The Happening is a 2008 horror thriller film written, co-produced and directed by M. Night Shyamalan that follows a man, his wife, his best friend, and his friend's daughter as they try to escape from an inexplicable natural disaster. The plot revolves around a cryptic neurotoxin that causes anyone exposed to it to commit suicide. The protagonist, a science teacher named Elliot Moore (Mark Wahlberg), attempts to escape from the mystery substance with his friends as hysteria grips the East Coast of the United States. It was advertised as being M. Night Shyamalan's first R-rated (or 15 Certificate in the United Kingdom) film and received mostly negative reviews from film critics.^[3]

Plot[link]

In Central Park, New York City people begin committing mass suicide. After showing disorientation, they kill themselves in a variety of convenient ways. Initially believed to be a bioterrorist attack using an airborne neurotoxin, the behaviour quickly spreads across the northeastern United States, moving from large population centers to smaller areas.

Elliot Moore (Mark Wahlberg), a high school science teacher in Philadelphia, hears about the attacks and decides to go to Harrisburg by train with his wife, Alma (Zooey Deschanel). They are accompanied by his friend Julian (John Leguizamo) and Julian's eight-year-old daughter Jess (Ashlyn Sanchez). Julian's wife is stuck in Philadelphia but is expected to meet them in Harrisburg. The train loses all radio contact en route and stops at a small town to let off the passengers.

They receive word that Philadelphia has been attacked and Julian's wife was not able to get on the train to Harrisburg. She hitched a ride to Princeton, New Jersey instead. Julian decides to go look for her by hitching a ride, leaving his daughter with the Moores. Upon arrival to Princeton, they discover that the town has already been hit by the toxin. They succumb and the driver rams the car into a tree. Julian survives and exits the vehicle. He immediately sits on the ground and begins to cut himself with the car's broken glass.

Elliot, Alma and Jess manage to hitch a ride with a nursery owner (Frank Collison) and his wife (Victoria Clark). The nurseryman believes that plants are responsible, as he mentions that they can release chemicals to defend themselves from threats. After driving for some time, they find themselves at a desolate crossroads surrounded by infected towns. They are joined by groups from every direction. One lady hears from her daughter in Princeton, who confirms everyone is dead, and proceeds to commit suicide herself. A U.S. Army private suggests that they move on foot away from major urban areas to avoid being infected.

The survivors split into two groups, with Elliot, Alma, and Jess in the smaller group. When the larger group is affected by the toxin, Elliot realizes that the nurseryman was right, and figures out the plants are targeting only large groups of people. Elliot splits their group into smaller pockets, isolating himself, Alma, and Jess, as well as two teenage boys, Josh (Spencer Breslin) and Jared (Robert Bailey, Jr.).

The group comes to an abandoned home and searches for food, only to discover that it is a builder's model home. They leave and watch two other groups making their way onto the property, triggering a neurotoxin attack, signalled by what appears to be wind tossing the vegetation. Everyone freezes in place, then a man turns on a lawn mower and lies down in its path. The next house they come upon is sealed up, its residents trying to protect themselves from the toxin. Elliot's attempts to reason with them fall on deaf ears, and the teens are killed during their break-in attempts.

Elliot, Alma, and Jess continue to walk cross-country. They stumble upon the isolated house of Mrs. Jones (Betty Buckley), an elderly eccentric who has no outside contacts and is unaware of the current disaster. Although she permits the trio to stay the night, she is a paranoid host who accuses them of trying to rob or murder her.

The following morning while standing in her garden, the wind rises and Mrs. Jones becomes infected with the toxin. Realizing that the plants are now targeting individuals, Elliot locks himself in the basement to protect himself. He is separated from Alma and Jess, who are playing in the home's small spring house. They are able to communicate, however, through an old talking tube that connects the two, and Elliot warns them of the threat and has them shut the openings. Conversing with his wife, Elliot expresses his love for her before deciding that if he is to die he would prefer to spend his remaining time with her. The three leave the safety of their buildings and embrace in the yard, surprised to find themselves unaffected by the neurotoxin. The outbreak has abated as quickly as it began.

