NEW YORK — David Cross appears in "Year One," which opens Friday, with Jack Black and Michael Cera. He is dating Amber Tamblyn, late of ABC's recently canceled "The Unusuals." We met at his East Village apartment, where he keeps his truly awesome dog.
--
Is the publicist yours? Or the film's?
It's mine! I've never had a publicist before but my girlfriend, who's in the business, as they say, she's with them, and I said, wow, you know, I've got so much happening right now, in the space of a few months. I've got this movie, the London show, a book coming out ["I Drink for a Reason," due Aug. 31], and it just seemed to make sense. The whole idea of seeking out publicity was anathema to me and how I like to live, but I was also very ignorant and naive about what they do and she kind of explained it to me: No, they keep you out of those things you don't like. I'm still on the fence but then I discovered I might be able to get discounted or even free baseball tickets and I was like, let's do it. So it's a three-month trial basis. And, so far, I've gotten a free jacket and a free tie.
--
They help you with outfits!
I needed an outfit for the White House Correspondents' Dinner and they made a singular phone call to GQ and I went to their offices and got fitted with a suit for the dinner and they sent someone to pick it up the next day.
--
What's going on in London?
I shot a pilot for Channel 4. And it'll air, I believe, in December. When we picture-lock on Friday, it will be almost two years to the day that I was first approached by those guys. The cast is a crazy dream team. ["The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret" costars Will Arnett and Spike Jonze.]
--
Is it worth getting paid in Euros?
You mean pound sterling? The time that I was going over there and working on this back and forth, the dollar was really in decline -- and prices are comparable to New York. I'd walk out of a pharmacy with toothpaste and soap, some Q-Tips, a thing of water, and I was like whoa, I just spent $39. Now that I'm getting paid, the dollar has risen up and I'm getting less. I did the math: man, 30,000 pounds, that's $60,000! Now it's only $42,000.
--
What is the subject of this book of yours?
It's a collection of humor tidbits. Some of it's fictional, some nonfiction, some essays, some really silly [stuff]. The font is quite nice!
--
