As mentioned in "Gossip" and episode #76 of the podcast:

Episode # 76 of THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID finds both Matt and Kevin wondering if that gossip about them is true. Lookit all these rumors, surrounding us ev-ree day-ay. When Michael feels left out of the gossip loop, he goes hunting for a juicy tidbit to get him back in the game. Is Stanley cheating? Pam pregnant? Andy gay? Only one man knows for sure. Later, when Jim holds a secret meeting with Wallace, Michael's paranoia torpedoes the S. S. Tuna. Will Michael choose friendship over management? Then, in a world where insurance fraud runs rampant, can two men uncover the truth? One thing's for sure-- Darryl's sister equals aytch oh tee HOT. Incidental music provided by the Podshow Podsafe Music Network. Email us at TWSSpodcast @ gmail.com, or leave a comment on our blog page at TWSSpodcast.com. iTunes reviews are always appreciated! Help spread the word! Also, PLEASE help support the show by signing up for a FREE 14-day trial of Netflix. Instantly watch every episode of the office from the comfort of your laptop, desktop, or xbox360-connected TV. Go to http://www.netflix.com/twss to start your free trial today. Also, check out http://www.audible.com/shesaid for a free audiobook download credit.

Now that I'm feeling better, Kevin and I plan to produce a double episode of TWSS that covers both GOSSIP and THE MEETING. We'll hopefully record the episode on Sunday night, and hopefully post the new episode sometime on Monday or Tuesday. Thanks for your comments and your patience.

From NBC.com:


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Roll on, episode two. Sounds like a LOT of different plots to break down this week, as well as a lot of potential for wackiness.

As always, leave your comments below, and join Kevin and me in the TWSS Chatroom during and after the episode airs.

by Kevin Crossman

The 61st Annual Emmy Awards were held in Los Angeles last night and The Office came home a winner!  Well, in one category at least. Congrats to Jeffrey Blitz who won the Emmy for Comedy Directing for the post-Super Bowl episode, "Stress Relief."  However, once again, the Office did not win in any of the major categories.

The Office received ten nominations total this year, including Best Comedy Series, Best Actor (Steve Carell), Best Supporting Actor (Rainn Wilson), and other categories including Editing and Casting. 30 Rock received four of the five Comedy Writing nominations, and won the Best Comedy Series and Best Comedy Actor (Alec Baldwin) Emmys. Rainn Wilson lost to Jon Cryer of Two and a Half Men.

Blitz's award is ironic, since "Stress Relief" is not universally loved by all Office fans. Our own Matt Sommer in particular was not a fan of the episode that featured a forced story-within-a-story featuring name guest stars Jack Black, Jessica Alba, and Cloris Leachman. I'll just say for my part that the extended cold open featuring a Dwight-induced fire was one of the best moments in the series' history and perhaps the funniest four minutes on television this year. I also liked the emotional JAM storyline featuring Pam's father.

Blitz is pictured receiving congratulations from Office nominees Steve Carell and Rainn Wilson.

After both positive and negative buzz at an appearance at Sundance, John Krasinski's directorial debut, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, is now set for a limited release on September 25th. IFC Films has released a trailer for the film (HD Trailer at Apple). 

The film is based on the book by David Foster Wallace, with screenplay by Wallace and Krasinski. Starring in the film are Julianne Nicholson, Timothy Hutton, Will Arnett, Will Forte, John Krasinski, and Christopher Meloni.

Plot Summary: After her boyfriend mysteriously leaves her with little explanation, grad student Sara Quinn is left looking for answers as to what went wrong. Directing all her energies into her anthropological dissertation, Sara conducts a series of interviews with men in an effort to uncover the secret thoughts that drive their behavior. As she records the astonishing and disquieting experiences of various subjects, Sara discovers much more about men and herself than she bargained for.

by Kevin Crossman

Melora Hardin's role on The Office diminished last season as her character's downward spiral took her from serious, hard-nosed VP to sex-crazed mid-life crisis to domestic goddess and candle entrepreneur to mother. It's a sad story not just for the character but those of us who loved Season 2 Jan Levenson. I considered S2 Jan to be one of my favorite Office characters ever, so I was interested to finally catch up with Melora Hardin's latest project, her directorial debut with You.

The film stars Hardin as Miranda, a mother who suddenly dies leaving her young daughter in the care of her husband. Hardin's real-life husband Gildart Jackson wrote the script and stars as the Miranda's husband Rawdon. The film explores the nature of love though a series of scenes and flashbacks and involves the family and friends of Miranda and Rawdon, including Miranda's parents (played by real life parents Jerry Hardin and Diane Hardin). The couple's daughter Quincy is played by several actresses over a twenty year span in the film, including Allison Mack as the grown-up version. 

The film's official website (www.youthefilm.com) and the press materials I received with my screener instructed me to "watch it with my family and friends" so my wife and I sat down with our seven year old to watch the film. The press materials indicated that the film is connecting with audiences and causes them to "be inspired by it to connect with the ones they love."

Shortly after starting the movie, we had to send our seven year-old away due to some adult language and scenes of sexuality (nothing too explicit... but too much for our child). The film is not rated but would likely rate as a light "R" - the first blow against the "family and friends" aesthetic.  The film is clearly coming from an emotional place, which means this falls into a romantic rather than comedic genre (no boob job jokes to be found here). I've liked the occasional "chick flick" so that in itself was not a problem.

So, did the film "inspire" my wife and I? I think these two Facebook posts from my wife say it all.


I wish I could say my wife got it all wrong, but when the female part of the family ridicules the emotional story about a widower and his daughter, well, you might guess where I stood. This movie is so completely ridiculous and poorly acted it might well be the funniest film project from an Office alumni all year.

A key part of the "unintentionally funny" aspect of the film is that Hardin's character Miranda keeps appearing to her husband throughout major events in his life. These scenes are far from "spirited" and do not add to the drama; in fact, they take the viewer out of the drama and cause them to think about how unbelievable the entire premise of the film is.

Jackson does a fair job as the central character, often making good acting choices only to be undercut by his own poorly written dialogue and situations. The less said by the three uniformly bad actresses playing daughter Quincy the better.  The film wants to explore relationships over time and at the film's conclusion there is a revelation of sorts - except that the revelation itself actually takes place early in the chronology of the characters, which itself is example of how poorly constructed the film actual is. The "lesson" the character learns is something that they apparently forgot for the next twenty years. It's a mess, plain and simple.

I does not bring me joy to tell you that You is a colossal failure in every possible way, but I'd be doing a disservice by pulling my punches. I had no reason not to like You but it just didn't do it for me. As they say, your mileage may vary, but I can't recommend this to anyone but people who want to see every Office related project. Or for those who love films that are "so bad they are good." In that case, this is the film for you.