"The Proposal" - here comes the bribe!

CEBU, Philippines – Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds are in for a wedding of inconvenience in Touchstone Pictures’ delightful romantic comedy “The Proposal” from director Anne Fletcher (“Step Up,” “27 Dresses”).

When high-powered New York book editor Margaret (Bullock) faces deportation to her native Canada, the quick-thinking exec declares that she’s actually engaged to her unsuspecting put-upon assistant Andrew (Reynolds), whom she’s tormented for years. He agrees to participate in the charade…but with a few conditions of his own.

Producer Todd Lieberman was drawn to the film’s premise. “What I really responded to was the concept of an older woman, younger man relationship. The dynamic between the two characters is really funny,” says Lieberman.

“I came up with the idea for the film from working in Hollywood with these very successful executives and their assistants,” says screenwriter Peter Chiarelli: “They shared a kind of intimate relationship—though the bosses knew absolutely nothing about their assistants. My priority was to always go for the comedy.”

So, says Chiarelli, he based the story around what would happen if one of those bosses had to actually get real. Margaret is that boss. “Margaret was written the way they usually write the male roles, which are usually the juiciest,” says Bullock. “They’re allowed to be complex, unattractive, crabby, difficult, fun and funny, which is not how female characters are usually written.”

Co-star Ryan Reynolds agrees: “Typically, comedies are male driven. I love it when it’s the other way around. Here, Sandy’s character is the oppressor.” But Reynolds says he enjoyed the idea of the oppressor being taken out of her comfort zone. “This woman, who is so Type A, is being taken to the wilds of Alaska with her assistant. She has spent three years with this guy but knows absolutely nothing about him, including where he’s from. It’s really fun when she comes to this small community and becomes as much a fish out of water as a human being can be.”

“You soon find out that the person you think is dominant really isn’t— Andrew is the one in control,” says Bullock. “It even surprises Margaret. She’s relied on him so heavily over the past years that without him, she can’t do her job— that’s why she doesn’t want to let him progress in his career. The man that’s capable of taming the shrew does not have to carry the big stick or speak loudly. He’s the one who knows exactly why she’s the way she is.”

“At the beginning of the movie, Margaret doesn’t know any of this about him,” continues Chiarelli. “So for her, there’s a lot of discovery. She comes to realize that this is somebody who’s made the tough decision to pull himself up by the bootstraps, which is similar to the way that Margaret went about her career.”

The filmmakers were inspired by some of the ageless comedies of the past. “While dialogue-heavy, they moved really fast,” says producer David Hoberman. “One of the things we wanted to do was have Sandy and Ryan finish each other’s sentences. It’s a love-hate relationship that keeps you going along for the ride.”

Opening soon across the Philippines, “The Proposal” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International.