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A recent, otherwise lovelyprofile of Adam Scottin the New YorkTimesstated rather bluntly that theSeverancestar isnt cool.
As supporting evidence, the article mentioned that Scott co-hosted apodcast about U2and that his enthusiasm for R.E.M.
(He co-hosteda podcast about them, too.)
When was the last time it was cool to be an R.E.M.
he asks, adding that not being cool is fitting for the ethos of that band.
and U2, thanks to a special work of art that sits on his living-room mantle.
Did the death of my wife change that dynamic?
Theres a certain fragility between those three people.
On the page, I felt like there was unfinished business there.
As far as innie Mark goes, what you see is what you get.
Other than the Petey of it all, the backstorys pretty limited.
Hes been doing this exact thing for a couple years.
Youve said in other interviews that you wanted to make it clear this was the same person.
How did you manifest that?
She wasnt throwing any judgment on it.
She was just observing.
You find yourself adjusting behavior depending on who youre with.
I approach it that way.
Theres also the fact that innie Mark doesnt have any of the intellectual baggage outie Mark does.
He is, for all intents and purposes, just a couple years old.
He doesnt have the grief and all the stuff that goes into 40-some odd years of living.
He is a blank slate.
Although as Petey says, that sadness comes with you.
You just dont know what it is when youre in there.
So there are traces, physiologically and emotionally, from one place to the other, but its limited.
On the inside, theres more of a lightness to Mark.
It manifests itself physically, sometimes in his voice.
Youve mentioned that youve been into these kinds of stories as a kid.
In 25 minutes, they took you on this whole ride.
It is the most economic show, storytelling wise, ever.
Hes never seen something like this before.
They say you never experience death down there, but of course you do.
Mark just experienced Petey, his best friend, disappearing.
This incident causes him to reach out and want to make amends with her.
Mark also starts reading his brother-in-laws book.
The writing is so funny, especially because Mark and his co-workers take it very seriously.
Did you have material you were actually reading during those scenes?Dan wrote 40 pages of this book.
I think his favorite activity on set was writing those pages.
It was tough to keep a straight face when we were shooting those scenes because its so ridiculous.
Everything they read in the office is Egan prose.
Thats as much knowledge about the world as theyve been exposed to, so Rickens book is mind-blowing stuff.
Saying you dont need your job?
They dont care what a director says.
Theyre notParks and Recfans.
They had a mind and agenda of their own.
At one point one of them was eating the boom operators shoelaces.
Dans a brilliant guy and always had a great answer for every single thing.
Theres a lot of details here and there and hes got it all up in his head.
Its a fully realized world.
Why dont you have it on display?I should have it out here in the living room.
I have a picture of me and Ben Stiller onWalter Mitty.
I have a picture that Bono drew for me.
Wait, can I see the picture Bono drew for you?I have it framed.
And he signed it Bonobos.
I guess the sheer volume of dick jokes on our podcast caused him to draw this picture.
We interviewed him and the Edge and then Adam Clayton took us on a tour of the stage.
We went to the party afterward.
This is before we had interviewed Michael Stipe, and Michael Stipe was at that party.
Bono knew we were doing an R.E.M.
thing and hes like, Have you met Michael yet?
Were like, Oh no.
Hes like, No, Im going to bring you over and meet him.
He went over and they started chatting.
After a while we were like, Lets not bother him.
We didnt want to impose.
You want to meet up with me there and Ill make the introduction?
Hell be so excited that youre coming to his show.
And were like, Well, were headed home, but dont worry about it.
He really is that guy this generous, lovely, fun, brilliant guy.
It was a really magical month and a half or so while we were shooting.
[Pauses] Magical is gross.
I dont want to say that.
Its that particular combination of people where you have the greatest time.
When youre laughing and you cant really breathe we all needed it.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
