[MUSIC PLAYING]
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT: Please,
a round of applause.
Welcome to the stage,
director and star of "A Quiet
Place," John Krasinski.
[APPLAUSE]
JOHN KRASINSKI: I'll
use all the stairs.
Thank you for doing this.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT:
Yeah, welcome.
Welcome.
JOHN KRASINSKI: Hey, everybody.
[APPLAUSE]
Hello.
What's up?
These are huge.
Good thing I know the time now.
I'm blinded, but
I know the time.
The last thing I ever
saw was the time.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT:
So many ways that that
could tie into what we're
going to talk about.
JOHN KRASINSKI: It's the
best way to tie it all in.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT: Yeah.
JOHN KRASINSKI: No, it's not.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT: Hopefully--
JOHN KRASINSKI:
Thanks so much, guys.
It was great.
Appreciate it.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT: So
this is really new ground--
JOHN KRASINSKI: It is.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT: --a
standard genre creature-feature,
a pretty different
take on things
that you've done in the past.
JOHN KRASINSKI: What?
What do you mean?
What are you talking about?
That's the funniest
movie of the year, guys.
I don't know, pfft.
You're going to love it.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT:
But then also taking
on the directorial
role, co-writing--
credited as co-writer, but
really rewriting the screenplay
to get it to take place.
How was it for you
to broach the genre?
JOHN KRASINSKI: It
was really scary.
But it was really exciting, too.
I mean for me, it's
the weirdest thing.
Nothing will ever stop
"The Office," right?
So it's this thing of that was
the first experience I ever
had.
It gave me all this opportunity.
And I just felt, if I'm honest,
like I needed to earn it.
And I needed to deserve
that amazing opportunity.
So I tried to go out and do
all these new, different things
to push it, because
I know all my friends
that came up with me
would do the same thing.
That's really what
it comes down to.
And so, for me,
it's just about--
and I'm so lucky to have
this opportunity to say this,
because most people can't-- but
I just look for the stuff that
really hits me and moves me.
And so it seems really
weird from that poster.
But this is truly a
love-letter to my kids.
Because this whole movie is
about parenting and what would
you do for kids to protect them.
And again, I know that
poster does not say that.
[LAUGHTER]
But when you see the movie--
I read the original
script, by Beck and Woods,
and the idea is so great.
I have never been
into horror, ever.
I was so scared as a
kid of horror movies,
that I have never really
watched a lot of horror movies.
And so when I was
sent this script,
I definitely thought, there's
no way I'm doing this.
And then I read the
idea of a family
that has to remain quiet.
And you have to figure out why.
It was such a compelling idea.
And then when I
started to read it,
it was just all about family.
It was about these
parents trying
to do everything they
could for their kid.
And the truth is we had just had
our second daughter three weeks
before I read the script.
Listen, I cry at anything.
It doesn't really-- It's not
that much of a compliment
that I cried reading the script.
But I was a wide-open vessel
of emotion and tension.
And I was actually
living through what
this family goes through.
Not the creatures
part but trying
to keep your kids
safe and alive.
And are you a good enough
person to be her dad?
All that stuff is
going through my head.
So when I did do
the rewrite, that's
really where I focused, that
I thought I could actually
be the perfect
person to do this,
because I was feeling so
emotionally connected.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT:
Well, and it's great
that you think of it
in that way and are
so clear on that messaging.
Because it does really feel--
aside from all the
creatures that are around,
it is this sort of
coming-of-age drama.
There's this great
father-daughter dynamic,
great father-son dynamic.
JOHN KRASINSKI: The father is
the best part of the movie.
[LAUGHTER]
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT: How
was it to sort of put
the horror and the
creature stuff aside
and to really focus
on that and dig into,
hey, we're going to deal with
some really heavy issues,
but also the world
around us is crazy?
JOHN KRASINSKI: It's this thing.
The truth of the matter
is-- and Greg Daniels,
who created "The
Office," I remember
there was one day
where he said to me,
your job is not to
deliver these lines funny.
Your job is to
deliver these lines.
Play the truth of the moment.
And if people think it's
funny, people think it's funny.
And if people think what
you say to Pam is emotional,
then it's emotional.
But it's up to them.
It's not up to you.
And that sounds like
a tiny bit of advice,
but it actually changed
my entire career
and certainly was the
reason why I did this.
I mean, truly, if he had
not given me that advice,
I wouldn't have done this movie.
Because, if someone said, go
direct a horror movie, I'd say,
I don't know how to do that.
But what I did do is I
reverse engineered it exactly
as he taught me,
which is your job
is not to scare people
or make the movie scary.
Your job is to make a movie
honestly and tell a story
that you really connect to
and you're confident with.
And if people get scared,
that's up to them.
And you realize, he's
absolutely right.
Because of the family
dynamic, you actually
are more scared in the movie,
because you don't want anything
to happen to that family member.
So again, I mean, truly,
I learned everything
from "The Office."
