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Melissa Mathison
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<h2 id="early-years">Early years</h2> <p>Mathison was born on June 3, 1950, in <a href="/facts/Los_Angeles/pyXpYEX9">Los Angeles</a>, one of five siblings. Her father, Richard Randolph Mathison, was the Los Angeles bureau chief of <i><a href="/facts/Newsweek/ClFEs5So">Newsweek</a></i>. Her mother was Margaret Jean (née Kieffer) Mathison, a food writer and convenience-foods entrepreneur. After graduating from <a href="/facts/Providence_High_School_(Burbank,_California)/JY4l0AeJ">Providence High School</a> in 1968, Mathison attended the <a href="/facts/University_of_California,_Berkeley/MXVEjklr">University of California, Berkeley</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> Her family was friendly with <a href="/facts/Francis_Ford_Coppola/c3h1RwhH">Francis Ford Coppola</a>, whose children were babysat by Mathison. Coppola offered her a job as his assistant on <i><a href="/facts/The_Godfather_Part_II/usejdXRM">The Godfather Part II</a></i> (1974), an opportunity for which she left her studies at <a href="/facts/University_of_California,_Berkeley/MXVEjklr">UC Berkeley</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> </p><p>With Coppola's encouragement, she wrote a script for <i>The Black Stallion</i>, adapted from the novel, that caught <a href="/facts/Steven_Spielberg/KeqLPKoS">Steven Spielberg</a>'s attention.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="screenwriting-and-production-credits">Screenwriting and production credits</h2> <p>Mathison wrote the screenplay for <i><a href="/facts/E.T._the_Extra-Terrestrial/1lWvmFAh">E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial</a></i> (1982) in collaboration with <a href="/facts/Steven_Spielberg/KeqLPKoS">Steven Spielberg</a>. It was nominated for an Oscar for <a href="/facts/Academy_Award_for_Best_Original_Screenplay/G9eSHLp9">Best Original Screenplay</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> The script was based on a story, written by <a href="/facts/John_Sayles/VPgldNeP">John Sayles</a>, that Spielberg provided to Mathison during the filming of <i><a href="/facts/Raiders_of_the_Lost_Ark/yTPq7cJ5">Raiders of the Lost Ark</a></i> (1981). Spielberg attributes the line "<a href="/facts/E.T._(character)/Mxr1UakH">E.T.</a> phone home" to Mathison.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> She collaborated again with Spielberg for <i><a href="/facts/The_BFG_(2016_film)/zcHvkFSC">The BFG</a></i> (2016), her final film, which was dedicated in her memory. She also had film credits for <i><a href="/facts/The_Escape_Artist_(film)/nTYlV5Hr">The Escape Artist</a></i> (1982) and <i><a href="/facts/The_Indian_in_the_Cupboard_(film)/xNrlLhbH">The Indian in the Cupboard</a></i> (1995).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="dalai-lama">Dalai Lama</h2> <p>Mathison met the <a href="/facts/14th_Dalai_Lama/zYdSD0AB">Dalai Lama</a> in 1990 when she was writing the script for <i><a href="/facts/Kundun/KdG8Yepu">Kundun</a></i> (1997) and developed a lasting friendship with him. She continued to work as an activist for <a href="/facts/Tibet/NQChzGo9">Tibetan</a> freedom and was on the board of the <a href="/facts/International_Campaign_for_Tibet/xa63uzMl">International Campaign for Tibet</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="personal-life-and-death">Personal life and death</h2> <p>Mathison had an extramarital relationship with <a href="/facts/Francis_Ford_Coppola/c3h1RwhH">Francis Ford Coppola</a> while working as his assistant on <i><a href="/facts/The_Godfather_Part_II/usejdXRM">The Godfather Part II</a></i>, an affair that lasted through the production of <i><a href="/facts/Apocalypse_Now/DNwyjfxf">Apocalypse Now</a></i>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> From 1983 to 2004, she was married to <a href="/facts/Harrison_Ford/Dw7TrhAK">Harrison Ford</a>; the couple had two children. She died on November 4, 2015, in Los Angeles, aged 65, from <a href="/facts/Neuroendocrine_tumor/WWrDG6m2">neuroendocrine cancer</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="screenwriting-filmography">Screenwriting filmography</h2> <table><tbody><tr><th>Year</th><th>Title</th><th>Genre</th><th>Notes</th></tr><tr><td>1979</td><td><i><a href="/facts/The_Black_Stallion_(film)/ym0s7tw1">The Black Stallion</a></i></td><td><a href="/facts/Family_film/fXAGl5dn">Family</a>-<a href="/facts/Adventure_film/4w5RCrVI">adventure</a></td><td></td></tr><tr><td rowspan="2">1982</td><td><i><a href="/facts/E.T._the_Extra-Terrestrial/1lWvmFAh">E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial</a></i></td><td><a href="/facts/Fantasy_film/fPX7SpAC">Fantasy</a>-<a href="/facts/Adventure_film/4w5RCrVI">adventure</a>-<a href="/facts/Science_fiction/d9hE2Lwt">science fiction</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Saturn_Award_for_Best_Writing/CIKDMNSP">Saturn Award for Best Writing</a>Nominated—<a href="/facts/Academy_Award_for_Best_Original_Screenplay/G9eSHLp9">Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay</a>, (<a href="/facts/55th_Academy_Awards/mHzfY0VH">1983</a>)The line "E.T. phone home." is ranked 15th among the top 100 quotations of U.S. cinema by the American Film Institute.</td></tr><tr><td><i><a href="/facts/The_Escape_Artist_(film)/nTYlV5Hr">The Escape Artist</a></i></td><td><a href="/facts/Drama_film/K3GjTczf">Drama</a></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1983</td><td><i><a href="/facts/Twilight_Zone:_The_Movie/rs4saoS9">Twilight Zone: The Movie</a></i></td><td><a href="/facts/Science_fiction/d9hE2Lwt">Science fiction</a>-<a href="/facts/Thriller_film/RLj4941a">thriller</a></td><td>Segment 2, "Kick the Can"; credited as "Josh Rogan"</td></tr><tr><td>1991</td><td><i><a href="/facts/Son_of_the_Morning_Star_(film)/TwQUDBGk">Son of the Morning Star</a></i></td><td><a href="/facts/Western_film/KvoYduYT">Western</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Television_movie/gsGGUltR">Television film</a></td></tr><tr><td>1995</td><td><i><a href="/facts/The_Indian_in_the_Cupboard_(film)/xNrlLhbH">The Indian in the Cupboard</a></i></td><td><a href="/facts/Family_film/fXAGl5dn">Family</a>-<a href="/facts/Adventure_film/4w5RCrVI">adventure</a></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1997</td><td><i><a href="/facts/Kundun/KdG8Yepu">Kundun</a></i></td><td><a href="/facts/Biographical_film/lkJANhWB">Biographical</a>-<a href="/facts/Drama_film/K3GjTczf">drama</a></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1998</td><td><i>The Emperor's New Clothes: An All-Star Illustrated Retelling of the Classic Fairy Tale</i></td><td><a href="/facts/Animation/093f9nUg">Animated</a>, <a href="/facts/Family_film/fXAGl5dn">Family</a></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2008</td><td><i><a href="/facts/Ponyo/Mn8b7G32">Ponyo</a></i></td><td><a href="/facts/Animation/093f9nUg">Animated</a>, <a href="/facts/Family_film/fXAGl5dn">family</a>-<a href="/facts/Adventure_film/4w5RCrVI">adventure</a></td><td>Storyline consultant, <a href="/facts/English_language/tpkxGt7b">English-language</a> translation</td></tr><tr><td>2016</td><td><i><a href="/facts/The_BFG_(2016_film)/zcHvkFSC">The BFG</a></i></td><td><a href="/facts/Family_film/fXAGl5dn">Family</a>-<a href="/facts/Fantasy_film/fPX7SpAC">fantasy</a>-<a href="/facts/Adventure_film/4w5RCrVI">adventure</a></td><td>Posthumous release Nominated—<a href="/facts/Saturn_Award_for_Best_Writing/CIKDMNSP">Saturn Award for Best Writing</a></td></tr></tbody></table> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0558953/">Melissa Mathison</a> at <a href="/facts/IMDb_(identifier)/uWrqVYVy">IMDb</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"Melissa Mathison". IMDb. <a href="https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0558953/" target="_blank">https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0558953/</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Chawkins, Steve (November 4, 2015). "Melissa Mathison dies at 65; screenwriter of 'E.T.,' 'Black Stallion,' 'Kundun'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 8, 2015. <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-melissa-mathinson-dies-story.html" target="_blank">http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-melissa-mathinson-dies-story.html</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Chawkins, Steve (November 4, 2015). "Melissa Mathison dies at 65; screenwriter of 'E.T.,' 'Black Stallion,' 'Kundun'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 8, 2015. <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-melissa-mathinson-dies-story.html" target="_blank">http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-melissa-mathinson-dies-story.html</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"Melissa Mathison: a masterful storyteller who brought ET to life", The Guardian, November 5, 2015. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/nov/05/melissa-mathison-master-hollywood-storyteller-et-the-extra-terrestrial?CMP=ema_565a" target="_blank">https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/nov/05/melissa-mathison-master-hollywood-storyteller-et-the-extra-terrestrial?CMP=ema_565a</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Saperstein, Pat. "Melissa Mathison, 'E.T.' Screenwriter and Ex-Wife of Harrison Ford, Dies at 65". Variety. Retrieved November 8, 2015. <a href="https://variety.com/2015/film/news/melissa-mathison-e-t-screenwriter-dies-dead-1201633801/" target="_blank">https://variety.com/2015/film/news/melissa-mathison-e-t-screenwriter-dies-dead-1201633801/</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Weber, Bruce (November 6, 2015). "Melissa Mathison, 65, Dies; Wrote Screenplay for 'E.T.'". The New York Times. Retrieved November 8, 2015. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/06/movies/melissa-mathison-et-screenwriter-dies-at-65.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fobituaries" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/06/movies/melissa-mathison-et-screenwriter-dies-at-65.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fobituaries</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Chawkins, Steve (November 4, 2015). "Melissa Mathison dies at 65; screenwriter of 'E.T.,' 'Black Stallion,' 'Kundun'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 8, 2015. <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-melissa-mathinson-dies-story.html" target="_blank">http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-melissa-mathinson-dies-story.html</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Melissa Mathison, A Conversation with the Dalai Lama Archived July 1, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, Rolling Stone, July 21, 2011 <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/a-conversation-with-the-dalai-lama-20110721#ixzz24I1KmzSd" target="_blank">https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/a-conversation-with-the-dalai-lama-20110721#ixzz24I1KmzSd</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Wasson, Sam (2003). The Path to Paradise: A Francis Ford Coppola Story. New York: Harper. p. 178. ISBN 9780063037847. [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. <a href="9780063037847" target="_blank">9780063037847</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Chawkins, Steve (November 4, 2015). "Melissa Mathison dies at 65; screenwriter of 'E.T.,' 'Black Stallion,' 'Kundun'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 8, 2015. <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-melissa-mathinson-dies-story.html" target="_blank">http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-melissa-mathinson-dies-story.html</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>