A new study into Nora Ephron, the 'Queen of romantic comedy', explores her influence on 'male-genre' filmmaking.

Dr Sarah Louise Smyth, funded by the British Academy, is set to scrutinise Ephron's earlier works on thrillers and war films.

Obscure drafts of Silkwood (1983), potential unattributed additions to All the President’s Men (1976), and the differing renditions of unmade war film Higgins & Beech will all be subjects of analysis.

Dr Smyth became fascinated by Ephron due to the noticeable scarcity of academic examination on her works.

She said: "While there has been some growing interest in Hollywood filmmakers like Nancy Meyers and Amy Heckerling, there has been much less interest in Ephron."

Dr Smyth wants to shed light on Ephron's unexplored work on films like Silkwood, a left-leaning film about union politics starring Meryl Streep as union leader Karen Silkwood and Cher playing a gay woman.

Dr Smyth added: "This is a very interesting film because Ephron’s romantic comedies are generally seen as very conservative.

"And yet Silkwood demonstrates that Ephron was interested in exploring political and cultural issues."

This research will lay the foundation of Dr Smyth's forthcoming book, ReFocus: The Films of Nora Ephron, set to hit the shelves in 2026.