OSU chats with Greg Daniels and B. J. Novak

Ohio State University’s The Lantern scores an interview with Greg Daniels, executive producer of The Office, and B. J. Novak.

Casino Night is discussed; proceed with caution.

Read the official article here, and the rough transcript here (recorded by the reporter’s sister, Becca, who also happens to be an Office fan vid creator — check out her videos in the video playlist under “Becca Productions”).

The transcript includes Greg Daniels’ first public mention of the supersizedoffice.com petition!

Alicia: Well I guess I should ask about the finale, you’re probably not allowed to give away too much, but I heard it’s supersized, which is exciting.

Greg: And that by the way came about because a Chicago newspaper had printed something that I said in an interview about, I was just kind of being a little facetious and saying Jeff Zucker oughta supersize it because I don’t want to have to edit it, and these fans started a website called supersizedoffice.com…

Alicia: Yeah, I signed that petition.

Greg: Oh, did you? Good for you! Yeah, anyway, well they really listened to that. And that’s why we have a supersized office.

Nice!

April Fool’s Day PSAs available at NBC.com

The entire collection of April Fool’s Day videos, some of which were shown last night and patterned after “The More You Know” public service announcements, can be found at the newly redesigned Office site at NBC.com.

And they’re Mac-friendly, woo-hoo!

I think my favorite ones are “Lipstick,” “Invite,” and “Taping Sex.” Kelly’s cute as a button, Pam looks just a little stressed, and Ryan needs a beer. (But not a $9 beer.)

Update

Here’s what Greg Daniels, executive producer of The Office, had to say about the PSAs:

…we decided to produce these as if NBC went directly to the characters and asked for their advice, and then we’re putting them online as a little fun extra for the fans. Hopefully, by further popularizing the phrase ‘The More You Know,’ we will help make addressing the camera in front of a concrete wall the only acceptable way of transmitting information in the future.

Read the complete press release here.

What was your favorite PSA?

Update: You can find transcriptions here.

Will the real Jim Halpert please stand up

Did you know that our favorite salesman Jim Halpert is named after a real person?

Amy Joyce of the Washington Post talked to The Office’s executive producer Greg Daniels about his old childhood friend, Jim Halpert, and discovered there’s more that’s similar between the two Jims than just the name.

(The haircut maybe?)

Read more here.

Sign the petition to supersize the Office season finale!

In Maureen Ryan’s latest article for the Chicago Tribune, she interviews Greg Daniels, executive producer for The Office.

An excerpt:

For the show’s Season 2 finale, “I’d like to get a supersized episode, because it’s a really long script with a lot of good stuff,” Daniels said in a recent phone interview. “So I would like to now address [NBC Universal Television Group CEO] Jeff Zucker through the Chicago newspapers and say, ‘Please give us extra time.’”

A grass roots movement was then born.

Please sign the petition at www.supersizedoffice.com and let your voice be heard on this important national issue! An extra 30 minutes is at stake. (That’s what she said.)

Office nominated for 2006 Writers Guild Awards

The Office was nominated for three Writers Guild Awards:

  • COMEDY SERIES. The Office, written by Jennifer Celotta, Gregory M. Daniels, Lee Eisenberg, Ricky Gervais, Mindy Kaling, Paul B. Lieberstein, Stephen Merchant, B.J. Novak, Michael Schur, Gene Stupnitsky, Larry Wilmore
  • NEW SERIES. The Office, written by Jennifer Celotta, Gregory M. Daniels, Lee Eisenberg, Ricky Gervais, Mindy Kaling, Paul B. Lieberstein, Stephen Merchant, B.J. Novak, Michael Schur, Gene Stupnitsky, Larry Wilmore
  • EPISODIC COMEDY, any length, one airing time. Diversity Day (The Office), written by B.J. Novak

For the complete list of nominees, click here.

With ‘Office,’ NBC Goes Off the Beaten Laugh Track

William Booth of the Washington Post talks to Greg Daniels, executive producer, and B. J. Novak and Mindy Kaling, both writers and actors, of The Office.

To give “The Office” its docu-parody vibe, the show hired camera crews from reality series such as “Survivor,” and so the look is rough and jumpy, the action shot through potted plants, sometimes intimate and sometimes panning back and forth as characters engage.

“The camera guys from the reality show are going wherever they’re interested,” Daniels says. “So the cameraman isn’t 100 percent sure where he’s supposed to be, and you get things at just the right moment. You get these happy accidents, because they follow their instincts.”

Link: With ‘Office,’ NBC Goes Off the Beaten Laugh Track

Source: Prince at LiveJournal