Watch Jason Segel Play A Charming And Loveable David Foster Wallace In ‘The End Of The Tour’
Prepare yourself, lit nerds. The first trailer is finally here.
When it was first announced that Jason Segel was cast as David Foster Wallace in an upcoming biopic, the public reaction ranged from quietly hesitant to all-out pissed. DFW is, after all, nothing short of an icon of modern literature; one whose legacy fans were trying to protect after his suicide in 2008. And, until now, Jason Segel had starred as a big goof on a long-running mainstream sitcom and one of the token humans in The Muppets.
It’s fair to ask whether he was the best pick for this first posthumous portrayal.
But it now looks like there was nothing be worried about. The film’s premiere at Sundance earlier this year was met with overwhelmingly positive reviews, and the story itself tends to focus on one particular moment rather than DFW’s entire life. Based on a book tour shared with Rolling Stone journalist David Lipsky, the film is is more a contemplative road trip flick rather an a straight biopic — a painfully vain endeavour which the writer would have no doubt abhorred.
Segel’s performance also appears to be totally on-point. His sedate, considerate, and charming performance has already been picking up some (incredibly early) Oscar buzz. And, before its Australian premiere later this year we can now see all this for ourselves. The trailer has finally dropped online and the critics seem to be right — Segel makes an incredibly loveable DFW.
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The End Of The Tour will premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival in July, meaning you have just enough time to tackle Infinite Jest beforehand. Get on it.