Nora Ephron Highly Recommends Having Meryl Streep Play You

Nora Ephron at the 32nd AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute To Meryl Streep (2004).

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("Coming Around Again" by Carly Simon) (background music)

Ladies and Gentlemen...Nora Ephron!

I loved working with Meryl Streep.

First, I worked with her on "Silkwood."

Alice Arlen and I did a script for her.

Karen Dinesen, Karen Silkwood, and the Polish person and the Danish person, blah, blah, blah...

But the true stretch, if I do say so, was playing me in "Heartburn."

I highly recommend having Meryl Streep play you.

If your husband is cheating on you with a car hop, get Meryl to play you. You will feel much better.

If you get rear ended in a parking lot, have Meryl Streep play you. If the dingo eats your baby, call Meryl.

She plays all of us better than we play ourselves.

Although, it's a little depressing knowing that if you went to audition to play yourself you would lose out to her.

Some days, when I am having a hard day, I call up Meryl and she'll come and she'll step in for me.

She's so good people don't really notice.

I call her at the end of the day and found out how I did and inevitably, it's one of the best days I've ever had!

You have no idea how much work goes into being as good as Meryl is, or for making it look as effortless as she makes it look, but I do!

...because one night, while we were making "Heartburn" I went into her trailer, she wasn't expecting me...

she wasn't in costume, and she wasn't wearing make-up;

She turned out to be a 63 year old Asian woman named Chepauk!

So, Chepauk!

Tonight, we honour YOU!