Nora Ephron

[KoV]

Seeing as she just passed away, I thought it would be appropriate to have a thread to discuss her work in entertainment, as an author, essayist, screen-writer, and director.

I've always respected her so much for being a trailblazing woman in the film industry, involved in writing and/or directing several iconic films. When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, You've Got Mail... some of the most loved romantic comedies (and really, just modern films made primarily for woman). And she's got other acclaimed and hit films on her resume as well. Julie & Julia and Silkwood, to name a few. I think she was a strong presence in film and she thrived as a strong female voice in an extremely male-dominated business. And more than just from a social/political perspective, her work was loved by many. Very funny, easy and natural writing, imo. Most celebrity deaths don't make an impact on me, but I've very sad about her death.


So anyway, is anyone else a fan of her films? Sleepless in Seattle is my favorite of hers (and one of my all-time favorites) but I really loved You've Got Mail as well.

 

[Not Plain Jane]

I loved Silkwood and of course her romantic comedies too - I had no idea she was even ill. Older ones like Heartburn and recent ones like Julie and Julia - awww, I will always enjoy these!

 

[YoninahAliza]

Thank you for starting this thread KingofVersailles. Nora was such a gifted writer/director and her films were fantastic. I've always loved that her films had dynamic characters and she was able to captivate the audience with her stories. To be honest, I'm still a bit shocked that she's gone, it just seems so unexpected, and my heart goes out to her family and friends. I'm planning on watching one of her films (probably Sleepless in Seattle) sometime in the next few days as one way to pay my respects to Nora. Anyone else planning on doing the same thing?

I think this is a nice article about Nora... I like how it highlights how much of an impact she had on the film industry, especially for women in film.

I'm sitting here reeling from the news that Nora Ephron has died. No one even knew whe was sick and now she is gone. The loss to movies, and especially to women in movies, cannot be underestimated. This is a woman who was an Oscar nominated screenwriter three times over for Silkwood, When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle. Not many people can boast one Oscar nomination and she got three. She was a successful writer who then at 50 became a director. In a business that prides itself on youth, and precisely speaking, male youth, this woman decided to become a director after a successful career as a journalist and screenwriter.
I loved her debut film This is My Life. I loved how bold and naive it was. I love its honesty and its rawness. I loved that it told a story of a woman's life. I met her only once at a recent event where she spoke about the film with Lena Dunham and what I remember most was her pride when talking about Lena. She was excited to see this young woman blossom. She was excited to see the next generation of women directors. She had already seen the whole season of Girls before any of us and she could not stop talking about how good it was.

Nora Ephron was a woman who directed studio movies. We can count those women on one hand. She entered that club when she directed Sleepless in Seattle which she also wrote. She stayed in that club throughout her whole career all the way to her last film Julie and Julia. She prided herself in being a writer/director of films that talked about women. I'm sad that we will never get to to see her direct another film. She had a Peggy Lee biopic with Reese Witherspoon in the works and also an adaptation of Lost in Austen.

We can't underestimate how important she was as a role model to women directors. She got films about women greenlit at the studio level. Not many women can say that. The thing about her is that she was unafraid to write about women because that is what she knew. Her book Heartburn is legendary. She endeared herself to women when she evicerated her ex-husband on paper and on screen. She made many women love her because she made women and women's experiences matter. She wrote about and for a generation of women who grew up with feminism with all its pluses and the minuses and she made us women who were younger laugh about what was to come in our futures.

Most of all she made women count in Hollywood. She was a feminist writer because she cared about writing about women when so few others did.

One thing to remember is that she actually created some of the most memorable events in movie history. The orgasm scene in When Harry met Sally. Unforgettable. The great radio conversation in Sleepless in Seattle. She created Meg Ryan's career -- she appeared in four of her films -- and Meryl Streep was in three of them playing Nora's alter ego in Heartburn and her heroines in Silkwood and Julie and Julia.

It's going to take a lot more a shocked two hours to put into writing the importance of Nora Ephron to women and to movies.

All I can say is that I am so sad as are most people I have been conversing with this evening. This is a huge and devestating loss.

http://blogs.indiewire.com/womenandhollywood/nora-ephron-dies-at-71

 

[Not Plain Jane]

YoninahAliza

I'm planning on watching one of her films (probably Sleepless in Seattle) sometime in the next few days as one way to pay my respects to Nora. Anyone else planning on doing the same thing?

I was thinking of this too. I still can't believe she's gone either.

 

[KoV]

I watched Sleepless in Seattle this afternoon. Still as great as ever. It's just one of those charming films that feels therapeutic... they're very rare, for me.

 

[YoninahAliza]

^Same! I just got done watching Sleepless in Seattle. It really is a wonderful film, one of those rare films that make you grin throughout the whole thing. And one that make's me believe that love exists! The only thing is I hate that netflix only has this movie on demand, looks like I'll have to go to the library for the others if I end up re-watching them all (which I'd like to do at some point). Also, Jezebel has a round up of different celebrities paying their respects on twitter, and I thought that some of them said some really sweet things about Nora. I liked what Kristen Schaal said best though, "Nora Ephron was wonderful. She was kind to me and she will be missed." So understated and nice but also, I think that's the best thing you could say about someone, that they were kind. And from what everyone has said about Nora and the sort of vibe that she gave off in interviews, she certainly was a kind and special women.

http://jezebel.com/5921875/twitter-says-goodbye-to-nora-ephron/gallery/1

 

[HeatherAnne]

Lena Dunham's piece "Seeing Nora Everywhere" in The New Yorker about Nora is extremely well written, and very moving:
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2012/06/lena-dunham-remembers-nora-ephron.html

 

[KoV]

As if I didn't already like both Lena and Nora enough! That piece was great and it's cool, to me, that, as a great New York writer/director, Nora kind of groomed Lena to be what many think will be the next great New York writer/director.

 

[Not Plain Jane]

Thanks for posting that HeatherAnne.

I am still deciding which Nora film to watch, I can't decide if I want an older one, one in the middle or a newer one, but I will watch one soon.

Here's a brief piece from none other than Jeanne Beker

http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/1218063--jeanne-beker-on-nora-ephron