JRB: What’s the craziest thing you ever had to do at NEWSWEEK?

Nora Ephron: You know, they didn’t give you very much crazy to do there because they didn’t give you almost anything to do. I don’t think I remember ever being given almost anything to do at NEWSWEEK except to make sure whatever man I was checking the work of had gotten it right. But that was the whole problem—you didn’t get to do anything creative. You didn’t get to do anything but check other people’s work and clip newspapers and deliver mail. That was what it meant to be a girl then.

Do you think that culture still exists?

At some magazines, absolutely. But not at others … You know, in the movie business, I’m always surprised to find myself referred to as a “woman director,” instead of just a “director,” because I work the same hours and do exactly the same job that men do.

Do you think that will ever change?

Yes, no question. But I won’t be here!