When you pop "Year of the Dog" into your DVD player (it's in stores this week), just remember that this sweet sounding yarn about a woman and her sweet pet named Pencil is from the man who wrote and starred in "Chuck and Buck."
Yes, "Year of the Dog" takes some dark turns as Molly Shannon wrestles with some weighty existential issues amid the bright sunshine of Southern California. It's never less than interesting.
Nor is White, a sometime actor and prolific screenwriter, best known for "School of Rock." I caught up with White to discuss his directing debut, the chances of a "School of Rock" sequel, and his secret TV obsession.
MTV: Had you seriously contemplated directing before this film?
Mike White: I had thrown my hat in the ring for a couple other movies half-heartedly. But this was the first that I wrote with an eye for directing it.
MTV: Have you always been a pet lover?
MW: Not really. I had pets when I was a kid. But as an adult I was one of those single guys that didn't want the responsibility. The cat that inspired the movie I really just inherited when I moved into a house. It wasn't like I was seeking out those kinds of relationships with animals. It was just something that found me.
MTV: How dramatic a transition did it feel like, to go from writing to directing?
MW: It didn't feel like that big a transition. Basically the difference is you just do the shot list and say "action." The difference is when you're the writer or actor you can kind of disengage at some point and say "See you at a screening!"
MTV: So no nervousness on the first day?
MW: Some of it is a confidence game. I've spent 15 years trolling around Hollywood, so by the time I did it, it didn't feel that scary. It felt more fun. You kind of become a backseat driver as a writer. It's almost more stressful as a writer or producer on set because you're trying to manipulate the director. When you're the director you can just say, "This is what I want."
MTV: Did any of the reactions to the film surprise you?
MW: There are 8-10% of people who not only don't get it, but they almost have a crazy angry reaction to the movie. I was kind of taken aback by the middle-American reviewers that were angry about the animal rights elements and that they just didn't want to see a movie about a woman at this age going through this kind of thing. It just annoyed them.
MTV: I'd have to think that Paramount is asking you and [director] Richard Linklater all the time about a "School of Rock" sequel.
MW: Yeah. We've been going back forth on it for years. Maybe its time will come. It's hard because everyone is proceeding with other things. It's just about finding the right time. It's risky to go back to that well. But at least when it's mentioned people don't go, "Why would you do that?!?" People actually want to see that movie and I do have an idea for it.
MTV: On a completely unrelated note, I heard you're into "The Hills." True?
MW: You heard that? [He laughs] I feel like you must have been talking to my assistant. Yeah. I'm really into "The Hills." I saw Spencer driving the other day. I see movie stars all the time but when I saw him I was like, "Oh my God." And I was trying to explain it to the person I was driving with. I just felt like biggest dweeb in Hollywood.
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