Lars and the Real Girl
Lars and the Real Girl would be a high-wire act for any filmmaker, but director Craig Gillespie and screenwriter Nancy Oliver keep their footing. The story concerns Ryan Gosling as a painfully awkward man-child who is unable to communicate with living, breathing women. So Bianca is born—in the sense that she is manufactured, a life-size sex toy built to order. Remarkably poignant, the film deftly juggles laughs and pathos and won Oliver’s screenplay an Oscar nomination.
About Richard Whitley
Richard Whitley’s first job in Hollywood was playing a mutant in a Roger Corman movie. His mutant skills were so impressive B-movie legend Corman hired him to co-write the cult classic ROCK ‘n ROLL HIGH SCHOOL. This led to writing screenplays for Universal, Warner Bros., Tri-Star, United Artists, MGM, ABC Films, 20th Century Fox and FOX 2000, including scripts for directors Amy Heckerling and Joel Schumacher. He has written extensively in television, including SPACE: ABOVE & BEYOND, MILLENNIUM, ROSWELL, HOMEFRONT, ROSEANNE, THE DAILY SHOW and as a writer/producer on Michael Moore’s Emmy nominated TV NATION. Richard currently teaches screenwriting at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts.