“Ivan Reitman is a real legend and it is a real honor to get to work with him,” says Natalie Portman. “He’s very generous and listens to everyone’s opinions, and gives us the chance to have a ‘free take.’ It was wonderful to just have a chance to fool around and improvise the scene and dialogue.”
Hardly a standard practice in Hollywood, screenwriter Elizabeth Meriwether was on set every day during production, continuing to collaborate during filming. “It’s been amazing to be genuinely appreciated and listened to,” says Elizabeth Meriwether. “To have Ivan come to me for new line ideas and bring me into the process of building a scene has been amazing.”
The actors appreciated having Elizabeth Meriwether on set and found great solace in knowing she was there to provide on-the-spot needs. “It’s been a huge advantage having Elizabeth Meriwether on set, because you always run into times where a scene or shot has been manipulated in such a way that you need that perfect one-liner, and she is there to crank out ideas,” explains Ashton Kutcher.
But how tight was the relationship with some of his other leading ladies?
Working with Ivan Reitman has been a dream come true for Elizabeth Meriwether and the experience was not lost on her. “I’d be working with Ivan Reitman and he’d make a reference to another one of his films, and I was reminded that he made practically every good comedy from the past twenty years-and I was completely in awe of him all over again,” offers Elizabeth Meriwether. “He has been a great mentor and friend, and this couldn’t have been a better experience.”