And certainly, Greg
Daniels' advice there
was the reason why I felt
confident enough to do it.
That said, I am
also a super nerd
when it comes to this stuff.
I remember my dad,
when we were little,
one of the best bits
of advice he ever
gave me was, one of the most
confident things you can say
as a person is, I don't know.
And so diving into this, I knew
a lot of what I wanted to do.
And I knew a lot of
what I didn't know.
And so I had to go
out there, and I
had to, A, watch scary movies.
So if you look at my
iTunes for the last year,
you'd think I have a problem.
And I just watched all of
the scary movies I could.
The first thing I
realized was how
ignorant I'd been
to not participate
in this genre world.
I mean, some of the best movies
I've seen in the last few years
are genre movies,
from "Get Out,"
to "The Witch,"
to "The Babadook,"
to "Let the Right One In."
I mean, there's so
many good movies.
So I just became such a
huge fan and took it all in.
And then creature design just
dove deep into that world,
and it was just really,
really fun, actually.
I love stepping outside
of my comfort zone.
I remember, as a kid, I wasn't
the best basketball player,
but there was that that
idea of, put me in.
And if I screw up,
never put me in again.
And that's sort of
how I feel about life.
I've taken on different genres
and tried different things,
but I'm fully confident with
the fact that, if I do it wrong
or I'm not good at it, don't
let me do that again, please.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT: Well,
I definitely think--
A lot of people saw the movie,
had the ability to see it?
JOHN KRASINSKI: The
people who were crying
are the ones who saw it.
(SOBBING) We saw it last night.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT: One of
the things, when I saw it,
you don't really
hide the monsters.
It's not like a jump scare.
There's some of that
that takes place.
But really, it's a
masterful use of tension.
JOHN KRASINSKI: Oh, thank you.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT:
And I think back
to the concept of Chekhov's gun.
There's so much
great foreshadowing
and like little glimpses and
little hidden things that
then pay off in such a big way.
JOHN KRASINSKI:
Right, right, right.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT: Wearing the
multiple hats of acting in it
and also having written
it and directing it,
did you find it difficult
to embed that stuff,
navigate that stuff from both
sides of the glass on the lens?
JOHN KRASINSKI: Yeah.
It's one of those
things where, when
you do this as a
new experience, you
don't know how it can
go horribly wrong.
And so you just commit
to what you know.
I mean you're
mentioning the gun idea.
It's that thing of I just
knew what would scare me.
And I also knew
that, story-wise,
what would be interesting to me.
And I thought that the conceit
was so brilliant, that you have
to just set it up all along.
I also remember, I wrote
this script, "Promised Land,"
a while ago, that I
wrote with Matt Damon.
And we went into the marketing
department at Focus Features.
And first of all, the guy
scared the hell out of me,
because he was like,
I know everything.
I know what states
you're popular in.
I know what states hate you.
Do you want to know that stuff?
I was like, definitely not.
My ego cannot handle that.
But what I do want
to know is what's
the biggest misconception, in
your opinion, of audiences?
And he said, the
biggest misconception
that the film industry has
is that audiences are stupid.
They're very, very smart.
They want to be challenged.
And they want to go
on a ride with you.
They don't want to
be told everything.
Again, I took that
and put it in here.
So all of the things
you're talking about,
I remember thinking,
wow, I mean,
if we could get away with
all these subtle hints
that later you feel you
earned, because you're like,
I did see that tiny
thing in the first act,
and it paid off at the
end, that was great.
I didn't want to
confuse anybody.
But my instinct was, go
with as little as possible,
where people feel excited,
rather than go with,
OK, guys here's a eight-minute
preamble of what happened.
This is a diagram of what
everything looks like
and where they came
from and all that stuff.
It was really fun to have you
be, as an audience member,
as freaked out and nervous as
to what's going on as the family
is.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT: Right.
The film doesn't really
deal with the backstory,
hardly at all.
I did have one bone
to pick, which was--
JOHN KRASINSKI: Oh, god.
Here he comes.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT: --that
the opening slate just
says, "day 89."
JOHN KRASINSKI: Yeah.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT: It's
like less than three months,
and everything in the
world has gone to shit.
JOHN KRASINSKI: Yep.
They were quick.
These creatures were
like [SNAPPING FINGERS]..
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT:
That's not a lot of credit
to give humankind--
JOHN KRASINSKI: No.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT:
--that we would
last less than three months.
JOHN KRASINSKI: But it's funny.
But you actually nailed why
I made it such a low day.
It happened quickly.
Because, for me, alien
movies are always about,
what do they want?
What's the grand plan?
And I'm sure there has been
alien movies that are just
about predators or whatever.
But my thing was, what if
these aliens just landed,
and they don't want anything?
They just want to go for it.
And so it's like releasing
wolves in a daycare center.
There's just no contest.
You know what I mean?
It was sort of one of those
things of like, yeah, let's get
into a war room and decide--
oh, everybody's gone?
Yikes.
So that's sort of
what I thought.
