Zach Galifianakis is following up his star-making and outrageous role in last year's "The Hangover" with a slightly more subdued turn in "It's Kind of a Funny Story," the latest film from "Half Nelson" writer/director team Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden.
In the film, which is based on the 2006 semiautobiographical novel by Ned Vizzini, Galifianakis plays Bobby, a patient in the psych ward of the Brooklyn Argenon Hospital, who becomes a mentor of sorts to Craig Gilner (Keir Gilchrist), a potentially suicidal 16-year-old who checks himself into the hospital.
When we caught up with Galifianakis recently, we asked him how having two directors changed the filmmaking process and if he had any questions for the directing duo before he signed onto the project.
"I had a few questions. One of them was: 'When are the lunch breaks?' 'How long are the lunch breaks?' and 'Is this a Pixar film?' Because those are my three rules," he joked. "No, the script was good, I really liked the directors, and that's kind of what I based it on."
Regarding Fleck and Boden's directing style, Galifianakis said the duo were very organized yet laid-back at the same time.
"Ryan does most of the talking, and Anna is in the background a little bit," he explained. "But equally, I think they have the same amount of influence, but they're very, very good directors. They're soft-spoken and nice. It was a pleasure working with them."
"It's Kind of a Funny Story" opens in New York and Los Angeles on October 8 and also features Viola Davis, Lauren Graham and up-and-comer Emma Roberts.
Check out everything we've got on "It's Kind of a Funny Story."
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