First Look: Paul Dano & Zoe Kazan In Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris' 'Ruby Sparks'

It's been six years since husband and wife filmmaking duo Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris directed their critical acclaimed indie dramedy "Little Miss Sunshine" which was nominated for four Oscars including Best Picture that year. Their Academy plaudits got them juice, but several projects they attached themselves to just couldn't come together. 

But that's finally changed. Based off a script from actress/writer Zoe Kazan and starring herself and her actor boyfriend Paul Dano, Dayton and Faris have returned with "Ruby Sparks," a whimsical-sounding dramedy that was formerly known as "He Loves Me." Here's a first-look picture of the film from Entertainment Weekly and a synopsis from Fox Searchlight and note, the film seems to have a Charlie Kaufman-esque tone.

Calvin (Dano) is a young novelist who achieved phenomenal success early in his career but is now struggling with his writing – as well as his romantic life. Finally, he makes a breakthrough and creates a character named Ruby who inspires him. When Calvin finds Ruby (Kazan), in the flesh, sitting on his couch about a week later, he is completely flabbergasted that his words have turned into a living, breathing person.

The picture also sports a pretty great supporting cast that includes Antonio Banderas, Annette Bening, Elliott Gould, Steve Coogan, Chris Messina, Deborah Ann Woll, Alia Shawkat and Aasif Mandvi. "Ruby Sparks" opens in theaters later this summer on July 25th and while there's been little in the way of marketing so far (trailers, posters, etc.), Fox Searchlight assure us that all that stuff is right around the corner (and we may begin to see it next week). Additionally, here's a recent set photo from Collider. Here's hoping it's not another six years between pictures for Dayton and Faris.