Interview: Screenwriter Hallie Meyers Shyer

Hallie Meyers Shyer is 20 years old and already writing her first major 

motion picture screenplay. Eloise in Paris, which stars Uma Thurman 

and begins shooting soon,  couldn't be more perfect for this witty 

and talented writer.

  

She has moved a few times back and forth from LA and NY during college.

But we're hoping after she is done filming she will be back where she belongs,

no Hal not the bea, NY.

  

Hallie grew up in LA and is the daughter of two film makers, Nancy Meyers

and Charles Shyer... oh and did we mention that she is also adorable?

  

Division Street: First thing you do when you get out of bed is...

Hallie: Press the snooze button and go back to sleep.

  

DS: Favorite article of clothing right now is...

HMS: My Givenchy heels. Mmmm...

  

DS: What is the epitome of LA and NY?

HMS: When I think of LA I think of Paris Hilton. When I think of NY

I think of Woody Allen. How do we fix that?

  

DS: Favorite spots to eat in LA and NY?

HMS: I love the LA foods you can only get in LA... the La Scala chopped,

the turkey BLT at the Beverly Hills Hotel, and the sushi. LA does sushi

Better than anywhere.

In NY I like Cafe Gitane, Blue Ribbon Bakery, Lovely Day and the one I really

abuse is the Chinese restaurant that knows my order called Charlie Mom.

  

DS: I frown upon reality television except this show...

HMS: Hogan Knows Best. RIP.

  

DS: Weirdest thing you experienced or saw during high school?

HMS: Hugh Hefner taking a tour of the school.

  

DS: Favorite Book?

HMS: One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest.

  

DS: What inspires you when you write?

HMS: Other good movies. Sometimes I'll put something on mute that has a similar

tone to what I'm writing, and just turn up the volume and watch for a little when

I get stuck. And good music, that's key.

  

DS: Five movies that put you in the best mood:

HMS: Anything where they end up together.

  

DS: Are there any movies that made you want to become a writer?

HMS: I can pretty much say that Billy Wilder, Woody Allen and

Alfred Hitchcock made me want to make movies for different reasons.

Wilder because The Apartment was so flawless, Allen because he gives

the Romantic Comedy a good name (Hannah and Her Sisters),and Hitchcock

because he reminds me that the camera can tell the story sometimes even

better than words can (like the scene in Notorious when the camera

follows the cup of coffeeup the stairs and we know there is arsenic

in it but Ingrid Bergman doesn't).

  

DS: You're writing Eloise in Paris right now with your father. I don't know

if my dad and I could work together, has it been fun for you?

HMS: It's been fun when it hasn't been an up at dawn, pride-swallowing siege.

That's a line from Jerry Maguire and I use it constantly amongst others...

I'm a little more selective with, "You complete me."

  

DS: Do you have any scripts you've written that you'd like to see made into a film?

HMS: Yes, but mostly I just have ideas, tons.

  

DS: If so when did you write them and what are they about?

HMS: I wrote a lot in high school and college but they were mostly about

the same thing. A girl's coming of age. I swear I'm nothing like her.

  

DS: What actor or actress would you really like to write for and why?

HMS: I would really like to write for Jason Schwartzman because I think

he delivers comedy right, and I would love to write for Jack Nicholson...

but I think that reason is self explanatory.

  

DS: Do you promise to move back to NY when you're done filming Eloise?

HMS: YES! There's nowhere I'd rather be.