Three months later, Elliot and Alma have adjusted to their new life with Jess as their adopted daughter. On television an expert, comparing the event to a red tide, warns that the epidemic may have only been a warning, like "the first spot of a rash". He states that humans have become a threat to the planet and that is why the plants have responded aggressively by releasing the toxins. The television host says that the public would probably believe his theory if another location was impacted by this happening, and not only the northeast. Meanwhile, Elliot takes Jess to the bus stop for her first day of school and Alma stays at home timing a pregnancy test, which turns out positive. When he returns, Alma embraces him with the news in front of their apartment.

In the Tuileries Gardens at the Louvre Palace in Paris, France, a scream is heard and everyone freezes in place as the wind rustles through the trees.

Cast[link]

• Mark Wahlberg as Elliot Moore, a high school science teacher from the city of Philadelphia, who is married to Alma.
• Zooey Deschanel as Alma Moore, Elliot's wife
• John Leguizamo as Julian, a high school math teacher and Elliot's best friend
• Ashlyn Sanchez as Jess, Julian's daughter
• Betty Buckley as Mrs. Jones, a woman who lives alone in an isolated house in rural Pennsylvania.
• Spencer Breslin as Josh, a teenage boy who, with his friend Jared, joins up with Elliot, Alma, and Jess.
• Robert Bailey, Jr. as Jared, Josh's friend.
• Frank Collison as The Nursery Owner, who believed that plants were causing the events.
• Victoria Clark as Nursery Owner's Wife, the wife of the nursery owner.
• Jeremy Strong as Private Auster, a Private First Class in the United States Army Military Police Corps who fled from his base after finding all of the soldiers there have killed themselves using barbed wire.
• Brian O'Halloran as Jeep Driver
• Alan Ruck as Principal
• M. Night Shyamalan as Joey, a man who Alma secretly meets¹
• Reggie Kania as Reggie, Jared's friend
• Yonathan Parra as Zito, Josh's friend
• Don Castro as Philadelphia Police Officer, a traffic cop in Rittenhouse Square Park

¹ Shyamalan's character isn't seen, but his voice is briefly heard on Alma's mobile phone.

Soundtrack[link]

The Happening: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was composed by James Newton Howard. It was released on June 3, 2008.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
SoundtrackNet	link

Production[link]

In January 2007, Shyamalan submitted a spec script entitled The Green Effect to various studios, but none expressed interest enough to purchase it. The director collected ideas and notes from meetings, returning home to Philadelphia to "rewrite" it, and finally 20th Century Fox greenlit the project.^[4] Now titled The Happening, the film was produced by Shyamalan and Barry Mendel and is the former's first R-rated project.^[5]

On March 15, 2007, Shyamalan describes the film as "a paranoia movie from the 1960s on the lines of The Birds (1963) and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)."^[6]

Later in March, Wahlberg, with whom Shyamalan had been negotiating at the same time as his deal with Fox, was cast into the lead role of the $57 million project. Shyamalan had previously cast Wahlberg's brother Donnie in The Sixth Sense. An India-based company, UTV, co-financed fifty percent of the film's budget and distributed it in India, while Fox took care of other territories. Production began in August in Philadelphia, with filming on Walnut Street, in Rittenhouse Square Park, in Masterman High School, and on South Smedley Street.^[7] The release date was June 13, 2008, intentionally set for Friday the 13th to suit the thriller.^[7]

Critical reception[link]

The Happening was widely panned by most film critics for its plot and performances. Rotten Tomatoes reported that 18% gave positive appraisals, based on 168 reviews.^[8] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film scored a 34 out of 100, based on 38 reviews.^[3]

On June 8, 2008, days before the first few reviews for the film came online, M. Night Shyamalan had this to say to the New York Daily News: "We're making an excellent B movie, that's our goal".^[9]

Some critics liked it because of this. In fact, Glenn Whipp said, "Tamping down the self-seriousness in favor of some horrific silliness, M. Night Shyamalan's 'The Happening' plays as a genuinely enjoyable B-movie for anyone inclined (or able) to see it that way".^[10]

Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter said the film lacked "cinematic intrigue and nail-biting tension" and that "the central menace [...] does not pan out as any kind of Friday night entertainment".^[11] Variety’s Justin Chang felt that it "covers territory already over-tilled by countless disaster epics and zombie movies, offering little in the way of suspense, visceral kicks or narrative vitality to warrant the retread".^[12] Mick LaSalle at San Francisco Chronicle felt that the film was entertaining but not scary. He commented, too, on Shyamalan's writing, opining that, "instead of letting his idea breathe and develop and see where it might go, he jumps all over it and prematurely shapes it into a story".^[13] Time's Richard Corliss saw the film as a "dispiriting indication that writer-director M. Night Shyamalan has lost the touch".^[14] Chicago Tribune's Michael Phillips thought the film had a workable premise, but found the characters to be "gasbags or forgetful".^[15] Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal said that the film was a "woeful clunker of a paranoid thriller" and highlighted its "befuddling infelicities, insistent banalities, shambling pace and pervasive ineptitude".^[16]

Stephen King liked the film, stating "Of Fox's two summer creepshows, give the edge to The Happening, partly because M. Night Shyamalan really understands fear, partly because this time he's completely let himself go (hence the R rating), and partly because after Lady in the Water he had something to prove".^[17] Critic Roger Ebert, of Chicago Sun-Times, awarding the movie three stars, found it oddly touching: "It is no doubt too thoughtful for the summer action season, but I appreciate the quietly realistic way Shyamalan finds to tell a story about the possible death of man".^[18] The New York Times’s Manohla Dargis praised Wahlberg's lead performance, adding that the film "turns out to be a divertingly goofy thriller with an animistic bent, moments of shivery and twitchy suspense".^[19] Philipa Hawker of The Age gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars, commenting on "the mood of the film: a tantalising, sometimes frustrating parable about the menaces that human beings might face from unexpected quarters," drawing especial attention to "the sound of the breeze and the sight of it ruffling the trees or blowing across the grass — an image of tension that calls to mind Antonioni's Blowup".^[20] Richard Roeper of Chicago Sun-Times stated "It almost dares you to roll your eyes or laugh at certain scenes that are supposed to be deadly serious. But, you know what, I appreciated this creatively offbeat, daring sci-fi mind-trip".^[21]

The film was nominated for four Razzie Awards: Worst Actor, Worst Picture, Worst Director and Worst Screenplay.^[22]

Box office performance[link]

On its opening day, The Happening grossed $13 million. Over the weekend, the total gross came in at $30,517,109 in 2,986 theaters in the United States and Canada, averaging to about $10,220 per venue, and ranking #3 at the box office, behind The Incredible Hulk and Kung Fu Panda.^[23] Foreign box office gross for opening weekend was an estimated $32.1 million.^[24]

Home media[link]

As of December 2009, 1,094,000 DVD units have been sold translating to over $21m in revenue.^[25]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Happening (2008 film)

• The Happening Official site
• The Happening at the Internet Movie Database
• The Happening at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Happening at Metacritic
• The Happening at Box Office Mojo
• The Happening at AllRovi
• Script Review of The Green Effect, 01/07/07 draft by LatinoReview.com

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Happenings (disambiguation). (Discuss) Proposed since February 2012.

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Happening (disambiguation). (Discuss) Proposed since February 2012.

The Happening may refer to:

• The Happening (1967 film), a comedy film starring Anthony Quinn, Michael Parks, Faye Dunaway, Robert Walker Jr.
  • The Happening (1967 soundtrack), the soundtrack for the aforementioned film released in June of the same year
    • "The Happening" (song), a song from the 1967 film soundtrack and a number one hit in May of the same year by The Supremes
• The Happening (2008 film), a film by M. Night Shyamalan
  • The Happening (2008 soundtrack), the soundtrack for the aforementioned film
• "The Happening", a song by The Pixies from their 1990 album Bossanova
• The Happenings, an American pop music group from the 1960s

See also[link]

• Happening
• Happenings (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Zooey Deschanel
Deschanel performing as part of She & Him at Terminal 5 in New York, 2008
Born	Zooey Claire Deschanel (1980-01-17) January 17, 1980 (age 32) Los Angeles, California, United States
Occupation	Actress, model, singer, songwriter, musician
Years active	1998–present
Spouse	Ben Gibbard (m. 2009) «start: (2009)»"Marriage: Ben Gibbard to Zooey Deschanel" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Zooey_Deschanel)
Parents	Caleb Deschanel (father) Mary Jo Deschanel (mother)
Relatives	Emily Deschanel (sister)

