Melissa Mathison was an award-winning American film and TV screenwriter and a prominent activist for Tibetan freedom. Born in Los Angeles, she grew up in a happy home with her four siblings. Although she joined the University of California, Berkeley, she left without graduating when family friend and employer Francis Ford Coppola offered her a job as an assistant in some films of his, including ‘The Godfather, Part II’ (1974). It was his encouragement that led to her to write her first screenplay, for the film ‘The Black Stallion’ (1979), which led to more screenplays. Selective about her work, she has written screenplays for hits such as ‘E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial’ (1982) and ‘The BFG’ (2016), collaborating with Steven Spielberg. She died of neuroendocrine cancer on November 4, 2015, at the age of 65. Melissa Mathison was born Melissa Marie Mathison, on June 3, 1950, in Los Angeles, to Richard Randolph Mathison and Margaret (Pegeen) Jean Mathison (née Kieffer). Her father was the Los Angeles bureau chief of ‘Newsweek,’ and her mother was a food writer and a convenience-food entrepreneur. She had a happy childhood in Hollywood Hills and grew up with four siblings. In 1968, she graduated from Providence High School. She then joined theUniversity of California, Berkeley, deciding to major in political science. Mathison would babysit the children of Francis Ford Coppola, who was a family friend. Coppola offered her the opportunity to work for him as an assistant. She quit her studies to work for the films ‘The Godfather, Part II’ (1974), ‘The Conversation’ (1974), During her stint with Coppola, she was encouraged by him to write the screenplay for ‘The Black Stallion’ (1979), based on the novel of the same name. This caught the attention of Steven Spielberg, who approached her with a story, which eventually became the much-loved film ‘E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial’ (1982). She wrote the screenplay for the film in collaboration with Spielberg and won multiple awards and nominations for it. Mathison also wrote the screenplay for ‘The Escape Artist’ (1982), which was based on a book by David Wagoner and directed by Caleb Deschanel. She wrote the screenplay for the 1983 film ‘Twilight Zone: The Movie,’ which featured four famous directors directing four separate segments of horror and science-fiction adapted from classic stories. It was based on Rod Serling’s famous TV series. SOURCES · https://www.womensactivism.nyc