When Harry Met Sally...: Difference between revisions

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For materials, Ephron interviewed Reiner and Scheinman about their lives, creating the basis for Harry. Reiner was constantly depressed and pessimistic yet funny. Ephron also got bits of dialogue from these interviews. Sally was based on Ephron and some of her friends.<ref name= "keyser"/> She worked on several drafts over the years while Reiner made ''[[Stand by Me (film)|Stand by Me]]'' (1986) and ''[[The Princess Bride (film)|The Princess Bride]]'' (1987).<ref name= "dvd1"/> Billy Crystal "experienced vicariously" Reiner's (his best friend at the time) return to single life after divorcing comedian/filmmaker [[Penny Marshall]] and in the process was unconsciously doing research for the role of Harry.<ref name= "keyser"/> [[Tom Hanks]], [[Richard Dreyfuss]], [[Michael Keaton]] and [[Albert Brooks]] were all offered the role of Harry Burns but all of them turned it down, with Brooks feeling the movie was too reminiscent of [[Woody Allen]]'s work.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vulture.com/amp/2011/06/the-lost-roles-of-albert-brooks.html|title=The Lost Roles of Albert Brooks|date=June 30, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/07/14/when-harry-met-sally-turns-25-director-rob-reiner-reveals-the-secrets-of-the-romcom-classic.html|title = 'When Harry Met Sally' Turns 25: Director Rob Reiner Reveals the Secrets of the Romcom Classic|newspaper = The Daily Beast|date = July 14, 2014|last1 = Stern|first1 = Marlow}}</ref>

During the screenwriting process when Ephron did not feel like writing, she would interview people who worked for the production company. Some of the interviews appeared in the film as the interludes between certain scenes featuring couples talking about how they met,<ref name= "keyser"/> although the material was rewritten and reshot with actors. Ephron supplied the structure of the film with much of the dialogue based on the real-life friendship between Reiner and Crystal.<ref name="lacey">{{cite news | title=Pals make "buddy picture" | work=[[The Globe and Mail]] | date=July 15, 1989 | last=Lacey | first=Liam}}</ref> For example, in the scene wheredepicting Sally and Harry appear on ain split-screen, talkingconversing onwith theeach other by telephone whileand simultaneously watching their respective television sets,and channel surfing, was something that Crystal and Reiner did every night.<ref name= "lacey"/>

Originally, Ephron wanted to call the film ''How They Met'' and went through several different titles. Reiner even started a contest with the crew during principal photography: whoever came up with the title won a case of [[champagne]].<ref name= "dvd1"/> In order to get into the lonely mindset of Harry when he was divorced and single, Crystal stayed by himself in a separate room from the cast and crew while they were shooting in [[Manhattan]].<ref name= "lacey"/> The script initially ended with Harry and Sally remaining friends and not pursuing a romantic relationship because she felt that was "the true ending", as did Reiner.<ref name= "dvd1"/> Eventually, Ephron and Reiner realized that it would be a more appropriate ending for them to marry, though they admit that this was generally not a realistic outcome.<ref name="featurette">{{cite news | title=How Harry Met Sally... | publisher=[[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM]] | work=When Harry Met Sally DVD | last=Schwarz | first=Jeffrey | year=2000}}</ref> Reiner related that the film originally had a sad ending before he met his second wife Michele, which inspired him to change the ending.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/when-harry-met-sally-director-rob-reiner-originally-sad-ending-1235828886/|title='When Harry Met Sally' Director Reveals How Meeting Wife Changed Film's Ending|date=February 17, 2024 |publisher=Hollywood Reporter}}</ref>