Zooey Claire Deschanel ( /ˈzoʊ.iː deɪʃəˈnɛl/ ZOH-ee day-shə-NEL; born January 17, 1980) is an American actress, musician and singer-songwriter. In 1999, Deschanel made her film debut in Mumford, followed by her breakout role as young protagonist William Miller's troubled older sister Anita in Cameron Crowe's 2000 semi-autobiographical film Almost Famous. Deschanel soon became known for her deadpan or "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" supporting roles in films such as Elf (2003), The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005), Failure to Launch (2006), Bridge to Terabithia (2007), and Happening, TheThe Happening (2008). She then began playing lead roles in films, including Yes Man (2008) and (500) Days of Summer (2009).^[1][2][3] She currently stars in the Fox series New Girl. She has been nominated for Golden Globe and Grammy Awards.

For a few years starting in 2001, Deschanel performed in the jazz cabaret act If All the Stars Were Pretty Babies with fellow actress Samantha Shelton.^[4] Besides singing, she plays keyboards, percussion, banjo and ukulele.^[5] She also often sings in her films. Deschanel teamed up with M. Ward to release their debut album Volume One (recorded with M. Ward under the moniker She & Him) which was released in March 2008. The follow-up album Volume Two was released in the U.S. in March 2010. She married Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard in September 2009, and filed for divorce from him in December 2011.

Early life[link]

Born in Los Angeles in 1980, Deschanel is the daughter of cinematographer/director Caleb Deschanel and actress Mary Jo Deschanel (née Weir). She is of French (from her paternal grandfather) and Irish descent.^[6] She was raised as a Roman Catholic. ^[7] She was named after Zooey Glass, the male protagonist of J. D. Salinger's 1961 novella Franny and Zooey.^[8] Her older sister, Emily Deschanel, is also an actress and stars in the TV series Bones.

Deschanel lived in Los Angeles, but spent much of her childhood traveling because her father shot films on location; she later said that she "hated all the traveling ... I'm really happy now that I had the experience, but at the time I was just so miserable to have to leave my friends in Los Angeles and go to places where they didn't have any food I liked or things I was used to."^[9] She attended Crossroads, a private preparatory school in Santa Monica, California, where she befriended future co-stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Kate Hudson.^[8][10] She sang throughout high school, planning to pursue a career in musical theatre and attending French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts.^[6] She attended Northwestern University for seven months before dropping out to work as an actress.^[9]

Career[link]

Acting[link]

Deschanel appeared in a guest role on the television series Veronica's Closet before making her film debut in Lawrence Kasdan's 1999 comedy Mumford, and later in the year she appeared (non-singing) in the music video for The Offspring's single "She's Got Issues". In her second film, director Cameron Crowe's semi-autobiographical Almost Famous (2000), Deschanel played Anita Miller, the protagonist's rebellious older sister. The film received critical praise,^[11] but was not a box office success. She also appeared in Jimmy Fallon's "Idiot Boyfriend" music video as his lead girl.

Deschanel played supporting roles in a series of films that include Manic (2001), with Don Cheadle and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Big Trouble (2002), with Tim Allen and Rene Russo, Abandon (2002) alongside Katie Holmes, Benjamin Bratt and Melanie Lynskey, and The Good Girl (2002) alongside Jennifer Aniston and Jake Gyllenhaal. In late 2002, The New York Times reported that Deschanel was "one of Hollywood's most sought-after young stars,"^[8] and the Los Angeles Times wrote in early 2003 that Deschanel had become a recognizable type, due to "her deadpan, sardonic and scene-stealing [film] performances" as the protagonist's best friend.^[6] Deschanel objected to her typecasting, arguing, "A lot of these roles are just a formula idea of somebody's best friend, and it's like, I don't even have that many friends. In high school, I stayed home all the time, so I don't know how I'm everybody's best friend now."^[6]

Deschanel appeared in Frasier, starring as Roz's out-of-control cousin, Jen, in the season 10 episode 'Kissing Cousin' in 2002. That year, she also appeared in the film The New Guy as Nora, the guitar player in the lead character's band, Suburban Funk.

