You may already know that beloved essayist, author, journalist and filmmaker Nora Ephron died Tuesday night of leukemia. She was 71 years old.
Ephron died a three-time Academy Award nominee for the films “Silkwood,” ”When Harry Met Sally …” and “Sleepless in Seattle.” She was the boss in two very male dominated fields of her time: journalism and film. A graduate of Wellsley College, she was determined to become a journalist, and caught her big break during a writer’s strike. She would go on to write for five years, landing bylines in the New York Times and Esquire.
Nora Ephron had screenwriting in her blood, born with two screenwriters for parents. She would go on to pen the book “Heartburn” based on her marriage, later a film starring Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson, which hit so close to home that her ex threatened to sue.
If there’s one thing I’ll always remember her films for, it’s their honesty. They don’t glamorize relationships in the typical rom-com way. Instead, the lines ring sincere regardless of the plots twists and Hollywood structure. BUST magazine covergirl Mindy Kaling tweeted: “Her movies taught me what love should look like. I’ll miss you, Nora.”
I’ll never forget the image of Meg Ryan peeling an apple in one swift motion in “Sleepless in Seattle,” or her fake orgasm in “When Harry Met Sally…” Who can forget Billy Crystal’s famous New Year’s eve speech? Ephron’s lines were the stuff of dreams and reality, of what we say, think, and wish we said. She verbalized friendship, irritation, and the combination of the two that sparks chemistry in ways that only real life should be able to do. A master of dialogue and the heart, Ephron will truly be missed.
Below are some of the most memorable clips from her best films. What are your favorite Ephron moments?
[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTPE8lndfhI 425×344] [video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-bsf2x-aeE 425×344] [video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNsu6CeTKpc&feature=related 425×344](Image Courtesy of the Hollywood Reporter)
