Steve Chicorel
A Conversation with Executive Producer Steve Chicorel

Q: How did this project come to be?
A: Five years ago, I met Frank Densen at UCLA, and he had a script I thought would be great for television. I snuck it into CBS, where I had a meeting, and I gave it to this guy named Michael Wright, who at the time was head of production. Then I found another buyer for it, so I asked for the script back. It was then that Michael called me up and said he really wanted to do it. Michael told me I just needed to find a star who could really carry the movie. That's when I took it to Patricia Heaton; her husband, David Hunt; and their company, Four Boys Films. They took it to the next level with me, but during that time, the project became homeless, because a lot of people, including Michael, left CBS. But when he landed at TNT, I was able to take the project back to him, and he thought it would be perfect as one of TNT's JOHNSON & JOHNSON SPOTLIGHT PRESENTATION® film series.

Q: The development process for this movie seems rather long. Did that hurt or help the movie, in your view?
A: I'm glad it's taken this long to get made, because the script has actually found a new path, and it's absolutely wonderful.

Q: What makes this movie particularly special?
A: It's an intergenerational story with stories of a younger generation and an older generation paralleling each other. In both stories, the people involved question if they should be with the person they're with. In the case of the older generation, it's someone they thought was gone out of their lives, and for the younger generation, it's someone they're just meeting. So the movie has many different levels about relationships.

Q: What are your thoughts about the cast?
A: It's a great cast. It all starts, of course, with Patricia Heaton, because she brings so much to the story. It's really her story as much as it is her mother's story. Lainie Kazan is so wonderful and makes such a great mom. Patricia really enjoyed working with Lainie. Patricia's husband, David Hunt, does a fabulous job playing someone she almost marries, but they end up breaking up in the movie, which is really interesting and exciting to see on screen.

Q: Do you think the fact that David and Patricia are married in real life adds to the movie?
A: Patricia and David have this wonderful relationship, and then they are asked to act together, tapping into their own relationship as people who are in love. Then they have to separate that and take it to a different world where they actually break up. It's not as easy as one would think. And I think they do a really great job of bringing their relationship into the acting of these characters, as well as creating something new that will never happen to them in their own relationship.

Q: What do you think this movie is about at its very foundation?
A: It's about chance, the chance that you would meet someone you thought was gone forever, the chance you would fall in love with somebody when you're engaged to someone else, or the chance of not getting a package because of an earthquake. There are a lot of whimsical aspects to this story.

Q: How do you think this movie fits into TNT's "We Know Drama" branding?
A: This is what I would call a dramatic comedy, because there is a lot of drama with the comedy. I think all dramas have comedy, but not all comedies have good drama. When I first read the script, I was touched. I had tears in my eyes.

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