Random Act of Self Indulgence .11

Dave Eggers is a fabulous writer. If you haven't read him, do yourself a favor. Start with A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, and after that, it doesn't matter where you go, as long as you definitely include What Is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng.

In addition to being an author and publisher (he founded McSweeney's), Eggers also does a heckuva lot to promote literacy and human rights. Among other things, he founded a nonprofit tutoring center and writing school for children in San Francisco, called 826 Valencia, and has overseen the expansion of the program to other American cities. (More on 826 National here.)


Now, he's breaking into the movies.

Word has it that he's behind the screenplay adaptation (along with Spike Jonze) of the classic children's book Where the Wild Things Are, along with a novel that will be released simultaneously. The film releases in October, and you can get a sneak preview when you see Monster & Aliens; early reports use words like "brilliant" and "breathtaking" to describe it. Of course, being set to Arcade Fire's "Wake Up" already lends itself to use of those kinds of adjectives.

So we've got two Eggers-related treats for you here. First, a peek at the Wild Things poster! Love it? I do. I do.

Secondly, we happened upon a cool looking trailer from another film Eggers wrote (with his wife, Vendela Vida), and get this: it 's directed by Sam Mendes and stars a bearded John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph, and Jeff Daniels. (Maya Rudolph? She seems pretty convincing here!).

Away We Go (not a kids' film, although parenting is a core theme) hits screens June 11. According to IMDB:

The film is the first studio production to adopt green filmmaking initiatives aimed to reduce CO2 emission. Garbage was reduced by half, thanks to the various bins for recyclable material. Caterers used ceramic and washed dishes as opposed to throwaway products. Vehicles on the set used biodiesel fuel.

Enjoy the trailer: