Rainn Wilson points at a gigantic pink worm walking in his direction. Yes, Dwight Schrute from television’s The Office. And yes, a sevenfoot-tall, star-shaped parasite, with arms and legs, is walking toward the small stage where Wilson stands.
“Wait a minute,” Wilson says to the crowd seated in an ivy-lined second-story courtyard at the W Hotel, on the edge of Beverly Hills. “It seems to be an actual intestinal parasite.”
The audience laughs. It’s a cool mid-December afternoon. Wilson continues: “What can you possibly have to say for yourself, mister?”
“Gimme this!” the guy in the worm costume says in an exaggerated New York accent. A cartoonish grin is plastered on the worm’s face, and toilet paper taped on looks like feces. “It’s a party! Hey! Parasites gotta live too, OK?”