Peter Hedges wrote and directed Disney's The Odd Life of Timothy Green, the story of a couple trying to conceive who are surprised with a child from their garden. The magical movie stars Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton as parents to Timothy Green, and Peter shared that he used his own experiences as a parent in the film. He also talked about Jennifer being perfect for the role and Joel's incredible acting skills.
A visit to the set of The Odd Life of Timothy Green must be a lot like entering Peter Hedges's home. The writer and director (What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Dan in Real Life) is known for putting his heart into his films and sitting on his set is likely as comfortable as sitting in his living room. Case in point: after spending some time with the director, Jennifer Garner's first question for me was, did Hedges make me cry. When I said yes, and that he made me cry, she just smiled and nodded.
So it's no surprise that the film, which hits theaters on Aug. 15, is a bit of a tearjerker itself. Hedges took on the Timothy Green project after it was conceived by Ahmet Zappa. He spent two years pouring his life — and bits and pieces of his own insecurities as a father of two boys — into the film, which uses the whimsical tale of a boy who appears at an infertile couple's home out of nowhere to explore the idea of good parenting. When I visited the movie's suburban Atlanta set with two other reporters, we sat down with Hedges to talk about his decision to get involved in this project.
Read on for some of the best quotes and photos from the set visit after the jump.
There is something about the endearing everyman-ness of Steve Carell that just makes me want to root for the characters he plays, no matter what. In the trailer for his fall movie Dan in Real Life, that feeling is only intensified as he plays a widower raising three daughters. He falls for a woman (Juliette Binoche! Hooray!) who turns out to be his brother's (Dane Cook, booooo) new girlfriend.
The trailer, while not fall-down funny, is very sweet-looking and features some great lines. Dan in Real Life is scheduled to open October 19. To watch the trailer, read more