After turning down several supporting roles, Deschanel played her first lead role in All the Real Girls (2003). Her performance as Noel, a sexually curious 18-year-old virgin who has a life-changing romance with an aimless 22-year-old, received critical praise,^[6] and she received an Independent Spirit nomination for Best Actress.^[12] Later in 2003, Deschanel played a deadpan department store worker opposite Will Ferrell in the comedy Elf, which became a box office hit.^[13]

Zooey Deschanel with co-star Joseph Gordon-Levitt at a premiere for (500) Days of Summer in March 2009

In 2004, Deschanel starred in Eulogy, and in 2005 as Trillian in the film adaptation of Douglas Adams' science fiction novel The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Also in 2005, she played the main character, Reese Holden in the film Winter Passing with supporting role from Will Ferrell. Deschanel then played Sarah Jessica Parker's neurotic roommate in Failure to Launch (2006), and appeared on four episodes of the Showtime television series Weeds from 2006 to 2007, playing Andy Botwin's quirky ex-girlfriend, Kat. In September 2006, Variety announced that Deschanel would play 1960s singer Janis Joplin in the film The Gospel According to Janis, to be co-written and directed by Penelope Spheeris.^[14] Deschanel planned to sing all of Joplin's songs, and took four months of singing lessons "to approximate Joplin's gritty vocals."^[14] The film, scheduled to begin shooting on November 13, 2006,^[14] was postponed indefinitely.^[15] However, the project is now back on track and will be released in 2012.^[16]

In 2007, Deschanel appeared in two children's films: Bridge to Terabithia, in which she played Jesse's quirky music teacher, and the animated film Surf's Up, in which she voiced a penguin named Lani Aliikai. She played DG, the lead in the Sci Fi Channel miniseries Tin Man, a re-imagined science fiction version of L. Frank Baum's children's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Tin Man aired on Sci Fi in December 2007. Deschanel also narrated the children's book Players in Pigtails.^[17]

On April 27, 2008, she performed on The Simpsons, playing the role of Mary, Cletus's daughter,^[18] and in June she starred opposite Mark Wahlberg in M. Night Shyamalan's poorly received environmental thriller The Happening.

Also in 2008, Deschanel starred in Gigantic, and later that year in the comedy film Yes Man, opposite Jim Carrey.^[19]

Deschanel was next seen as the title character in the 2009 award winning romantic-drama-comedy (500) Days of Summer, opposite Joseph Gordon-Levitt (for a second time after Manic). The film, about the development and demise of a relationship, received widespread praise and was directed by long-time commercial and music video director Marc Webb.^[20] The film received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical), but was ultimately defeated by The Hangover.^[21]

Deschanel guest starred in a Christmas 2009 episode of Bones as Brennan's never-before-seen cousin.^[22] In the first-ever on-screen pairing of the Deschanel sisters, Zooey portrayed Margaret Whitesell, a distant relative of Emily's Dr. Temperance Brennan. Brennan's father, Max Keenan (guest star Ryan O'Neal), invites Margaret to spend Christmas with him and his daughter.^[23]

A pilot was made for the HBO series I'm with the Band: Confessions of a Groupie, in which she plays the role of Pamela Des Barres, who wrote a memoir based on her own experience as a former groupie.^[24] In 2011, Deschanel portrayed the role of Belladonna in the fantasy-comedy film Your Highness^[25] alongside Natalie Portman and James Franco. She is currently appearing as the lead in the Fox series New Girl, created by Elizabeth Meriwether. Deschanel also hosted Saturday Night Live on February 11, 2012.^[26]

Film-related music[link]

The New Guy (2002) was the first of Deschanel's films in which she sang onscreen. In Elf, she sings with Will Ferrell in the bathroom shower scene on "Baby, It's Cold Outside", and was also heard singing it on the soundtrack with Leon Redbone. Her piano composition "Bittersuite" was used thematically in the dark, off-beat 2004 dramedy Winter Passing, in which she starred alongside Will Ferrell and Ed Harris. Subsequently, Deschanel also sings in Winter Passing ("My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean").

