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ABOUT THE CAST
SANDRA BULLOCK (Margaret Tate/Executive Producer) is one of Hollywood's most sought-after leading ladies. She will next be seen on the big screen in "All About Steve," a comedy which she is starring in as well as producing for her production company, Fortis Films. The film also stars Thomas Haden Church and Bradley Cooper, and is being released in early September 2009. Sandra is currently filming "Blindside," where she will portray the matriarch of a conservative suburban household- based on the true story of Michael Oher.
Following acclaimed roles in several motion pictures, Bullock's breakthrough came in the 1994 runaway hit, "Speed." Her next two features, "While You Were Sleeping," which earned her her first Golden Globe nomination, and "The Net," were both critical and popular successes. Her subsequent starring roles include the box office smash "Forces of Nature," "Hope Floats," which marked her feature film producing debut; "Practical Magic," which she also co-produced for her production company Fortis Films; "Gun Shy," and "Miss Congeniality" for which she received her second Golden Globe nomination and was also produced by Fortis Films. Other credits include the starring roles in "Speed 2: Cruise Control," "A Time to Kill," "In Love and War," "Two if by Sea," "The Vanishing," "Demolition Man," "Wrestling Ernest Hemingway," "The Thing Called Love," the voice of Miriam in the animated film, "The Prince of Egypt," "Divine Secrets of The Ya Ya Sisterhood" for first time director Callie Khouri and the lead in the psychological thriller "Murder by Numbers," which she also executive produced. Adding to her list of box-office hits is "Two Weeks Notice" which she starred opposite Hugh Grant. The film, which she also produced, grossed over $200 million at the box office. She received critical acclaim for her role as Harper Lee in "Infamous," a film directed by Doug McGrath that chronicles Truman Capote's life from 1959 through 1965. Her other recent films include the psychological thriller "Premonition," "The Lake House" starring opposite Keanu Reeves and "Crash," an independent film directed by Paul Haggis as well as "Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous," the follow up to her 2000 hit film "Miss Congeniality" which she produced as well. Bullock made her debut as a writer/director with the short film "Making Sandwiches," in which she also starred with Matthew McConaughey and which debuted at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival. Bullock recently concluded her stint as the executive producer of the highly successful "The George Lopez Show" which aired on ABC for six seasons.
Bullock has received numerous awards and nominations for her work, including two Blockbuster Entertainment Awards, four MTV Movie Awards, an American Comedy Award, eight Teen Choice Awards, four People's Choice Awards for Favorite Female Movie Star, a Screen Actor's Guild Award and two Golden Globe nominations. Additionally, in 2001 and in 1996, Bullock was voted NATO/ShoWest "Female Star of the Year."
RYAN REYNOLDS (Andrew Paxton) has emerged as one of Hollywood's most sought after leading men and was named one of People Magazine's "Sexiest Men" of 2008. He stars in the upcoming film "Paperman," a comedy that also stars Emma Stone, Jeff Daniels and Lisa Kudrow, and was recently seen in "Adventureland" opposite Kristen Stewart, a comedy that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January to great reviews and was released in March 2009.
Opposite an all-star cast including Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Dominic Monaghan and Taylor Kitsch, Reynolds starred in the "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" in May 2009. His role as Deadpool, the wisecracking, cancer-stricken mercenary, led to the recently revealed Deadpool spin-off for 20th Century Fox. In addition, Reynolds stars in "Fireflies in the Garden," opposite Julia Roberts, Carrie-Ann Moss and Emily Watson, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, and opened in the U.S. in May 2009.
Reynolds starred in the film "Definitely, Maybe," a romantic comedy that co-stars Rachel Weisz, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Elizabeth Banks and Kevin Kline. The film was a critical darling and fan favorite. Reynolds also starred in the complex drama "Chaos Theory," co-starring Emily Mortimer, and was seen in writer/director John August's "The Nines," which premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. The film, which also stars Hope Davis, has received much critical acclaim. Following Sundance, "The Nines" opened in theaters in New York, Los Angeles and Austin.
Reynolds' other credits include director Joe Carnahan's "Smokin' Aces," featuring Ray Liotta, Jeremy Piven, Andy Garcia, Ben Affleck and Jason Bateman, as well as "The Amityville Horror," a remake of the classic cult film. "The Amityville Horror" opened #1 at the box office and made $107 million worldwide.
