On an unusually hot early April evening, the Ziegfeld crammed in more than 1100 well overly dressed men and women. The red carpet was buzzing with actors, actresses, and even Stefania Fernandez aka Miss Universe. (I could tell it was Miss Universe by the shawl over her shoulder, which read, “Miss Universe.” Oh, and the lovely PR lady reaffirmed she was indeed Miss Universe.) Among the notable guests were writer/director/actor Josh Radnor, actress Malin Ackerman, the beautiful Kate Mara, Pablo Scheiber, Zoe Kazan, Tom Everett Scott, Carla Gugino, and a few more. Despite the striking beauty of Miss Kate Mara, Malin Ackerman, and Carla Gugino (amongst others) I was able to maintain my cool and speak with the first time writer/director Josh Radnor about his film, Happythankyoumore please.
When I asked Josh how he was able to get the ball rolling on his screenplay, Josh said, “This was something I wrote my second year of How I Met Your Mother. I wrote half of it in New York, and once I was able to get actors and actresses attached, the film began to become more real.” Josh teamed up with New York production company Paper Street Films, which was a huge contributor to getting this film made.
Josh also added that while he loves acting, he is definitely ready for a career in writing and directing feature films. It seems this is his true aspiration. Though acting isn’t exactly something he should or wants to quit anytime soon. As the lead in his own film, it should be noted that he filled in the role as New York writer, Sam Wexler, as best as anyone else in Hollywood could. To put it simply, he’d be a good casting choice even if he didn’t write the film himself.
After speaking with actress Zoe Kazan, who played the role of Mary Katherine in the film, she reaffirmed my feelings saying, “Josh is such a strong writer and amazing director. He is going to surprise a lot of people.”
There were mutual feelings amongst the cast, even actor Pablo Schreiber told me, “the script was solid and there was very little need for improv while shooting the film.” Pablo played the role of Charlie in the film, who had a dilemma of whether or not to leave New York City to start a life in Los Angeles.
