Production Notes

Hilary O'Neil is an attractive, outgoing young woman whose mundane existence is circumscribed by few opportunities, little money and a series of failed relationships. She's looking for a different kind of life, a life with purpose. 

Victor is a wealthy, educated man who is also trapped, by a debilitating illness and a domineering father. He longs to escape from a life that offers only sickness and isolation. 

But when Hilary and Victor meet they come to realize that each has something to give to the other. And that perhaps they are looking for the same thing. 

A Fogwood Films Production of a Joel Schumacher film, "Dying Young" stars Julia Roberts and Campbell Scott and is directed by Joel Schumacher ("Flatliners," "Cousins," "The Lost Boys," "St. Elmo's Fire"). The producers are Sally Field and Kevin Mccormick. The screenplay is by Richard Friedenberg, based on the novel by Marti Leimbach. Vincent D'Onofrio, Colleen Dewhurst and David Selby also star. The co-producer is Duncan Henderson. 

"This film was very compelling from the first time I read it," says director Joel Schumacher. "You have a man who's imprisoned by his illness, by his father's wealth and domination, and by his own shyness. He feels separated from normal life. She's a person who has had no education, no money and, in a way, no restrictions. He's an intellectual and she's street-smart. It's a real story with unusual characters in very unusual circumstances." 

Producers Sally Field ("Punchline," "Murphy's Romance") and Kevin McCormick ("Saturday Night Fever") first became aware of the book Dying Young by first-time novelist Marti Leimbach in 1989. 

"What originally drew me to the novel was the love story," recalls Field. "The fact that its about two people who really have nothing in common, who fall in love and make each other's lives better. A love story in this context is really about letting go -- being willing to commit to love and life, fully." 

"I think Victor learns to be heroic through falling in love with Hilary. And she learns to be heroic through falling in love with him," says McCormick. "That is the very essence of what attracted me to the book. It's a very simple story told with a tremendous sense of reality on both of their parts." 

With the film rights secured, Field and McCormick sought out Richard Friedenberg to write the screenplay, because they believed that Friedenberg was the writer who could best communicate the story's emotional sensitivity. 

"Initially, I was reluctant to accept the project because I couldn't see a way in," says Friedenberg. "It was a difficult novel to turn into a movie because it was primarily an inner monologue presented from Hilary's point of view." 

Recalls McCormick: "Richard's work has a singular quality to it -- he can write about people and complicated emotions without pandering or being melancholy. He is someone who's not afraid to do a complicated adaptation. Because as fresh and as strong as the book is, we knew it would take someone of Richard's stature to find a window which would make it cinematic, and create a story that would engage an audience." 

"Dying Young" reunites Julia Roberts with both producer Sally Field and director Joel Schumacher. Roberts and Field starred together in the. critically acclaimed "Steel Magnolias," for which Roberts received a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress, as well as an Academy Award nomination. She went on to star in one of last year's highest grossing films, "Pretty Woman," earning a second Golden Globe Award, this time for Best Actress, as well as a second Oscar nomination. Last summer she was seen in Joel Schumacher's hit supernatural thriller "Flatliners" opposite Kiefer Sutherland and Kevin Bacon, and she most recently starred opposite Patrick Bergin and Kevin Anderson in the runaway hit "Sleeping With the Enemy," also for Twentieth Century Fox. 

Says Roberts, "Hilary is an individual who feels lost, misguided and a bit misunderstood. But when she is employed by Victor as his caretaker, she discovers for the first time the real fulfillment you get from someone needing you, from being able to serve a purpose. I think it's something she's never known about herself before. 

"It was so beautifully written and encompassed so many things that there was no way I could consider not doing it." 

It was while preparing "Flatliners" that Schumacher also met Campbell Scott, a film and stage actor who received critical acclaim for his portrayal of Willy in the feature "Longtime Companion." A prior commitment to Bernardo Bertolucci and "The Sheltering Sky" kept them from working together at that time, but Schumacher remembered Scott when casting the demanding role of Victor Geddes in "Dying Young." 

Says Scott, "Victor Geddes leads a very austere life, isolated not only by his illness, but by his father and his father's wealth. He's an intellectual, brilliant at covering up his weaknesses, who's holed up in an apartment in his father's mansion. He knows that something is missing, but isn't sure what. When Hilary, his exact opposite, blows into his life, he's both frightened and intrigued by her." 

After Hilary accepts the position of live-in caretaker and moves into Victor's stark San Francisco apartment, she witnesses the frustration and pain his illness inflicts on him, his reluctance to step outside his own front door, and his passion for the two things that console him, art and music. Initially she is frightened by the seriousness of Victor's condition, and tempted to leave. Bravely, realizing that she has begun to care about this frail, introverted man, she agrees to stay, and through her vigilant caretaking, Victor's health improves. Mutual misgivings and fears begin to diminish and are replaced by emotions of tenderness and trust. 

Feeling much improved, Victor announces to Hilary his need to get away. They drive up the coast to Mendocino and upon their arrival are smitten by a dilapidated Victorian house for rent. As they settle into their new surroundings they openly admit to an attraction which, perhaps, was there from the beginning. 

"The move to Mendocino broadens the relationship," observes Roberts. "It's their first chance to share something new, together. They're away from his apartment, his environment. It puts them on more common ground and makes them more nearly equal." 

