I’m really looking forward to this: comic actor Rainn Wilson, best known as Dwight in “The Office” is starring in a new movie called “The Boy.”

It’s described in a press release as a “chilling, intimate portrait of a 9-year-old sociopath’s growing fascination with death.”

More: “It’s the summer of 1989. Nine-year-old Ted Henley (Jared Breeze) and his father John (David Morse) are the proprietors of The Mtn. Vista Motel, a crumbling resort buried in the mountains of the American West. Since Ted’s mother left, John has drifted into despondency—becoming a living ghost, haunting the motel—leaving Ted to fend for himself. In this isolation, unchecked by the bounds of parenting, Ted’s darker impulses begin to manifest. The arrival of a mysterious drifter, William Colby (Rainn Wilson), captivates young Ted and the two form a unique friendship – setting the stage for Ted’s final, unnerving metamorphosis.”

“The Boy” will be released by NBC Universal to video on demand and in very limited and sort of obscure release in New York on August 18th.

Here’s the trailer. Looks like fun! Elijah Wood is listed as a producer. The little boy, Jared Breeze, should be in therapy soon by the looks of things.

Debra Winger is not old enough for actual ‘assisted living’ but I am glad she’s agreed to be in any movie! I can tell you her new project is called “Assisted Living,” and her co-stars are the very talented Aidan Quinn, and, strangely enough, the great pop singer Macy Gray. (I hope she sings in the movie!)

Kevin Spacey is executive producer. Why, you ask? The director is Dianne Dreyer, long referred to in press reports as his ‘girl friend.’ She’s also, professionally, been a script supervisor on dozens of films including, most recently, Warren Beatty’s untitled Howard Hughes movie (for which we are waiting with baited breath). I met her years ago during the “American Beauty” period, and she was smart, smart, smart. Her bio says she’s also from Lynbrook, Long Island, so I like her even more!

“Assisted Living” is written by first timer Audra Gorman and produced by Ben Cox. I’m told it has something to do with the postal service. In that case I would call it “Going Postal.”

PS Debra Winger is very picky about her roles. So let’s encourage this film to be a success!

Stories from the red carpet at “Ricki and the Flash,” where everyone except Meryl Streep did press. Streep plays a ne’er do well rocker, Ricki, leader of a bar band called the Flash. They’re all real musicians and everything was recorded live.

Famed studio musician, 66 year-old Joe Vitale, who is the drummer in the Flash, said the process of portraying a band member was the same as for any of his other gigs. “I’m a musician for a living so it wasn’t very different for me. I’m not an actor and there’s always these cameras and lights but we basically showed up and rehearsed and started filming.” He told me they put in eight-hour days for three weeks.

As for what surprised him about Streep, Vitale said, “We already knew she could sing. But I was told she started learning guitar in April and we started in September. That’s not much time to learn a musical instrument. And she nailed it.”

He added of Streep, “Her timing, her intonation, her coordination, singing and playing at the same time. That’s not easy.”

When I asked if she could be a real rocker he told me she should keep her day job. “I think she could probably make a better living being an actor,” he laughed, “but she was having the time of her life and I think it shows in the film.”

The terrific playlist, Vitale told me, was something Streep and director Jonathan Demme put together, including tunes by Pink, Lady Gaga, and the Rolling Stones. The director “Demme “wanted to a cross section of as many weird artists as he could fit into the film,” Vitale laughed.

As for his favorite Meryl Streep scene, “She’s out in the crowd playing guitar, singing ‘Wooly Bully,’ I think. And she’s rocking and rolling and she comes back to the stage and she tripped and fell on her back and we’re like, ‘Oh, no!’ and she’s still playing the guitar and screaming. I was like, ‘You’re a pro,” he laughed.

Don’t look for that scene. “That’s not in the movie,” he told me. “I wish it was. It was so real. I’ve seen big stars I’ve worked with do that and they keep going. People think its part of the act.”

As for the believability of a film featuring rockers in their 60’s, Vitale told me, “We invented rock and roll. We’re not dead yet!”