That's plausible, too.
Everyone's like, did he just
say wolves in a daycare?
[LAUGHTER]
That'll be played back, perfect.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT:
That's an interesting--
JOHN KRASINSKI: A daycare
center of very able-bodied
30-year-olds, sorry.
Sorry, I did not mean
the horrible version
that you thought.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT: It's
an interesting layer
that I hadn't considered, the
sort of, how much we flounder
over choosing decisions
and making decisions
in a moment like that.
JOHN KRASINSKI: Yeah, I just
didn't want the president
scene of like, what do we do?
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT:
Right, right.
JOHN KRASINSKI: Because the
president was just [SNAP]..
People are just taken
at different times.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT: We talked
about the parenting layer.
But also, I was
curious, if there's
like a living in New York layer?
Obviously, you're a
very well-known actor,
a creative person in the city.
Did that thought
ever cross your mind
when you were making
this of like having
to navigate this city
without the massive monsters?
JOHN KRASINSKI: 1,000%, yeah.
You're tapping into my
secret idea of how this would
continue if it did continue.
I think the idea of this
whole world being explored
is really interesting.
To me growing up in the East
Coast and growing up in Boston,
I had to do it as
rural Northeast.
And the reason is not just
because I have a connection
to it, but also because I
wanted it to feel like anywhere,
anytime America.
That, if this did happen,
you could place yourself.
If you're from Indiana,
you could say, oh,
that's sort of like
a farm I grew up in.
It just places you in a--
I don't know-- in that way
that sort of nostalgic movies
do really well.
"Close Encounters," I mean,
if you polled everybody here,
where that is--
actually, everybody
here would know,
because you're very smart.
But most people
wouldn't remember.
They'd just say, I don't know.
It's a guy who went crazy in the
middle of a mountainous area.
And I liked that.
It's South Dakota, isn't it?
Damn it.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT:
Devil's Tower.
JOHN KRASINSKI: You Googlers.
Yes.
Nailed it.
I just slipped
that in somewhere.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT:
So it's really good.
It's really good.
Even the smallness
of it, as grandiose
as the environment is, as
grandiose as the world is,
the movie is very small.
Really, the amount
of time, we're
talking about two days out
of these people's lives.
And the area that's
covered is very small.
Did you find that
keeping it small
helped you connect with the
core of the family involved?
JOHN KRASINSKI: Oh, 1,000%.
Yeah, I think that I'm
one of those people
that the more
information you give me,
the more my mind wanders, which
makes me a very annoying person
to watch a movie.
Because if you even drop a
hint at something, I'm like,
what happened to that?
And the people are like, focus,
there's a movie happening.
I'm like, I don't know.
This thing over here seems
very untethered to the rest
of the movie.
But I think, also, this idea
of family was so much scarier.
Because, again, all the cliches
are true when you have kids.
But your kids are the only
kids who exist in the world.
Do you know what I mean?
It's why every parent is like,
I think my kid is really smart.
And you're like, I think
every kid's really smart.
But it does.
It feels very intimate.
It feels very much to you.
And I loved the idea
that this family just
decided that priority number
one was this unit, that it
wasn't everybody else.
So, yes, being on a farm,
the idea of isolation,
that visually not being
able to see other houses
or see a highway or a way out
was really important to me.
Because they can't make it
100 yards let alone 100 miles.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT: I
almost went into spoiler,
but I'm not going to do it.
JOHN KRASINSKI: Don't blow it.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT:
Not going to do it.
But talk about the two kids.
Noah Jupe and Millicent
Simmonds were great in the film.
How was it to work with them?
Obviously, Noah has a
huge reputation already.
JOHN KRASINSKI: A reputation?
He's got a reputation.
He's like the kid in the
back, who's like, I do movies.
[LAUGHTER]
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT:
And Millicent
up for a lot of
young acting awards.
How was it to work
with the two of them?
JOHN KRASINSKI: I
mean, here's the thing.
They-- they?
I've always heard,
don't work with kids,
because they slow
everything down.
They never really understand
what they're saying.
And they don't get
their takes right.
And they have kid hours, which
aren't the same full hours
that you have.
And it just sounded
like a nightmare.
I had the exact
opposite experience.
So these kids are not only
some of the best actors
I've ever worked with, but
some of the best people
I've ever gotten to know.
That's the truth.
I mean, these kids are
so unbelievably special.
And you can see it in the movie.
And I remember Noah saying
something really interesting.
He said, you know, the lack of--
of course, he's more articulate
than me, because he's 13.
But he said, you know
the lack of dialogue
didn't give me anywhere to
hide, the fact that I didn't
have dialogue to hide behind.
I said, what do
you mean by that?
And he said, well, when
you're rehearsing your lines,
you think of like timing and
how you're going to deliver it.
And I was like,
obviously, you're
delivering it super-cool.
And he said, when you don't
have that, you actually
have to live through it.
You have to be sad.
You have to be scared.
You have to be happy.
