mind blowing.

bbook:

Yeah, because sometimes the movie was ready to go, but life wasn’t ready. For instance, I had always written this movie to take place on the beach. It was called Blue Valentine, and it took place on the ocean. I called up Michelle and told her that Ryan was on board, and I said, Pack your bags, we’re going to California. And she said, I can’t. And I said, Why not? And she said, I promised my daughter I’d keep her in school, I’d tuck her in bed every night and drive her to school every morning. And I said, Look, there’s beds in California, and you can get a tutor. And she said, I can’t do it, I promised her. I understood, because I’m a parent and I knew she didn’t want to break a promise to her kid, so I hung up the phone and thought about recasting. Then I thought to myself, If she could just make that kind of selfless decision for someone else in her life over a film that she loved so much, then that’s the reason why she is the only person to be in this movie. So I called her back the next day and I said, I’ve got a deal for you. If I can get you home every night to tuck her in and every morning to take her to school, will you do it?” And she said, That’s the most generous thing anyone’s ever offered me. So we picked a place that was an hour from where she lived, and for me, that was a turning point, because the film was never about the place, it was about the people.