Terms of Endearment is a 1983 comedy-drama film adapted from the novel of the same name by Larry McMurtry; directed; written; and produced by James L. Brooks and starring Shirley MacLaine; Debra Winger; Jack Nicholson; Danny DeVito; Jeff Daniels; and John Lithgow. The film covers 30 years of the relationship between Aurora Greenway (MacLaine) and her daughter Emma (Winger).