20 facts you might not know about 'You've Got Mail'

You’ve Got Mail was inspired by a 1937 play called “Parfumerie.” Obviously, that one didn’t have email in it. That play has been adapted into a few films, including 1940’s The Shop Around the Corner and 1949’s In the Good Old Summertime.

Nora Ephron did not hide the inspiration for You’ve Got Mail . The bookstore that Meg Ryan’s Kathleen Kelly runs is called “The Shop Around the Corner,” just like the 1940 movie.

You’ve Got Mail  is the third romantic comedy to pair Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. They also starred together in Joe Versus the Volcano and Sleepless in Seattle. The latter of those two films was also directed by Ephron, making this a reunion for both stars and director.

Nora Ephron directed, but she got some help with the screenplay. She co-wrote the film with her sister, Delia. The sisters often worked together. They collaborated on the scripts for Mixed Nuts and Michael before You’ve Got Mail.

“Parfumerie” inspired the story for You’ve Got Mail, but there was another, even older influence. That would be Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Hanks’ Joe and Ryan’s Kathleen discuss Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet from that book.

Michael Palin, of Monty Python fame, originally appeared in several scenes in the film. However, his subplot was cut out entirely, and every single one of Palin’s scenes was deleted.

Ephron wanted her stars to really get into the groove for their roles. This included a lot of rehearsing and doing some hands-on work. Ryan and Hanks worked for a week in a bookstore to get into character for the movie.

When Joe closes the door at Kathleen’s bookstore while carrying balloons and a goldfish, Hanks ad-libbed the line, “Good thing it wasn’t the fish.” Ephron liked the moment and decided to keep it in the movie.

Hey, a movie about the internet has to have a website, right? Even though You’ve Got Mail came out in 1998, the film had a website, which included all of Joe and Kathleen’s emails to each other. The website stayed up until 2018.

It was plausible to not have a home computer in 1998, as strange as that seems now. This was true even if you were a movie star. Ryan reportedly got her first computer while working on You’ve Got Mail.

Frank, the writer played by Greg Kinnear, collects typewriters. You might think that would have been something that Joe did instead. Hanks is a fairly famous collector of typewriters himself.

Zabar’s, a Jewish “appetizing store,” has been referenced countless times in movies and TV shows set in New York City. However, Ephron used her, and probably her stars', cache to make history. You’ve Got Mail is the first movie to actually shoot in Zabar’s.

Sara Ramirez, who plays Rose the cashier, made their onscreen acting debut in You’ve Got Mail. They have had success in film and television since then, including the beloved role of Dr. Callie Torres on Grey's Anatomy. 

Most recently, Ramirez stars as the controversial character Che in HBO Max's Sex and the City reboot And Just Like That... On stage, Ramirez has really shined. In 2005, Ramirez won a Tony for their work in Spamalot.

You’ve Got Mail ends with the music cue of “Over the Rainbow.” Previously, Ephron used the iconic song in Sleepless in Seattle. Of course, the most famous version of “Over the Rainbow” was sung by Judy Garland, who starred in In the Good Old Summertime.

Purportedly, Chappelle had been offered the role of Bubba in Forrest Gump, but he turned it down. That movie, of course, went on to be a massive success and a Best Picture winner. Hanks kept Chappelle in mind, though, and is the one who suggested the standup play his friend Kevin in You’ve Got Mail.

Ephron found the perfect spot to serve as Kathleen’s bookstore. It was an actual store in New York City, but it was an antique shop. The director loved the look and feel of the store, so she sent the shop’s owner on a three-week vacation. During that time, the production turned the store into the bookstore you see in the film. Once they were done shooting, they put everything in the antique shop back as it was.

Jean Stapleton plays a character named Birdie Conrad. This is a flip of the name of a character you may know from Broadway or film. Conrad Birdie is the name of the lead character in Bye Bye Birdie.

Burns plays Christina, Kathleen’s employee at The Shop Around the Corner. Apparently, she took the experience to heart. Since acting in You’ve Got Mail, Burns has become a real-life advocate for independent bookstores.

The movie takes its title from what America Online would use to let you know that you had an email. AOL allowed Ephron’s film to make use of its product. Of course, that was big-time product placement for them. 

A lot of people were not happy with the egregious, blatant product placement for AOL. Rolling Stone even included You’ve Got Mail on its list of the “Most Egregious Product Placements in Movie & TV History.”

Back in the day, romantic comedies could dominate at the box office. You’ve Got Mail debuted as the No. 1 movie at the box office. It would make $115.8 million domestically and $135 million internationally.