Jason Segel is best known for comedic hits like “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” or “Bad Teacher” but his most passionate pursuit ever?
That’s got to be the 10-episode “Dispatches from Elsewhere” series that he created, produced, wrote, directed and stars in opposite Sally Field and Andre Benjamin.
Moody, philosophical, funny, “Dispatches” has Segel’s character Peter looking for meaning in what’s become a dreary life. Invited via fliers on the street to do something about it he meets three strangers with whom he plays an intriguing game.
“It’s based on a real art installation-immersive theater experience that happened maybe 10 years ago,” Segel, 40, began.
“To me it was the exact opposite of ‘Fight Club.’ It’s the same impulse — that there should be more in this life we’re living. But instead of tearing each other down, these four get together at night and make art and beauty.
“It was art as defiance. I found it very moving, this idea that we could create the world we want.”
We see startling transformations. “You’d wake up and all of a sudden, a normally mundane alleyway would be transformed with murals. A neighborhood where it’s hard to find beauty would suddenly be the most beautiful part of town. Everything about it is real.”
From first draft to final release, Segel spent five years on “Dispatches.” “I have a lot of ideas and try as hard as I can not to write them,” he said with a laugh.
“Because writing is hard. And it takes a long time, like this was. If an idea keeps nagging at me, if I wake up thinking about it, I know it’s not going to let me alone until I do it.”
For Segel, this subject makes it all worthwhile. “I knew I had something to say. I mean, we’re at the apex of this now, a world where we’re feeling increasingly disconnected.
“To write something about coming together — and we’re more alike than we’re led to believe — just became more and more important to me.
“Even though a lot of the messaging that comes towards us is that it’s every person for themselves, I think — and deeper than that, in our instincts — we know the answer is in community.
“It felt like a worthy cause to me to create some art where that was the message. It may be just a small dent in the larger issues but I’m happy to make that dent.”
(“Dispatches from Elsewhere” debuts on DVD/Blu-ray from AMC on Tuesday.)
