The German Word for That Permanent Expression on Jason Segel's Face

By now most of the internet has seen the on-set snaps of Jason Segel costumed for his role as David Foster Wallace in the upcoming film adaptation of David Lipsky's Although Of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself: a Road Trip With David Foster Wallace. Things look awkward to say the least, so let's get the requisite nail-biting and seat-squirming out of the way now.

Photo credit Vanessa Andrade

I tend to agree with George Lazenby on this one:

If I wanted to design a personal hell for David Foster Wallace, I would

• summon a golem from the ashes of his strangled body,
• put a $ on its forehead,
• deprive it of the third dimension,
• reduce it to a quaking shadow,
• and project it on screen after screen after screen,
• to prop up a road movie with the kid from facebook.

BUT since so much of DFW's work struggles against the modern tendency toward bitter cynicism and ironic detachment, I'll reserve judgement on this one until it hits the box office.

Haven't read DFW yet? Most (all) people start with (and quickly give up on) Infinite Jest, the author's 1,100+ page opus. Our staff STRONGLY recommends you instead try A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again - the author's best essay collection is every bit as brilliant and biting as his fiction, and much shorter.