Charles Shyer, the Oscar-nominated author and filmmaker recognized for classic comedies like “Non-public Benjamin,” “Child Growth” and “Father of the Bride” that he made alongside Nancy Meyers, has died. He was 83.
Shyer died in Los Angeles on Friday, his daughter, filmmaker Hallie Meyers-Shyer instructed The Related Press on Sunday. No trigger was disclosed.
A son of Hollywood, whose father Melville Shyer was one of many founding members of the Administrators Guild of America, Shyer made an indelible mark on comedies, largely of the romantic persuasion, within the Eighties and Nineteen Nineties.
Born in Los Angeles in 1941, Shyer lower his tooth writing for tv, helping Garry Marshall and dealing on reveals like “The Odd Couple” earlier than transitioning to movies. He had writing credit on “Smokey and the Bandit,” Jack Nicholson’s “Goin’ South” and the Walter Matthau drama “Home Calls.” An enormous breakthrough got here with “Non-public Benjamin,” the Goldie Hawn comedy a couple of rich lady who inadvertently indicators up for fundamental coaching, which he co-wrote with Meyers and Harvey Miller.
It was a script that was initially turned down by each studio in Hollywood, even with Hawn connected to star and produce.
“We went to a gathering at Paramount after they learn the script, and Mike Eisner was the president of the studio, and we sat in his workplace with Mike and (producer) Don Simpson. And Mike stated to Goldie, ‘It is a mistake so that you can make this film,’” Shyer instructed Indiewire in 2022. “God bless Don Simpson who spoke up and stated, ‘Mike, you’re 100% mistaken on this one.’”
The film grew to become one of many largest hits of 1980. It bought them an Oscar nomination and a win from the Writers Guild and likewise paved the way in which for his directorial debut “Irreconcilable Variations.”
That movie, which he additionally wrote with Meyers (they married in 1980), starred Shelley Lengthy and Ryan O’Neal as a writing-directing duo whose relationship crumbles after success and an infatuation with a younger actor performed by Sharon Stone. It was partially impressed by the tabloid affairs of Peter Bogdanovich, who left his spouse and producer Polly Platt for Cybill Shepherd.
“Nancy and I simply laughed on the similar issues. We love the identical films, we form of educate one another on the flicks that every of us beloved,” Shyer instructed The Hollywood Reporter. “And Nancy actually made me snicker. I feel she wrote the perfect one-liners of anyone I do know, besides Neil Simon. And, and we had been simply all the time in sync — as filmmakers, we had this factor.”
They adopted with “Child Growth,” by which Diane Keaton performs a working lady who out of the blue has to look after a child, and “Father of the Bride,” which reimagined Vincente Minnelli’s 1950 movie for the Nineteen Nineties with Keaton, Steve Martin and Martin Brief main the comedic ensemble. It was profitable sufficient to spawn a sequel.
Shyer and Meyers’ final collaboration as a married couple earlier than divorcing in 1999 was the remake of “The Father or mother Entice,” with Lindsay Lohan, which Meyers directed and Shyer co-wrote and produced. Their daughters Annie and Hallie, whose names had been used for Lohan’s twin characters, each appeared within the movie. Shyer can be survived by two kids, Jacob and Sophia, from a subsequent marriage that led to divorce.
Whereas Shyer typically discovered himself doing remakes, he and Meyers by no means needed to do “carbon copies” of the originals and all the time endeavored to place their very own stamp on their movies. However even he was shocked by the longevity of a few of them, remembering an previous Billy Wilder quote that “comedy shouldn’t be like wonderful wine, it doesn’t age properly.” However, he stated, they tried to keep away from the temptation to incorporate too many well timed references.
“You attempt to write issues that aren’t mainly of the second, particularly in comedy,” he instructed Indiewire. “Attempt to write tales about human beings that can mirror on in the present day and tomorrow and yesterday.”
Shyer went on to remake “Alfie,” with Jude Legislation, and the Hilary Swank interval drama “The Affair of the Necklace,” neither of which did properly on the field workplace. He additionally directed the Julia Roberts and Nick Nolte film “I Love Bother,” the one movie of his that he admitted he did not like.
Different movies by no means noticed the sunshine of day: He spent a 12 months and a half prepping “Eloise in Paris” nevertheless it was canceled when the manufacturing firm out of the blue went out of enterprise.
He stepped away from directing for a few years however returned in recent times with two Netflix Christmas romantic comedies: “The Noel Diary” and “Finest. Christmas. Ever!”
“I simply gravitated in direction of stuff I like,” he instructed Indiewire. “I’ve by no means seen a James Bond film. I’ve by no means seen one. I by no means favored science-fiction films. … I like films about folks, and I need them to have substance.”
Shyer had instructed Indiewire that he was engaged on a script he’d been enthusiastic about for many years, since he was hospitalized briefly at 17. He described the film as a cross between “The 400 Blows” and “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” And retirement, he stated on the time, was not within the playing cards.
“What am I going to do? Backyard?” he stated. “I simply have numerous power. I wish to hold going. I truly love the method and I really like the camaraderie. I really like what I do. If I drop lifeless, possibly it will likely be holding a digicam.”
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