The Proposal is a 2009 American romantic comedy film set in Sitka, Alaska.
Directed by Anne Fletcher and written by Peter Chiarelli, the
film features Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds in the leading roles, with Betty White, Mary Steenburgen,
and Craig T. Nelson in supporting roles. The film was
produced by Mandeville Films and released on June 19, 2009, in
North America by Touchstone Pictures. The plot centers on a
Canadian woman, Margaret Tate, who learns that she may face deportation charges
because of her expired visa.
Determined to retain her position as executive chief, Tate convinces her
assistant, Andrew Paxton, to temporarily act as her fiance. Initially planning
on resuming their lives after Tate resolves her visa issues, they appear to
abandon those plans as their relationship intensifies.
Development
on the film began in 2005, when Chiarelli wrote the film's script. Principal
filming occurred over a period of two months from March to May 2008. The film
received mixed reviews from critics, who disliked the script, though the
performances and chemistry between Bullock and Reynolds were well received. The
film was a box office success, grossing over $317 million worldwide, becoming
the highest grossing romantic comedy film of 2009.
Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock) is an executive editor in chief of a book publishing company. After learning
she is about to be deported to Canada because of
an expired visa, she persuades her assistant, Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds), to marry her. Mr. Gilbertson (Denis O'Hare), a U.S. immigration agent, informs them that he
suspects they are committing fraud to avoid Margaret's deportation. Gilbertson
tells them that they'll be asked questions about each other separately. If
their answers don't match, Margaret will be deported to Canada and Andrew will
be convicted of a felony punishable by a $250,000 fine and five years in
prison. Andrew insists that Margaret make him an editor after their marriage
and publish his book. Margaret agrees.
The couple travels to Sitka, Alaska, Andrew's
home town, to meet his family. Margaret meets Andrew's mother Grace (Mary Steenburgen) and grandmother Annie a.k.a
"Gammy" (Betty White). During the
trip to the family home, Margaret notices that nearly every shop in town
carries the name Paxton and learns that Andrew's family is in fact very
wealthy. During a welcome home party, Andrew confronts his father, Joe (Craig T. Nelson), who is angry about Andrew's dating the boss
he has so long disliked and thinks he is using her to get ahead in his career.
After their argument, Andrew announces the engagement to everyone. Margaret
also meets Gertrude (Malin Åkerman), Andrew's
ex-girlfriend.
The next day, Grace and Annie take Margaret to a local bar to
watch a strip dance by a locally famous but over-the-hill exotic dancer, Ramone
(Oscar Nunez). Stepping away from the show, Margaret learns
from Gertrude that Andrew wanted to become an editor and make his own life and
that Andrew had proposed to Gertrude. However, Gertrude refused because she
didn't want to leave Sitka for New York. Returning home, Margaret learns of the
conflict between Andrew and Joe. That night, Margaret asks Andrew about his
relationship with his father, but Andrew refuses to talk. Instead, Margaret
opens up to Andrew.
The next day, the family convinces them to marry while they're
in Sitka. After Margaret realizes how close Andrew's family is, she becomes
upset, gets on Andrew's boat, and speeds away with him. She tells him she has
been alone since she was sixteen years old after her parents died and had
forgotten what it felt like to have a family. She lets go of the helm and
stumbles to the back of the boat. Andrew makes a sharp turn to avoid hitting a
buoy, and Margaret falls out of the boat. Andrew quickly turns the boat around
and saves her. At the wedding ceremony, Margaret confesses the truth about the
wedding to the guests, including Gilbertson, who informs her she has
twenty-four hours to leave for Canada. Margaret returns to the Paxton home to
pack her things. Andrew rushes to their room only to find Margaret has already
left, leaving his book manuscript with a note of praise and a promise to
publish it. Gertrude attempts to comfort Andrew and asks if he is going to go
after her. As he rushes out to find Margaret, another argument arises between
him and Joe. Annie fakes a heart attack and convinces them to reconcile before
she "passes away". After she succeeds in getting things moving again,
she owns up to faking the attack. Andrew's parents realize he really loves
Margaret. He goes to New York and tells Margaret he loves her in front of the
entire office staff. They kiss, then go to Gilbertson and inform him they are
again engaged, but for real this time.
Peter Chiarelli initially wrote
the script for the film in 2005.[2] In
May 2007, it was announced that Sandra Bullock had been given a lead role for The Proposal.[3] Julia Roberts was originally approached by producers
for a lead role in the film, but later declined.[4] Nearly
two months after the announcement, it was reported that negotiations were being
finalized for Ryan Reynolds to star opposite to Bullock.[2] In
January 2008, Touchstone
Pictures signed Anne Fletcher to direct the film.[5] It
premiered on June 1, 2009 at the El Capitan
Theatre in Hollywood,
California.[6]
Production
Filming
for The Proposal initiated in April 2008 in Rockport,
Massachusetts.[7] In
the oncoming days leading to production, areas of the town were temporarily
remodeled to represent Sitka, Alaska, the setting of most of the film.[7] Principal
photography officially
began on April 9 at Bearskin Neck, where it continued over a period of 24
hours. Filming continued at the Motif Number One building on Bradley Wharf (April
14–16), the Haskins Building (April 15–18), and the central business district
of Rockport (April 17).[7][8] Principal
photography relocated to Manchester-by-the-Sea,
Massachusetts on April
22, where it resumed over an approximate period of two weeks. In response, city
officials accommodated the producers by renting out all publicly owned parking
lots. Filming for The Proposal was shortly delayed after Bullock and
her husband were involved in a car accident.[9] The
wedding scene was filmed in a three-story twentieth century Victorian home; photography took place at the
residence for three weeks.[10] In
an interview with the New York Times, the owners of the home
stated thatNelson Coates knocked on their door asking for
leaves. Initially, the owners directed Coates to other residences in the area;
however, they eventually gave the film's producer a tour of the house.
Production occurred on the first floor of the home.[7][10] Outside
of the Cape
Ann area, filming took
place in Boston,
Massachusetts at the State Street
Bank Building and in Lower Manhattan in New York City.[11] The
Proposal contained 350
special effect shots, and some parts were edited usingcomputer-generated
imagery.[12] The
score to The Proposal was composed by Aaron Zigman, who recorded his score with the Hollywood Studio
Symphony at the Sony
Scoring Stage.[13]
As part
of an extensive advertising campaign, Reynolds discussed about taking part in
the production of a nude scene. The scene was filmed in a period of three days,
and took approximately twelve takes to complete.[14] Expressing
that she was initially nervous, Bullock stated in an interview with Sky
News that "when
everyone else acts like it's just a normal day it really helps you relax."
Although she revealed that producers provided them with fig
leaves, Bullock stated that they would continuously fall off. She
added, "You could literally see everything."[15] Similar
sentiments were expressed by Reynolds, who in an interview with People, stated, "Filming a scene that
involves being entirely naked and takes a couple days can be a little
awkward." He continued: "Thankfully you're there for so long and
you're doing it for so long that you dispense with the awkwardness pretty
quickly and start to have mundane, normal conversations – the difference being
you're not wearing pants."[16]
Describe
Margaret Tate:
Describe Andrew
Paxton:
Why do
Margaret and Andrew have to get married?
Describe
Andrew’s relationship with his father:
Did you like
this movie? Why or why not?
How do people propose marriage?
How do people propose marriage in Korea?
Practice proposing marriage to your partner!
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