Editing Melissa Mathison

{{Short description|American screenwriter (1950–2015)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name        = Melissa Mathison
| image       = Melissa_Mathison.jpg
| alt         =
| caption     = Mathison in 2015
| birthname   = Melissa Marie Mathison<ref>{{cite web|url=https://movies.yahoo.com/person/melissa-mathison/filmography.html|title=Melissa Mathison|publisher=Movies.yahoo.com|date=April 20, 2011|access-date=November 4, 2015}}</ref>
| birth_date  = {{Birth date|1950|06|03}}
| birth_place = [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], U.S.
| death_date  = {{death date and age|2015|11|04|1950|06|03}}
| death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
| alma_mater  = [[University of California, Berkeley]]
| occupation  = Screenwriter
| yearsactive = 1979–2015
| spouse      = {{marriage|[[Harrison Ford]]|1983|2004|end=div.}}
| children    = 2
| website     =
}}
'''Melissa Marie Mathison''' (June 3, 1950 – November 4, 2015) was an American [[film]] and [[television]] [[screenwriter]] and an activist for the [[Tibetan independence movement]]. She was best known for writing the [[screenplay]]s for the films ''[[The Black Stallion (film)|The Black Stallion]]'' (1979) and ''[[E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial]]'' (1982), the latter of which earned her the [[Saturn Award for Best Writing]] and a nomination for the [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0558953/|title = Melissa Mathison| website=[[IMDb]] }}</ref>

Mathison later wrote ''[[The Indian in the Cupboard (film)|The Indian in the Cupboard]]'' (1995), based on [[Lynne Reid Banks]]'s [[The Indian in the Cupboard|1980 children's novel of the same name]], and ''[[Kundun]]'' (1997), a [[biographical film|biographical]]-[[Drama (film and television)|drama film]] about the [[14th Dalai Lama|Dalai Lama]]. Her final film credit was ''[[The BFG (2016 film)|The BFG]]'' (2016), which marked her third collaboration with film director [[Steven Spielberg]].

==Early years==
Mathison was born on June 3, 1950, in [[Los Angeles]], one of five siblings. Her father, Richard Randolph Mathison, was the Los Angeles bureau chief of ''[[Newsweek]]''. Her mother was Margaret Jean (née Kieffer) Mathison, a food writer and convenience-foods entrepreneur. After graduating from [[Providence High School (Burbank, California)|Providence High School]] in 1968, Mathison attended the [[University of California, Berkeley]].<ref name=latobit/> Her family was friendly with [[Francis Ford Coppola]], whose children were babysat by Mathison. Coppola offered her a job as his assistant on ''[[The Godfather Part II]]'' (1974), an opportunity for which she left her studies at UC Berkeley.<ref name=latobit/>

With Coppola's encouragement, she wrote a script for ''The Black Stallion'', adapted from the novel, that caught [[Steven Spielberg]]'s attention.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/nov/05/melissa-mathison-master-hollywood-storyteller-et-the-extra-terrestrial?CMP=ema_565a "Melissa Mathison: a masterful storyteller who brought ET to life"], ''[[The Guardian]]'', November 5, 2015.</ref>

==Screenwriting and production credits==
Mathison wrote the screenplay for ''[[E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial]]'' (1982) in collaboration with [[Steven Spielberg]]. It was nominated for an Oscar for [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Original Screenplay]].<ref name=varobit>{{cite magazine|last1=Saperstein|first1=Pat|title=Melissa Mathison, 'E.T.' Screenwriter and Ex-Wife of Harrison Ford, Dies at 65|url=https://variety.com/2015/film/news/melissa-mathison-e-t-screenwriter-dies-dead-1201633801/|magazine=Variety|access-date=November 8, 2015}}</ref> The script was based on a story, written by [[John Sayles]], that Spielberg provided to Mathison during the filming of ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]'' (1981). Spielberg attributes the line "[[E.T. (character)|E.T.]] phone home" to Mathison.<ref name=nytobit>{{cite news|last1=Weber|first1=Bruce|title=Melissa Mathison, 65, Dies; Wrote Screenplay for 'E.T.'|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/06/movies/melissa-mathison-et-screenwriter-dies-at-65.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fobituaries|access-date=November 8, 2015|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=November 6, 2015}}</ref> She collaborated again with Spielberg for ''[[The BFG (2016 film)|The BFG]]'' (2016), her final film, which was dedicated in her memory. She also had film credits for ''[[The Escape Artist (film)|The Escape Artist]]'' (1982) and ''[[The Indian in the Cupboard (film)|The Indian in the Cupboard]]'' (1995).<ref name=latobit/>

