She described it years later as a “boy-meets-dog story”.
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Even though Miz Mathison’s life was cut short, she had quite a few accomplishments to her name.
Mathison’s film credits also include “The Black Stallion” (1979), “The Escape Artist” (1982) and “The Indian in the Cupboard” (1995). They have two children together: Malcolm and Georgia. Her brother Drick confirmed.
Spielberg said on a special edition DVD commentary about Mathison’s script, “Melissa delivered this 107-page first draft to me and I read it in about an hour”. Mathison’s understanding of children was the backbone of the film. She lost out to John Briley’s “Gandhi” screenplay for the prize.
Mathison worked with Speilberg once more, writing the script for “The BFG”, an adaptation of a Roald Dahl novel, set for release on July 1, 2016.
She worked with the cream of the crop of producers and directors – including Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese and Frank Oz – and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for ET.
She also wrote Spielberg’s segment of Twilight Zone: The Movie before putting her burgeoning career on hold to marry Harrison Ford and raise their two children (the couple divorced in 2004). While researching the screenplay, Mathison befriended the Dalai Lama himself, which led to becoming an activist for Tibetan freedom and joining the board for the worldwide Campaign For Tibet.
“We weren’t your mainstream ’50s family”, she told the newspaper.
While Mathison never remarried after Ford, he is now married to actress Calista Flockhart.
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“I know she was married to a famous actor, Harrison Ford, but I will always remember her as being famous in her own right”.
