sobo!

Last week I visited the set of sobo (click to see more photos) and met the cast (minus Steve Howey who hadn't yet been named as Marcus). It was fascinating and beyond thrilling to see the film begin to come to life. When I arrived on the set, they were doing hair and make-up tests which was a much more involved process than I imagined, i.e. hours and hours of changing clothes and testing nuances of hair, makeup and wardrobe--seeing exactly how each "look" for every character appeared on camera. I watched the brilliant costume designer Gary Jones tweak outfits, such as changing John Krasinski's heather-grey T-shirt to a red one to go with his J-Crew madras shorts in a Hamptons scene and how each of his adjustments made the colors and textures that much better on-screen.

Meanwhile, the producers and screenwriter sat upstairs in a conference room going through the script, refining and polishing it for what feels like the hundredth time. At one point, as John Krasinski sat in the room giving his thoughts about a scene and his dialogue in it, I thought about how very collaborative making a movie is, how it takes so many people and creative perspectives to make a movie truly special.

Along these same lines, I watched Jane Musky, the very personable set designer, work on her “interior design” for Rachel’s apartment and the Hamptons house. She blew me away with how dead-on she got Rachel’s apartment—even down to details I hadn’t described in my book (like Rachel’s desk and light over it). She has a very grown-up, chic but cozy version of Anthropologie which is exactly how I imagined her taste.

So now to the good stuff… the actors! ... As soon as I walked onto the set, I met Ginnifer Goodwin (who goes by Ginny) and Colin Egglesfield and was overwhelmed by how incredibly down-to-earth they both were. Ginny is a natural beauty--with the prettiest face and sweetest expression, and for a second, I seriously got confused and thought I was meeting Rachel. She is so perfect for the role and I was incredibly flattered when she told me how much she loved my book, how she had memorized passages and inserted some of the dialogue from the book back into the script. (Later, Luke Greenfield, the director, would tell me that the two quiz each other on details of the book. At this point, I think they'd both beat me. To this point, when Luke asked me where Claire was from, I blurted out "Westport" when she is actually from Greenwich)... A few more tidbits on Ginny: she is teeny-tiny, much smaller than I thought she'd be, and she was wearing one of her wigs--which did not look at all like a wig--a simple, brown shoulder length do which, again, is just how I imagined Rachel's hairstyle.

Colin Egglesfield, too, was unbelievably nice—especially for someone that ridiculously good looking (sort of like Dex). I wrongly assumed he’d be arrogant—or aloof at best. Instead, he was all Midwestern charm, showing photos of his nieces (he has five) on his iPhone and discussing Dex’s character in depth, asking dozens of questions about what law school was like, even down to whether we had multiple choice questions or essays on exams. At one point, he tried on four pairs of sunglasses for my friend Ally and me, asking which we preferred on him (all looked amazing—but we managed to come to a consensus).

I then met Ashley Williams, aka Claire, who is hilarious. She is so funny that she somehow managed to make standing silently in front of the camera funny. She and Ginny are very good friends, having roomed together in acting school (or whatever it’s called), and both told me how excited they are to be working together. Ashley also told me how thrilled she is about having to gain weight for the role, particularly loving the milkshakes she's been downing for her first ten pounds. I had the feeling she resembled someone and finally realized it is her big sister, Kimberly (Father of the Bride)--who I love.

Moments later, Kate Hudson, in one of her many hot outfits, sauntered into the room and instantly lit it up just as I knew she would. She is a true movie star, everything about her sparkling, glistening, and gorgeous—and she is as much fun as I always thought she’d be. We chatted about a mutual friend and fashion, specifically all her outfits on set--as she described how she pictured Darcy's wardrobe (Fendi, Chanel, Dolce--classic with a sexy twist). She complimented my Lanvin necklace—and I told her Darcy was free to borrow it. :)

I only briefly met John Krasinski, but it might have been the highlight of my day. Maybe it’s because I adore Jim on The Office, and maybe it’s because Ethan is my **favorite** character in any of my books, but I admit I had a starstruck moment. I just love him, and know he is going to be brilliant, as are all the actors in this ensemble cast. I am so happy with the decisions the producers and director made, and although some of the physical resemblances aren’t exact, each actor channels the essence of their character. Whatever you think now, I promise you are going to agree when you see them!

That’s all for now, but I will be bringing you more sobo scoop soon…