For 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.
While “Genius” is still delayed, Krasinski is starring in another project written by Eggers and his better half, Vendela Vida, with “American Beauty” helmer Sam Mendes tapped to direct.
“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.”
What do you think? Does the flick’s set-up and cast have you calling it a work “of staggering genius”? Or would you like to say to the filmmakers that “now you can go” fly a kite? Sound off below.




March 26th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Except this isn’t an adaptation of “A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius” — it’s an original screenplay, no?
March 30th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
Two projects. “A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius” is “still delayed,” but this other movie is written by Eggers and directed by Mendes.
It’s a marvelous group of people to be making a movie together, but I wish this piece wasn’t quite so misleading. Krasinski would be almost perfect in AHWOSG if it were filmed, but this other movie has nothing to do with that.