Quendrith Johnson

by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent

Some may consider Lena Dunham of HBO’s “Girls” an over-sharer when it comes to intimate details, but you’ll be surprised to learn she is a huge fan of the demure rom-com genre. Specifically where Tom Hanks (lately recovered from MyCorona) and Meg Ryan are concerned. Dunham does the late Nora Ephron proud with an intro to SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE, from a story by Jeff Arch, for AFI MOVIE CLUB.

The screenplay was crafted by Director Nora Ephron, David S. Ward, and Jeff Arch as the IMDb attribution goes, but let me say an overdue apology is given here to the very prescient Jeff Arch, who was part of an LA Times correction back in the day on a female screenwriters piece by yours truly.

He has since forgiven the error gracefully, and Arch’s story for SLEEPLESS is prescient to the degree that love-in-isolation began with the mid-90’s AOL online chat era, when robust email was just a glimmer in Hotmail’s eye.

Let Lena tell you more, as she is the one who nails the connection between this film and the Ever-Lockdown Now.

WHAT:     Lena Dunham announces today’s AFI Movie Club selection: SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE. The film stars Meg Ryan and AFI Life Achievement Award honoree Tom Hanks and is included on AFI’s lists of cinema’s greatest love stories and greatest romantic comedies!  

DID YOU KNOW? One of Nora Ephron’s stated goals was to give every single character a “moment.” One of her favorite examples in SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE is when the mailman has a silly conversation with Jonah about cures for hiccups. In this exclusive AFI Archive video, Ephron talks about rewriting and directing the film.    

WHERE:      AFI.com/MovieClub

Incidentally, if you watch TINY FURNITURE, Dunham’s early festival darling, you will see just how ferociously great she is as a filmmaker. And why Judd Apatow took the time to watch it… the rest is herstory.

BONUS: TINY FURNITURE Recommended

Enjoy and stay solo, YOLO!

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