CELESTE AND JESSE FOREVER tells the story of one couple whose relationship is managing to outlive their divorce. It’s a sweet story written by one of the film’s stars, Rashida Jones and her best friend/writing partner/actor/ex Will McCormack. Everyone always says how great it is to marry your best friend, but sometimes the relationship can tap out on the romantic level and settle in on that more comfortable territory. And that’s the story behind the film. But, the story behind the making of the film might be even more interesting. Rashida Jones, Elijah Wood and Andy Samberg are definitely names that have some clout in Hollywood, but CELESTE AND JESSE is still a true indie. As Jones points out, there ain’t no middle ground in Hollywood these days. Your movie is either big budget or DIY. But for Wood, who is used to big budgets and epic shoots, the indie process was really exciting. I guess there is something to be said for wearing stolen socks.

Rashida Jones and her writing partner Will McCormack were feeling total relief and exhilaration after the world premiere of their movie Celeste and Jesse Forever.

It came after having to sit through the unveiling of the film at the Sundance Film Festival Friday.

“That was like an extra-terrestrial experience,” a visibly relieved Jones told USA TODAY. “We were just bugging out at the screening.”

“We were doing deep breathing exercises,” said McCormack.

“They were not working,” Jones added.

It was a large showcase for the comedy starring screenwriter Jones and SNL’s Andy Samberg as high school lovers now going through a divorce. More than 1,ooo moviegoers packed into the standing-room-only screening in Park City, Utah.

Jones and McCormack, who also has a large part in the movie, have worked for more than three years to get the project onto the screen, and their friends and family (including Jones’ father, Quincy Jones) were on hand to celebrate the culmination of that effort. Add the fact that it was the biggest movie theater the two ever sat in — you get the pressure.

But to their immense satisfaction, the audience went along for the comedic ride. “It really worked,” said Jones.

Sundance festival director John Cooper might have said it all when he introduced Celeste.

“This kind of film makes my job easy,” he said.

After the premiere, the cast celebrated at the Acura Studio with a private dinner at which Elijah Woods (who plays Jones’ unintentionally hilarious boss in the film) served as DJ behind the turntable.

Co-star Emma Roberts, who plays a seemingly vapid pop star in the film, said that after an emotional premiere (“I was wiping away tears”) she was ready to celebrate the success.

“”The Celeste posse is back together,” she said. “Now we’re going to have some fun.”

USAToday.com

Rashida Jones and Andy Samberg chat with Access correspondent Tim Vincent about bringing their new comedy, “Celeste and Jesse Forever,” to Sundance. Does opening a film at Sundance add any additional pressure? Plus, what is the movie about?

The affable Parks and Recreation star is set to premiere the romantic comedy Celeste and Jesse Forever on Friday — a film she co-wrote and stars in alongside Andy Samberg. The script, which centers on the rocky road traveled by high school sweethearts as they grow older, marks her first credit as a screenwriter. In advance of her premiere, Jones reflects on the bonuses of co-writing with an actor and her favorite Sundance moment.

The Hollywood Reporter: Congrats on your first major foray into screenwriting.

Rashida Jones: Thank you! I’m very excited.

THR: How did you come to write this script with actor Will McCormack?

Jones: We’ve known each other for a very long time; we met in the 1990s through his sister Mary McCormack, an actress I did a movie with. She set us up and we dated for two weeks. We realized we were probably better as friends. We are one of the few success stories like that.

THR: Yes, it’s good to figure these things out after two weeks instead of after two years.

Jones: Exactly! That’s what I say. So we dabbled a little bit with writing. We both lived in New York at the time; we tried to caffeinate and come up with ideas, but we never seemed to get through anything. Then we had this idea about three years ago and made a promise to each other — after years of feeling somewhat insecure about our writing capabilities, being surrounded by so many talented writers for our 20s — that we would just write until we had something and finished it. And maybe it could be good? We gave it to a bunch of our incredibly smart friends, who were much more experienced than we were, for feedback. That process really helped. And we originally sold the script to Fox Atomic in 2009. And then they promptly closed a month later, and then we sold it again to Overture and they dissolved a few months later. We were shutting down studios all over town. And then we basically tried to set it up five or six times before we made it.

