The Extra Man

Dano stars as Louis Ives, a daydreaming writer who fashions himself a modern day F. Scott Fitzgerald, who sets out for New York to make a name for himself. He rents a room from the eccentric Henry Harrison (Kline), a failed but brilliant playwright who lately finds work as an "extra man", an escort for wealthy society widows. The two form an unexpected bond, and Henry introduces Louis to a fantastic cast of eccentric characters that could only be found in New York.

A man who escorts wealthy widows in New York's Upper East Side takes a young aspiring playwright under his wing.

Dano stars as Louis Ives, a daydreaming writer who fashions himself a modern day F. Scott Fitzgerald, who sets out for New York to make a name for himself. He rents a room from the eccentric Henry Harrison (Kline), a failed but brilliant playwright who lately finds work as an "extra man", an escort for wealthy society widows. The two form an unexpected bond, and Henry introduces Louis to a fantastic cast of eccentric characters that could only be found in New York.

An interview with Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, the Directors of The Extra Man which will premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. See more at Sundance Channel.

The trailer for The Extra Man. A sophisticated and moving comedy from Bob Pulchini and Shari Springer-Berman, the Academy Award nominated writer/directors of American Splendor, THE EXTRA MAN follows Louis Ives (Paul Dano), a lonely dreamer who fancies himself the hero of an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel. When a deeply embarrassing incident forces him to leave his job at an exclusive Princeton prep school, Louis heads to New York City to make a fresh start. He quickly finds a nine-to-five job at an environmental magazine, where he encounters an entrancing, green-obsessed co-worker Mary (Katie Holmes). But it's Louis' new home life that really sparks his imagination. He rents a room in the ramshackle apartment of Henry Harrison (Kevin Kline), a penniless, wildly eccentric but brilliant playwright. When Henry's not dancing alone to obscure music or singing operettas, he's performing - with great panache - the duties of an 'extra man', a social escort for the wealthy widows of Manhattan high society. These two men, separated in age by more than forty years, develop a volatile mentor/apprentice relationship. Through a series of urban adventures where they encounter everything from a leaping lion to a wildly jealous hirsute neighbor, from drunken nonagenarians to a shady Swiss hunchback, Louis and Henry form a memorable bond that bridges their differences.

An inside look at the story and characters of The Extra Man.