CASTING THE ENSEMBLE
Working with casting director Cindy Tolan, the script for THE PRIVATE LIVES OF PIPPA LEE was soon circulated among industry power brokers with extraordinary results - arguably one of the most remarkable ensembles put together for an independent film in recent memory. Starring Robin Wright Penn and Alan Arkin and rising star Blake Lively, THE PRIVATE LIVES OF PIPPA LEE also features such luminary figures as Julianne Moore, Keanu Reeves, Maria Bello, Winona Ryder and Monica Bellucci in key supporting roles.
"I think a lot of it is a testament to Rebecca Miller," says Tolan of the star-studded cast. "People really want to work with her. They've all seen her movies and they know what an opportunity it is."
According to Tolan, the key to putting the ensemble together was making sure it would function as a unified group. "You really want to make sure everybody fits into the fabric, that nobody stands out," she explains. "You want an 'ensemble' in the truest sense of the word. Rebecca and I also discussed the cast as individuals with unique individual qualities, as opposed to what you've already seen them do on screen and why they might be right for a role that other people wouldn't necessarily think of them for."
Miller, not surprisingly, doesn't discount plain old good luck, either. "Julianne Moore, for example, came in for only two days and she was so… happy," says the director, with a smile. "I asked her why and she told me it was great to be playing a character who wasn't depressed," she laughs. "For Julianne, it was refreshing, something different. She wasn't doing it as a favor. She was doing it because it was an adventure."
To the outside observer, the presence of actors like Moore, Monica Bellucci, Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder - stars in their own right taking on supporting roles - would seem an anomaly. For the actors, it represented an opportunity.
"I loved the script, and I had wanted to have a chance to work with Rebecca," says Monica Bellucci, who plays, Gigi, an exotic romantic rival to the young Pippa Lee. "Even though the role was small, it was compelling. She had written it in such a way that it would give me the chance to do something interesting. While she certainly knows what she wants as a director, at the same time she loves and respects actors. She strikes a good balance between giving direction and giving an actor the freedom to explore."
Like the films of American auteurs Woody Allen and the late Robert Altman, Miller's movies draw their strength not only from their leads, but equally from their ensembles. Individually, each supporting role is essential to the narrative. Collectively, however, it is the ensemble which informs the film's overall tone, a captivating, multi-dimensional world infrequently evidenced in major studio productions.
"I think people are drawn to Rebecca Miller and drawn to the material," says Keanu Reeves, who plays Chris Nadeau, a mysterious new neighbor who becomes Pippa Lee's unlikely confidant.   "It's a really well written piece.  It's not something you see every day," he says. "There's a unique blend of drama and comedy elements, and all of the roles in it are juicy. And it's also her, Rebecca. Just as a person and as an artist."
The film provided a challenge for Reeves, an opportunity that he relished. "It's a supporting role, but it's also a complex role in so many different ways," explains the actor.  "He's kind of a lover, kind of a friend, the peculiar stranger… approachable, yet unapproachable," says Reeves. "The journey that the character takes with Robin's character had so many possibilities. I found that interesting and a challenge."
"They were all attracted to exploring unknown territory, to have that experience," says Miller.  "I like to work with people who are willing to take big risks. And these parts are risk parts, in a way, for all of them."