Reynolds was memorable in the title role of Van in the cult classic "Van Wilder," as well as the romantic comedy "Just Friends." For his co-starring role with Jessica Biel and Wesley Snipes in "Blade Trinity," Reynolds underwent an impressive physical transformation for his role as the acerbic vampire, Hannibal King.
NEXT PAGE: RYAN REYNOLDS AND SANDRA BULLOCK TALK ABOUT THE PROPOSAL
BETTY WHITE (Grandma Annie) began her career in radio before moving into local television in Los Angeles at its very beginning on the West Coast in 1950. After hosting a local television show, she formed her own production company in partnership with producer Don Fedderson and writer George Tibbles and produced her first comedy series: "Life with Elizabeth," for which she received an Emmy® in 1952; "The Betty White Show," a daily NBC network talk/variety show; and a network situation comedy, "A Date with the Angels." She appeared frequently on major variety and game shows, and was a recurring regular with Jack Paar (over 70 appearances), Merv Griffin and Johnny Carson, (including many with the Mighty Carson Art Players). She also subbed as host on all three shows. She was a regular on "Mama's Family" as sister Ellen, a role she created with the rest of the company on "The Carol Burnett Show."
White's first appearance on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" in the show's fourth season led to her becoming a recurring cast member. Her portrayal of Sue Ann Nivens, the Happy Homemaker, brought two Emmys® for supporting actress in 1974-75 and 1975-76.
In 1970-71 she created wrote and hosted her syndicated TV animal series, "The Pet Set." In 1976 she was awarded the Pacific Pioneers in Broadcasting "Golden Ike" award and the Genii Award from American Women in Radio and TV. White received her fourth Emmy® for best daytime game show host for "Just Men." Nominated seven times for best actress in a comedy series for "The Golden Girls," she won the Emmy the first season in 1985. She then appeared in the spin-off "The Golden Palace" for one season. Her Emmy for best guest actress in a comedy series on "The John Larroquette Show" brought her total Emmys to six. In 1997 she was nominated as guest actress for "Suddenly Susan." The American Comedy Awards gave her the Funniest Female Award in 1987 and the Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990. In 1995 she was inducted into the Television Academy's Hall of Fame. Also in 2000 she received the American Comedy Award for the funniest female guest appearance in a television series for "Ally McBeal." In 2002 she made recurring appearances on "That '70s Show."
White also has a recurring role on "Boston Legal" and on the daytime drama "The Bold and the Beautiful."
White has appeared in several movies for television: starring with Leslie Nielsen in "Chance of a Lifetime," "The Retrievers" for Animal Planet, "Stealing Christmas" with Tony Danza and Lea Thompson and, in 2005 for the Hallmark Channel, a movie called "Annie's Point" with Richard Thomas and Amy Davidson.
Her endeavors on the big screen include "Hard Rain" with Morgan Freeman and Christian Slater, "Dennis the Menace Strikes Again!" as Mrs. Wilson opposite Don Rickles, "Lake Placid," "The Story of Us," and "Bringing Down the House," with Steve Martin.
She is the author of five books, including "Betty White's Pet Love," "Betty White in Person" and "Here We Go Again: My Life in Television." Two books were co-authored with Tom Sullivan, including "The Leading Lady: Dinah's Story" and "Together." In February, 2006 White was honored by the City of Los Angeles at the Los Angeles Zoo as "Ambassador to the Animals" for her life-long work for animal welfare
GETTING DRESSED: Costume Designer Catherine Marie Thomas Works the Wardrobe
Margaret's high-fashion, knock-out business attire is, says Bullock, "her armor--the tighter, more severe, cinched and hardened, the better. She knows she looks good, but her clothes are not primarily intended to make her look good. She's used to having things constricted and strong so she can keep herself contained. If you take her out of that armor, she unravels."
