‘When Harry Met Sally’ Director Reveals That the Film Originally Had a Sad Ending – The Hollywood Reporter

Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally

Columbia Pictures/Courtesy: The Everett Collection

When Harry Met Sally It almost had a completely different ending. (Spoilers ahead!)

During an interview with CNN’s Chris Wallace, the classic film’s director and co-writer Rob Reiner revealed that he and Nora Ephron’s script originally had a sad ending for Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan).

“The two were destined to see each other years later, talk and then walk away from each other,” Rainer told Wallace. “I’ve been married for 10 years. I’ve been single for 10 years, and I couldn’t figure out how to be with anyone, and that led to the birth of When Harry Met Sally“.

He continued: “I met my wife, Michelle, to whom I have been married for 35 years. “I met her while we were making the movie, and she changed the ending.” When Wallace asked if fans should thank Michelle for the tear-jerking ending, Reiner said: “That’s right.”

since When Harry Met Sally Released in 1989, the final moments of the film have gone down in romantic comedy history as some of the most iconic moments of all time.

Years into their relationship, Billy crashes Sally’s New Year’s Eve party and delivers an unforgettable monologue about how much he loves everything about her — from the wrinkles in her nose when she looks at him a certain way, to it taking her an hour and a half to order a sandwich.

“I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible,” he told her.

till this day, When Harry Met Sally It’s still a beloved rom-com, and Crystal believes it’s “because it’s the truth.”

“It’s a great movie, I have to say, because there’s no plot to it,” he said. Hollywood Reporter Celebrating the film’s 30th anniversary in 2019. The obstacle in this film is themselves.