Film director Nancy Meyers has paid tribute to her longtime friend and frequent collaborator Diane Keaton, who died on Saturday at the age of 79. Meyers described Keaton as “fearless” and “born to be a movie star.”
“The last 48 hours have not been easy, and it has been comforting to see everyone’s condolences for Diane. As a movie lover, my thoughts are with you all. We have lost a giant. An incredible actress who put herself on the line again and again to tell our stories,” Meyers wrote on Instagram. “As a woman, I lost a friend of almost 40 years. During those years, we shared so many truly memorable experiences that at times I felt like she was a sister. As a filmmaker, I lost a connection to an actress that I can only dream of.”
Meyers and Keaton first worked together in 1987’s Baby Boom, and later worked together again in the 1991 remake of Father of the Bride and its 1995 sequel. They reunited in the 2003 box office hit Something’s Gotta Give, which co-starred Jack Nicholson and Keanu Reeves.
“We all look for someone who really understands us, right? Well, in Diane’s case, I think we had that in each other. I always felt like she really understood me and I felt so safe in her hands that writing for her made me feel good. I knew how vulnerable she was,” Myers continued. “And I knew how hilarious she was. She could be funny, not just with conversation (she said every word exactly as written, but always managed to make it sound like she was improvising), not just sitting at the dinner table, but just walking into a room.”
Meyers also provided insight into Keaton’s acting process, highlighting a scene in Something’s Gotta Give in which her character cries while writing, saying, “She worked so hard, but for some reason her face fell apart. I ended up making it white. And I remember sometimes before a take I would do some sort of goofy circle and purposely throw myself off balance or spin things around where I needed to be relaxed so I could be in the moment.”
Meyers admitted he’s not alone in feeling a cinematic connection to Keaton’s long and memorable career, which includes Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather” and Woody Allen’s “Annie Hall,” “Love and Death” and “Manhattan.” Keaton won an Oscar for “Annie Hall,” and was nominated again for “Reds,” “Marvin’s Room,” and “Something’s Gotta Give.”
“But the truth is, Diane didn’t just ‘get me.’ I’ve seen her groundbreaking, epic work with Woody Allen millions of times, and I watch in awe her performance in Warren Beatty’s ‘Reds.’ Diane did the exact same thing for them, because that’s what she does. She goes deep. And I know that people who have worked with her…she made everything better.”
Meyers concluded her heartfelt eulogy by saying she will miss Keaton, who “changed my life.”
“Every setup, every day, every movie, I saw her give it her all. She was fearless and unlike anyone before her. She was born to be a movie star. Her laugh makes your day, and for me, knowing her and working with her changed my life,” she concluded. “Thank you, Dee. I’ll miss you forever.”