Costume designer Catherine Marie (Cat) Thomas called on decades past to develop Margaret's wardrobe. "I was inspired to do this very structured '40s silhouette because Margaret's very uptight and regimented, and Sandy was thrilled," says Thomas. "So our departure point was the silhouette of the '40s, as worn by Katharine Hepburn and Rosalind Russell. Sandy's got great legs so you can do a pencil skirt up to the knee, but we purposely made them longer so that she would be more nipped in and would have to alter the way she walked. She loves that. She is so physical. She didn't have to wear four-inch heels, either, but she said, 'No, it's great!' because, as much pain as she may have been in, it made her walk and stand differently.
"There was nothing that we could pull from a department store," Thomas continues. "Designing for Margaret was about building every piece of clothing for this powerful woman who is very confined. Everything was about her power, yet had to be feminine at the same time."
Thomas particularly liked putting together Margaret's wedding attire since the script indicated Margaret would be wearing Gammy's dress. "It's a late '20s early '30s sort of biased gown look," says Thomas. "It's pretty unique and Sandy and I were excited about the dress because it's different than most wedding gowns."
Ryan Reynolds' character had two distinct looks, says Thomas. "Anne Fletcher and I talked about how Andrew is that sort of effortlessly sexy guy. Although his family has money, he's really trying to prove himself, so at work his look is very professional. But when he and Margaret leave for their weekend he's totally prepared with jeans, T-shirt and a jacket because, of course, he knows that Sitka is very casual, very comfortable. Margaret is in a dress and high heels--there's quite the contrast."
Thomas had more of a challenge dressing--or rather undressing--Oscar Nuñez's Ramon, who does a scene as a male stripper. "Anne had this sort of 1980s reference--a guy who used to strip in the late '80s and never let it go. So in addition to breakaway clothing, the little bowtie and the cuffs, we added his '80s Reeboks jazzercise shoes. Oh, and the knee pads. That was another nice touch."
DISCOVERING ALASKA--IN MASSACHUSETTS: Filmmakers Take the Production to the Wilds of Massachusetts
Except for day of exteriors in New York City, "THE PROPOSAL" was shot almost entirely in the state of Massachusetts. The filmmakers were pleased to find great locations along the rocky shores north of Boston in the towns of Rockport, Manchester-by-the-Sea and Gloucester, and on Cape Ann--all needing relatively minor adjustments to be transformed into the small Alaskan town of Sitka.
"The script was written to take place in Sitka, because Pete, the writer, had spent a summer there and knew the town pretty intimately," says producer Lieberman. "I thought it would be a great setting that we haven't really seen before, especially in a comedy."
While their Massachusetts locations were extraordinary, production designer Nelson Coates still had his work cut out for him. "Anne and I were particular about making our Alaska feel as if you were really there by making it evocative instead of trying to mimic it exactly," says Coates. "But to turn the town of Rockport into Sitka, we had to deal with almost 30 storefronts, their window dressing and signage; it was fairly extensive. It felt more like working on a period movie where you have to cover so much to create a sense of place."
One of the filmmakers' greatest finds was the magnificent home along the coast in Manchester-by-the-Sea that would become the Paxton estate. Little was required to dress the exterior of the house except for the addition of First Nation art, including totem poles, and building an enclosure over a large swimming pool that would become the planned site for Margaret and Andrew's wedding.
"One of the things that is very particular about that part of the world, from British Columbia all the way into the Panhandle of Alaska, is the First Nations tribes," says Coates. "Early on, Anne and I talked about incorporating their very specific paintings and carvings, especially because our Betty White character has Tlingit heritage."
But the interior of the house, built in the early 20th century and distinguished by a bright, Early American decor, proved a challenge. Using the existing floor plan, Coates designed new rooms of dark wood tones and stone walls with a fireplace that would be more evocative of the Pacific Northwest.
"One of the things that makes this particular area of Massachusetts so similar to Alaska and a great place to shoot is the rocky coast and the feeling of isolation that you get with some of the houses," says Coates. "Since almost three weeks of our filming takes place at the Paxton house, we needed something that felt like it was on an island, and this house is on a peninsula, so we can get that feel of the water. And because of the rocky nature of the coast, it really does feel like it is in the Sitka area where a lot of the mountains are plunging right into the water."
Filmmakers bridged the gap between the Massachusetts exterior and the real Sitka by traveling to Alaska to capture the mountainous, tree-filled area on film
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