THR: Sadly, those kinds of anecdotes are hardly atypical.

Jones: Yes, I wish I could say that our situation was unique, but it’s not the case anymore with independent film. But it does force you to put a magnifying glass on how you feel about the material you’ve created.

THR: What was the most difficult part of the writing process?

Jones: I would say losing perspective on what you’ve written is the toughest part. One difficult thing is that you’re looking at your script and thinking, “Well, that’s it! That’s all we can do.” And then you give it to three really smart people and they say things you never even thought about; things that were never in your spectrum of creativity. So I would say, being able to let go of things that you’ve allowed your script to hang on from the beginning, and that you thought were so essential to the plot, was tough. But a friend of mine said, which I thought was really smart, that sometimes when you get rid of something that you thought was so essential to the story, there is a residual that’s left over anyway that the audience can sense, so you have to trust that other people will know. Learning that was really cool, and really hard.

THR: Is it easier or more difficult to write with someone?

Jones: I don’t know. We did write separately sometimes, but I really loved working side by side with Will. We have our own little language. And the fact that we are both actors and could flesh out a scene by acting it out helped a lot.

THR: How much is the film autobiographical for the two of you?

Jones: It’s definitely a pastiche for both of us. We talk all the time about relationships and love and what it means and how it changes — what it means to grow up and how that affects the way you love people. We’re kind of obsessed with it! The film is for sure emblematic of a couple relationships I’ve had; some of them romantic and some of them friendships. It definitely reflects my relationship with Will and other guy friends I’ve had from the time I was 15. Definitely a mashup all around.

THR: Relationships that don’t work out offer up a lot of great material to work with as a writer, don’t they?

Jones: Definitely! There’s no better way to process pain than to write. I’ve not had that experience with acting. I mean, you can momentarily get these glimpses of real pain, but it’s nice to really, really process it and get into it and figure out why it hurts so bad; be really honest about it without having it be you talking to the person you want to talk to.

THR: How did Andy Samberg get the role of Jesse? Were you already friends from I Love You, Man?

Jones: He’s perfect in this movie! I actually met Andy a long time ago, when he was still doing stand-up in L.A. before Saturday Night Live, and we’ve been friends ever since. He’s the greatest. This is absolutely such a great part for him. The movie gives him an opportunity to do some real, honest acting. It’s the kind of thing that’s really exciting for our director Lee Krieger too; to just watch somebody elevate something you’ve written and bring it to life, making it 10 times better.

THR: How difficult was it to not obsess over the script while you’re shooting and acting? Were there a lot of moments of, “I wish I’d written this differently”?

Jones: We’ve lived with the script for such a long time, so that wasn’t too hard. But definitely before shooting I was like, “God I have so many lines! What have I done to myself?” (Laughs.) But I really wanted to give myself over to Lee and let him do his job. I think that’s the only way it could be what it needed to be. Me micromanaging from the outside isn’t going to help anybody.

THR: You were last at Sundance a year ago promoting My Idiot Brother. Do you have any special memories from festivals past?

Jones: Yes, this will be my fourth time. The first time I went for no reason other than seeing friends’ movies. Then I was a co-producer on this comedy The Ten, and then last year for Idiot Brother. And now this year, which is definitely already my most exciting time. But I remember the first year I went I met Michael Keaton and had drinks with him and his friend. He was so cool — that was a definitely highlight for me. In Hollywood, it feels like the hierarchies are all set, but Sundance is still full of surprises. Anything can happen in the snow.

HollywoodReporter.com

When NBC’s genealogy series Who Do You Think You Are? returns with its third season Feb. 3, a new crop of celebrities will explore their family history.

Martin Sheen, Marisa Tomei, Blair Underwood, Reba McEntire, Rob Lowe, Helen Hunt, Rita Wilson, Edie Falco, Rashida Jones, former NFL running back Jerome Bettis, Jason Sudeikis and Paula Deen will be featured on the series executive produced by Lisa Kudrow and Dan Bucatinsky.

“We’re very excited about the stories we have this season,” Kudrow and Bucatinsky said in a statement announcing the news. “This fantastic group of people we have will take us to countries we haven’t visited before which is thrilling and gives us glimpses into crucial details of history that not only shaped their families, but our world. This is what we love about this series; it’s so enriching for us the viewer, as well as the participants and their families.”

Who Do You Think You Arefeatures a different celebrity tracing their family history each week with assistance from Ancestry.com in researching participants’ family roots. Previous contestants have included Sarah Jessica Parker, Kudrow, Rosie O’Donnell and Steve Buscemi.

Season 3 of Who Do You Think You Are premieres Friday, Feb. 3 at 8 p.m. on NBC.

HollywoodReporter.com

“Parks and Recreation” has received a nomination at the 2012 Writers Guild of America Awards!

The WGA will hold its 2012 Writers Guild Awards on February 19 at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles and a venue to be announced in New York.

COMEDY SERIES

30 Rock, Written by Jack Burditt, Hannibal Buress, Kay Cannon, Robert Carlock, Tom Ceraulo, Vali Chandrasekaran, Tina Fey, Jon Haller, Matt Hubbard, Dylan Morgan, John Riggi, Josh Siegal, Ron Weiner, Tracey Wigfield; NBC

Curb Your Enthusiasm, Written by Alec Berg, Larry David, David Mandel, Jeff Schaffer; HBO

Louie, Written by Pamela Adlon, Louis C.K.; FX

Modern Family, Written by Cindy Chupack, Paul Corrigan, Abraham Higginbotham, Ben Karlin, Elaine Ko, Carol Leifer, Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd, Dan O’Shannon, Jeffrey Richman, Brad Walsh, Ilana Wernick, Bill Wrubel, Danny Zuker; ABC

Parks & Recreation, Written by Greg Daniels, Katie Dippold, Daniel J. Goor, Norm Hiscock, Emily Kapnek, Dave King, Greg Levine, Aisha Muharrar, Chelsea Peretti, Amy Poehler, Brian Rowe, Michael Schur, Mike Scully, Emily Spivey, Alan Yang, Harris Wittels; NBC

“Parks and Recreation” has received a nomination at the 23rd Annual Producers Guild Awards! The awards will be handed out on January 21, 2012 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.

The Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy:

“30 Rock” (NBC)
Producers: Robert Carlock, Tina Fey, Marci Klein, Jerry Kupfer, Lorne Michaels, David Miner, Jeff Richmond, John Riggi, Don Scardino

“The Big Bang Theory” (CBS)
Producers: Chuck Lorre, Steve Molaro, Faye Oshima, Bill Prady

“Glee” (FOX)
Producers: Ian Brennan, Dante Di Loreto, Brad Falchuk, Ryan Murphy, Kenneth Silverstein

“Modern Family” (ABC)
Producers: Paul Corrigan, Abraham Higginbotham, Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd, Jeff Morton, Jeffrey Richman, Dan O’Shannon, Brad Walsh, Bill Wrubel, Danny Zuker

“Parks and Recreation” (NBC)
Producers: Greg Daniels, Dan Goor, Howard Klein, Amy Poehler, Morgan Sackett, Michael Schur

Web Series:

“Ask a Ninja” (blip.tv)

“The Guild” (WatchTheGuild.com)

“Parks and Recreation Presents: ‘April & Andy’s Road Trip’” (NBC.com)

“30 Rock Presents Jack Donaghy, Executive Superhero” (NBC.com)

“Web Therapy” (LStudio.com)

As 2011 draws to a close, THR’s chief television critic, Tim Goodman, weighs in on the best that the small screen had to offer this year. Among his picks are a few fan favorites (Boardwalk Empire, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) and others that sadly won’t be returning in 2012 (Friday Night Lights, Men of a Certain Age).

3. Parks and Recreation (NBC)

There is something oddly comforting about the small-town world of Pawnee, Ind. There’s a bit of rural pleasantry going on — which is vivisected by the brutally funny jadedness and wisecracking of its city officials. Quirk is everywhere on Parks and Rec, but it’s not the stilted kind found on The Office. There’s a real likability to this series. Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman lead a stellar cast that populates one of the funniest fictional universes on television.

HollywoodReporter.com