USC Comedy Presents: An Evening with Writer/Director Nancy Meyers, In Conversation with Susan Arnold

ABOUT NANCY MEYERS

Nancy Meyers is a trailblazing filmmaker who, as a first-rate writer, director and producer, has created a body of work focusing on the female experience with her exceptionally literate and sophisticated comedies. Tapping into the very heart of modern relationships, she chronicles women and men, at work and in love, in a singular fashion that makes each film instantly recognizable as a Nancy Meyers movie.

In 2020 Meyers was the recipient of the Writers Guild of America’s highest honor, The Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement.

Meyers made an auspicious debut as a director—following two decades of successful screenwriting and producing—with the highly popular update of the Disney classic “The Parent Trap,” starring Dennis Quaid and Lindsay Lohan, which Meyers also co-wrote.

Meyers then directed the blockbuster romantic comedy “What Women Want,” starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt, which enjoyed critical acclaim and an international box-office success. For his role, Gibson received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actor—Musical or Comedy.

In 2003, Meyers wrote, directed and produced “Something’s Gotta Give,” starring Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton, along with Keanu Reeves, Frances McDormand and Amanda Peet. Both Nicholson and Keaton received Golden Globe nominations for their performances and Keaton won the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture—Musical or Comedy. Keaton was also nominated for an Academy Award for her role as Erica Barry in the film.

In 2004, Meyers received the ShoWest Director of the Year Award. She is the first woman ever to receive this prestigious honor.

In 2006, Meyers wrote, directed and produced “The Holiday,” starring Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jude Law and Jack Black. The comedy was another hit at the worldwide box office.

With 2009’s “It’s Complicated,” Meyers wrote, produced and directed an all-star cast in a comedy about love, divorce and everything in between. Starring Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin, “It’s Complicated” earned three Golden Globe nominations, for Best Actress, Best Screenplay and Best Picture. The film was a box office hit worldwide.

In 2015, Meyers wrote, directed and produced "The Intern," a comedy about a new kind of bond between men and women—friendship. The film stars Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway along with a multi-generational cast and was a hit at the worldwide box office.

Most recently, Meyers joined forces with her daughter, Hallie Meyers-Shyer, to produce Meyers-Shyer’s directorial debut, “Home Again” (also scripted by Myers-Shyer), a sophisticated and modern romantic comedy starring Academy Award-winner Reese Witherspoon.

As a writer/producer, Meyers’ first film was the groundbreaking “Private Benjamin,” starring Goldie Hawn, which Meyers produced and co-wrote with Charles Shyer and Harvey Miller. Released in 1980, the film bucked conventional wisdom at the time, which dictated that a female lead could not open a movie without a male star. The story of a pampered young woman who joins the Army, “Private Benjamin” became a huge hit domestically and internationally. The screenplay earned Meyers the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen, and the film earned three Academy Award nominations for Best Original Screenplay, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress. Goldie Hawn was also nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture—Musical or Comedy. After the success of “Private Benjamin,” Meyers co-wrote and produced the critically acclaimed “Irreconcilable Differences,” followed by “Baby Boom,” starring Diane Keaton; and the box-office hits “Father of the Bride” and “Father of the Bride Part II,” both of which starred Steve Martin and Keaton.

ABOUT SUSAN ARNOLD (Associate Professor of the Practice of Cinematic Arts)

Susan Arnold, with her partner Donna Roth, produced the romantic comedy hits “13 Going On 30” starring Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo, “America’s Sweetheart” starring Julia Roberts, “Forces Of Nature” starring Sandra Bullock and Ben Affleck, as well as the celebrated black comedy “Grosse Point Blank” starring John Cusack. With Judd Apatow she produced “Drillbit Taylor” starring Owen Wilson. Other produced credits include the box office hit, “The Haunting” starring Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta Jones, Lily Taylor and Owen Wilson and the critically acclaimed “ Unstrung Heroes” directed by Diane Keaton. Susan’s producing debut was the offbeat comedy “Benny and Joon” starring Johnny Depp.