Sitting in on Rainn’s Spirit Awards meeting

Thursday, January 24th, 2008

After my picketing shift ended yesterday, Rainn Wilson was kind enough to let me sit in on a writers meeting for Film Independent’s Spirit Awards show, which he is hosting in Santa Monica on Saturday, February 23. (The show was granted a Writers Guild of America waiver, allowing the show to hire WGA writers.)

I had never attended a writers meeting, so I was pretty excited!

In attendance were Rainn, three writers, and three production folks for the show. A giant bulletin board held index cards showing the schedule of events for the evening. The purpose of the meeting seemed to be to nail down specific sketches and performers for the show.

There was a lot of laughter in the room as ideas were pitched. At one point, one of the writers actually sang his idea. I thought a vein in his forehead was going to burst as he hit the high notes, but other than that, it was completely hysterical. When his performance ended, he very calmly stated, “I told you it was good.” I hope it makes it into the show!

I don’t want to give much more away, but I will say that another Office cast member may be performing …

Anyway, I had to leave in the middle of the meeting to catch my plane back home, but as I was saying goodbye to Rainn, I told him, “Wow, I wasn’t planning on watching this show, but after sitting in on this meeting, I think I will.” He replied, “You mean you weren’t interested in it before?” I said no, not really, and he laughed.

Thanks, Rainn, for letting me be a fly on the wall!

The show airs live and unedited on Saturday, February 23, at 5pm EST on IFC (Independent Film Channel), with an edited re-broadcast airing that evening on AMC at 10pm.

Posted in Rainn Wilson

14 comments

Tanster, you seriously must have been a saint in your previous life since you’re getting to do all this cool stuff in this life. You deserve it for all the hard work you do and for promoting Office love.
14 | lemoñadé Fri. Jan. 25, 2008 at 7:47am
Yay! I’m getting a free preview of IFC right now, so I’ll be able to watch!
13 | TobyFan Fri. Jan. 25, 2008 at 7:11am
Good for you Tanster! That must’ve been very exciting. :)
12 | StephanieC Fri. Jan. 25, 2008 at 5:51am
It’s so great that you were able to attend! You deserve every privilege for all your hard work
11 | TheOfficeB*tch Thu. Jan. 24, 2008 at 8:27pm
Tanster, you are the Queen Bee.
10 | LL Thu. Jan. 24, 2008 at 8:15pm
I’m an awards show junkie, so I’d already planned to watch. But now, I’m even more excited! Tanster, that’s fabulous that you got to sit in–Rainn is such a generous guy to offer that experience. Thanks for sharing it with us!
9 | black cat Thu. Jan. 24, 2008 at 7:27pm
I am so jealous! That must have been awesome!
8 | DorkyDancer Thu. Jan. 24, 2008 at 6:54pm
Wow…how lucky are you? That’s so cool!
7 | Emily Thu. Jan. 24, 2008 at 6:50pm
Yes I am completely jealous!! Thanks for sharing your experiences with us!
6 | Amy Thu. Jan. 24, 2008 at 6:34pm
tanster, as if we all weren’t so jealous of you already! ;) Sounds like it was an amazing experience! As if we all didn’t love this cast so much already, this is just another example of how great they are to fans. Rainn’s the best - good luck to him on the awards show. I’ll definitely be watching, too.
5 | mg714 Thu. Jan. 24, 2008 at 6:17pm
That is the coolest thing ever! I am so jealous. I’ve always wanted a sneak peek into those meetings; I’m really happy that you were able to get one! Sounds like you’ve experienced more Office these past few days than the fans have all strike :P

Thanks for letting us soak up all the details.
4 | Marc Thu. Jan. 24, 2008 at 6:07pm
I didn’t know he was hosting! The Spirit Awards are usually pretty awesome. I also so envy you. You’re part of The Office now, officially I think. Well done.
3 | Nick1 Thu. Jan. 24, 2008 at 6:00pm
Cool. I think I will watch it now too.
2 | Annelise Thu. Jan. 24, 2008 at 5:54pm
/a drooling…wow Tanster, you’re my hero. lol. that’s awesome tho! thanks for sharing!
1 | officelover Thu. Jan. 24, 2008 at 5:53pm