Ruby Sparks

Ruby Sparks (2012)

Timing: 1:44 (104 min)

7.103/10
1563

7.21/10
59209

7.2/10
109000

All about film

Video 13

Photo 23

Actors and characters

Release date

2012-07-25

Country

United States

Production

Fox Searchlight Pictures, Bona Fide Productions, DragonCove Studios, Bona Fide

Genre

Comedy, Romance, Fantasy, Drama

Budget

$8 000 000

Revenue

$9 128 263

Website

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/rubysparks/

Director

Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris

Actors

Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan, Chris Messina, Annette Bening, Antonio Banderas, Alia Shawkat, Deborah Ann Woll, Steve Coogan, Elliott Gould, Aasif Mandvi
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa, Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan, Robert Graf

Operator

Matthew Libatique

Composer

Nick Urata

Artist

Audition

Justine Arteta, Kim Davis-Wagner

Editing

Pamela Martin, Bart Lipton
All team (103)

• 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).
• Whenever Paul carried Zoë on his shoulders, a stunt double stood in for her.
• 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.
• The film touches upon the theme of murders stemming from psychological disorders several times. The name "Ruby Sparks" itself is a reference to Jack Ruby, the gangster who killed Lee Harvey Oswald, whose nickname during his boxing career was "Sparky." Another subtle reference is Salinger's novel, "The Catcher in the Rye," which the murderer of John Lennon was reading immediately after committing the fatal crime.
• 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.
• 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 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 Calvin tells his psychiatrist the story he started writing, the sleeves of his shirt change position with a change in camera angle.
• When Calvin and Ruby go to sleep, the alarm clock appears white, but when they wake up in the morning, it's black.
• 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.
• When the protagonist types on the typewriter, he inserts the page incorrectly.
• 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.