And I just said, yes.
Just do all of
that, that you said.
It sounds super-smart.
And it's true.
These kids were
just so phenomenal.
I probably ended up
slowing them down.
But how I found
them was Noah had
been on "The Night
Manager," which I saw.
And he was really great.
And I know this sounds
horrible, but when
I knew what I wanted
for the movie,
I was watching him in
"The Night Manager."
And I said, yeah,
he's pretty good.
And then there's a scene
where-- sorry to spoil it--
he gets kidnapped.
And I was like, let's see how
good he is with kidnapping.
[LAUGHTER]
And that kid does
kidnap real well.
And I thought, well, he's in.
He's terrified.
And I'm nervous to watch him--
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT: So
you went and kidnapped him
and made him--
JOHN KRASINSKI:
Yes, that's right.
Not in "The Night
Manager," just kidnapping.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT: Yeah.
JOHN KRASINSKI: I hired
a couple of goons.
What am I talking about?
Are we in 1942?
And then Millie was one of those
things where we just literally
caught on to a shooting star.
It was non-negotiable
for me to have
a deaf actress in the movie.
Not for any grandiose PC
reason, but, literally, because,
obviously, the performance would
be much more textured, honest,
because she's living
through it every single day
as a deaf person.
But more than that,
selfishly, I needed a guide.
I need someone to
walk me through this.
And I want I love collaborating.
And I love ideas.
And so I wanted her to come
on set, and I wanted to know,
what it's like to be the
only deaf person in a hearing
family?
What's it like?
Do you get angry?
Do you get empowered?
What do you feel these things?
And she was so
unbelievably generous.
Again, at the time, I think she
was 13 when we were shooting.
And Emily and I are convinced
that she's not actually
from Earth.
That she's an angel.
I mean she's the nicest,
greatest human being.
And I know this sounds
super poetic, but it's true.
I've never had someone
take in all of me
when they looked at me.
As I was talking, she's
looking at your hand gestures.
She's looking at your eyes
and your facial expressions.
But more than that,
she's legitimately
feeling your essence.
She is a wonderfully
powerful person.
I remember at
South by Southwest,
my mom went up to
congratulate her.
And the translator came over
to help translate for my mom
or for Milly.
And Milly said, no, no, no, I
know exactly what this woman is
trying to say to me.
It was just so beautiful.
So I mean, I'll start
crying, right now,
even thinking about it.
But it was so nice
to have her on set.
And then to boot, she's
one of the best actresses
I've ever seen.
I mean even Emily, who I think
is the best actress going,
was like, no, this
girl is the real deal.
She's so phenomenal.
So anyway, I think that's the
longest answer I've ever given.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT:
Did you know--
JOHN KRASINSKI: The kids
were really fun to work with.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT: Did you know
ASL before going into the film?
Did you have to learn it?
JOHN KRASINSKI: I mean,
I remember, I think,
in like elementary school
and junior high school,
we learned some ASL.
But no.
The answer is no.
I was aware of certain
tiny bits and pieces.
We learned all the
ASL for the scenes.
And then we learned
a little bit,
to communicate more
casually and comfortable,
for Millie, off set.
But then, all of a sudden,
the crew started learning ASL.
Noah learned-- I think he
might be fluent in ASL.
My biggest regret was
not learning more,
because I was so busy doing
so many different things,
that I wish I had learned more.
Because-- again, it sounds like
I'm harping on this romantic
version--
watching Millie
talk to her mom, I
was convinced that there's
no more beautiful language
in the world.
I mean truly, there's
great languages to speak.
But watching someone paint
their ideas through the air
is unlike anything
I've ever seen.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT: And it
plays off really powerfully.
JOHN KRASINSKI: Yes.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT: And
it works as a great boon
for the family in the film.
JOHN KRASINSKI: Exactly.
Yeah.
It's sort of the leg up
that they have, yeah.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT: A deeper
level of communication, too.
Talk about working
with Emily in the film.
She plays your wife.
JOHN KRASINSKI: Who is Emily?
Yes, right, the diva.
[LAUGHTER]
No.
Emily-- they just cut
you out of this frame.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT:
I am not here.
JOHN KRASINSKI: And John was
all alone on that answer.
[LAUGHTER]
We've always wanted
to work together.
We've always talked about it.
It's weird, because we keep our
careers completely separate.
We never wanted the
story of us being
married to supersede whatever
story we were telling onscreen.
So it was hard to imagine that
we would be able to find it.
Luckily, this story is pretty
out there, so we're safe.
But on top of it, it had
to be an organic thing.
If I'm honest, when I was doing
the rewrite of the script,
I knew that I only wanted her.
She was very busy.
Like I said, we had just
had our second child,
and she was also
doing a little indie
movie called "Mary Poppins."
So she was working a lot.
And to be honest, I
think I was just scared.
I think I was just
plain scared to ask her.
So the truth is, I never
even brought it up to her.
She knew what I was doing.
