Billy Crystal Remembers 'When Harry Met Sally' In Honor of 30th Anniversary | THR News - video Dailymotion

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The film will open the 10th annual TCM Classic Film Festival on April 11, with Crystal and co-star Meg Ryan, along with director Rob Reiner, in attendance at the TCL Chinese Theatre screening.

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00:00-"You ever think about death?" -"Yes." -"Sure you do. A fleeting thought that

00:04drifts in and out of the transom of your mind. I spend hours, I spend days."

00:07-"And you think this makes you a better person?"

00:09Thirty years ago, two recent college graduates who didn't know each other jumped in a car

00:13and drove from Chicago to New York together. During the course of the drive, they pondered

00:17topics such as the film Casablanca, the merits of days of the week underpants, and of course

00:22the age-old question, can men and women ever truly just be friends?

00:27Well, in the case of When Harry Met Sally, it turned out they couldn't.

00:30-"Because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody,

00:33you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible."

00:37But it wasn't exactly smooth sailing for the couple who were so obviously meant to be together

00:41and who entertained audiences everywhere with their incomparable witty banter

00:45and ride-or-die friendship. The film did much more than introduce a never-ending parade

00:51of tourists to Casas Delicatessen hoping for one of those climax-inducing sandwiches,

00:55or introduce us to the term high-maintenance, but it made major movie stars of its two leads,

01:00Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan.

01:02In fact, when I see Meg and Tom Hanks together in Sleepless in Seattle, I scream,

01:06how could you, at the TV. True story.

01:11In honor of its 30th anniversary, the film will open the 10th annual TCM Classic Film Festival

01:16on April 11, with both stars and director Rob Ryan in attendance at the TCL Chinese Theatre screening.

01:22The following day, Crystal will add his hand and footprint to the theatre's iconic forecourt.

01:26Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, ahead of this historic occasion, Crystal acknowledges

01:30the bittersweet nature of the event as Bruno Kirby, who played Jess,

01:34Carrie Fisher, who played Marie, and screenwriter Efron are no longer with us.

01:38That makes it all the more poignant for this 30th anniversary screening, says Crystal.

01:42It was such an important movie for all of us. None of us had any idea what would become.

01:47Rob Ryan was the best director I've ever worked with. He understood the human part of comedy

01:52and the rhythm of comedy. There's no one like him. And we were able to create all these new things

01:57that weren't in the script together, all of us, including the orgasm scene.

02:01Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Oh! Oh! I'll have what she's having.

02:11Ah yes, the orgasm scene. Undoubtedly one of the most iconic film scenes of all time.

02:16But how did it come, no pun intended, about?

02:19According to Crystal, it all went down, again no pun intended, about two weeks before the film

02:23began shooting. Efron felt that something was missing and suggested that they include a scene

02:28about women faking orgasms to take Harry's womanizing self down a peg or two.

02:33Says Crystal, Rob was like, what are you talking about?

02:36Well, women fake orgasms, Rob. Really? They never fake one with me.

02:40So, now that becomes a line of dialogue. Then Meg said, I should have an orgasm,

02:45and that would be hilarious, and I went in a public place, like a restaurant.

02:49Nora goes wild, and then we're all laughing, and then I said, and then we'll cut to an older

02:53woman who will say, I'll have what she's having. And that's how it happened.

02:57And Crystal makes a good point when he says,

02:59Let's face it, in the history of movies, except for porn movies, no one ever used the word

03:04orgasm. No one ever said that. Bogart never said, you know what, Louis, this was a great

03:08orgasm. Gable never said, frankly, I don't give a damn about your orgasm. No one ever said it.

03:13And so, it was shocking when it was out there, and it was such a provocative idea.

03:17When asked if he remembers the first time he saw an audience respond to the scene,

03:21Crystal recalls it vividly. He explains that he and Rob were sitting in the back of the theater

03:26in Burbank when the film was screening for the first time, and the deli scene started.

03:30Says Crystal,

03:31When she starts faking it, they go berserk. I mean, like, berserk. You couldn't hear any dialogue.

03:37They laugh through the next scene. The roar, it was gigantic. I realize that Rob and I were now

03:42holding hands. We were gripping each other because it was so momentous a laugh.

03:46To read Seth Abramovich's full interview with Billy Crystal ahead of his hand and footprint ceremony,

03:51head to THR.com. For The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Lyndsey Rodrigues.

Billy Crystal Remembers 'When Harry Met Sally' In Honor of 30th Anniversary | THR News

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