Others include: the television musical Once Upon a Mattress ("An Opening for a Princess", "In a Little While", "Normandy", and "Yesterday I Loved You"); an old cabaret song in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford ("A Bird in a Gilded Cage"); and the 2007 short film Raving ("Hello, Dolly!").

Deschanel and the cast of school children sing the Steve Earle song "Someday" and War's "Why Can't We Be Friends?" in the 2007 film Bridge to Terabithia.

In the film Yes Man, Deschanel sings several songs featured in the film and on the film soundtrack, and is shown singing "Uh-Huh" and "Sweet Ballad" alongside San Franciscan all-girl electro soul-punk group Von Iva in a fictional band called "Munchausen by Proxy".

In (500) Days of Summer Deschanel sings a cover of "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want" by The Smiths—it also appears on the soundtrack of the film, as performed by She and Him. She also sings a cover of "Sugar Town" by Nancy Sinatra. (500) Days of Summer director Marc Webb also directed Deschanel and Gordon-Levitt in a music video, Bank Dance, with the She & Him song "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?".

Deschanel sings "The Greatest Most Beautiful Love Song in All the Land" with James Franco in the film Your Highness. She also appears in a number of songs (with M. Ward) on the soundtrack album for the 2011 release of Disney's Winnie the Pooh. Deschanel wrote and sings the theme song to her current television series New Girl.^[27]

Non-film music[link]

Deschanel and M. Ward performing as She & Him on a Wurlitzer Electric Piano at the Newport Folk Festival (August 2, 2008)

In 2001, Deschanel formed If All the Stars Were Pretty Babies, a jazz cabaret act with fellow actress Samantha Shelton.^[8] The pair performed around Los Angeles.^[28]

In March 2007, Deschanel contributed vocals to two songs "Slowly" and "Ask Her to Dance" on the album Nighttiming by Jason Schwartzman's band Coconut Records. In May 2007, singer/songwriter M. Ward, who had previously performed with Deschanel onstage, said that he was "just finishing work" on her debut album,^[29] which will feature songs written by Deschanel and produced by Ward.^[30] Fox reported that Deschanel and Ward were recording under the moniker She & Him. Their first album, titled Volume One, was released by Merge Records on March 18, 2008.^[31][32]

On March 23, 2010, the second She & Him album, Volume Two, was released.^[33] In spring of 2010, She & Him went on tour in the USA and Europe to promote the album.^[34]

Deschanel and M. Ward both featured on The Place We Ran From, the 2010 album by Snow Patrol member Gary Lightbody's side project, Tired Pony. Deschanel contributed vocals to the tracks "Get On the Road" and "Point Me at Lost Islands", while M. Ward contributed vocals and guitar to the track "Held in the Arms of Your Words" and guitar to the track "That Silver Necklace".^[35]

Deschanel also recorded "The Fabric of My Life" for a 2009 advertising campaign for Cotton Incorporated.^[36]

Deschanel also performed "God Bless America" during the seventh inning stretch during game three of the National League Championship Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants on October 19, 2010 at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California.^[37]

On October 23, 2011, Deschanel performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" before game four of the World Series between the Texas Rangers and the St. Louis Cardinals at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington in Arlington, TX.^[38]

Deschanel contributed a cover of Buddy Holly's "It's So Easy" for the tribute album Listen to Me: Buddy Holly, released on September 6, 2011. She had previously appeared on Rave On Buddy Holly with She & Him performing "Oh Boy", released in June 2011.

A Very She & Him Christmas was announced on Pitchfork.com in September 2011. The 12-track Christmas album was released October 25, 2011 under Merge Records.^[39]

On December 28, 2011, she and Joseph Gordon-Levitt recorded an informal version of "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" for her Hellogiggles YouTube Channel. It was immensely popular and within four days had over 6 million views.^[40]

Deschanel is also featured on She & Him bandmate M. Ward's sixth solo album, A Wasteland Companion.^[41]

Other work[link]

Deschanel was a judge for the ninth Independent Music Awards.^[42]

She has signed on to represent Rimmel, a cosmetics brand.^[43]

In May 2011, she launched HelloGiggles, an entertainment website geared towards women, with producer Sophia Rossi and writer Molly McAleer.^[44]

In 2012, she was featured in a commercial for the iPhone 4S (Siri).

