Exquisitely talented Zooey Deschanel in "500 days of summer"

CEBU, Philippines - The latest hit film at this year’s Sundance Film Festival “500 Days of Summer” is not your ordinary boy meets girl tale. It is a story taken entirely from the whimsical and angst-driven view of Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who falls in love with his co-worker Summer (Zooey Deschanel). Blue-eyed Zooey Deschanel takes on a witty gender reversal of roles in the film as Summer who refuses to be committed to a guy, whereas Tom, still believes in love at first sight. Below is the Q&A with the pretty Zooey for “500 Days of Summer.”

Q: You’ve been known to choose unpredictable roles, how do you describe Summer?

A: Summer is such an interesting character, because she’s really seen entirely from Tom’s perspective as this ideal woman, when she’s actually just a smart, interesting girl with her own problems. I was so excited when I read the script because felt like a new way of telling a story we think we’ve seen before.”

Q: How was it working with Joseph?

A: “Joe and I have known each other for many years and I feel completely comfortable with him. I think he’s the perfect Tom because he’s sweet and adorable but he manages to communicate a kind of naiveté within all his charm.” 

Q: Can you describe Tom and Summer’s relationship?

A: "It's more of a coming of age story about romance, but it walks a lot of genre lines. 'Romantic comedy' at this point is used to describe a very, very narrow genre that isn't really usually something I connect with."

Q: How relevant is this relationship today?

A: "Our time is definitely raising some more sensitive men, which is fantastic and I feel like this is the movie that can be the touchstone for every sensitive young man out there. It's just as relevant to have a film about a guy and his first real heartbreak as is it to have a film about a woman's. I think it's about time.”

Q: Have you gone through the same thing like Tom’s?

A: “I am definitely a romantic. The fear of losing it is the dark side, but the wonderful side is the feeling that you get when you fall in love. Everyone has the heartbreak that shapes them in a way that they could never go back to the innocence that they had before.   It's beautiful and poignant and bittersweet to explore. That's why it is a universally appealing theme, because if you haven't been through this then you probably will go through it at some point."

Easily recognizable for her beguiling looks, Zooey Deschanel had besotted worldwide following for a decade. She recently starred opposite Jim Carrey in the “Yes Man.” Last year Deschanel appeared alongside Mark Wahlberg in M. Night Shyamalan’s thriller “The Happening,” the Emmy Award nominated mini-series hit “Tin Man” from the Sci-Fi Channel, and in the independent film “The Go-Getter with Lou Taylor-Pucci.

Deschanel, who was named for the male character in J. D. Salinger’s Franny and Zooey, spent much of her childhood on-location with her actress mother, Mary Jo, and her father Caleb, an Academy Award®-nominated cinematographer. She credits her father with instilling in her a keen visual sense and great style.

Her other recent feature film credits include “Bridge To Terabithia,”, the animated feature film “Surf’s Up,” “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,” the independent films “Live Free or Die” and “The Good Life.” She also starred in “Winter Passing,” “Failure to Launch,” the box office hit “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” “Elf,” “All the Real Girls,” “Abandon” and “The Good Girl.”  

Deschanel made her feature film debut in 1999 with Lawrence Kasdan’s ensemble drama “Mumford” followed by “Almost Famous” in 2000. In addition to Zooey’s work on-screen, she has also earned rave reviews for her collaboration with M. Ward on her debut album She + Him Volume 1.

“500 Days of Summer” opens October 21 in theaters from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.