How to pronounce "I ♥ Huckabees"?

How are you supposed to pronounce the movie title "I ♥ Huckabees"?

I have seen it written "I heart huckabees" but that might be because its hard to find and type the little ♥ character. This also would seem like an odd pronunciation (but then again its a strange title to begin with.)

Actual movie logo / title:

For instance, did the writer/director or some official publication ever clearly state how to say the title?

title i-heart-huckabees

Best Answer

It’s pronounced “heart” usually but “love” is accepted. From the Wikipedia article:

I ? Huckabees (known usually as I Heart Huckabees but also as I Love Huckabees) is a 2004 American comedy film directed and produced by David O. Russell, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jeff Baena.

Both Wikipedia and IMDb refer to it as I Heart Huckabees.

In an interview with Indie Wire, the writer/director David O. Russell is quoted as saying:

However, another short that Russell was planning was stuck in the writing stages. “I wanted to make a short film, that later became ‘I Heart Huckabees,’ about a guy who sits in the back of a Chinese restaurant with microphones on every table to surreptitiously listen to everybody’s conversations, then write perversely personal fortunes for each of the people.

So, he uses "heart" himself.

As to the oddness of the phrase, it's actually pretty common to see around now. There's a few company names based on it, even. The most recognizable is probably iHeartRadio, a music streaming service.