As for how he juggled his triple play of screenwriter, producer and actor, Mr. Krasinski quipped, "With a whole lot of prayer. It's terrifying and exciting at the same time and in a lot of ways, I wouldn't want it any other way.
"I think to be surrounded by such an incredible group of people, from Matt and Gus and Fran and all these great actors like Hal and Rosemarie, but also this crew. The people that we had on our crew were just outstanding. The vibe was incredibly mellow.
As for when "Promised Land" will be released, the actor said possibly as early as the end of the year in a small number of theaters, for starters. Mr. Van Sant, who did a bare-bones assembly during filming, is editing the movie and will huddle with his fellow producers and others at summer's end and tweak the movie through the fall.
"I don't think I've ever been as proud of something that I've been a part of more than this," he said. "I haven't really been invested in something like this.
"To have it be your words and your ideas and having all these people say it, shoot it, light it, all these different things, to have these people come together for something that you did is incredibly moving. I think that the responsibility was overwhelming at times and also I was full of pride, but I was also terrified and hoping that I had done something right to bring all these great people together."