I pitched her ideas.
She started pitching other
actresses that she thought
would be great for the role.
And the reason why
I didn't ask her
was because I saw it
going one of two ways.
One, I ask her, and she
says no, which makes
for a very awkward dinner.
Or she says, yes,
I'll do it for you,
which would honestly be worse.
That would be a
heartbreak to me.
Because I've been witness to
how intelligent, how classy,
the unbelievable taste level
she has in her choices.
I just couldn't stomach the
idea of her doing anything
as a favor to me.
I had to let her
career be her own.
So she read the script when we
were flying on a plane one day.
And she said, do you
mind if I read it?
And I said, yeah, no problem.
Truly not thinking
that she would do it.
And when she finished the
script, she turned to me,
and she did look sick.
And I literally went
for like a barf bag.
And she said, you know you can't
let anyone else play this role.
And I turned to her, and I
said, what are you saying?
And she's like, you can't
let anyone else play it.
And it was like she
was proposing to me.
I was like, are you saying
what I think you're saying?
[LAUGHTER]
And she was like, will
you let me do the movie?
And I was like, yes!
[LAUGHTER]
And I was like, hold on, sorry.
I should've played
that so much cooler.
I don't know.
Let's see how you are on tape.
[LAUGHTER]
Let's set up an audition.
So I screamed, yes,
on an airplane.
And then we were
working together.
So how was it working with her?
I mean the short
answer is I finally
got to see why she's
such a good actress.
I remember the week before
we started shooting,
I went to find an editing
bay that we would then
edit the movie in.
And they actually happened
to be editing "Mary Poppins"
at that editing bay.
And so Rob Marshall, who's
an unbelievable human being
and a wonderful director,
said, when are you shooting?
And I said, next week.
And he said, oh, man,
you're going to see.
And I said, I know.
I love her so much.
And he said, no, no,
no, you're going to see.
I said, I know.
I'm her biggest fan.
And he said, nope,
not till you're
in the room when she does
what she does will you know
why she's such a good actress.
And I thought, wow, what
an incredible thing to say.
And also, how dare you, sir?
What are you talking about?
And the scene that's in that
poster was like day three.
And he was absolutely right.
I mean she did one
take of that scene.
We have coverage
of different shots.
But the big, momentous
moment of the scene, she
only did one take of.
And genuinely, the air
changed in the room.
I mean something came
through the room,
and I was totally stunned.
I couldn't say anything.
The crew couldn't say anything.
And then, at the
end of the take,
you literally hear me say,
that's lunch, question mark?
Like what do you do after that?
And this is how good my wife is.
She was like, yeah, by the way,
what do they have for lunch?
And I was like, what?
You were just like possessed
by the devil, and now--
The devil is not in this movie.
I'm sorry that was misphrasing.
That is a different movie.
This is just creatures--
just creatures.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT: Let's expand
a little bit more on the--
JOHN KRASINSKI: He said "devil."
It's definitely--
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT:
--on the production.
I recognized, very
early-- and one
of my favorite parts of
the production of the film
is the way that you
deal with the sound.
Obviously, sound is a huge part.
But the way it's dealt with,
with Millie's character,
the way that it's mixed
throughout, the dynamic level,
how far did you find
yourself wanting to push it?
Do think you got there?
Does it payoff for
you as the director?
JOHN KRASINSKI: I
mean it is really
one of the most fascinating
parts of this experience.
I have always known
the power of sound,
because I did this movie.
The first thing I ever did
was I adapted a script,
called "Brief Interviews
with Hideous Men,"
this David Foster Wallace
book, that I was in love with.
It's a very simple movie.
Basically, a woman
interviewing guys.
And I remember, they said, now
you have to do your sound mix.
And I was like cool.
What is that?
And we went and mixed it.
And I realized the power of,
even just dialogue scenes, what
happens when you sound mix.
There's a whole atmosphere
and all these things.
So I learned very quickly.
Little did I know
how far you can go,
I mean truly through the
looking glass type stuff.
You can really lose your mind
in the sound design of this.
And I had the greatest people
on board, Ethan and Eric.
These guys are just so
unbelievably talented.
And they realized that this
was such a huge opportunity,
because, in the movies
that we have nowadays,
you're completely surrounded
by a wall of sound,
which can be a bit of an
assault on the senses.
And weirdly, taking the sound
out is just as assaulting.
It's just as disconcerting.
And it was really, really fun
to start playing with that
and then realizing, let's take a
big swing and see what happens.
And when you take
certain big swings,
it's like, whoa,
you really start
pushing the boundaries
of, certainly,
what I've experienced
in the movies before.
And that's been my
favorite compliment,
that audiences have
been saying leaving,
is that this is an experience.
It's not just a film.
I mean you can't get that
without sort of assaulting
the senses in all ways.
And so, yes, I love what we did.
There was always
that happy medium
of making sure it didn't feel
like a sound experiment, where
people are like, I get it, man.
You wanted to take
us all the way.
