Summary
Summary
A backstage look at the making of Nora Ephron's revered trilogy-- When Harry Met Sally , You've Got Mail , and Sleepless in Seattle --which brought romantic comedies back to the fore, and an intimate portrait of the beloved writer/director who inspired a generation of Hollywood women, from Mindy Kaling to Lena Dunham.
In I'll Have What She's Having entertainment journalist Erin Carlson tells the story of the real Nora Ephron and how she reinvented the romcom through her trio of instant classics. With a cast of famous faces including Rob Reiner, Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, and Billy Crystal, Carlson takes readers on a rollicking, revelatory trip to Ephron's New York City, where reality took a backseat to romance and Ephron--who always knew what she wanted and how she wanted it--ruled the set with an attention to detail that made her actors feel safe but sometimes exasperated crew members.
Along the way, Carlson examines how Ephron explored in the cinema answers to the questions that plagued her own romantic life and how she regained faith in love after one broken engagement and two failed marriages. Carlson also explores countless other questions Ephron's fans have wondered about: What sparked Reiner to snap out of his bachelor blues during the making of When Harry Met Sally ? Why was Ryan, a gifted comedian trapped in the body of a fairytale princess, not the first choice for the role? After she and Hanks each separatel balked at playing Mail' s Kathleen Kelly and Sleepless ' Sam Baldwin, what changed their minds? And perhaps most importantly: What was Dave Chappelle doing . . . in a turtleneck ? An intimate portrait of a one of America's most iconic filmmakers and a look behind the scenes of her crowning achievements, I'll Have What She's Having is a vivid account of the days and nights when Ephron, along with assorted cynical collaborators, learned to show her heart on the screen.
Author Notes
Erin Carlson is the author of I'll Have What She's Having: How Nora Ephron's Three Iconic Films Saved the Romantic Comedy and has covered the entertainment industry for the Hollywood Reporter and the Associated Press. Her work has appeared in Glamour, Fortune , and the Los Angeles Times , and she holds a master's in journalism from Northwestern.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Journalist Carlson doesn't definitively prove her thesis-that Nora Ephron's efforts as a screenwriter and film director saved the rom-com genre from history's proverbial dustbin-but her debut book is nonetheless an enjoyable and informative romp that will please industry insiders and movie fans alike. Carlson details Ephron's beginnings as a journalist who used her "fierce wit and nimble social maneuvering" to thrive in the male-dominated film industry. The author then walks the reader through the conception, filming, and release of Ephron's three major hits: When Harry Met Sally (which Ephron scripted but didn't direct), Sleepless in Seattle, and You've Got Mail. While the book offers little in the way of a larger social context, it includes plenty of power lunches and fan-pleasing trivia about not only Ephron but also two stars she often worked with: Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, who was "forever struggling to earn the respect Tom came by effortlessly." Descriptions of the on-again-off-again negotiations to use the Empire State Building as a location in Sleepless add to the fun. Carlson's breezy Hollywood chronicle also has a serious point to make: that the gender-based barriers Ephron overcame throughout her career remain very much in place in the film industry. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Hollywood Reporter journalist Carlson's first book pays affectionate and clear-eyed tribute to the three most popular movies associated with screenwriter and director Nora Ephron. Going behind the scenes to explore the making of When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, and You've Got Mail, she dispenses insider information that fans of the movies will find hard to resist, whether she's talking about Meg Ryan's iconic restaurant scene or Tom Hanks' many quibbles about character choices. Carlson's deep knowledge of pop culture and the entertainment industry never tempts her to take herself too seriously; her breezy, frisky tone makes reading the book like sharing a gossipy lunch with an old friend. Although she keeps the focus on the three films, she also allows herself to go off on fascinating tangents about the lives and other movies of the director and her stars. As sweet and bubbly a treat as the movies it covers, this book does what it does impeccably, and readers will love it.--Quamme, Margaret Copyright 2017 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Ephron, who died in 2012, was an unlikely inventor of the iconic romantic comedies When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, and You've Got Mail. Though insecure about her looks, Nora grew up tough as nails, and her early unhappy romantic life (second husband Carl Bernstein broke her heart) was hardly fodder for the sweet and sentimental beloved rom-coms that would follow. -Carlson paints a warts-and-all portrait of -Ephron but focuses mostly on how these three films came to be. For example, -Carlson reveals that actress Meg Ryan was not the first choice for Sleepless's Sally, that nice guy Tom Hanks and Ephron butted heads on the set, and who uttered that famous line "I'll have what she's having." She also weaves in portraits of Ryan, Hanks, director Rob Reiner, and others. Carlson's prose style is perky and approachable, but her use of words such as waspy, lefty, and voice-y as well as liberal parenthetical asides, sometimes distract. -VERDICT Movie fans, film students, and those who miss funny romantic comedies will enjoy this detailed behind-the-scenes look at three of the best.-Rosellen Brewer, Sno-Isle Libs., Marysville, WA © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.