Greg Berlanti is the director of "Life as We Know It," which surrounds two friends who are forced to care for their friends' daughter after they are killed in a car accident. The film, which stars Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel, is being released by Warner Bros on October 8.
"I was really drawn to the movie because the script cracked me up one moment, and just felt so real and raw the next. The most important thing for me is delivering an emotional experience, especially when you have a story that has so many conflicting feelings happening all at once."
Working with Heigl and Duhamel
"In addition to the story, the reason I wanted to be a part of the movie was to work with Katherine Heigl," Berlanti confesses. "I know how well she can do both comedy and drama, so for me she was sort of the personification of Holly."
"Josh (Duhamel) is one of those guys' guys who men would want to hang out with and women love, which is exactly what we needed him to be in this role."
Working with babies
"The wonderful thing about working with babies is just how natural they force all the other actors, and everybody around them, to be," Berlanti observes. "I think it brought a wonderful sense of realism to the scenes."
Berlanti offers, "I would hope that most young parents have a support group of young parents or couples that are also kind of going through the same experience. With that in my mind I thought 'Okay, let's go out and get some real comedians to add to the humor of the situation.'"
Comparing Directing and Parenting
Director Greg Berlanti states, "In a lot of ways, I found directing a film a lot like being a first-time parent. For months, you do everything you can to prepare for it, but once it's happening–once you're on set or once the baby's arrived–you really have to go with the flow. That's what Holly and Messer have to learn. And I think that's what makes it a very universal story and one that I hope audiences will enjoy."
