why no title yet?

“We’re just gonna call it’ The ‘Untitled Sam Mendes Project,’” Krasinski chided. “I think it’s genius.”

***Enigma*** · 03-26-2008, 11:53 PM

Thanks Jenn. Can't wait to hear more.

Quote:

“We’re just gonna call it’ The ‘Untitled Sam Mendes Project,’” Krasinski chided. “I think it’s genius.”

girl in a cardigan · 03-27-2008, 06:27 AM

Hee! That cracked me up too! I decided to change the title of the thread to reflect the "genius" title

**blue sky blues** · 03-27-2008, 07:04 AM

He seriously cracks me up to no end.

girl in a cardigan · 04-06-2008, 07:50 PM

New casting confirmed:

Quote:

Toni Collette joins the faculty in Mendes film
NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Toni Collette will join John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph in an upcoming relationship comedy from "American Beauty" director Sam Mendes.

Krasinski ("Leatherheads") and Rudolph ("Saturday Night Live") star as a couple who canvas the country to find the best place to raise their unborn child.

Collette ("Little Miss Sunshine") will play a college professor and close family friend convinced that the kid will end up dysfunctional no matter where it's raised. Cheryl Hines ("Curb Your Enthusiasm") also will appear.

Dave Eggers wrote the script for the untitled Focus Features project with his wife, novelist Vendela Vida. Filming begins this month in Connecticut.

***Enigma*** · 04-06-2008, 10:36 PM

Thanks for the info. She's a good actress.

**blue sky blues** · 04-07-2008, 06:39 AM

Awesome, this movie should definitely be interesting.