And you want people to
remember that it is a movie.
It has to be entertaining.
So just the idea of
playing with these things
and keeping it entertaining
and fun and moving
was really important to me.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT:
That's great.
How much more of this type of
like all inclusive approach
would you like to take
going forward from here?
Is it a big challenge
to direct yourself,
to get so involved in the
production of a movie,
and then be able to represent
the character as well?
JOHN KRASINSKI:
Yeah, it's so weird,
because, when you look
at the titles on paper,
it seems overwhelming.
And you immediately say,
what the hell are you doing?
Why would you do this?
On day one of
shooting, you're like,
why would you executive produce,
help write, star, and direct?
It sounds insane.
And I mean this.
It sounds super corny.
But it's true.
I've never been all in on a
project like this in my life.
I mean this, yes, it's really
exciting for me, as a director,
and career-wise it's
something new and different,
and I'm really excited about it.
But personally, I was so
emotional and so emotionally
connected to this material,
because of the family
and because of the
kids and because
of thinking of my own
kids and things like that
and having my wife on
set, that what you realize
is those four titles ended
up being my only weapons
to protect the project
in every facet.
So it became this
unbelievable gift
that, yes, it's a ton
of work, but I loved it.
How much more would I do?
I got to be honest,
I loved doing it.
I loved sort of
developing and producing.
And I'm sort of
insane, so I love
being crazy with how
much work is going on.
But I don't necessarily need
to do all of them all the time.
Maybe you direct and don't star.
I'd also love to just act.
You know what I mean?
That's also really fun for me.
I think I just love
exploring is what it is.
That's the worst answer ever.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT: OK.
To follow that up, have you
found that the diversification
has helped you to
transition out of what
was kind of a defining role,
for you, as Jim in "The Office?"
JOHN KRASINSKI:
Yeah, absolutely.
But the truth is it's funny.
I always want to make
it clear that I never
wanted to diversify from Jim.
I think, at the
end of my career,
I'll probably still be best
known for that character.
And that is awesome.
I mean that's an honor.
I mean you can't get a
better thing than that.
That was so special.
It was lightning in a bottle.
And I remember, till the
very last day of shooting,
it was lightning in a bottle.
We knew.
I remember people
coming up, who were
on other TV shows, being like,
what season did you guys start
hating each other?
And I was like, never.
I mean truly, we were a
family till the very end.
So that was something
that I actually
wanted to move and
try other things,
because I knew I could
never attain that again.
So it was trying to
do different things.
And then the truth is-- and,
again, it sounds corny--
but I named my production
company Sunday Night,
because, when I first
got to New York,
I was a waiter and a
bartender and whatever else,
weird job I could possibly find.
And I remember someone
saying, the one thing
you don't get to do as
a working actor is act.
You got to do all these other
things to pay the bills.
So my friends and I would
meet on Sunday night.
And we were all trying
to do creative stuff.
And you realize it
was the only night
that we could ever talk about
plays, movies, books, music.
And so we just nerded
out on each other
and talked about all
these huge dreams.
And if we got the
chance, we'd do this.
And these crazy Hollywood
types don't know how to do it.
And it was so much fun.
Those people inspired
my life forever.
So like I said at the beginning,
when I did get the opportunity
to be in "The Office" and have
this huge opportunity, of what
do you want to do
going forward, I just
thought of those guys
and those conversations.
And I thought, I
can't just sit back
and wait for another
comedy or another show
to come along that's like that.
I got to try to you honor
what we talked about
at those tables.
And that's why I did it.
That's why I started
making different choices
and trying new things.
Because I thought
these guys would
1,000% do that if they
were given the same chance.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT: Excellent.
Excellent.
We do want to open
it up for questions.
JOHN KRASINSKI: What?
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT:
So if you guys
want to make your way to
a microphone over here.
While they sort of get
set, and since we're
on the topic of "The
Office," Google,
here, is a very big office.
JOHN KRASINSKI: Really?
That's weird.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT: And I
was wondering, in the time--
JOHN KRASINSKI: I didn't even
know we were in an office.
This looks like
we're in "Star Trek."
I mean I feel like I'm--
[LAUGHTER]
--definitely up in
space right now, right?
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT:
I was wondering,
in the time since the show
has ended, if you've come up
with any great Jim pranks
that you would maybe
go back and enact if you could?
JOHN KRASINSKI: No.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT: OK, we'll
take a question over here.
JOHN KRASINSKI: I was never
a prank guy growing up,
so I was so lucky.
The writers of the
show were unbelievable.
I mean, they've all gone on
to create their own hugely
successful shows,
so you can genuinely
see how talented they were.
But coming up, I mean
it was my favorite thing
to read those scripts
and be like, yes, when
you read the prank.
I think my favorite one was
the nickels and the receiver.
That was just so
weird and amazing.
And it took way too much time.
And I loved all of it.
I loved that.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT: My favorite
might have been "Asian Jim."
JOHN KRASINSKI: Yeah?
