Based on the short story Mimsy Were the Borogroves, New Line Cinema's The Last Mimzy is the story of a couple of children who stumble upon a box containing strange items they believe are toys. As the two youngsters play with the mysterious objects, their IQs increase dramatically. Rainn Wilson (The Office) plays their science teacher who gets drawn into the unusual events when he realizes their IQs are beyond the level of genius.
And for those who were wondering where the name 'Rainn' came from, the actor says it came from having "kind of crazy bohemian parents, living in Seattle in the late ‘60s."
The Spiritual Aspects of The Last Mimzy: “I actually have spiritual beliefs that are very important to me, and I grew up a member of the Baha’i Faith," explained Wilson. "It was one of the things that drew me to this project, in reading the script and seeing the spiritual and metaphysical journey that the story takes, as well as the science fiction and adventure journey. That’s such a rare thing in a Hollywood film and I was really attracted to that.”
Attracting Young Viewers: Wilson said the fact The Last Mimzy will attract a younger audience than most of his films - and the TV series The Office - didn’t figure into his decision to become involved in the film. “No, I didn’t really look at it that way,” explained Wilson. “I think that I just really responded to the story. I didn’t really think about it as a family film, or that I should expand my horizons to incorporate a family audience. Last hiatus, after that season of The Office, I was offered a number of projects that were very broadly comic. And, after playing Dwight for eight or nine months, I just didn’t really feel like doing that. I wanted to try something different and play a real character. Although he’s eccentric, he’s a real three-dimensional person that you can picture really living in the real world.”
Working with Director Bob Shaye: Not only did Shaye direct the film, he’s also Co-Chairman and Co-CEO of New Line Cinema. But Wilson didn’t let that affect him. “It wasn’t daunting to me. I don’t really care about that. If I did a bad job and he never hired me again, I’d just get work somewhere else. I’m fine. I’ve got a TV show (laughing).
I just didn’t know his work as a director, so that was a little bit scary for me. He directed this one other film called The Book of Love a long time ago, and I actually had a friend in that film - John Cameron Mitchell, the creator of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. I called John and said, ‘So, what’s Bob Shaye like?’ He gave me the story of Bob Shaye and said, ‘Ultimately, he’s a good guy and a smart guy, and he’ll treat you well.’ That led me to sign up for the project.”
Rainn Wilson’s a Long-Time Fan of Sci-Fi and Fantasy: “I think the first movie I ever went to was 2001: A Space Odyssey,” recalled Wilson. “I was 5 or 6 years old and my dad took me. It was terrifying. I had nightmares about that baby coming over the earth for the rest of my life. (Laughing) I love science fiction movies. I loved Logan’s Run and the Star Wars movies. Close Encounters, which was produced by Michael Phillips, is fantastic. That was a seminal movie for me.”
Office Work and His Co-Stars: During the show’s hiatus, most of Wilson’s co-stars kept busy doing feature films. Asked if he noticed anything different when the group reunited for this season of The Office, Wilson replied, “No. The main change that’s happened for all of us, since we’ve gotten famous and since the success of the show and the addition of movies, just has to do with time and energy. There’s just a lot more demands on your time. There’s a lot more press and photo shoots and movies and rewrites and meetings, and stuff like that. I have one day off in the month of March. …That’s one of the challenges.
When you read stuff about celebrities and how they’re bitches, you realize that there’s so many demands put on people and so many requests. And then you have old friends writing and they want you to send head shots, or they want you to host a charity event, and you don’t want to let them down. You want to keep everyone happy, but it’s hard. But, it’s great. I’m not complaining. It’s definitely a dream come true.”
Rainn Wilson Has Worked for His Share of Bad Bosses: Wilson says he’s worked for bosses like the one Steve Carell plays on The Office. “I’ve had bosses worse than Michael. People are always like, ‘I don’t believe Michael Scott would be the boss at that company.’ And it’s like, ‘Dude, I have worked for people so much worse than he is, so much less funny and more boorish and domineering.’ They’re out there.”
