SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE (1993)

Dueling Genre Productions

SMALL TALK & BIG KITCHENS, our mini-series on the romcoms of Nora Ephron and Nancy Meyers, continues with the movie that broke conventional wisdom and dared to save the meet cute of its romantic leads until just before the closing credits rolled.

After the success of When Harry Met Sally…, Nora Ephron made her directorial debut with the (underrated and barely seen) coming-of-age dramedy This Is My Life. But when Life failed at the box office, Nora was worried she would never get the chance to direct again. So when the opportunity came along to pay her bills with a rewrite of an original screenplay that needed some TLC, Ephron took the gig without hesitation.

Rewriting the film about star-crossed soulmates from opposite sides of the country with actors Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in mind, Ephron fell in love with the story and wanted the studio to hire her to direct the eventual film. After a lunch meeting wherein Nora “directed” everyone’s orders, it was decided she had what it took to handle the production and was given the greenlight to make SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE as her second feature film.

Join Nick & Scott as they “Podcast In Los Angeles” about how this movie made Tom and Meg one of the most iconic romantic duos of all time, despite sharing less than two minutes of screentime.

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