==Dalai Lama==
Mathison met the [[14th Dalai Lama|Dalai Lama]] in 1990 when she was writing the script for ''[[Kundun]]'' (1997) and developed a lasting friendship with him. She continued to work as an activist for [[Tibet]]an freedom and was on the board of the [[International Campaign for Tibet]].<ref>Melissa Mathison, [https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/a-conversation-with-the-dalai-lama-20110721#ixzz24I1KmzSd A Conversation with the Dalai Lama] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130701022913/http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/a-conversation-with-the-dalai-lama-20110721#ixzz24I1KmzSd |date=July 1, 2013 }}, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', July 21, 2011</ref>

==Personal life and death==
Mathison had an extramarital relationship with [[Francis Ford Coppola]] while working as his assistant on ''[[The Godfather Part II]]'', an affair that lasted through the production of ''[[Apocalypse Now]]''.<ref>{{cite book
	| last = Wasson
	| first = Sam
	| date = 2003
	| title = The Path to Paradise: A Francis Ford Coppola Story
	| quote = [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.
	| location = New York
	| publisher = Harper
	| page = 178
	| isbn = 9780063037847
}}</ref> From 1983 to 2004, she was married to [[Harrison Ford]]; the couple had two children. She died on November 4, 2015, in Los Angeles, aged 65, from [[neuroendocrine tumor|neuroendocrine cancer]].<ref name="latobit">{{cite news|last1=Chawkins|first1=Steve|title=Melissa Mathison dies at 65; screenwriter of 'E.T.,' 'Black Stallion,' 'Kundun'|url=http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-melissa-mathinson-dies-story.html|access-date=November 8, 2015|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=November 4, 2015}}</ref>

==Screenwriting filmography==
{|class="wikitable"
|- style="text-align:center;"
! Year
! Title
! Genre
! Notes
|-
|1979 || ''[[The Black Stallion (film)|The Black Stallion]]'' || [[Family film|Family]]-[[adventure film|adventure]] ||
|-
|rowspan=2|1982 || ''[[E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial]]'' || [[Fantasy film|Fantasy]]-[[adventure film|adventure]]-[[science fiction]] || [[Saturn Award for Best Writing]]<br>Nominated—[[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay]], ([[55th Academy Awards|1983]])<br>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 (film)|The Escape Artist]]'' || [[Drama film|Drama]] ||
|-
|1983 || ''[[Twilight Zone: The Movie]]'' || [[Science fiction]]-[[thriller film|thriller]] || Segment 2, "Kick the Can"; credited as "Josh Rogan"
|-
|1991 || ''[[Son of the Morning Star (film)|Son of the Morning Star]]'' ||[[Western film|Western]] || [[Television movie|Television film]]
|-
|1995 || ''[[The Indian in the Cupboard (film)|The Indian in the Cupboard]]'' || [[Family film|Family]]-[[adventure film|adventure]] ||
|-
|1997 || ''[[Kundun]]'' || [[Biographical film|Biographical]]-[[drama film|drama]] ||
|-
|1998 || ''The Emperor's New Clothes: An All-Star Illustrated Retelling of the Classic Fairy Tale'' || [[Animation|Animated]], [[Family film|Family]] ||
|-
|2008 || ''[[Ponyo]]'' || [[Animation|Animated]], [[family film|family]]-[[adventure film|adventure]] || Storyline consultant, [[English language|English-language]] translation
|-
|2016 || ''[[The BFG (2016 film)|The BFG]]'' || [[Family film|Family]]-[[fantasy film|fantasy]]-[[adventure film|adventure]] || Posthumous release<br> Nominated—[[Saturn Award for Best Writing]]
|}
<!--has also written text for an autobiographical photo book, ''Lennox'' (ISBN 978-0-316-85786-4) about [[Lester Lennox]]--at January 2010, it needs further research before adding -->

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb name|0558953}}

{{Saturn Award for Best Writing 1973–1990}}
{{Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathison, Melissa}}
[[Category:1950 births]]
[[Category:2015 deaths]]
[[Category:American women screenwriters]]
[[Category:Tibet freedom activists]]
[[Category:Screenwriters from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century American writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American women writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American women writers]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in California]]
[[Category:Deaths from neuroendocrine cancer]]
[[Category:Activists from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:American women science fiction and fantasy writers]]
[[Category:Writers Guild of America Award winners]]