"nora ephron" news and stories

Meryl Streep as Julia Child. Photo: Sony Pictures Entertainment

One of the brightest stars of the new film "Julie and Julia" gets no billing. Yup, you foodies have probably guessed that the dishes in this culinary melding of Julie Powell's "Julie and Julia" and Julia Child's "My Life in France" are the pieces de resistance.

A group of very giddy foodies gathered Thursday in New York to get a first glimpse of the film -- which opens Aug. 7, 2009 -- and chat with the film's director, Nora Ephron, about how she recreated the dishes that made America's French Chef famous.

"This is just a celebration of food, which is a thing that changes both of these women's lives," Ephron says. "It's about joy -- and the joy of food, and the joy of cooking."

Some of the dishes in the film and exclusive photos after the jump.

Yup, it's true. Oscar-winning actress Meryl Streep is going to play the famous chef in the film adaptation of Julie Powell's bestseller Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen (retitled Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously for the paperback on the right).

The film is going to be written and directed by Nora Ephron, who sometimes gets unfairly put down by film fans. Not only is she a really good essayist, all of her films are enjoyable (haven't seen Bewitched...). I particularly liked You've Got Mail.

If you haven't read the book yet, it started as a blog by Powell, who decided to take Childs' book Mastering The Art Of French Cooking and makie every recipe in her small kitchen.