IFC Films presents ‘The D Train’ a film by Jarrad Paul and Andrew Mogel.

All his life, Dan Landsman (Jack Black) has never been the cool guy. That’s about to change – if he can convince Oliver Lawless (Marsden), the most popular guy from his high school who’s now the face of a national Banana Boat ad campaign, to show up with him to their class reunion.

A man on a mission, Dan travels from Pittsburgh to LA and spins a web of lies to recruit Lawless. But he gets more than he bargains for as the unpredictable Lawless proceeds to take over his home, career, and entire life. Showcasing Jack Black and James Marden’s most intoxicating performances to date, THE D TRAIN serves up the question: how far would you go to be popular? Co-starring Kathryn Hahn and Jeffrey Tambor.

 

DIRECTORS’ Q&A

 

What inspired the idea behind the film?

We liked the idea of this character who isn’t satisfied with his high school experience, who he was in high school, and now 20 years later he’s still being haunted by it and desperate to change it. And how far would he go to change it.

 

What was your high school experience like and did that have any impact on this project?

Didn’t really come from any real experiences. Sorry.

 

How long did the script take to write?

Think it took about 4 months to write, but then we worked on it continuously for like 3 years, up until we started shooting.

 

Can you tell us what both of your experiences were like putting on the director’s hat for the first time?

It was something that we’d been looking forward to for a long time. We’d been writing for a while and not really in control of the finished product once our part was completed. So we were excited to finally see something all the way through from beginning to end.

 

How many times was the story changed from the script to shooting? Was there a lot of improv considering your cast?

The story didn’t change much. We did some tweaking to fit the actors and a lot of cutting to fit the tight production schedule. And sadly that didn’t leave much room for improv. But we were so lucky to have these actors – Jack, Marsden, Hahn, Tambor  they ended up adding so much to what was already there.

 

Were there any issues that you had while filming that you didn’t anticipate beforehand?

Sure, a lot. Really it was just never enough time. Also making New Orleans, where we mainly shot, look like Pennsylvania and Los Angeles was tricky because it is such a specific-looking place with specific architecture. Oh, and shooting in cars is pretty horrible.

 

Can you tell us about a scene that turned out better while shooting than you imagined when writing the script?

There’s a scene in the movie where Marsden’s character pretends to be friends with Dermot Mulroney. And we wrote Dermot as kind of this Hollywood dick and we weren’t prepared for how game he’d be, and how subtle and real he’d be.

 

What were some of the funnier moments on set?

When Jack had to do a shower scene and he had no qualms about just being naked. Walking around on set in his tighty-whites.

 

We see Jack Black and James Marsden play a different kind of role from the characters we’re used to seeing them play – can you tell us more about the casting process for the film?

It was less about a casting process and more us just begging these guys to do our movie. We thought they were each so perfect and after seeing a moving “Touched by an Angel” episode that they co-starred in together 15 years ago, we knew they had great onscreen chemistry.

 

Can you tell us more about the characters – Oliver Lawless (James Marsden), Dan Landsman (Jack Black), Stacey Landsman (Kathryn Hahn), Bill Shurmur (Jeffrey Tambor) – were they inspired by anyone you both know? Did you have these actors in mind when you were writing the script?

Bill Shurmur is loosely based on my [Andy Mogel’s] dad. Mainly the technologically clueless part.

 

How many shooting days was the film?

22 days. 21 in New Orleans. 1 in Los Angeles.

 

What would you hope the audience would take from this movie?

Every single thing they came to the theater with. And nothing less. That’s our hope.

 

What do you think your high school peers would say about this film?

They’re gonna think we have some issues. Some unresolved issues for which we probably need a considerable amount of counseling.