Nora Ephron at the Movies: A Visual Celebration of the Writer and Director Behind When Harry Met Sally, You've Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle, and More

by Ilana Kaplan, Jason Diamond (Foreword by)

Overview

The first illustrated monograph on writer, journalist, and director Nora Ephron, the visionary behind When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, and You’ve Got Mail. “A visual celebration of the writer-director’s distinctive approach to world-building.” (Vanity Fair)

Nora Ephron at the Movies offers an unfiltered look at Ephron as a champion of the rom-com and as a feminist Hollywood trailblazer. It explores her life and work by pairing detailed criticism with exclusive interviews with Ephron’s key collaborators, including Andie MacDowell and Jenn Kaytin Robinson, to add color and nuance to her life and legacy.

With her singular voice, Nora Ephron flourished as a dominant force in the entertainment industry, focusing on the idiosyncrasies of romance that were universally relatable.

The women in her stories paralleled reality—the veil was lifted, the glossy sheen removed. Her protagonists share an unwavering sense of humor about life’s mishaps, and they never take themselves too seriously—like Julie trying to master the art of cooking lobsters in Julie & Julia, Sally’s theatrical fake orgasm in Katz’s deli in When Harry Met Sally, or Rachel perfecting a key lime pie only to throw it in her cheating husband’s face in Heartburn.

Through her keenly self-aware humor and semi-autobiographical stories, Ephron left behind a groundbreaking legacy as a beloved journalist, essayist, screenwriter, author, producer, director, and feminist who delivered stories of resilience embedded in sharp wit and upper-crust landscapes. Through that lens, she became emblematic of rom-coms, shifting and redefining conversations around the complexities of relationships and the women who have them.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781419763632
Publisher:	Abrams
Publication date:	10/29/2024
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	73,581
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 10.80(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Ilana Kaplan is a writer and culture editor. She has worked for publications including PEOPLE, Alternative Press, The Independent and PAPER. Her work has been published in the New York Times, New York magazine, the Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, NPR, GQ, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Pitchfork, Variety, and Billboard. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Editorial Reviews

"A comprehensive guide to the queen of the modern rom-com (and so much more!), Nora Ephron at the Movies is both thought-provoking and a joy to read. Writing with affection, insight, and wit, Ilana Kaplan has crafted a beautiful tribute to Ephron's remarkable life and work."

author of From Hollywood with Love: The Rise a Scott Meslow

Taking on the legacy of Nora Ephron—the woman, the myth, the legend—is no easy task, but Ilana has managed to do so gracefully by assessing Ephron’s lasting impact in all of its complicated beauty in this visually-stunning book. To see ourselves through Nora’s most famous works often reminds us of how human and flawed we actually are. And that’s a wonderful thing.

author of Nora Ephron: A Biography and Woman o Kristin Marguerite Doidge

Ilana Kaplan would make Nora Ephron proud with this smart, elegant, and entertaining journey through the filmmaker’s cinematic universe. I savored every page, and the Ephron fandom will too. I, for one, plan on displaying the book in my cozy living room for #MegRyanFall and the foreseeable future. It makes me want to buy school supplies. And toss on Ryan’s maroon sweater in When Harry Met Sally. To reference Frank Navasky: Thank you, Ilana, for writing a book I’ll cherish forever.

author of I’ll Have What She’s Having Erin Carlson

"Ilana Kaplan is a true Nora Ephron scholar; her incisive critical mind and quick wit on the page make her an ideal match for her subject. Kaplan understands that what made Ephron’s work singular was her emphasis on verbal precision, and she has written a book that gets precisely to the heart of why Ephron’s oeuvre continues to charm, delight, and surprise us. This book is as sharp as a bouquet of pencils!

writer for The New Yorker and author of Syme’ Rachel Syme

Ilana Kaplan would make Nora Ephron proud with this smart, elegant, and entertaining journey through the filmmaker’s cinematic universe. I savored every page, and the Ephron fandom will too. I, for one, plan on displaying the book in my cozy living room for #MegRyanFall and the foreseeable future. It makes me want to buy school supplies. And toss on Ryan’s maroon sweater in When Harry Met Sally. To reference Frank Navasky: Thank you, Ilana, for writing a book I’ll cherish forever.”—Erin Carlson, author of I’ll Have What She’s Having and No Crying in Baseball

“Taking on the legacy of Nora Ephron—the woman, the myth, the legend—is no easy task, but Ilana has managed to do so gracefully by assessing Ephron’s lasting impact in all of its complicated beauty in this visually-stunning book. To see ourselves through Nora’s most famous works often reminds us of how human and flawed we actually are. And that’s a wonderful thing.”—Kristin Marguerite Doidge, author of Nora Ephron: A Biography and Woman on Top: Becoming Greta Gerwi

"A comprehensive guide to the queen of the modern rom-com (and so much more!), Nora Ephron at the Movies is both thought-provoking and a joy to read. Writing with affection, insight, and wit, Ilana Kaplan has crafted a beautiful tribute to Ephron's remarkable life and work."—Scott Meslow, author of From Hollywood with Love: The Rise and Fall (And Rise Again) of the Romantic

"Ilana Kaplan is a true Nora Ephron scholar; her incisive critical mind and quick wit on the page make her an ideal match for her subject. Kaplan understands that what made Ephron’s work singular was her emphasis on verbal precision, and she has written a book that gets precisely to the heart of why Ephron’s oeuvre continues to charm, delight, and surprise us. This book is as sharp as a bouquet of pencils!”—Rachel Syme, writer for The New Yorker and author of Syme’s Letter Writer (forthcoming) and Magpie (

From the Publisher

10/01/2024

Though Nora Ephron's crown, as "queen of romantic comedy," is permanently affixed, culture writer Kaplan contends in her first book that comforting romances and witty quips are just the surface of the appeal of Ephron's movies and that her cinematic legacy encompasses more than her famous rom-coms. In lavishly illustrated chapters, Kaplan probes into the stories behind and within each of Ephron's films—including early scripts for Silkwood and Heartburn; big hits, such as When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle; and lesser-known efforts like My Blue Heaven and Cookie—as well as touching on her plays and books. She even examines Ephron's posthumous popularity on social media, where quotes and clips from her films are regularly reposted. This book is an astute look at Ephron's successes and failures throughout her career and the themes and issues that reverberate throughout her work. VERDICT A solid pick for public libraries. Devotees of Ephron will find this volume delightful to delve into, while casual cinephiles will enjoy it as a thoughtful analysis of an influential writer-director and her various legacies.—Kathleen McCallister

Library Journal