Jonathon Moran and Moira Macdonald
August 30, 2009 12:00am
ZOOEY Deschanel's fiance would be happy to know she believes in true love - unlike the character she plays in her latest film, (500) Days of Summer.
"I definitely do believe in true love," says Deschanel, who is engaged to Death Cab For Cuties lead singer Ben Gibbard. "I am getting married, so you have to kind of believe in it."
Deschanel is speaking from her Los Angeles home to promote her new indie comedy, (500) Days of Summer. Her character, Summer Finn, is a straight-talking 20-something who doesn't believe in true love, nor does she believe in relationships – or boyfriends. Ever-optimistic Tom Hansen, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is the opposite and believes in love at first sight.
"When he meets Summer, he thinks she is the love of his life, the woman he will spend the rest of his life with," Deschanel says of the off-beat comedy that has garnered quite a buzz around LA. "It is about discovering what love is in our time, with our generation. I can relate to both characters. That is part of (the reason) why I feel so many people have responded to it. I definitely see parts of myself in both. Everybody has situations where they over-romanticise or they can be overly cynical about things," she says.
At just 29 years of age, Deschanel considers herself a veteran in Hollywood. She is the daughter of cinematographer Caleb Deschanel (The Passion of the Christ, 2004) and '90s television Twin Peaks actor Mary Jo Weir. Her older sister, Emily, is also an actor who stars in the TV forensic series Bones.
Driven by success from an early age, Deschanel's big break occurred when at age 17 she played a model in late-'90s television sitcom Veronica's Closet. Her first film role in Mumford in 1999 prompted her to quit university to pursue acting full-time. Her supporting role in Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous (2000) catapulted Deschanel into the Hollywood limelight. Since then her rise to fame has been steadily gaining momentum. Her acting style, sometimes described as dead-pan, was critically acclaimed in All the Real Girls in 2003.
Deschanel, who has been compared to golden era Hollywood stars, is also a talented singer, and it was this talent that helped her gain her role in Elf in 2003.
"To be honest, I have been working forever. I'm a veteran," Deschanel says. "I've been working since I was 16 and I have been called everything. But lately I have been called that ('it girl') a lot. I am flattered when anyone pays any kind of attention to me at all, so it is nice, but I don't pay too much attention to what people say. Being an 'it girl' is better than being labeled a crappy person. Of all the things people could call me, 'it girl' is not a bad one."
Deschanel's recent film credits include M.Night Shyamalan horror flick The Happening, The Assassination of Jesse James and Yes Man. She also appeared in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
First-time filmmaker Marc Webb's journey with (500) Days of Summer – its timeline goes forward and backward like a lighter Memento – is filled with surprises, the first of which was Webb's own. "There was an era where (romantic comedies) were incredible, like It Happened One Night. They were talking about sexual dynamics, they were saying something meaningful about the time," Webb says. "But lately it just seems like there's a form that works and people are more anxious to be loyal to the form than to what the form was designed to illuminate. So what was great about this, (500), is that it was told from a very honest place." Webb described the movie as "a guy's point of view on this mess called love or relationships". "When you're a kid, and you're not an athlete or not super cool, you develop other interests – whether music, culture, theatre, whatever – in the hopes that you'll snare the woman of your dreams with your cultural acumen. Sometimes your illusions get crushed. But in every romantic comedy, if you learn to dance and wax your back you'll get the model. That's the theme of these movies, a lot of the time. I'm always thinking, what does this have to do with anything? I found that a lot of them were just unrelatable."
Webb was delighted by the instant chemistry he saw between Gordon-Levitt and Deschanel. "I don't think this is a profoundly probing movie, but it's a simple movie that speaks a little bit of the truth," he says.
Despite being one of Hollywood's hottest young properties, Deschanel insists she's got her feet firmly planted on the ground and doesn't take the fame part of her job seriously. "I don't really pay much attention to fame," she says matter-of-factly. "It's a job. It's a fun way to earn a living. Making movies is a weirdly serious business – it is very long hours, 16 to 18-hour days. It is not an easy job but it is fun."
Writing and performing music provides another creative outlet for Deschanel, and is a passion she shares with her fiance. She released her debut album last year, paired with Matt Ward for the indie-countrified pop offering under the name, She & Him. The pair met on the 2006 film The Go-Getter, which starred "She" and featured original music by "Him". "I love writing music and that is really fun for me. You are in a room and there's nothing there, then you write a song and there's something," she explains. "There are definitely amazing moments on a film set, but it doesn't feel quite as close to my heart." The pair are working on their second album and hope to tour Australia. "We are actually almost done with it (the album)," she says. "Maybe this time we will get to Australia. I have never been and I've always wanted to get there. Performing live as a musician is invigorating. I love the exchange with an audience."
(500) Days of Summer opens September 10.
!!!
im in love with what she's wearing! 
Her Self cover/article was so adorable! I even made her green summer soup 
I know! GEEZ. She's only had 1 Tweet so far.
She doesn't strike me as the twitter type!
