Almost completely unadaptable for the silver screen, David Foster Wallace's work has been something that most screenwriters wouldn't dare touch, what with the monolithic footnotes and the complicated structure of his prose. This precedent, however, was not enough to deter a young John Krasinski (who you may know as Jim from The Office or from this spring's Away We Go), who began adapting the 336 page collection of unbridaled male-mind ruminations when he was in his early 20s. Over seven years later, Krasinski's passion project Brief Interviews with Hideous Men will be hitting the theaters this weekend, with several already-sold-out live appearances by Krasinski tonight and tomorrow at Austin's own Alamo Drafthouse Ritz. SInce not everyone will be able to attend those particular screenings (but there are still plenty screenings of the film without the writer/director/actor for you to check out), we decided to chat with Krasinski about his motivations behind this project, the value of truth and honesty, and what it feels like to step inside the mind of one of America's finest literary treasures. more ›

The Drive-By Professor talks wise in your ear on philosophy, art, science, and other non-profitable acts of genius. The declarations voiced by The DBP do not reflect those of anyone else in the Ist network. While The Orchid Thief, a fascinating effort in personal journalism, probably is best known as the inspiration for Charlie Kaufman's book-mutilating film Adaptation, Susan Orlean's study of orchid obsession covers everything from mid-century Florida land-scams to irresponsible adventuring to the seedy underbelly of plant collecting to the complexities of botany, hybridization, and cloning. Citing the orchid as evolution's most prized plant (orchids do not self-pollinate, thus requiring them to adapt especially crazily to their environment so as to avoid extinction), perhaps the most notable acclaim I can give this sometimes-meandering book is that, after all, it was captivating enough to get a dude to read 300 pages about flowers. more ›