高中英语 VOA常速听力2012年08月合辑（文本）Fantasy-Woman-Comes-to-Life-in-Ruby-Sparks素材.docVIP

高中英语 VOA常速听力2012年08月合辑（文本）Fantasy-Woman-Comes-to-Life-in-Ruby-Sparks素材 Ruby Sparks, a romantic comedy from the directors of Little Miss Sunshine, explores the challenges of creativity and love when a young authors fantasy woman comes to life. After a long bout of writers block, Calvin, a novelist, creates a new character, Ruby. He writes incessantly about her and falls in love. When his fictional character appears to materialize in real life, Calvin is terrified. He calls his brother Harry for help. Harry believes Calvin has an overactive imagination, until he meets Ruby. Believing Ruby is an imposter, Harry suggests Calvin write something about her to see if it comes true. So when Calvin writes that his fictional character speaks French, true-life Ruby begins speaking the language as well. Although the film starts out as a romantic comedy, it becomes darker as it addresses issues of control. This is insane, Harry says to Calvin in the film. You manifested a woman with your mind. So, you can, like, change her. But Calvins creation has her own personality. The movie addresses the philosophical aspects of love, loneliness, and the line between the real and the imaginary. Ultimately, Calvin has to relinquish control of his beloved no matter her origin. The story also questions whether creative genius can be beckoned. Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris directed Ruby Sparks. They say, thanks to the scripts intelligent dialogue and twists, this romantic comedy deviates from Hollywoods formulaic love stories. There is a lot of them out there and at a certain point they can be pretty tired, Dayton says, and this was a really different kind of comedy. Faris doesnt think of their film as a romantic comedy. I think there are funny elements. This is a little more dramatic in my mind. Actors Paul Dano and Zoe Kazan, a real-life couple, portray Calvin and Ruby as refreshingly unpredictable. Like the directors, the lead actors didnt want Hollywood to p