A reporter and a rising novelist engage in an intense five-day interview in Director James Ponsoldt’s new feature, The End of the Tour.

Based on David Lipsky’s critically acclaimed memoir Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself, Ponsoldt’s film retells the true story of the interview Lipsky (Jesse Eisenberg) had with soon-to-be iconic novelist David Foster Wallace (Jason Segel), on the heels of the publication of Wallace’s groundbreaking epic novel, Infinite Jest. The interview becomes its own kind of epic as the exchanges stretch out over a five day span during which the journalist and subject intellectually spar with each other and their own preconceived notions.

Following the DGA membership screening in Los Angeles on August 14, Ponsoldt spoke about the challenges of making The End of the Tour in a conversation with Director John Krasinski (The Hollars).

In addition to The End of the Tour, Ponsoldt’s filmography includes the features The Spectacular Now, Smashed and Off the Black; as well as episodes of the series Master of None, Shameless and Parenthood. He became a member of the DGA in 2013.