A clever spin on the Pygmalion myth about an artist falling in love with his creation, Ruby Sparks tells the story of Calvin, a struggling writer whose latest character suddenly comes to life, and whose every action is dictated by whatever Calvin writes. The film was written by Zoe Kazan, who also plays the title role, and during a recent visit to the Phoenix area she told us about the relatively short journey from script to screen.
[pullquote_right]As soon as Paul asked if I was writing it for us, I couldn’t see it any other way.[/pullquote_right]”I first had the idea in the summer of 2009,” she recalls. “I wrote about twenty pages then, and I was in the middle of finishing a movie I was working on, so I put it away, and in spring of 2010 I picked it back up, finished it in a couple of weeks and sent it off to people. We were in production summer of 2011, so it was really fast. Two years, basically, from writing until now, or three years if you count that first moment of inspiration.”
The actress is all smiles as we discuss the film, which received a warm reception when it was screened for a packed house the previous evening. Kazan stars opposite her real-life boyfriend, Paul Dano, and while she didn’t have anyone in mind when she began writing, it didn’t take long for the full project to begin taking shape.
“I was like five pages in, and I showed it to Paul… and he asked if I was writing it for us. It hadn’t occurred to me, but as soon as he said it, I just couldn’t see it in any other way.”
Kazan is also quick to point out that the characters on the screen are not a reflection of her private life.
“I really tried to put that as much out of my mind as possible while I was actually doing the writing so that the characters could speak for themselves,” she tells us. “Paul’s a really private person. If I had written us, or versions of us, or a version of our relationship, he wouldn’t have wanted to act in it, especially not with me, so I definitely was trying to steer away from any of that.”
[pullquote_left]I thought Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris would be capable of balancing the delicacy of the tone.[/pullquote_left]The lead roles may not have been directly influenced by Kazan’s real-life experiences, but the same can’t be said for the character of Mort, portrayed by Antonio Banderas in a hilariously scene-stealing performance.
“Mort is based on someone I know who ran a camp that I was a counselor at, and who’s a dear friend of mine.” She suppresses a laugh as she continues. “That was just a direct inspiration, and I don’t know why. I don’t normally base characters on people I know, but Jim has always been sort of one of my favorite people, and it felt like a fun way to immortalize him by letting Antonio Banderas play him.”
Kazan’s face lights up as we ask her about directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, whose success with Little Miss Sunshine put them on her radar even before the script had been completed.
“They popped into my head when I started to write it down,” she remembers. “I just thought they would be capable of balancing the delicacy of the tone. You know, Little Miss Sunshine has somebody die right in the middle of it, and it’s still a comedy… And also, they’re a couple, and I felt like they’d be bringing a masculine and feminine perspective, which was interesting. [They] were so generous to kind of open the doors a little bit to us, to let us sit in on [casting] sessions and be part of that conversation. All the decisions were ultimately theirs, but I just loved being on the other side of the table. You learn so much, and there were so many nice surprises in the casting.”
[pullquote_right]I couldn’t write a movie in which a man had power over a woman, ultimate power like that, and not show the dark underpinnings of that.[/pullquote_right]Despite being classified as a romantic comedy, the film isn’t afraid to delve into darker territory, especially as Calvin begins to test the limits of his control over the woman he’s created. Kazan stands by her decision to explore this element of the story.
“It was always my intention to get really dark… I couldn’t write a movie in which a man had power over a woman, ultimate power like that, and not show the dark underpinnings of that. I feel like that would be irresponsible of me.”
Ruby Sparks expands into wide release on Friday, August 3rd.