ROBIN WRIGHT PENN AS PIPPA LEE
On the page, in both Rebecca Miller's novel and screenplay, the character of Pippa Lee presents a singularly unusual heroine.  Here, a respected and admired woman, nearly 50-years-old, begins to question the seemingly fulfilling life she's made for herself by entering into a dialogue with the demons of her past. As the trappings of her marital and familial life slowly unhinge, so too does the persona which has informed her world, triggering a continuous exchange between past and present to find a renewed sense of self.  In short, the character of Pippa Lee presented a rare opportunity to a gifted actor - a female protagonist infused with true emotional complexity.
Miller originally wrote THE PRIVATE LIVES OF PIPPA LEE with no specific star in mind. Ultimately, her one and only choice for the title role was Robin Wright Penn.   One of the leading performers of her generation, Wright Penn has starred in such landmark studio films as THE PRINCESS BRIDE and FORREST GUMP while simultaneously putting her indelible stamp on the world of independent films. A film veteran, she has worked with acclaimed directors Nick Cassavetes, Anthony Minghella and Barry Levinson, and was keen to collaborate with Rebecca Miller.
"I don't think I've ever been given an opportunity to play a character of this depth," says Wright Penn of her initial attraction to the film.  "There are so many layers to Pippa and the chance to play her was, in a sense, the chance to portray the unveiling of an identity. To be able to execute that on screen in under two hours? That's what attracted me."
It was Wright Penn's agents who initially approached both the actress and the director with the intriguing casting idea. Says Tolan: "They're the unsung heroes in this."
Miller, initially considering an older actor for the role, was nevertheless intrigued and open to the idea.  "Robin was just so perfect for the role" says Miller, who didn't think Wright Penn would be interested in playing a character older than the actress's actual age. Instead, she found an eager collaborator ready to toss vanity to the wind.
"That's what we do as actors," laughs Wright Penn. "We always try to step outside the box. It's certainly what I do. It's fun to explore, to reach, whether it be through a character's age or mindset. For me, the idea of playing someone somewhat older wasn't beyond my grasp." 
So too, did she develop a deep understanding of the enigmatic Pippa Lee. "She's a woman who has made a life choice," explains Wright Penn.  "But the true identity of Pippa lies behind a mask. It can't come to fruition in the life she's chosen, but inevitably does with the unveiling of what her life has been."
Miller and Wright Penn worked closely to develop the character through an extended give-and-take between director and performer over the course of a year, as the production secured final financing.
"In a way, the delay in financing was the best thing that could have happened," says Miller. "I worked on the costumes, the sets and the script. And I was also able to talk to Robin for a whole year about it, much to the benefit of the movie. It was a wonderful collaboration. Robin was so full of ideas and yet so open at the same time. She's really a character actress in the form of a clasic beauty, a transforming actress, one of those people who even changes her personal rhythms so that the internalization of the character is total."
"I've never had that kind of time with a writer-director," says Wright Penn of the experience. "To have a full year of discussion, to sort out the who, what, when, where…. Usually you get a couple of hours, days, maybe a week. We covered the gamut in that year, so by the time we started principal photography, we were able to play."

BLAKE LIVELY AS THE YOUNG PIPPA LEE
With a film spanning a single character's lifetime, Rebecca Miller planned from the onset for a second performer to portray the teenage Pippa Lee. What remained unclear was who was best suited for the part. Working with casting director Cindy Tolan, they considered nearly one hundred actors for the role before setting their sights on rising star, Blake Lively.
The youngest of five children born to an entertainment-industry family, the 21-year-old California native first attracted attention with a breakout role in the 2005 film, THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS. Two-years later, Lively went on to star as Serena van der Woodsen in the hit television drama GOSSIP GIRL.
Miller confesses she remained blissfully unaware of the GOSSIP GIRL phenomenon, casting Lively instead on the basis of her performance in the independent film ELVIS AND ANABELLE.  "I thought she was a complete unknown," laughs Miller. "It's a very, very difficult part and she was absolutely up to it," says the director. "She was charming, emotional and sexual, all the things she really needed to be."
Lively welcomed both the opportunity and the challenge, working around her demanding television schedule to join the Pippa Lee ensemble.

ALAN ARKIN AS HERB LEE
The role of Pippa Lee's husband, Herb Lee, a successful New York publisher reluctantly accepting a life of retirement, required an actor who could convey the character's iconic stature, paternal warmth and wry common touch.  For Rebecca Miller, that man was Alan Arkin.
Arkin remains a legendary performer and one of the most sought-after artists working today. He received his first Academy Award®  nomination for his 1966 screen debut, THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING, THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING and was awarded the Oscar in 2007 for the indie hit, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE.  The only question that remained was would he be interested (and indeed available) to work with Rebecca Miller.
"I spoke to Alan on the phone and he told me all the reasons he didn't want to do it," laughs Miller, who assumed Arkin couldn't be convinced otherwise. "It was clear he knew Herb, knew him well, and wanted absolutely nothing to do with him."
The following day Miller and Arkin reconnected. To the director's relief,  he ultimately accepted the part.
"Basically my manager, my agent and my lawyer all got on the phone with me with a conference call and said I had to do it," laughs Arkin. "I don't usually listen to them, or anybody. But I paid attention because I trust them and I value them. I realized it was something I had to do." 
Working with Miller, Arkin tweaked the pivotal role to create the fully-formed character now seen on screen. "We basically created the same guy," he says. "We just added a bit of humor and wit to him. I wanted him to have moments when you  thought  he was charming, interesting, possibly funny, which ultimately makes his betrayals worse. It gave Herb a little more dimension."
" He had a few ideas he wanted to talk to me about. And they were all great ideas, every single idea." Says Miller.
Arkin credits Miller with the highest praise for their work together, saying "she's highly collaborative, gentle and very concentrated." He also lauds the understated yet powerful performance of co-star, Robin Wright Penn. "I don't think they get better than she is," he says. 
"Nobody has what Alan has. He's an original," says Wright Penn of her on screen husband.  "He just completely inhabits Herb, the character that I first read in the book.  He brought such a reality to Rebecca's words that it never felt like someone 'acting' a role. That's what makes him so great." 

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