Melissa Mathison | |
|---|---|
 Mathison in 2015 | |
| Born | Melissa Marie Mathison[1] (1950-06-03)June 3, 1950 Los Angeles,California, U.S. |
| Died | November 4, 2015(2015-11-04) (aged 65) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of California, Berkeley |
| Occupation | Screenwriter |
| Years active | 1979–2015 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Melissa Marie Mathison (June 3, 1950 – November 4, 2015) was an Americanfilm andtelevisionscreenwriter and an activist for theTibetan independence movement. She was best known for writing thescreenplays for the filmsThe Black Stallion (1979) andE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), the latter of which earned her theSaturn Award for Best Writing and a nomination for theAcademy Award for Best Original Screenplay.[2]
Mathison later wroteThe Indian in the Cupboard (1995), based onLynne Reid Banks's1980 children's novel of the same name, andKundun (1997), abiographical-drama film about theDalai Lama. Her final film credit wasThe BFG (2016), which marked her third collaboration with film directorSteven Spielberg.
Mathison was born on June 3, 1950, inLos Angeles, one of five siblings. Her father, Richard Randolph Mathison, was the Los Angeles bureau chief ofNewsweek. Her mother was Margaret Jean (née Kieffer) Mathison, a food writer and convenience-foods entrepreneur. After graduating fromProvidence High School in 1968, Mathison attended theUniversity of California, Berkeley.[3] Her family was friendly withFrancis Ford Coppola, whose children were babysat by Mathison. Coppola offered her a job as his assistant onThe Godfather Part II (1974), an opportunity for which she left her studies at UC Berkeley.[3]
With Coppola's encouragement, she wrote a script forThe Black Stallion, adapted from the novel, that caughtSteven Spielberg's attention.[4]
Mathison wrote the screenplay forE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) in collaboration withSteven Spielberg. It was nominated for an Oscar forBest Original Screenplay.[5] The script was based on a story, written byJohn Sayles, that Spielberg provided to Mathison during the filming ofRaiders of the Lost Ark (1981). Spielberg attributes the line "E.T. phone home" to Mathison.[6] She collaborated again with Spielberg forThe BFG (2016), her final film, which was dedicated in her memory. She also had film credits forThe Escape Artist (1982) andThe Indian in the Cupboard (1995).[3]
Mathison met theDalai Lama in 1990 when she was writing the script forKundun (1997) and developed a lasting friendship with him. She continued to work as an activist forTibetan freedom and was on the board of theInternational Campaign for Tibet.[7]
Mathison had a relationship withFrancis Ford Coppola while working as his assistant onThe Godfather Part II, an affair that lasted through the production ofApocalypse Now.[8] From 1983 to 2004, she was married toHarrison Ford; the couple had two children. She died on November 4, 2015, in Los Angeles, aged 65, fromneuroendocrine cancer.[3]
| Year | Title | Genre | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | The Black Stallion | Family-adventure | |
| 1982 | E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial | Fantasy-adventure-science fiction | Saturn Award for Best Writing Nominated—Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, (1983) The line "E.T. phone home." is ranked 15th among the top 100 quotations of U.S. cinema by the American Film Institute. |
| The Escape Artist | Drama | ||
| 1983 | Twilight Zone: The Movie | Science fiction-thriller | Segment 2, "Kick the Can"; credited as "Josh Rogan" |
| 1991 | Son of the Morning Star | Western | Television film |
| 1995 | The Indian in the Cupboard | Family-adventure | |
| 1997 | Kundun | Biographical-drama | |
| 1998 | The Emperor's New Clothes: An All-Star Illustrated Retelling of the Classic Fairy Tale | Animated,Family | |
| 2008 | Ponyo | Animated,family-adventure | Storyline consultant,English-language translation |
| 2016 | The BFG | Family-fantasy-adventure | Posthumous release Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Writing |
[Eleanor Coppola] had discovered [Francis] was having an affair, several affairs; there was, for starters, Playboy Bunny Linda Carpenter... There was the kids' former babysitter, his assistant on Godfather II, Melissa Mathison. They had been seeing each other since then.
