A good filmmaker knows that the aesthetic and the setting helps feed the story. And sometimes, it's also about the filmmakers pouring their personal selves into the story to help add definition. 1998's You've Got Mail may have been a cutesy story about two people falling in love, but the reason why Kathleen Kelly (Played by Meg Ryan) runs a children's bookstore is actually tied to the personal history of director/writer Nora Ephron and her co-writer/sister Delia Ephron. Delia Ephron recalled why they picked that:
"Once we decided that she would be an independent-bookstore owner, the reason we made it a children's bookstore is, I think, we always tried to make movies as personal as we could. To find the thing in it that was personal. And we grew up loving children's books more than anything."
Nora Ephron later spoke on the film's audio commentary, confirming this while adding the following:
"This was something that was very important to us—that there be first editions of old children's books. It's part of what make [sic] this a serious bookstore. We wanted to sell the idea that this was a place that really cared about the history of children's literature."
Filmmaking is personal, don't let anyone tell you different. Stay tuned!
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