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Born December 8, 1949 to an executive at a voting machine plant and his wife, an interior designer, Nancy Meyers is an American director, producer and screenwriter.

At the age of 12, Meyers became interested in the theatre after reading Moss Hart’s autobiography, Act One. Upon graduating college, she spent a year working in public television in Philadelphia. She later moved to Los Angeles where she got a job as a production assistant on The Price Is Right.

Inspired by The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Meyers obtained work as a story editor working with screenwriters on projects in development. This led to writing her own scripts, which led in time to partnering with Charles Shyer and Harvey Miller on the script for her first film, 1980’s Private Benjamin, which was also the first film she produced. She and Shyer, who had been in a relationship with Meyers since 1975, along with Miller, received an Oscar nomination for the script of the successful comedy which was turned into a TV series in 1981.

Meyers wrote the original story for 1984’s Protocol and the screenplays for 1984’s Irreconcilable Differences, 1986’s Jumpin’ Jack Flash and 1987’s Baby Boom which became her biggest hit to date. This, too, was turned into a TV series for which she wrote three episodes in 1988.

Along with Shyer, who by now she had two children, Meyers wrote the screenplay for the 1991 remake of Father of the Bride, which was also credited to Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich, who wrote the screenplay for the original 1950 film. She followed that with screenplays for 1992’s Once Upon a Crime, 1994’s I Love Trouble, 1995’s Father of the Bride Part II, a remake of 1951’s Father’s Little Dividend and the 1998’s The Parent Trap, a remake of the 1960 classic, which became her first film as a director. Meyers and Shyer were married in 1995 after having been together for twenty years, but divorced four years later.

Meyers next film as a director, 2000’s What Women Want opened at Christmas time to mixed reviews but became the most successful film to date directed by a woman. 2003’s Something’s Gotta Give, which she both wrote and directed, became an even bigger hit. Two other films she directed, 2006’s The Holiday and 2009’s It’s Complicated were also major hits.

Less active in recent years, Meyers has written and directed just one film so-far this decade, 2015’s The Intern. She is, however, still active as producer and is currently producing Home Again, the directorial debut of her younger daughter, Hallee Meyers-Shyer. The comedy starring Reese Witherspoon, Michael Sheen and Candice Bergen, is due to open in September.
Nancy Meyers is still going strong at 67.

ESSENTIAL FILMS

BABY BOOM (1987), directed by Charles Shyer

A throwback to the family comedies of the 1940s, Baby Boom was a crowd-pleaser that provided a shot in the arm for the career of 41-year-old Diane Keaton who had been perceived to have been past her prime. Playing a highly successful businesswoman, Keaton’s career is put on hold when she inherits a baby girl from a distant relative. She invests in a country “estate” in Vermont which is a house in need of just about everything. There to help is the local veterinarian, played by Sam Shepard, and suddenly, her life doesn’t seem so bad. Golden Globe nominations went to Keaton and the film.

THE PARENT TRAP (1998), directed by Nancy Meyers

In the 1961 original, the twins separated by divorce, were named Susan and Sharon when played by Hayley Mills with Maureen O’Hara and Brian Keith as per parents. In Meyers’ remake, they were named Hallie and Annie after Meyers’ own daughters. This time around they were played by Lindsay Lohan with Natasha Richardson and Dennis Quaid as their parents. This is one of the rare remakes, that though not quite as good as the original, is good enough to be judged a success on its own terms. Meyers’ screenplay both plays homage to the original and adds its own clever conceits.

SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE (2003), directed by Nancy Meyers

Leave it to Meyers to not only give another shot in the arm to Diane Keaton, but to give one, too, to Jack Nicholson. She’s 57, he’s 63 and although both are past their prime, they are far from through. He’s a swinger still after the young chicks. She’s a woman of accomplishment who proves to be more than his match. With good support from Keanu Reeves, Frances McDormand, Paul Michael Glaser, Rachel Ticotin and others, this was another winner from Meyers, a huge box-office that earned a Golden Globe nomination for Nicholson and a win for Keaton who was also nominated for an Oscar.

THE HOLIDAY (2006), directed by Nancy Meyers

A novel idea, the film’s premise is about two women (Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet) with guy problems who switch homes for the holidays. Of course, both women are highly successful, Winslet is a writer in London, Diaz a movie-trailer maker in Los Angeles, and they have beautiful homes with beautiful kitchens, a trademark of Meyers’ films. And, of course, both women find new romance in their temporary locale. The engaging supporting cast includes Jude Law, Jack Black, Edward Burns, Rufus Sewell and in what seemed as though it would be his last role, Eli Wallach who fooled us all by living and acting for another eight years.

THE INTERN (2015), directed by Nancy Meyers

Originally intended for Tina Fey and Michael Caine, and then Reese Witherspoon, this long in gestation production finally went before the cameras with Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro as a successful businesswoman and the retired executive she hires as her assistant. The inevitable happens in the film’s breezy two hours and one minute time frame. It’s a bright piece of fluff that won’t harm you, but then who says all films must be a work of art? It’s nicely played with a supporting cast that includes Rene russo, Anders Holm, Andrew Rannells, Adam DeVine, Jack Pearlman and Nat Wolff.

NANCY MEYERS AND OSCAR

  • Private Benjamin (1980) – nominated – Best Original Screenplay

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