Nora Ephron

At her best, screenwriter Nora Ephron turns out biting, sharply observed scripts that foreground strong, interesting characters. She has also, more unusually for a woman in Hollywood, made a commercially successful transition to directing, helming of comedies that includes two of the key rom-coms of the 1990s.

Samantha Cook, The Rough Guide to Chick Flicks, 2006.

Previously I promised you a post on Nora Ephron the hot shot director of Julie & Julia. Ms Ephron wears many hats; director, producer, screenwriter, novelist, journalist, author and blogger. Her beauties are rom-coms such as When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, You've Got Mail and more recently Julie & Julia. Recently Nora has been named as one of the most successful creative women in Hollywood and is touted to be in the running for an Oscar nomination for Julie & Julia. Nora Ephron was born in New York City in 1941, the eldest of four daughters and grew up in Beverly Hills where she graduated from the glittery Beverly Hills High. Films were always in Nora�s blood as both her parents were screenwriters. Her sisters, Delia and Amy also went down the screenwriting route and her sister Hallie is a journalist, book reviewer and author. Her links to the literary world continued with her husbands ie hubby no 1 was writer, Dan Greenburg, hubby no 2 was journalist, Carl Bernstein of the Watergate scandal and current hubby is screenwriter, Nicholas Pileggi.

After graduating at Wellesley College in 1962, Nora did a stint as an intern at the White House for President John F. Kennedy. She was head hunted by the New York Post where she worked as a reporter for five years. She went onto writing a column on women�s issues in Esquire and collaborated with Bernstein on the script for All the President�s Men and although the script was not used this brought Nora�s illustrious talents to the forefront. Her first play was Silkwood which starred Meryl Streep and then she went on to write Heartburn which was based on former husband, Carl Bernstein�s affair with British politician Margaret Joy.  She hit pay dirt in 1989 with When Harry Met Sally in which she earned an associate director credit. This is My Life was her first directorial debut but it was Sleepless in Seattle that really made her in Tinsel Town, the film raked it in at the box office. Since Sleepless in Seattle, she has worked on numerous projects such as Michael starring John Travolta and Andie McDowell, Bewitched starring Nicole Kidman and of course, You've Got Mail which reunited Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. The secret of Nora Ephron's success is that she makes films that speak to women rather than at them which is a rarity in Hollywood.

Nora Ephron now resides in New York City with her husband.

Julie & Julia

I really am on a food tip aren't I what with Magnolia Bakery and stuff. This film was being promoted heavily in the UK before I headed to the States but to be honest I never really paid much attention. All I knew was that it starred Meryl Streep and was about famous cook, Julia Childs. However, I decided to watch it on an impulse last week when I was in Atlanta. Well it was that or I Can Do Bad All By Myself but I was really not in the mood for a Tyler Perry movie; I admire the man and like his work but that night I was not feeling it. As soon as the credits started I knew I had made the right choice, for a start it was produced by Nora Ephron who I adore (more on her in another blog) and who brought us Sleepless in Seattle and You Got Mail. Ephron's films contain a magical air that makes you leave the cinema feeling all gooey inside. Julie & Julia is the story of Julie Powell played by Amy Adams, a failed writer in a dead end job who has given up on her dream. She comes across a copy of a cookbook by the famous Julia Child played by Meryl Streep and decides to set herself the task of following all 524 recipes. With the encouragement of her husband she sets up a blog to document her experiences and pretty soon gains a huge following. The film also takes us back to the 40s in Paris and shows Julia Child's journey in becoming one of the greatest cooks of her time. As both women set about reaching their goals and pushing themselves to breaking point they go through a journey that transforms their lives.

This is a really gorgeous film which not only tells the story of two remarkable women but also harbours a lot of values in it. It demonstrates that cooking is not just something that women have to do in sufferance to put food on the table but is an activity that brings a lot of joy. More importantly it teaches you that you should never ever give up on your dream and that you should always believe in yourself. I totally related to Julie Powell as a frustrated writer in a dead end job; been there done that and bought the tshirt. Amy Adams plays this feisty character with a lot of charm and zest and as for Meryl Streep, every time I see that woman in something she never fails to amaze me with her range and depth. Julie & Julia is a fantastic movie about hope and passion. Nora Ephron has made a great job of entwining the memoirs by Julia Childs, My Life in France together with the one by Julie Powell, Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously together.

You can check out Julie Powell's blog here.

The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is the story of Carmen (America Ferrera), Bridget (Blake Lively), Lena (Alexis Bledel) and Tibby (Amber Tamblyn); four friends who have been together all their lives. Their mothers met at an ante-natal class when they were expecting them and the rest was history. Now at the age of 16 the girls are about to be separated for the first time in their lives and embark on their individual adventure. While shopping one day they buy a pair of jeans that magically fits the different shapes of all of them. The four girls make a pact that they will stay in touch all summer by sending the pants to each other with a note. For the athletic and zestful, Bridget this means soccer camp in Mexico where a cute coach catches her eye. Lena, heads off to Greek to spend time with her grandparents, a talented artist she learns how to open herself up to love as well as her talent. Carmen flies to North Carolina to visit her estranged Father only to get more than she bargained for and rebellious Tibby fuels her boredom of being stuck at home by filming a documentary where she meets a person who will change her forever. The film follows these feisty four girls in the different locations and watches their rites of passage as they experience a summer they will never forget. The film is based on the very popular novel by Ann Brashares and excels where a lot of girly chummy films fails. It does not matter what age you are, you will love it. The lead actresses are all delightful and have amazing chemistry together.

The Author
Ann Brashares spent several years working as an Editor for a publisher where she describes her role as pulling books apart. This experience taught her a lot about what made a great book and she used this valuable information to craft her first novel. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants was published in 2001 and became an international bestseller. Since then she has written three other titles, The Second Summer of the Sisterhood, Girl in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood and Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood. The fourth one is planned for release January next year and Ann is also thinking about writing a fifth title which will be the last in the series.

The Screenplay Writer
Delia Ephron is the sister of the great Nora Ephron who produced iconic rom coms such as When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, You�ve Got Mail and Bewitched. Delia is no slouch herself and actually wrote the scripts for Sleepless in Seattle, You�ve Got Mail and Bewitched. Together the Ephron sisters have made a massive mark in Hollywood particularly where the romantic comedy market is concerned which is due to their style that is warm and endearing and uplifting. Delia provides her own light and wispy touch to this film which is so reminiscent of movies in the 40s.

The Actresses
These actresses have gone on to make huge names for themselves on the small screen. America Ferrera, we all know simply as Ugly Betty and there is Blake Lively who is now starring as Serena van der Woodsen in the ultra glossy, Gossip Girl. Amber Tambyln appeared in The Grudge 2 but is best know for her role in Joan of Arcadia and Alexis Bledel is currently in the Gilmore Girls. I am really looking forward to seeing the sequel when it is released next year.

Watch out for director, Ken Kwapis whose next film is He�s Just Not Into You, which is based on the popular book.