AP/Paramount Classics
Actor Greg Kinnear plays an out of work motivational speaker and Australian actress Toni Collette plays his wife, Sheryl, in "Little Miss Sunshine." "You have this family seemingly going on a very simple trip and suddenly you uncover this whole complex family dynamic," Kinnear said.
Fox Searchlight Pictures
From left, Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Paul Dano, Toni Collette, Abigail Breslin in "Little Miss Sunshine." "I absolutely loved the script and also really loved this dysfunctional family who are just learning to get along for the first time," said Toni Collette.
CBS
The shoot for this film took 30 days and was spread across locations in California and Arizona in the summer of 2005. As part of the bonding process the cast did an actual "family field trip" in order to get a taste of what was to come.
AP/Paramount Classics
From left, Greg Kinnear, Abigail Breslin, Alan Arkin, Steve Carell, Paul Dano, Toni Collette in a scene from "Little Miss Sunshine." "We had a whole week together before we shot during which we did lots of improvising with each other," Alan Arkin said. "We really started to get a feel for how the characters felt about each other and who we were as a family."
AP/Paramount Classics
From left, Alan Arkin, Paul Dano, Steve Carell, Greg Kinnear, Abigail Breslin and Toni Collette in a scene from "Little Miss Sunshine." "It was a grueling shoot," said co-director Jonathan Dayton. "But we wanted the realism of being out on the road."
AP/Paramount Classics
Husband and wife directing team Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton, seen here on the set of "Little Miss Sunshine," are known for their award-winning music video and commercial direction. "Little Miss Sunshine" is their feature film debut.
AP/Paramount Classics
Nine-year-old Abigail Breslin plays would-be beauty queen Olive Hoover in "Little Miss Sunshine." "They're a family you don't see all the time," said Breslin, who wore a fat suit for the part.
