Ken and I wrote the first draft of Wanderlust five(!) years ago this month and since then the movie has been rewritten, cast, prepped, shot, edited, tested, sound mixed, color corrected, and is now 35mm prints are being sent to theaters all over the country, and then the world (According to IMDB, in Romania the title is With the World on his Head and in Portugal it’s Love and Other Scenes.)

Our focus now is getting the word out.  We have the trailer, which is always such a challenge — to communicate a whole movie in 2.5 minutes.  And then even harder to do it 30-second TV spots. Oh by the way there’s a new TV spot out today – here it is:

Over the next two weeks the cast and I will be doing as many interviews as we possibly can, hoping to get everyone to come check out the movie we’ve all put so much love and sweat into!  Spread the word in YOUR world — put together a Wanderlust outing that weekend and send me photos and I’ll post them here!

Watch my twitter feed and this blog for updates on various TV appearances and press – it’s gonna be a crazy couple of weeks.

In addition to the complete seasons 1-4 (32 episodes), there’s a “Playboy After Dark”-esque Pajama Party where I reunite with a slew of guest stars for some chit-chat, music, laughs and fun. Here’s the list:

Paul Rudd
Megan Mullally
Nick Offerman
Julie Bowen
Kerri Kenney
Jennifer Westfeldt
Rosemarie DeWitt
Carly Craig
Craig Wedren
Steve Agee
Ken Marino
Missy Yager
Lisa Lo Cicero
Elizabeth Reaser
Michael Showalter
Lucy Punch
Amy Miles
Beth Dover
Joe Lo Truglio
A.D. Miles
Matt Ballard
Zandy Hartig
Erica Oyama

In addition to that, you’ll find several shorts from my past, including my student opus “Aisle Six”.  There’s funny outtakes, a “make-out megamix”, “Wainy Days Live”, and more. Perfect Valentines Day gift!

Available Feb 14th, or better just, you can pre-order on Amazon, or if you’re in L.A., stay tuned for a special signing event the week of release.

Wed, Feb 22:
6:15pm – Wanderlust tickets here
8:45pm – Role Models tickets here

And for the rest of you – mark your calendars and make plans with your friends! Friday Feb 24th is the big day!

UPDATE 2/8: Sorry to report this event is SOLD OUT

left to right: Phil Lammar, Marguerite Moreau, Michael Showalter, Erinn Hayes, Zandy Hartig, Michael Ian Black, Rachael Harris, Christopher Meloni, Joe Lo Truglio, Paul Rudd, Amy Poehler, David Wain, Ken Marino, Beth Dover (photo by Jakub Mosur)

ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON we did the Wet Hot American Summer radio play at the Marines’ Memorial Theater. It was so surreal and fun to have original cast members recreating their original roles from when we shot the movie in 2000:

• Paul Rudd (Andy)
• Michael Showalter (Coop)
• Ken Marino (Victor)
• Marguerite Moreau (Katie)
• Michael Ian Black (McKinley)
• Amy Poehler (Susie)
• Joe Lo Truglio (Neil)
• Christopher Meloni (Gene)
• Molly Shannon (Gail)
• Samm Levine (Arty)

W.H.A.S. original cast after the show. Photo by Mike Rosenstein

Then the rest of the roles were played by an incredible group of guest stars:

• Busy Philipps (Beth)
• Colin Hanks (Gary)
• David Cross (Professor Neumann)
• Bruce McCulloch (Aaron)
• Gillian Jacobs (Lindsay)
• Jessi Klein (Abby)
• Josh Malina (JJ)
• John Hodgman (Caped Boy)
• Andy Richter (Ron)
• Marc Evan Jackson (Ben)
• Annie Savage (Cure Girl)
• Mark Gagliardi (Steve)
• Hal Lublin (Medieval Kid)
• Craig Cackowski (Moose)

And in an amazing cameo turn as the Can of Vegetables, in costume, Bobcat Goldthwait!

Plus Jonathan Dinnerstein meticulously re-created the entire score on the piano. Ben Blacker & Ben Acker (from Thrilling Adventure Hour) put it all together.

Many have asked if this will be released publicly – I don’t know yet but will post here when I do.

SUNDAY MORNING Michael Showalter and I hosted a “table read” at the Eureka Theater for They Came Together, a screenplay we wrote right after Wet Hot American Summer which never got made. I have to think everyone had fun because we had to stop a few times because the cast was laughing too hard.

left to right: Beth Dover, David Wain, Rachael Harris, Joe Lo Truglio, Ken Marino, Erinn Hayes, Paul Rudd, Zandy Hartig, Marguerite Moreau, Christopher Meloni, Amy Poehler, Phil Lamarr, Michael Ian Black. (photo by Mike Rosenstein)

That afternoon some of us went back to the same theater to see Beverly Winwood’s Actors Showcase, a Groundlings show that had me convulsing with laughter.

Finally on Sunday night, STELLA (Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter and me) hosted a comedy show at the Mezzanine with Release the Sunbird playing great songs all night.

photo by @ronxo

The all-star lineup of comics was Ron Funches, Will Franken, Jessi Klein, Matt Besser, Brent Weinbach and Bobcat Goldthwait. Plus cameo appearances from our Wet Hot cast-mates Paul Rudd and Marguerite Moreau!

More photos from the night at prefix magazine

Thank you SF! And thank you David, Janet and Cole (SF Sketchfest founders) for always mounting such a fun event! (PS if anyone has good photos please link to them in the comments!)

I’m super tired.

But guess what – only one more month until Wanderlust

ADDENDUM: Here’s some more photos at EW Popwatch from the Wet Hot event.

You can catch up on the rest of the season–and all 39 episodes of Wainy Days–on My Damn Channel or YouTube

And coming SOON:

SAN FRANCISCO SKETCHFEST – January 21 & 22
Come join me for three fun events!
WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER – THE LIVE RADIO PLAY – Jan 21, 5pm
One night only, with the original cast on stage
-and-
THEY CAME TOGETHER – Jan 22, 11am
join us for a table read of an unproduced screenplay by Michael Showalter and me with an all-star cast
-and-
STELLA: THE CLASSIC NIGHTCLUB SHOW Jan 22, 8pm
hosted by Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter and me, with special guest comedians and house band.

WAINY DAYS DVD – February 14th

Seasons 1-4 in one handsome collection plus tons of EXTRAS including NEW only-on-DVD interstitials featuring Paul Rudd, Julie Bowen, Rashida Jones, Megan Mullally, Ken Marino and many others. Plus never-before-seen shorts and clips from Wainy Live and more. Pre-order now at Amazon

WANDERLUST – in theaters February 24th
The big day is approaching! Trailer etc, here.

Next week (Jan 9) is the finale of the “Kelly & Arielle” season.
Catch up on all 38 episodes at My Damn Channel or wainydays.com

Hope you enjoy…Happy healthy new year.
DW

And look at this here’s the Wanderlust poster… the movie comes out Feb 24!