Writer-Director John Wells on "The Company Men"

We talk to writer-director John Wells about his film “The Company Men,” and life without jobs.

New unemployment claims are down this week. But Fed chair Ben Bernanke is warning it will take years for unemployment to really come down. For many, many Americans it’s already been years.

A new film from writer-director John Wells – “The Company Men” – gives a powerful treatment to the psychic punishment of a jobless economy. Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper and more play white collar go-getters whose lives are – in an instant – blown up by layoffs. Then comes the struggle.

We have a conversation with John Wells about “The Company Men."
-Tom Ashbrook
Guest:

John Wells, writer and director of “The Company Men.” He's a longtime television producer and show runner, and he served as executive producer of all 15 seasons of “ER,” and as show runner for the final three seasons of “The West Wing.” He's currently the executive producer of the TNT crime drama “Southland,” and the Showtime series, “Shameless." Shows produced by Wells have won 55 Emmy Awards and five Peabody Awards. He also serves as president of the Writers Guild of America, West.