Nancy Meyers Recalls ‘Greatest Call of My Life’ from Jack Nicholson as “Something’s Gotta Give” Turns 20

The writer-director shared memories of making the 2003 romantic comedy

Nancy Meyers is sharing her memories of working on Something’s Gotta Give ahead of the movie’s 20th anniversary.

The 73-year-old writer-director appeared on the Hollywood Gold podcast Wednesday and told host Daniela Taplin Lundberg about facing rejection from studios as well as getting Diane Keaton, 77, and Jack Nicholson, 86, on board for the 2003 Oscar-nominated romantic comedy.

Meyers recalled how she “saw eyes glaze over” when she initially met with many male execs and pitched a story about two middle-aged people who fall in love.

The filmmaker — who received an Academy Award nomination for co-writing 1980’s Private Benjamin — finally got a green light from Sony Pictures’ Amy Pascal, who gave her a yes overnight.

Until then, she’d held off sending the script to the film’s would-be stars, explaining, “I gave it to the studio first because I’m not gonna give [Keaton and Nicholson] a script nobody wants to make.”

Related: From 'Home Again' to 'Something's Gotta Give,' Inside All of'' Nancy Meyers' Movie Dream Houses

But with an offer from Sony, Meyers sent the script to both Keaton and Nicholson. “She read it very quickly and he was shooting About Schmidt,” she recalled. “And I got a message that he doesn’t like to read when he’s shooting.”

“And I said, 'Oh, my God. How many more days is it?' And it was like a lot more days!” continued Meyers. “But then I heard from him within a week. I heard from him right away. It was the greatest call of my life, really.”

Asked about his reaction, Meyers added, “He was amazing. He said great things. But the most charming thing he said was, ‘I’ve always wanted to be in a tuxedo comedy.’ " She explained, "Nobody’s in a tuxedo in the movie, but you get that he’s referencing a screwball of some sort or one of the more classic, you know, Hollywood love story-comedies. It was a great phone call. He was lovely.”

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In the movie, which debuted in theaters on Dec. 12, 2003, Keaton stars as Erica Barry, a successful playwright whose daughter Marin (Amanda Peet) brings Harry Sanborn (Nicholson) the infamous lothario she’s dating, to Erica’s Hamptons home.

Harry has a heart attack while there, and, on the orders of attractive local doctor Julian Mercer (Keanu Reeves) must stay for a few days with Erica to recuperate before heading back to New York City.

The loose Harry and the more buttoned-up Erica initially clash, but grow to form a romantic bond after Harry ends the casual relationship with Marin.

Harry breaks Erica’s heart when she tells him she’s in love with him and he doesn’t say the same, so she embarks on a romance with Julian and writes a play based on her romance with Harry.

Ultimately, Erica ends things with Julian and reunites with Harry.

Related: Nancy Meyers Responds to Diane Keaton and Keanu Reeves' Something's Gotta Give Reunion: 'Whoa'

Keaton, who earned a best actress Oscar nomination for her performance, was so convincing in the role, Nicholson thought she actually loved him, Meyers previously recalled.

“We’re rehearsing that scene in the street, where he’s running after her, and he calls me over after one rehearsal. He’s all rattled,” Meyers said during the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival, according to Vulture.

“I said, ‘What’s up?’ And he goes, ‘Diane just told me she loves me.’ I couldn’t tell if he was horrified or thrilled. So I was like, ‘Yes, I know, I wrote that line. It’s in the script, Jack.’ And he said, ‘Oh, okay.’ He thought she meant it," she recalled, adding: "It’s really funny. That’s her.”

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