Coal Miner's Daughter the Musical: During a May, 2012 performance at the Ryan Auditorium Country music singer Loretta Lynn announced that she was in the development stages of creating a Broadway musical from her autobiography and Deschanel would play the title role. Lynn said "…there's a little girl back stage that's going to do the play of 'Coal Miner's Daughter' on Broadway." She then brought Deschanel onstage and the two sang a duet of the title song.^[45]

Personal life[link]

In December 2008, Deschanel became engaged to musician Ben Gibbard, lead vocalist for The Postal Service and Death Cab for Cutie.^[46] The couple married on September 19, 2009 near Seattle, Washington.^[47] On November 1, 2011, they announced their separation after two years of marriage.^[48] Deschanel subsequently filed for divorce on December 27, 2011, citing irreconcilable differences.^[49]

Deschanel became an aunt on September 21, 2011, when her sister Emily gave birth to a son, Henry.^[50]

Deschanel—who is allergic to eggs, dairy, and wheat gluten^[51]—formerly adhered to a vegan diet.^[52] She was featured on episode eight of season one of Bravo's Top Chef Masters, in which the chefs participating in the competition were challenged to cater a vegan lunch party for her family and friends using no eggs, dairy, soy, or gluten.^[53] However, according to a March 2010 interview with Health magazine, she had to come off the diet because her food sensitivities made it too difficult for her to stay healthy as a vegan.^[54]

Filmography[link]

Discography[link]

Soundtracks[link]

• 2003: Elf "Baby, It's Cold Outside" with Leon Redbone
• 2005: Once Upon a Mattress (TV movie) "In a Little While" with Matthew Morrison
• 2008: Yes Man; "Yes Man", "Sweet Ballad", "Uh-huh", "Keystar" with Von Iva, by "Munchausen By Proxy" a fictional band that appears in the film, and "Can't Buy Me Love" with Jim Carrey^[56][57]
• 2009: (500) Days of Summer "Sugar Town"
• 2011: Winnie the Pooh "A Very Important Thing to Do", "Everything is Honey" with Jim Cummings and Robert Lopez, "Winnie the Pooh" with M. Ward, "So Long" with M. Ward, "Finale" with Jim Cummings, Robert Lopez and cast
• 2011: Your Highness "The Greatest Most Beautiful Love Song in All the Land" with James Franco

Appearances on other albums[link]

• 2008: Acid Tongue – Jenny Lewis "The Next Messiah", "Carpetbaggers", "Trying My Best to Love You", "Jack Killed Mom"
• 2009: Hold Time – M. Ward "Never Had Nobody Like You", "Rave On"
• 2010: The Place We Ran From – Tired Pony "Get on the Road", "Point Me at Lost Islands"
• 2011: Listen to Me: Buddy Holly "It's So Easy" (tribute album)
• 2012: A Wasteland Companion – M. Ward "Sweetheart"

She & Him[link]

Studio albums

• 2008: Volume One^[58] (No.71 US)^{[citation needed]}
• 2010: Volume Two (No.6 US)
• 2011: A Very She and Him Christmas

Singles

• "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?" (January, 2008)
• "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" (December, 2009)
• "In the Sun" (February, 2010)^[59]
• "Thieves" (June, 2010)

Soundtracks

• 2009: Sweetheart "I Put A Spell On You" (Starbucks' CD)
• 2007: The Go-Getter "When I Get To The Border"
• 2009: (500) Days of Summer "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want"

Awards and nominations[link]

• 2003: Mar del Plata Film Festival for Best Actress; All the Real Girls (Won)
• 2004: Chlotrudis Award for Best Actress; All the Real Girls (Nominated)
• 2004: Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead; All the Real Girls (Nominated)
• 2009: Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy; (500) Days of Summer (Nominated)
• 2011: Satellite Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Musical or Comedy Television Series; New Girl (Nominated)
• 2011: Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Musical or Comedy; New Girl (Nominated)
• 2012: Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media; "So Long" (Nominated)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Zooey Deschanel

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Zooey Deschanel

• Zooey Deschanel at the Internet Movie Database