Nora Ephron

Nora Ephron's introduction to screenwriting came in the 1970s, when she was dating Carl Bernstein, of Woodward and Bernstein, the journalists who broke the Watergate story and served as the main characters of the film "All the President's Men." Parts of William Goldman's original screenplay caused concern for the real life journalists, and Bernstein, along with Ephron, "fiddled with it" to make the screenplay more acceptable to the journalists.

Ephron, then a journalist, recounted her role at the typewriter, capturing their changes and retyping many of Goldman's original sections that they retained. By the time they finished revising Ephron had learned the skills behind the art of screenwriting. Although many were appalled at Bernstein and Ephron's actions, the film went on to win several Academy Awards, including one to Goldman for the screenplay.

Ephron, the acclaimed screenwriter, producer and director of hit movies such as "When Harry Met Sally," "Sleepless in Seattle," "You've Got Mail," and "Michael," discussed the roots of her career with a group of Columbia School of the Arts students on Nov. 8. During the course of the evening, the three-time Academy Award nominee also offered tips on screenwriting and directing and discussed the role of women in Hollywood.

Her entry into the film world came as surprise to Ephron. "The last thing in the world I wanted to be was a screenwriter. I had no interest in the movie business," the New Yorker told a crowded room in Dodge Hall, joking that her parents were screenwriters. "I always wanted to be a journalist."

Her first job was with the New York Post in the 1960s. During that time she learned one of the fundamental principles of screenwriting— the three-act structure— when the beginning, middle and end should respectively start and stop. After a few years, she made the transition from newspaper to magazine, writing a column for Esquire. Her collections of columns were later converted into books.

Ephron was open and frank in her discussion. She did not focus on the glamour of the film industry; she shared her struggles as well. As with all screenwriters, several of her pieces never saw production, and one that she could not sell as a movie was turned into a TV show that was so bad Ephron said she nearly passed-out when she saw it.

"Writing the script is only one facet of the process. Getting a director and producer is a whole different act," said Ephron. In highlighting the challenges of writing for a studio rather than a director, she explained that studio notes, recommended changes to the screenplay, are often "really bad." Her advice? Don't listen to a note from someone who doesn't like your script—if he doesn't get it, he can't fix it. Although it is not easy to arrange, Ephron recommends working with a director early in the process.

She also suggested getting the director involved in the rewriting process, as it is a way to increase his/her interest in the film. She cautioned, however, that if the director offers bad ideas that make the script worse, "it puts you in an awful position, and leads you to think, why not direct?"

Ephron also talked about working with and learning from actors. With a few notable exceptions, actors are not the enemy. "If they are having trouble with a line, there may be a problem [with the line]," said Ephron.

In her laid-back, conversational style, Ephron also shared stories about the films, actors and directors that she has been involved with over the years. One of the things she has discovered is that if you want to have good actors in your movies, even for the small roles, every character should have "a little moment," a good line. Doing so, she said, improves the main actors' lines and helps attract them to the role.

One of the people Ephron has learned from is Tom Hanks, who taught her some basic "rules" of writing. For instance, if Hanks is in a scene, there better be a reason. "He's the engine in the scene. The audience wants that. If he's the hero, make him heroic in some way," she said. Ephron also shared that Hanks has to have the last word. "But he's not an egomaniac," she quickly clarified, "he is unbelievably collaborative."

In addition to offering tips and insights, Ephron talked about the role of women in the industry. According to Ephron, conditions are improving, but are still not ideal. What drives the economy of Hollywood is the third world and young males.

"It is hard for people like me who make intellectual, word-driven films with strong female characters," said Ephron. She feels that things are starting to change now that women like Julia Roberts and Meg Ryan can open movies with box office draws rivaling big male names.

Ephron explained that the problem she has encountered is that studios are often reluctant to make films about women, the area of writing she enjoys the most. With "Silkwood," for example, the first movie that Ephron produced, the studio was not originally interested in the film. According to Ephron, when Meryl Streep took an interest in the film so did the studio—fearing that if they did not make it Streep would go to a competitor to make the movie and win an Oscar.

With such an impressive list of hit films under her belt, what does the future hold for Ephron? Although she was not able to offer many details, she told the group that she has written a play that is set to be produced, with Jack O'Brien directing. She also has two scripts pending with Columbia Pictures, one about a New York journalist and the other is a bird-watching film, featuring the red-tail hawks that have been nesting in a building on 74th Street and 5th Avenue in Manhattan for the last several years.