![]() Again even if you’re not a fan of romantic comedies you can appreciate what Nykvist brought to the party. But he also sho t Crimes and Misdemeanors (directed by Woody Allen), Chaplin (directed by Richard Attenborough), Pretty Baby (directed by Louis Malle) Star 80 (directed by Bob Fossee), The Tenant (directed by Roman Polanski) and Bergman’s Persona. He had won a couple of Oscars for his work on two Ingmar Bergman films, Fanny and Alexander (1982) and Cries & Whisper (1972). (In his 2006 obituary in the New York Times it stated that Nykvist, “became the first European cinematographer accepted into the American Society of Cinematographers.) By then he had long been considered one of the greatest cinematographers of all time. He was born in Sweden in 1922 making him 70-years-old when he shot the film. The DP for Sleepless in Seattle was Sven Nykvist. This was Nora’s second feature, but her first bigger Hollywood-budgeted film. Nora even credits the producer Foster with writing the baseball/Baltimore bit about, “Everyone thinks Brooks Robinson is the greatest.” (A nice subtle touch of credibility for those who remember the Baltimore Orioles third baseman whose nickname was “The Human Vacuum Cleaner.”)Ī standard practice in Hollywood is to team a new director with a seasoned director of photography (DP). ![]() ![]() But according the commentary, after the film was greenlit Nora brought her sister Delia (credited as Associate Producer) in to punch up the comedy in the script, the kids roles, and improve the Tom Hanks character.Īnd even that isn’t the end of it as Nora mentions how Hanks himself, and actors Victor Garber and Rob Reiner, all used improv to add more humor. Ward ( The Sting) was brought on to do a version and the third credited writer on the script was Nora. I took it to TriStar and we were lucky enough to get it optioned.” That script found its way to producer Gary Foster, who in a 1993 LA Times article said, “I got choked up a few times and was real touched by it. Nora is very open on the Sleepless in Seattle commentary that she was “one of several screenwriters who worked on it.” The original script written by Jeff Arch, then an English teacher in Virginia, was a romantic drama. So in just under 1,500 words here are some take aways from Nora that I hope will make you a better writer and/or filmmaker. (That last film was co-written by Nora Ephron, the director/co-writer of Sleepless in Seattle, reminding us of how talented she was.)Īfter her recent death, I revisited the director’s commentary of Sleepless in Seattle and it’s a great example of the collaborative filmmaking process. I often think about it as a reminder that we can be creative and clever with structure.”Įven if you don’t like mainstream Hollywood romantic comedies, there is much to appreciate about Sleepless in Seattle. Afterall it not only made more than $250 million back when it was released in 1993, but it’s listed as one of AFI’s top ten romantic comedy of all-time. A list that includes City Lights, Annie Hall, The Philadelphia Story and When Harry Met Sally. “While my informal and unscientific Twitter poll revealed that When Harry Met Sally might be Nora’s most beloved film, I think Sleepless in Seattle is my favorite. “A word that was very important to me when I was making the movie was timeless.”ĭirector Nora Ephron on making Sleepless in Seattle
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