Interview

There is Dave. And there is Vendela. And they are married. They have two kids. They write books—mostly. They also publish books (that is, other people’s, under their own imprints). They each have a magazine. His: McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern. Hers: The Believer. Then there’s 826 Valencia, a tutoring space they created in San Francisco where kids can come to get help with their writing. Since its founding in 2002, it has gone national, with seven drop-in centers around the U.S.

They do a lot, those two. When I accuse them of this, all I get is sass. “Ballroom dancing,” is Dave’s answer. And Vendela’s: “Snapping,” which leads to something Dave calls interpretive snapping, a not-so-unsuccessful example of which—complete with Dave singing—I still have on tape.

What they also do is write movies. Together. They are now the screenwriting team ofDave Eggers & Vendela Vida. Their first joint effort, a screenplay called Away We Go, directed by Sam Mendes and edited by the estimable Sarah Flack, is scheduled for release by Focus Features this June. I just saw it. It’s plain lovely. It’s a really sweet, funny, and unabashedly sincere movie about love. (And, before everyone else gets to say it, Maya Rudolph is fantastic.)

When I met Dave and Vendela for lunch in San Francisco, I hadn’t yet seen the film. After we ate with the stunning San Francisco Bay just a couple of blocks below us, we went off to find a quiet place to talk about Away We Go.

NATHAN ENGLANDER: Where am I?

VENDELA VIDA: San Francisco, on top of a parking garage.

ENGLANDER: Yes, in your car. And you’ve given me the driver’s seat since I’m interviewing.

VIDA: Dave’s in the back.

DAVE EGGERS: We’ve got some serious stuff to cover—starting with hair. Should we do the first half about product?

ENGLANDER: You and I always talk curls. Product, or no product? It was on my list of questions.

EGGERS: Are you still using product?

ENGLANDER: I have a mild product in today.