Scafaria, who wrote the script for Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, says she was pushed to end life on Earth by her experience on that earlier film -- and by the growing media interest in the Mayan calendar's supposed prediction of the world ending in 2012.

Lorene Scafaria's Seeking a Friend for the End of the World strikes a different chord: one that is wistfully romantic, a little melancholy and unexpectedly funny.

Recipients are asked to adhere to only one caveat: they must speak about a woman who has influenced or inspired them, not their mother. An act of rebellion, this rule was immediately violated.