As Smart as They Are: The Author Project

USA, 63 minutes
Director: Joe Pacheco
Screenwriter: Joe Pacheco
Cast: One Ring Zero, Paul Auster, Rick Moody, Dave Eggers, Jonathan Ames, Viggo Mortensen (“A History of Violence”, “Lord of the Rings Trilogy”), Peter Dinklage (“Elf”, “The Station Agent”), Siri Hustvedt
Documentary

Synopsis: After moving to New York, One Ring Zero’s founding members, Joshua Camp and Michael Hearst, discovered a curious unmarked store in Brooklyn that doubled as a makeshift office for McSweeney’s, an offbeat publishing company founded by author Dave Eggers. In addition to selling an odd assortment of products ranging from small rubber cubes to lumberjack supplies, the peculiar storefront also served as the venue for a weekly literary reading series that brought a variety of both burgeoning and established writers to the tiny space. With Camp on accordion and Hearst on claviola, they soon began performing as the house-band for the series and ultimately invited a handful of authors to contribute lyrics. After receiving contributions from a wide range of celebrated writers including Paul Auster, Jonathan Lethem, Rick Moody and Dave Eggers, the duo then faced the challenge of setting this diverse compilation of lyrics to music. Featuring live performances, studio sessions, and interviews with the writers and musicians, As Smart as They Are explores the relationships between music and literature while painting a portrait of the New York literary community that fostered the band.

Website: http://www.pbnoj.com/index.php?content=film

Showtimes: Sunday, April 30, 4:30 PM - Wednesday, May 3, 10:15 PM

preceded by Spin