How Celine Song’s matchmaking job inspired her new film ‘Materialists’

Long before directing the A24 romantic comedy “Materialists,” Celine Song worked as a professional matchmaker in New York City. That experience, she tells Today.com, directly shaped the story, characters and themes of her second feature film.

Song worked for six months at the dating service Tawkify while trying to build a playwriting career. In that role, she learned how clients often described ideal partners in strictly measurable terms.

“It’s height, weight, income, net worth, job title and race,” Song was quoted as saying. “That’s what people will tell you when you ask who they want to date.”

Those insights helped shape the character of Lucy, played by Dakota Johnson, a luxury matchmaker who connects wealthy clients based on status, appearance and financial benchmarks.

In “Materialists,” Lucy starts dating a wealthy client (Pedro Pascal) while reuniting with her financially struggling ex (Chris Evans), which forces her to question whether love can survive without material security.

That tension mirrored Song’s own life at the time. “I had just gotten married, so I was figuring it all out myself,” she said in a recent Reddit AMA. “Neither of us was making any money from our art … and it made me wonder if we were as worthless as mates to each other as the conversations with my clients would suggest.”

In a separate Entertainment Weekly interview, she noted the film explores not just dating but the emotional risk of believing in love. “What’s amazing about ‘Pride and Prejudice’ is that the person who is going to pay off your debt and your family’s debt is also going to be the love of your life,” Song said. “What an amazing fantasy but we know in life that’s not necessarily true.”