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The script for the film Sleepless in Seattle went through three
other writers -- and countless revisions -- before it reached the hands of Nora
Ephron. It was only after writer-director-producer David S. Ward (who won
an Academy Award® for his screenplay for The Sting) had penned
two drafts of Sleepless that Ephron got the nod to take on the
project. But rewriting the screenplay for Sleepless in Seattle was
not her first choice. In fact, Ephron admitted in a 1993 interview with
Rolling Stone magazine that she was "looking for a cash infusion"
when her agent sent her a couple of scripts that needed rewrites, including
Indecent Proposal. "I was dying to work with [director] Adrian
Lyne. I had made the mistake of foolishly turning down a rewrite on
[Lyne's] Fatal Attraction. But they chose another writer over
me."
In a true stroke of fate, Ephron was instead given the script for
Sleepless. She enlisted the help of her sister Delia to turn it
into a blockbuster romantic comedy for which Ephron (along with Ward and
story creator Jeff Arch) would receive an Academy Award® nomination for
Best Screenplay.
However, some of the scenes that Ephron included in her version of the
script never made it to the big screen. For example, in Ephron's script,
the film begins with Annie living in Chicago with a commitment-phobic
boyfriend who breaks up with her. Later, Annie decides to move to
Baltimore, and passes Sam in Chicago's O'Hare Airport as both are en route
to new homes. In the film, when Annie determines to find out more about
Sam, she picks up the phone and calls a private detective. But in the
script she actually visits the detective's office to enlist his help. She
tells him she wants to find out if Sam has "a sense of humor." Despite the
scenes that ended up on the cutting room floor, in the end Sam and Annie
end up together, and Ephron leaves it up to the audience to imagine what
comes next.
Other notes from the production:
Other Sleepless in Seattle stars include: Tom Hanks' wife,
Rita Wilson as Sam's sister, Suzy; Rosie O'Donnell (with big hair!) as
Annie's best friend, Becky; Rob Reiner as Sam's friend Jay; and David Hyde
Pierce as Annie's psychology professor brother, Tom.
Ephron's only guidance to Ryan in playing the part was that Annie
Reed was a "Republican who had never had an orgasm."
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