Nora Ephron, 1941-2012

[Helene]

I came home to find a number of Facebook posts about Nora Ephron's death yesterday of pneumonia caused by leukemia.

Here is the obit from the Associated Press in "The Washington Post":

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/nora-ephron-witty-and-award-winning-writer-filmmaker/2012/06/26/gJQAMecW5V_story.html

From "The New York Times":

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/27/movies/nora-ephron-essayist-screenwriter-and-director-dies-at-71.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

Rest in peace, Ms. Ephron.

[sandik]

Everyone is talking about When Harry Met Sally and her other recent work, but the first thing of hers I read was Heartburn, her novel based on her marriage and subsequent break-up with Carl Bernstein. She took what must have been an exceptionally painful experience and made a story out of it, which is what I always say makes for a successful day. (If you can make a story out of your day that you can tell at the dinner table, it's a good day. If it's a story you have to tell your therapist, it's been more difficult)

And it has recipes in it -- I still use her recipe for vinaigrette. I thank her from the bottom of my salad bowl.

[Alexandra]

This was indeed sad and shocking news. I've been surprised at how much coverage there has been -- a big segment on The NewsHour last night, half the program on Piers Morgan. Very grateful for that coverage, of course -- Nora Ephron was such an important voice.

[kfw]

And it has recipes in it -- I still use her recipe for vinaigrette. I thank her from the bottom of my salad bowl.

Nora Ephron's vinaigrette

"This makes a very strong vinaigrette that's perfect for salad greens like arugula and watercress and endive," writes Ephron in "Heartburn" (Alfred A. Knopf, 1983).

2 tablespoons Grey Poupon mustard

2 tablespoons good red wine vinegar

6 tablespoons olive oil

Mix the mustard with the vinegar, whisking with a fork. Then, whisking constantly, slowly add the olive oil, until the vinaigrette is thick and creamy. Makes about 1/2 cup.

Looks good! Was "Heartburn" excerpted anywhere? I vaguely remember reading a bit of it and laughing.

[sandik]

Looks good! Was "Heartburn" excerpted anywhere? I vaguely remember reading a bit of it and laughing.

It's very tasty, and way quick to make.

I don't know about excerpts. I have a copy of it around here somewhere, but still remember wincing while laughing, which happens pretty often in life.

[dirac]

RIP to a very amusing and accomplished woman. I would say the media fuss is partly due to her status as a successful female writer-director, still unusual in Hollywood, and she was also an exceptionally well-connected media person and mediapersons tend to make a special fuss over the death of mediapeople (cf. the prolonged wailing and rending of garments over the late Tim Russert).

The reaction is also an indicator of how her writing and her movies spoke to many people, mostly but not exclusively women, who identified closely with her work in spite of the fact that she really wasn’t in any way typical. That of course is also a tribute to her.

I enjoyed her journalism and essays and she was always a great interview. With all due respect to the positive opinions expressed here, I didn’t think much of "Heartburn," which seemed rather slight, stretched out with recipes and slightly larger than normal font, at least in my copy. It did have its juicy gossipy aspect and the book (not the movie) was interesting on the subject of being Jewish in the Washington of that era.

I have mixed feelings about her filmography but some of her light comedies were like little oases in a desert full of pictures aimed at 13-year old boys of all ages. She was upfront about the importance of making films that spoke to women and for that and many other reasons she'll be greatly missed.