Ruby Sparks
Short description
Calvin is a young novelist who found enormous success with his first book and has struggled to write anything since. His creative block is matched by a stalled romantic life. In a burst of inspiration he invents Ruby, a character who energizes his writing, and about a week later he is astonished to find her sitting in his living room as a real person. Calvin soon discovers that whatever he writes about Ruby comes true, which gives him unusual power over the woman he created and raises the question of whether she can be her own person.
Ruby Sparks was directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, whose previous feature was Little Miss Sunshine and whose next was Battle of the Sexes. Zoe Kazan wrote the screenplay and plays Ruby opposite Paul Dano as Calvin; the cast also includes Chris Messina, Annette Bening, Antonio Banderas and Alia Shawkat. The film is a comedy, drama, fantasy and romance picture from the United States, produced by Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa with a budget of 8 million dollars, and it took about 9 million dollars worldwide.
On IMDb it holds 7.2 out of 10 from 109,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.1 out of 10 from 1,837 votes. A critics' rating of 7.2 out of 10 from 183 reviews places professional response in line with how audiences received the film.
What's left behind the scenes
- When Calvin and Ruby are talking by the pool, Calvin is eating a hamburger. In the final shot it appears untouched, but in the previous ones it is half-eaten.
- At the very beginning, when Paul is talking to his friend, two people are exercising on steppers to their right. After a cut, these two are already on a treadmill.
- The film repeatedly touches upon the theme of murders motivated by psychological disorders. The name "Ruby Sparks" itself is a reference to Jack Ruby, the mafia figure who killed Lee Harvey Oswald, whose nickname during his boxing career was "Sparky." Another subtle allusion is Salinger's novel "The Catcher in the Rye," which was read by John Lennon's killer immediately after committing the fatal crime.
- When Calvin tells his psychiatrist the story he started writing, the sleeves of his shirt change position with a change in camera angle.
- Zoë Kazan, who played the role of Ruby, also wrote the screenplay for the film. Zoë's grandfather was Elia Kazan, director of "On the Waterfront" (1954). Her mother wrote the screenplay for "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (2008). And her father is a screenwriter for "Jacob's Ladder" (1990).
- The book that Scotty the dog tears up is J.D. Salinger's novel "The Catcher in the Rye." Both the author himself and his novel are mentioned several times in the film.
- Whenever Paul carried Zoë on his shoulders, a stunt double stood in for her.
- When the protagonist types on the typewriter, he inserts the page incorrectly.
- When Calvin writes the last page of the book, he writes: "She was no longer Calvin's creation." When the page is shown on the typewriter, the line begins with "No longer..."
- When the characters stop by the sea and get out of the car, Ruby is seen carrying a women's handbag. In the next shot, the handbag is gone.
- When Calvin and Ruby go to sleep, the alarm clock appears white, but when they wake up in the morning, it's black.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
