| Sleepless in Seattle | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Nora Ephron |
| Produced by | Gary Foster |
| Screenplay by | Nora Ephron David S. Ward Jeff Arch |
| Story by | Jeff Arch |
| Starring | Tom Hanks Meg Ryan Bill Pullman Ross Malinger Rosie O'Donnell Rob Reiner David Hyde Pierce |
| Music by | Marc Shaiman |
| Cinematography | Sven Nykvist |
| Editing by | Robert M. Reitano |
| Distributed by | TriStar Pictures |
| Release date(s) | June 25, 1993 |
| Running time | 106 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $21 million |
| Box office | $227,799,884 |
Sleepless in Seattle is a 1993 American romantic comedy film directed and co-written by Nora Ephron. Based on a story by Jeff Arch, it stars Tom Hanks as Sam Baldwin and Meg Ryan as Annie Reed.
The film was inspired by An Affair to Remember and used both its theme song and clips from the film in critical scenes. The climactic meeting at the top of the Empire State Building is a reference to a reunion between Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr in An Affair to Remember that fails to happen because the Kerr character is struck by a car while en route. At one point, some of the characters discuss Affair, with Sam commenting "that's a chick's movie".
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Sam Baldwin, a Chicago architect, loses his wife to cancer. He and his young son Jonah start new lives in Seattle, but Sam still grieves.
18 months later, on Christmas Eve 1992, Jonah—who wants his father to find a new wife—calls into a talk radio show. Jonah persuades Sam to go on the air to talk about how much he misses his wife. Hundreds of women from around the country hear the program, and touched by the story, write to Sam.
One of the listeners is Annie Reed, a Baltimore Sun reporter. She is engaged to a sweet, awkward man named Walter but feels there is something missing from their relationship. After watching the film An Affair to Remember, Annie impulsively writes a letter suggesting that Sam meet her on top of the Empire State Building on Valentine's Day. She does not intend to mail it, but her friend and editor Becky does it for her and agrees to send Annie to Seattle to "look into doing a story on those radio shows."
Sam begins dating a coworker, Victoria, whom Jonah dislikes. Jonah, a baseball fan, reads Annie's letter and likes that it mentions the Baltimore Orioles but fails to convince his father to go to New York to meet Annie. On the advice of his friend Jessica, Jonah replies to Annie agreeing to the New York meeting.
While dropping Victoria off at the airport for a flight, Sam sees Annie exiting from her plane and is taken by her, although he has no idea who she is. Annie watches Sam and Jonah playing on the beach together but mistakes Sam's sister Suzy for his girlfriend. He recognizes her from the airport and says "Hello", but Annie can only respond with another "hello" before fleeing. She decides she is being foolish and goes to New York to meet Walter for Valentine's Day.
With Jessica's help, Jonah flies to New York without his father's permission. Sam, distraught, follows Jonah and finds him on the observation deck of the Empire State Building. Annie sees the skyscraper from the Rainbow Room, where she is dining with Walter, and confesses her doubts to him. They amicably end their engagement. Jonah and Sam get on the down elevator just before Annie reaches the observation deck. She finds Jonah's backpack. Jonah and Sam return for the backpack and meet Annie. They leave, Sam and Annie walking off hand in hand.
Ryan and Hanks appeared together in Joe Versus the Volcano prior to Sleepless in Seattle, then followed it with You've Got Mail. Julia Roberts was offered the role of Annie Reed but turned it down.[1]
| Sleepless in Seattle | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Various Artists | |
| Released | June 15, 1993 |
| Genre | Pop |
| Length | 36:22 |
| Label | Columbia |
| Producer | Marc Shaiman |
The film was originally to have been scored by John Barry, but when he was given a list of 20 songs he had to put in the film, he quit.[2]
Sleepless in Seattle received two nominations for awards in the 66th Academy Awards (held in 1994), but did not win either of them. It lost out to The Piano for Best Original Screenplay while the song "A Wink and a Smile" lost out to "Streets of Philadelphia" (another Tom Hanks movie) for Best Original Song. The film was nominated for three Golden Globe Awards: one for Best Actor - Musical or Comedy (Tom Hanks) another for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Meg Ryan) and a third for Best Breakthrough Performance (Ross Malinger).
The film won four awards at different ceremonies. Ryan won the award for Funniest Actress in a Leading Role at the American Comedy Awards. At the 1994 Young Artist Awards, Malinger won the award for Best Actor Under Ten in a Motion Picture and the film itself won Outstanding Family Motion Picture for Comedy.
| Award | Category | Winner/Nominee | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| 66th Academy Awards | Best Original Song | "A Wink and a Smile" | No |
| Best Screenplay - Original | Nora Ephron, David S. Ward & Jeff Arch | ||
| 48th BAFTA Film Awards | Best Score | Mark Shaiman | No |
| Best Screenplay | Nora Ephron, David S. Ward & Jeff Arch | ||
| American Comedy Awards | Funniest Actress in a Leading Role | Meg Ryan | Yes |
| 51st Golden Globe Awards | Best Film - Musical or Comedy | No | |
| Best Actor - Musical or Comedy | Tom Hanks | ||
| Best Actress - Musical or Comedy | Meg Ryan | ||
| 1994 MTV Movie Awards | Best Breakthrough Performance | Ross Malinger | No |
| Best Female Performance | Meg Ryan | ||
| Best Movie Song | "When I Fall In Love" (Celine Dion & Clive Griffin) | ||
| Best On-Screen Duo | Tom Hanks & Meg Ryan | ||
| Young Artist Awards | Best Actor Under Ten in a Motion Picture | Ross Malinger | Yes |
| Outstanding Family Motion Picture - Comedy | |||
Sleepless in Seattle: The Musical is in development. Produced by David Shor, with a book written by Shor's long-time partner Jeff Arch (who wrote the original story for the motion picture), it was given a staged reading in New York in November 2010 and is scheduled to premier in full production at the Pasadena Playhouse on June 12, 2012, for a one-month run.[4]
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| Preceded by Black Sunday by Cypress Hill |
Billboard 200 number-one album August 21–27, 1993 |
Succeeded by River of Dreams by Billy Joel |