Claim: Her stars American actress Rooney Mara.

Her is a 2013 American romantic science-fiction drama film written , directed , and produced by Spike Jonze . It marks Jonze 's solo screenwriting debut . The film follows Theodore Twombly -LRB- Joaquin Phoenix -RRB- , a man who develops a relationship with Samantha -LRB- Scarlett Johansson -RRB- , an intelligent computer operating system personified through a female voice . The film also stars Amy Adams , Rooney Mara , and Olivia Wilde .   Jonze conceived the idea in the early 2000s after reading an article about a website that allowed for instant messaging with an artificial intelligence program . After making I 'm Here -LRB- 2010 -RRB- , a short film sharing similar themes , Jonze returned to the idea . He wrote the first draft of the script in five months . Principal photography took place in Los Angeles and Shanghai in mid-2012 . The role of Samantha was recast in post-production , with Samantha Morton being replaced with Johansson . Additional scenes were filmed in August 2013 following the casting change .   Her premiered at the 2013 New York Film Festival on October 12 , 2013 . Warner Bros. initially provided a limited release for Her at six theaters on December 18 . It was later given a wide release at over 1,700 theaters in the United States and Canada on January 10 , 2014 . Her received widespread critical acclaim upon its release , and grossed over $ 47 million worldwide on a production budget of $ 23 million . The film received numerous awards and nominations , primarily for Jonze 's screenplay . At the 86th Academy Awards , Her received five nominations , including Best Picture , and won the award for Best Original Screenplay . Jonze also won awards for his screenplay at the 71st Golden Globe Awards , the 66th Writers Guild of America Awards , the 19th Critics ' Choice Awards , and the 40th Saturn Awards .