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT: That
was a really good one.
JOHN KRASINSKI:
Randall is amazing.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT: We'll
take a question over here.
AUDIENCE: Hello.
JOHN KRASINSKI: Hello.
AUDIENCE: Hey.
JOHN KRASINSKI: Thank
you for checking the mic.
That was good.
AUDIENCE: Yeah.
Always a good idea.
I'm a big "Office" fan.
And I'm really glad
that you decided
to use Schrute Farms
as a set on your movie.
JOHN KRASINSKI: Yes.
AUDIENCE: Because I
totally visualized that.
JOHN KRASINSKI: Yeah.
AUDIENCE: I was expecting
Dwight to come out of the bit.
But as a director
and a producer,
what sort of decisions
go into choosing a set
and choosing a
location for the film?
I know you talked about
city versus rural,
but, even within rural,
what kind of decision making
did you take?
JOHN KRASINSKI: A lot.
So I started shooting
the show, "Jack Ryan,"
and we were up in Montreal.
And so every-- well, to
be honest, every day,
but on the weekends,
especially, I was looking--
this is not a joke.
I was looking on Zillow for
like farms in upstate New York,
because I thought, well,
if they're selling,
then maybe they'd like
crazy Hollywood to come in
before they sell it.
It turns out most
people do not want that.
And I found this house.
It was on an old Zillow listing.
And so I actually,
legitimately found the house,
and then called the studio.
They send in
someone to make sure
that people wouldn't fall into
a sinkhole or something when
we were doing it.
And then I met the guys
who were running it,
these two incredible
farmers, a family.
And they are the
nicest people ever.
And I said, would you
ever have a movie?
So then I flew down and
met them personally.
I had to do it all
by myself, because I
felt like, if you're
going to completely change
their experience,
day to day, you've
got to have the personal
connection of letting
them know that I'm here to do
it not some group of 300 people.
So it was really
fun to choose that.
So I had a lot to do with
it and so did Zillow.
AUDIENCE: I'm glad.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT:
Isn't there also
some crazy story about
growing a bunch of corn?
JOHN KRASINSKI: Yeah.
So that farm, which
you can't see.
I just pointed to nothing.
So that farm-- nowhere.
Got it.
It was a pumpkin farm.
And it was something
like 600 acres.
But they only used a
certain amount of acreage
for pumpkins,
because we were going
to be shooting in
September and October,
and they were the hottest
Halloween jamboree in town.
And so when I told them
that we needed corn,
there were, yeah, yeah,
sure, so some corn.
And then we'll
plant our pumpkins.
And I was like, no, no, no,
guys, we're going to need corn.
And so they planted,
I mean, something
like 40 acres of
corn or something
and just as far as
the eye could see.
And I will say,
the coolest thing
is when it finally cropped
up, when we started shooting,
the guys came, and
they looked at it.
And they were like,
this is awesome.
And I said, yeah.
You going to go back to corn?
They were like,
god, no, pumpkins.
I was like, oh, OK, great.
Perfect.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT: Let's
take a question from the side.
AUDIENCE: Hello.
JOHN KRASINSKI: Hello.
AUDIENCE: A question
about how you evaluate
your career and your best work.
You've mentioned how
important your family is.
Obviously, In the
industry, there's
people you idolize that
you've gotten to meet.
How do you evaluate,
ooh, that was good work
or like the highlights?
JOHN KRASINSKI: That's
a really good question.
If I'm really honest, it's
very difficult for me.
Because, I don't know,
just the way I grew up,
I was never the--
I don't know.
I feel like it's
something about Boston.
Boston was never one of those
places that you're like,
I'm amazing.
And people were like,
that's so great for you.
Usually, you're
like I'm amazing.
And they're like, get him.
The one in the
back, take him out.
It's just it was a
cool place to grow up,
because you got to
focus on what you loved
rather than what you
loved about yourself.
And so it's really hard for
me to be like, it's amazing.
I think that, in a
terrible baseball analogy--
here it comes-- it's
that idea of, when
you hit the fat of
the bat, you know when
the ball connected in a way.
You don't know what's going
to happen to that ball.
But you know you felt really
good about what happened.
Told you it was a terrible--
AUDIENCE: I don't know
what a fat of a bat is.
JOHN KRASINSKI: Damn it.
There's a part of the
bat that's fatter.
It doesn't matter.
I blew it.
Basically, I can tell when
I'm happy with what I did.
And I know, when we
were shooting this,
that something felt
very special for me.
And to be honest, the
most overwhelming thing
about the very kind response
that this movie's gotten
goes back to instinctual
high school days of like,
you have something
that you think is cool,
and you really hope that other
people think it's cool, too.
And when other people
go, yeah, that's cool,
you're like, oh, my god.
I mean it's genuinely moving.
I mean, when we were at South by
Southwest, the night before we
premiered down
there, my wife said,
you what's the one thing you
want to take away from this,
just so you're not stressed
about the whole thing?
