Question: A lot of times people go into the arts to sort of avoid the corporate world and everything, but I was just wondering, because the show is so really realistic to that world do you feel that you got an idea of what it’s like to be part of the corporate world, and an appreciation of that kind of lifestyle?
John Krasinski: That’s really funny. I definitely remember Rainn Wilson in some of the scenes we were doing background work for, where you had to just pretend to do paperwork. He was like, “Oh, my God, this is exhausting. How would you ever do a 9:00 to 5:00 job?” And I remember laughing really, really hard. I mean, I think there were definitely tastes of it here and there. But yeah, when you’re surrounded by it, it does feel like you’re just working in an office, and that you’re not on a TV show. I think I’m sure Greg can agree, the number one comment of people who visited the set was, “Oh, my God, it looks just like an office,” which I loved. I don’t know what they expected, that it would be, huge CGI walls and places for us to wire work and stunts. I don’t know what they thought, but it was really funny that everybody was like, “Oh, my God, it looks just like an office.”
Greg Daniels: The experience was not very Hollywood, compared to so many. We were in this little industrial street in the corner of Van Nuys surrounded by stone cutting businesses, and we looked at the set when we wrapped. I walked the set trying to think of what I would take as a memento, and there was nothing that out of context was very special. It was only special all together on the set.
All the decorations were motivational posters like “Inspire” and a picture of a sailboat, and the same things that are in any office anywhere. And if you took it and put it on your wall at home and said, “Oh, this is from the office,” you would go, “Yeah. Okay, I guess.” You could have just gotten it from the insurance agent’s office down the hall.
Question: Now that the show’s come to an end were there any fantasy storylines that you wished that you had had a chance to explore, but just never could quite get them together?
Greg Daniels: This season we hit a few of them. For example, the Belsnickel episode for Christmas was something that we had had on the board for years, and actually had been written during the year of the writer strike. That was going to be our Christmas episode that year. And then, another time, another year and, it got changed. So, that was one that we really wanted to hit from the writing perspective.
But yeah, the sad aspect is you still are coming up with ideas for the show and you’re like, “Well, the sets have been torn down and the actors don’t work here, and we don’t have any crew.”
Question: Is the set down already, Greg?
Greg Daniels: The set, yeah. It’s sad, man. It’s just empty. They’re painting everything to look back the way it was before. You don’t want to see it.
John Krasinski: Oh, God.
Greg Daniels: Yeah, but all the future ideas will be the fan fiction comic books that I’m going to be doing.
END
This was great. Thank you! Going home to watch some old eps after work now!
Awesome! Thanks!
Ah, that 27 seconds of silence felt ground-breaking to me. Too much good stuff from this show.
Great great stuff! I feel however that I should curl into the fetal position on the floor imagining the empty office! :(
[from tanster: yeah. that was heartbreaking to hear.]
Great stuff! I always love cast/writer/director interviews! I’ve blocked out my entire day on May 16th! ;) haha!
Seeing their favorite episodes mentioned you can tell how magical Season 2 was. To this day I go back and watch chunks of it at a time.
The show had such a great knack for laugh-out-loud silliness grounded with legitimate drama – which it sorely misses these days.
One of the greatest seasons of scripted comedy tv ever.
Any hope for audio?
What a bummer to think the office is now empty :(
They should totally auction off some of the set props like they did after Seinfeld ended!!
I don’t know how to describe this feeling. Many shows of GREAT quality, greater quality, have come and gone with sadness at the departure.
This however, is truly a hollow feeling. I feel like the beat of my heart is echoing inside me because truly the one thing that my wife and I have shared from our first date till now, is over.
I feel the loss so potently. I’m your average white collar corporate type. 28yrs old. Would never know me as some kind of TV guy. Not like Stanley and his “mystery stories” or Kelly and her “Glee”
The office wasn’t my Seinfeld or sopranos, it was my date night. My dinner infront of the TV night. My cuddle with my wife and laugh night. The office is my funny bone and much like a funny bone, when it hurts, it’s not funny. I’m pained by the loss but appreciative. I only wish NBC would have given the office the lifespan of Law and Order SVU. Alas, I guess America likes Rape and pedophiles more than Oscar and the Senator or Angela and her Cats.
Goodbye my lover, goodbye my friend, you have been the one, you have been the one for me..
Oh gosh. Yeah, that last part was heartbreaking.
I realize this is an entirely unrelated thing to post, but now that I know Greg is so fond of lurking and reading the comments, I’m going for it:
Mr. Daniels, I was going through a box of old college paperwork a couple weeks ago and found one of my annual financial aid statements from a certain women’s college in the Pioneer Valley. I noticed a line item I’d never seen before and did some research on the name. And long story short, tell your parents thanks from a random fangirl for helping to make me the first out of seven kids to go to college. I’ll try to keep repaying the debt by buying DVD sets or something. :)
Now, the relevant stuff:
I really want to know where the Homer doll and Pam’s drawing of the building went! When I watch re-runs now, I keep finding myself wondering where certain things ended up. Like, there’s this sad little part of me that really wants Brian Baumgartner to have that blown-up photo of Michael and Jan at Sandals in a basement rec room.
See you all in Scranton this weekend. :)
I think a small piece of me died when I read that the set is already torn down. :(
The Office and its fantastic characters will live forever in my heart (and on my dvd shelf).
Nicely said gentleman.