Says Schumacher, "She's lived with a series of guys that have been disappointing for her, and she has always returned to her mother's house, which was claustrophobic and not very nurturing. And he's always been under his father's domination. They've never had a place of their own -- either one of them -- so going to this little cottage by the sea is a way for them to have their own surroundings and build their relationship." 

It is also in Mendocino that Hilary and Victor meet Gordon, a vigorous, likable man who befriends them both. For the role of Gordon, a character much like Hilary, Schumacher cast Vincent D'Onofrio, who previously costarred with Julia Roberts in the 1988 sleeper comedy "Mystic Pizza" He has also appeared in "Full Metal Jacket," "Signs of Life" and "Adventures in Babysitting." 

Completing the cast is the highly respected stage and screen actress Colleen Dewhurst, who portrays Estelle. The widowed owner of a winery, and Gordon's employer and friend, she figures prominently in all of their lives. 

"Estelle is a much more mature person, who has dealt with a lot of unhappiness in her life, but has kept a sense of humor and perspective on everything," explains Schumacher. "She is a person very much of the earth, working with the men in her vineyards. She's extremely perceptive, and she senses, when she meets Victor, that he may not be completely well."

To complement this poignant story and talented cast the production engaged the skills of some of the industry's top creative technicians, including director of photography Juan Ruiz Anchia ("Things Change," "At Close Range"), art director Guy Comtois ("War and Remembrance"), costume designer Susan Becker ("Flatliners" "Days of Thunder"), editor Robert Brown ("Flatliners," Cousin") and composer James Newton Howard ("Flatliners," "Pretty Woman").

"Dying Young" began principal photography November 12th, 1990. Filming began on location in Mendocino, situated four hours north of San Francisco and perched atop a promontory whose cliffs fall steeply into the Pacific Ocean. Although the story was originally set in New England, director Schumacher was so enchanted by the rugged beauty of this small coastal community that he decided to change the film's principal setting to Northern California and made the appropriate script changes to reflect the new setting.

Built around a thriving lumber industry in the 1850's, the village is notable for its many original New England-style "salt box" houses and water towers, which are meticulously maintained by residents to preserve the town's century-old appeal.

"Mendocino is unique," remarks Schumacher, "and the strong values of the people who live there are very much in keeping with those of the film."

In the story, Victor and Hilary arrive in Mendocino and become enamored of a dilapidated Victorian house for rent. To create this important set piece, incorporating the character of the town and taking advantage of its dramatic scenery, the filmmakers received permission from the Coastal Commission and the California Department of Parks and Recreation to erect a temporary full-scale house on Mendocino's headlands, overlooking the ocean. Because of the sensitivity of the headlands' soil and vegetation, the structure was placed on 4 x 12 boards and built by hand over several weeks to avoid using heavy equipment.

Following three weeks of exterior filming in Mendocino, the cast and crew moved to San Francisco to shoot the opening scenes of "Dying Young." Locations there included Nob Hill, where many of the city's wealthiest citizens reside, for exterior footage depicting Hilary's trying excursion to her job interview with Victor. The interior and exterior of the Geddes mansion were in fact the resplendent house and grounds of the Filoli Estate, situated thirty miles south of San Francisco. Deeded to the National Trust for Historic Preservation this house is an important example of country house architecture in the United States, and is one of the few in California that remains intact in its original setting. The cast and crew also spent several days on Foothill Boulevard in Oakland to shoot the exterior of Mrs.O'Neil's apartment and the establishments that Hilary frequents before moving in with Victor.

On December 8th, the company moved again, to the beautiful Napa Valley, where the scenes involving Estelle's winery were filmed. For the picturesque exteriors, the filmmakers selected Stag's Leap Winery, a 240-acre estate dating back to the turn of the century. The interior of Stag's Leap Manor, an Elizabethan manor house built in 1890, was temporarily refurbished to become the interior of Estelle's home.

However, the setting where Estelle throws her annual Christmas gala was filmed at a separate location, in the underground stone wine cellars of V. Sattui Winery, located in St. Helena on Highway 29. Undoubtedly many of the tourists and patrons of V. Sattui were curious about the hundreds of men and women who streamed in and out of its cellars for three full days, dressed in tuxedos and beautiful gowns. They were in fact the many local extras who helped to recreate the film's elaborate Christmas festivities.

On December 19th cast and crew returned to los Angeles to complete filming on the sound stages of Twentieth Century Fox. Here the interior of Victor and Hilary's coastal hideaway was constructed to match its exterior on location. Fourteen thousand square feet of hand-painted latex backing completely encircled this set to match the panoramic view of Mendocino seen from any window inside the house.

On a separate stage the interiors of Victor's apartment were built, A sparse but luxurious modern environment, this set was a sharp contrast to the mismatched, impoverished furnishings of Mrs. O'Neil's apartment constructed on the same stage.

Principal photography was completed on February 8th, 1991.

Through Joel Schumacher, an incredibly intimate story has been breathed full of life," says McCormick. "It is visualized in every corner and has great breadth to it, not only in its message, but also in every window you look out of. It's a wonderful marriage of image, content and performance."

Says Schumacher, "I think Hilary and Victor, like any two people, struggle with the barriers to intimacy, the difficulties of understanding and sharing with another person, because it's much easier to be selfish. It's always easy to walk out. Love is easy when it's easy. It's not real unless it's tested."