And I was like, too late.
And I said, if people
cheered at the end, that
would be really cool.
Because it's kind
of a fun experience.
And when people jumped
out of their chairs
and screamed at the
top of their lungs,
I think I blacked out and
only woke up yesterday.
I am so genuinely moved and
overwhelmed by that response.
So I can say I'm
happy by the response.
But I'm not like, I'm awesome.
I'm pretty awesome.
That was terrible.
People are like,
and record that.
AUDIENCE: Thanks.
I've only seen the
trailer so far.
And I can't wait
to see the movie.
Maybe it will be addressed.
But you had 89 days to
take the batteries out
of that space shuttle.
What was going on there?
[LAUGHTER]
JOHN KRASINSKI: All right, man.
Turn off the cameras.
Turn off the cameras.
What you'll see in
the movie is, when
you are put in a situation--
and they're coming.
These creatures are coming.
This is just a parable, guys.
No.
Everything is very
specific to survival.
So you'll see in the movie
that that space shuttle is not
something that is theirs.
They do not own that.
So there was no way for
them to know that batteries
were in the space
shuttle, because they
didn't know it existed.
And I'm not going to spoil it.
But had I known the
batteries were in it,
I probably would have
done something about it.
AUDIENCE: Thank you.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT: We only
have time for a couple more,
so if we can rapid fire,
maybe two on the side,
two on this side.
And you can--
JOHN KRASINSKI:
At the same time?
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT: No,
not at the same time.
JOHN KRASINSKI: Dwight.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT: Go ahead.
AUDIENCE: Hi.
JOHN KRASINSKI: Hi.
AUDIENCE: First of all,
thank you for coming.
JOHN KRASINSKI: Oh, my
god, this is so exciting.
AUDIENCE: Thanks.
I have a basically
top-of-the-paper,
a basic question.
But did you have any favorite
scene from "The Office"
that you like to
rewatch or anything?
JOHN KRASINSKI: I rewatch
everything all the time.
No.
Going back to the other
question, I don't.
I think one of my
favorite scenes--
there are two that
I always remember.
I don't watch them over
and over, because I just
play it in my head.
The two things, a
really specific moment,
was when Steve had us
over to his apartment.
And he took the TV, and he said,
and then when guests come over,
you can just do that.
I think that's the hardest
I've ever laughed in my life.
And then the other one is
when he dressed up as Santa
and had Kevin sit on his lap.
I mean, if you watch the
outtakes, very clearly,
I was an unprofessional person.
Because I couldn't get
through that scene.
So those are the two that I
play back in my head and laugh.
AUDIENCE: Thank you.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT: Quick
one over on this side.
AUDIENCE: Hey, John.
Thanks for coming.
JOHN KRASINSKI:
Hey, how are you?
AUDIENCE: Good.
I didn't know that
this movie was
about protecting your children.
And that's really
cool, because I'm
having my first son, my
first child in August.
JOHN KRASINSKI: Congratulations.
AUDIENCE: Thank you.
JOHN KRASINSKI: That's awesome.
AUDIENCE: So now
I want to see it.
And I'm going to bring my wife.
[APPLAUSE]
JOHN KRASINSKI: Tell her it
is way easier to give birth
than this, I promise.
AUDIENCE: All right.
She won't believe you.
But I really want to know--
I'm getting advice from
everybody and their mother
and their landscaper
for parenting.
But it would be cool to get
parenting advice from you.
JOHN KRASINSKI: Well,
that's really nice.
AUDIENCE: And protecting
from aliens and the like.
JOHN KRASINSKI: Yeah, yeah.
So when aliens
come, you're going
to want to clear out all the
noisy toys, take those away.
Anything plush is safe.
No, it's funny, my number
one bit of parenting advice
has been, listen to no
one, because it's always
a unique experience.
But to me-- so walk away.
No, I got so many different
pieces of advice that I
still, to this day,
use, one of which
is communicate with your kids.
Don't just talk to them and
tell them what's happening.
You actually have to
walk them through it.
Because they see
things in extremes.
So instead of saying,
don't hit your sister.
We're going to put you in
a timeout or something.
It's like, hey, so I've
asked you three times not
to hit your sister in the face.
And now we're going
to go over here.
And you have to step
away from the game.
And they actually process
really, really well.
And I think that that's a
big misconception, certainly,
of mine, was that
they can't process.
They're so much
smarter than you are.
And I know you work at Google.
But trust me, this kid
isn't even out yet,
and he's smarter than you.
AUDIENCE: Yeah, you're right.
Thanks, John.
JOHN KRASINSKI:
Yeah, you got it.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT: That seems
like a pretty great place
to wrap up on this.
JOHN KRASINSKI: Yeah,
you got it, yeah.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT:
I want to thank you--
JOHN KRASINSKI:
Thank you very much.
MATTHEW HENDERSHOT:
--for coming today.
JOHN KRASINSKI: I
really appreciate it.
[APPLAUSE]
