Hi Mr. Parker,

I would like to thank you for this truly wonderful film you made. Like many here on this forum, I've seen it several times already and still can't get enough of it. What makes it so special for  me is that it's purely perfect - characters, storyline, acting, dialogues,setting, filming, etc - everything is done in such a way that there's absolutely nothing to delete from or add to, there's no way to make it any better than it already is. Maybe that's why then I try to watch the favourite scenes from the film I always end up watching it all over again from beginning to the end - I just can't enjoy the separate pieces of this, because it's so great as a whole.  It doesn't happen so often these days when the first time director creates such a little wonder which reaches the hearts and souls of the people all over the world , no matter what language they speak or where they live. It's pure magic, I believe.

If you don't mind, I would also like to ask a few question about the film:

First -  was it any indication in the script about the occupation of the central characters ? I mean, it's pretty obvious what everybody is doing for the living except for the Coop's character. It's pretty weird I guess but I always thought he should have been either in PR business, or in advertising, or in some sort of mass media stuff, or  something like that because he's really charming and at the same time totally cynical guy, which is essential if you specialize in brainwashing business. So, was it anything in the script about who he were ? Or  that was never an issue ?

Last - was it a real flower shop "Flowered up" or you just decorated some convenience store to look  like it for the film ? I believe it was real. It also seems that the most of the scenes there were shot really early in the morning - no one on the street, lots of cars parked around etc. So, was it real flower shop or not ?

I wish you all the best and can't wait for another film of yours - hope it will be out soon and exactly as perfect as this one.

Good luck !

Vadim from Moscow

P.S. My British version of DVD is really lame - even the official Russian release has more extras ! I'll have to get an American one, like all the rest of fans did.

P.P.S. There are some fan forums over here too - funny thing is that almost any girl who saw it and post comment on the site always ends up saying "For Luce I would definitely change teams !"  I believe them - I actually do !

Hey Vadim

That's incredibly nice of you, thank you.  Although please call me Ol.  And no, I don't mind at all if you ask me questions, they're nothing but a pleasure to answer.  You're right about their jobs, the only two I showed were Heck and Luce, because we needed to see them.  Although I wasn't exactly specific as to what Heck does, mainly because I have no idea.  As for Rachel, there was a scene where she and Luce were talking, and Rachel said she worked as a copy editor at the Guardian, an English newspaper.  I think she described her job as "correcting other people's mistakes", and Luce said "isn't it more fun to make your own?".  Or words to that effect.  And yes, you're spot on, I always thought Coop worked in advertising.  Nice one.

As for the flowershop, it was a pottery studio, and now is again.  It was an extraordinary moment when Rupert, one of our location managers first showed me the photo, since the site was pretty much exactly as I'd imagined it.  And then again, when Eve, our marvellous designer, showed me into to the transformed shop.  Wonderful work, by wonderful people.  And I'm proud to say they convinced more than you.  People were coming in every day to buy flowers.  And on the last day's shooting, we got to give the entire stock of flowers all the crew, who took them home to their surprised and delighted partners.

I'm sorry your version of the DVD is so crap.  If you haven't already got one, let me have your address and I'll send you the American version.

Thanks, Vadim.  Take it easy.  Ol x

Hi Ol,

Thank you so much for replying. I really appreciate what you said... I think you were right and I was scared to finished the story I'm writing, because that would mean I'd have to show it and exposed myself to be criticize and that's scary... but I'm working on it.

I still get block sometimes and I don't know how to continue, so I'm taking your advice and doing it step by step (or 'bird by bird')... I don't know if I'll ever be half as great as you, but I'll keep trying cause I love it... Your advice meant a lot to me and I think it's amazing that you take the time to answer some questions to your fans.

I have some technical questions that I wanted to ask you...

How involved were you in the music for the film?

Have you ever listened to a piece of music that has inspired you to write something and incorporate it? While writing, at certain points do you think of which music would suit that particular scene?

And I am curious to know what kind of camera you used to shoot 'Imagine...'?

I'm sorry to bother you with all this questions,
Thanks again.
Sarah (Perú)

Hey Sarah from Peru,

Thanks for writing again.  And that's great you're writing, it really is.  Don't worry if it doesn't come easy.  Some days it does, some it doesn't, the important thing is that you just keep going.    And show it to friends, people you trust.  Expose yourself.  Ask for criticism.  Listen to it.  Consider it.  Then tell them all to fuck off and do what you want.

Actually, seriously, if you ever want to show it to me, then feel absolutely free.

Anyway, to answer your questions;  I was completely involved in the music for the film.  I chose Alex Heffes to do the score, and worked with him very closely (and happily).  And all the found stuff, from Kelly Marie to Camera Obscura, were from my record collection.  And yes, I write listening to music, sometimes the same track on a loop 50 or 60 times.  It can help get you into the right place, and just as important, help you stay there.  And then the next day when you come to rewrite the scene, putting on the song you were listening to takes you right back into it.  But oddly, almost all the songs I wrote to, and that I was absolutely certain would be in the final film, didn't make it, either because they didn't quite match the way it was shot - be that pacing, or whatever - or because we couldn't afford them.  The exception to that is the music during H's speech about the stars.  i wrote that scene listening to Faultline, and sure enough, that's what you hear.

And finally, I have no idea what kind of camera we used.  Thankfully Ben Davis did know, but to me it was just big, black, and very very expensive.

Keep on keeping on, Sarah.  And let me know how you go.  All the best, Ol x

Dear Ol,

Thank you very, very much for all the insights you've already given! There are two more questions I'd like to ask you. I'm aware that you're not planning on writing - let alone filming - a sequel to Imagine Me & You. And maybe that's good. Still, I hope you don't find it too annoying when I wonder: why don't you just spend a few weeks with only Ben Davis, Piper Perabo and Lena Headey and shoot something like "Random Scenes of Rachel and Luce Living Happily Ever After" - be it improvised or all written out? I don't see why you shouldn't have as much fun filming as the first time around. I think we - the fans - would all be perfectly happy just to see more scenes like the last one on the park bench, like, for example, the two women talking, running, gardening, fishing, cooking, smiling, laughing, crying, singing, drinking, dancing, shopping - the possibilities are endless! (Even though the budget - or the lack thereof - would constrain the production heavily.)

The second question is: how far were you involved in creating Anthony Head's dance style?

All the best,

Johannes Schult
(currently residing in Belgium)

Hey Johannes currently residing in Belgium (didn't you used to be in Germany?)

Nice to hear from you again.  I don't think you want me or Ben Davis, I don't even think you want Luce and Rachel, you just want Lena and Piper, the reality TV show.  And quite a show it would be.

Tony Head is a lovely man, always delighted to take the piss out of himself.  We had a brief chat about Ned, so muffled and depressed in life, might cut loose on the dancefloor (I believe at one point he was going to say "look and learn" to his daughter).  And then Tony did that.  My admiration knew no bounds.

Take it easy Johannes.  All the best, Ol x

Hello Ol!
Many sincere thanks for your beautiful, honest and heartrendering film! After reading others' lovely thoughts, I hope you don't mind me adding my own to the list of well deserved accolades for Imagine Me & You, even more than two years later.
My intro to IMAY was a bit of a winding one. Last year I'd bought the DVD impulsively at Blockbuster and then it promptly sat on my shelf for a while - I know, shame on me! I later went to New York to visit friends - one of whom is the intrepid, generous and hard working webmaster of this site. (We met through conventions for the TV show Xena: Warrior Princess - check that show out for loads of fun and subtext!) My friend glowingly raved on and on about IMAY and said I had to check it out. When I did, I encountered a film that made me laugh so hard in some scenes I had to hit rewind several times to see them again. (Sue's delivery of the line 'Sweet s*it in a bucket, what's wrong with you?' has me rolling every time!) The sexuality was never an issue - the feelings between Luce and Rachel is just what it is, and as you've mentioned, it's the soul that counts, not the package it comes in.
What I love about this film is how is not just the truth of Rachel and Luce's relationship but how I've related to your beautiful characters. I've been in a somewhat similar situation as Rachel (though not walking down the aisle!) where I've had to end a relationship with a man who was my best friend since I knew I had to be true to myself - I came out a few months later. And Luce is who I aspire to be - confident in who she is, beautiful inside and out, with morals and vulnerability to love's highs and lows at the same time.  
It had been a few months since I'd seen IMAY, but I didn't truly appreciate it until I got an email from the webmaster saying 'check out this article/pics' which was a link to an incredible photo shoot with the equally incredible Lena Headey. I ran home, put IMAY in my DVD player where it has hardly been removed since - cheerfully besotted is the phrase that comes to mind! Yes, I'm now one of the many legions of Lena fans! Her beauty, honesty and integrity in her performances are something I haven't seen in an actress in a long time - whew, those green eyes speak volumes and slay me every time! I'm now trying to watch Lena's other work - the webmaster is a great help in recommendations in that regard! She is teasing me about my Lena crush for which I completely blame her and you as well! J
In the midst of all my ramblings, I do have an IMAY question for you. There are so many longing looks between Rachel and Luce that say it all - were all those beats scripted, or was that a combination of the script and seeing what Piper and Lena did with your words? You've mentioned that when Luce pauses during the first meeting in the flower shop, it's the film in a microcosm, so I was wondering if that was there from the beginning. And how much was Heck aware of the glances/subtext between Rachel and Luce? Did he see it from the beginning or just choose to ignore it since it was too painful to admit the possibility that Rachel had 'went crazy' for someone else?
Many thanks for reading through all this endless, sentimental patter! May you have many more experiences like making IMAY and good fortune through the rest of your career.
Best wishes,
Annie (California)

Hey Annie

That's so cool that you know the webmaster, and that she got you into the movie, even if it did take a while.  She's nothing if not persistent.  And thanks for being so kind about our film.  Although obviously I can take no credit for Lena's beauty.  Ben Davis takes a tiny bit, and the rest is all her.  As I may have mentioned, it comes from within.

To answer your question ... it was a thing that pretty much came about in rehearsal.  Occasionally in the script I'd write 'pause', or 'beat'.  And then when we got to talking about it, and rehearsing, and then shooting, I encouraged them both to take as long as they wanted, to speak between the lines just with their eyes.  Actually I'm not sure I needed to encourage them, they were just doing it anyway.   As you say, it's something Lena does extraordinarily well.  There's a point in the cafe with Coop, where she's talking about when you meet someone who just ... and that was exactly as written, I never completed the sentence.  But the way she does it, you know exactly how it would end.  A thrill and a gift for a writer.

As to how much Heck knew, it was something Matt and I talked about a lot.  He thought Heck knew pretty much everything, and admitted pretty much none of it to himself.  That's why he starts to act unnaturally, why he goes to the flowershop, of all places, to talk about Rachel, etc.  But he doesn't actually know what he's doing.  There's something about this in his last lines in the flowershop, although I can't quite remember what they were.  But anyway, it's that thing where as soon as he finds out, he knows that he's always known.

Cheers Annie.  All the best to you.  Ol x