Ruby Sparks (2012)

A novelist struggling with writer's block finds romance in a most unusual way: by creating a female character he thinks will love him, then willing her into existence.

Directors:

Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris

Writer:

Zoe Kazan

Stars:

Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan, Annette Bening

1 win & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Paul Dano	...	Calvin Weir-Fields
Zoe Kazan	...	Ruby Sparks
Chris Messina	...	Harry
Annette Bening	...	Gertrude
Antonio Banderas	...	Mort
Aasif Mandvi	...	Cyrus Modi
Steve Coogan	...	Langdon Tharp
Toni Trucks	...	Susie
Deborah Ann Woll	...	Lila
Elliott Gould	...	Dr. Rosenthal
Alia Shawkat	...	Mabel
Jane Anne Thomas	...	Saskia
John F. Beach	...	Adam
Eleanor Seigler	...	Mandi
Emma Julia Jacobs	...	Party Goer at Langdon's

Storyline

Calvin is a genius novelist who begins to type a new novel on his manual typewriter about Ruby, his dream girl. He can't believe his eyes, because the next day, Ruby becomes a real person, and they begin to have a beautiful relationship together. If the relationship isn't perfect, all Calvin has to do is simply type the words on the page and Ruby's actions change to what he needs.

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Plot Keywords:

imaginary character made real | writer's block | book comes to life | reference to f. scott fitzgerald | best selling author | 

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Taglines:

She's out of his mind.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language including some sexual references, and for some drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Fox Searchlight [United States] Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

6 September 2012 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

He Loves Me

Filming Locations:

Big Sur, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$140,822, 29 July 2012, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$2,540,106

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$9,128,263

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Searchlight Pictures,Bona Fide Productions,DragonCove Studios

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Datasat SDDS Dolby Surround 7.1 Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The eccentric house that Calvin's mother Gertrude in which lives is supposed to be in Big Sur, but it is actually a house in the Hollywood Hills that once belonged to Sid Krofft. Much of the dialogue in that scene describing material details about the house was written on the spot based on the actual owner's tour of the place on the day of the shoot.

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Goofs

When Calvin drives his BMW home from the party at night, the tachometer shows the engine at 0 rpm, and the needle never moves.

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Quotes

Calvin Weir-Fields: I have you. I don't need anyone else.
Ruby Sparks: That's a lot of pressure.

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Crazy Credits

This film is dedicated to Jay Kaplan who brought love and magic to everyone he met.

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Connections

Featured in Maltin on Movies: Skyfall (2012)

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Soundtracks

She's Real
(uncredited)
Written and performed by Nick Urata

User Reviews

Touching Romantic Fantasy of Writer's Creation Come to Life

I liked the movie a lot. I felt very moved and intrigued both by the premise and the complications to move the story along.

Big but: The lead character, Calvin, is not believable as a "genius novelist" nor even as a pretty good one. Why? He has no idea how to make Ruby, whom he completely controls, subtle and complex the way any good novelist would his characters.

He paints her happy and sad, joyful and childishly clinging with such broad brush strokes he is an incompetent "inventor" of a character/person, let alone his dream girl. If you or I created an automaton, WE might swing back and forth to the extremes while trying to adjust his/her behavior. Calvin should be an expert not a tyro at subtle shades of behavior. Granted, if he got her just right, we would have no crisis to force the story to a resolution.

And the resolution is Hollywood sugar. In Europe or Israel, the hero would be left with the sad results of his failure. (He stares out to sea on a deserted beach to ponder what happened and his bleak future?) Here, the filmmakers insist we leave the theater feeling good about Calvin and Ruby.