It's hard to believe that the witty romanticist of Upper West Side, Nora Ephron, is gone. It seems that it was only yesterday (actually more than four years have gone) that she was concerned about the condition of her neck. And what a classy dame - managed to hide her leukemia from nosy parkers of the media variety; wrote a script (Lost in Austen) and committed to direct it in 2013, as if nothing was going on!
Here is someone who didn't ride to her fame on the back of the nepotism (both her parents were Hollywood screenwriters). She was in her late 30s when she started transferring her writing skills from journalism to TV and 41 when she penned her first movie script (together with Alice Arlen) for Silkwood directed by Michael Nichols.
At her best, she was able to reach a remarkably broad audience. Her female characters were tested by circumstances, connections and emotions familiar to anyone. In her greatest hits (When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, You've Got Mail) she managed to make her writing both highbrow and accessible at the same time - a rare feat in contemporary cinema. Her writing skillfully combined sharp humor and intelligence with uplifting, almost fairy-tale, aspirations to achieve human happiness. As the result, these movies have become undeniable critical and commercial successes. Together they grossed $572 million to date, returning 5.6 times of their total budgets.
Most importantly, Nora Ephron left us with fond recollections of funny moments and snappy quotes that will be affectionately cited by fans and shamelessly imitated by other writers for generations to come. And for that we are grateful to you, Nora Ephron.
