'Perfect Man' a real-life fairy tale

'Perfect Man' a real-life fairy tale

By PHIL VILLARREAL / (Tucson) Arizona Daily Star
06/19/2005

"The Perfect Man" is based on a story that seems so preposterous, it could only come from Hollywood: A teen girl writes fake love letters to her single mother, convincing her that she has a secret admirer who is the man of her dreams, leading to a torrent of trouble, which forces the girl to tell even more lies.

Kind of tough to swallow, until you hear that it actually happened in real life. In Tucson, Ariz.

The film is based on actual events from the lives of 53-year-old Jan Robinson and her daughter, Heather, 26, who now splits her time between Tucson and Los Angeles.

These days, both Robinsons are dynamic, up-and-coming film writers and producers, with one big-time Hollywood project behind them and several more on the way.

The Robinsons' success can be traced back to a harrowing ordeal in 1993, when Heather was a high-school student who lamented that her divorced mother lacked romance in her life. Heather and a mischievous friend, whom she declined to name, began writing her mother love letters and e-mails, posing as a man in love with Jan.

Heather and her friend based the "perfect man" on an Air Force pilot with whom they worked, and a faux relationship developed between Jan and her make-believe suitor.

Heather's ruse -- which both she and Jan attribute to a misguided scam born out of deep love and caring -- got out of control.

Heather and her friend, who showered Jan with flowers and gifts for eight months, decided it was time for the man to propose to Jan. The friend stole a credit card to purchase an engagement ring. In 1994, the friend was convicted of credit-card theft, Heather was convicted as an accomplice, and both Heather and Jan were emotionally devastated.

Heather spent a night in juvenile detention and was sentenced to house arrest and 120 hours of community service that she completed in the Wright Flight program, which teaches students about aviation.

Walking away from the courthouse after the ordeal, Jan reportedly told Heather, "Well, this would make a great movie."

Heather agreed and sought advice from a friend, actress Carrie Fisher, who she had met in a chat room while working at an America Online call center.

The actress-author told Heather to write a treatment, a summary that describes how a story will play out on-screen. Heather and Jan wrote the treatment, then poured all their spare income into getting the film sold, spending between $20,000 and $25,000 flying back and forth from Los Angeles, setting up meetings and working contacts.

Heather was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and struggled through the illness in 2001 and 2002. Jan says she was in such dire financial straits she nearly lost her house.

They managed to sell the treatment to a small company in 1999, but after a year of the project mucking around in "development hell," the rights reverted back to the Robinsons.

Screenwriter Michael McQuown, who had heard of Heather's project, contacted her online and worked with her to turn the treatment into a screenplay. McQuown's contacts got the script to Hilary Duff, who liked the project and helped get it sold to Universal, which fast-tracked the film into production in 2004.

However, Heather's life was again thrown into turmoil. She suffered from a surgery-related infection and was hospitalized for four months last year. Heather endured eight surgeries and was at serious risk of dying.

"The summer was lost, I felt lonely," Heather said. "A lot of the obstacles make this a sweeter experience, though. The money is great, and to have a movie inspired by our lives is exciting."

And it's only the beginning. Although Universal had the screenplay for "The Perfect Man" rewritten by Gina Wendkos, Heather Robinson received a "story by" credit.

What's more important is that doors have been opened to advance the movie careers of both women. "E-Girl," a story about Heather's time working for AOL, has already been sold, and Heather and Fisher, who will play herself in the film, will co-write the screenplay.

Heather and Jan are also collaborating on other film projects, including one on the Wright brothers, as well as several TV series and a memoir.

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