Posted on August 26, 2010 at 3:41 pm
Kanye West’s “Gold Digger” is re-fitted as an adorable salute to the soul-enlarging spiritual renewal of the Jewish New Year, to be celebrated on the evening of Sept 8 this year. Thanks to Slate’s Brow Beat for bringing it to my attention.
Posted on August 26, 2010 at 8:00 am
My friend and fellow critic Christian Toto has some good advice for anyone thinking of being a movie blogger. He knows what he’s talking about — he’s one of the best. I love his emphasis on focus and finding a unique take, especially his example. Who else has a list of actor comb-overs?
Posted on August 25, 2010 at 3:59 pm
Kevin Sorbo (Hercules
How did you become involved with this project?
Dallas Jenkins is a friend of mine. Our kids are the same ages and play together. He asked me to look at the script. I read it, fell in love with it immediately. He said, “I’m looking for the lead.” I said, “You’re looking at him! I’d love to do this, it’s awesome.” It came together very quickly and we were shooting in a month.
I loved your interaction with Kristy Swanson (“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”), who plays your wife.
We had a very good chemistry together. It was a good group of people and the crew was excellent. We shot it in three weeks. I wish we had had five or six. The economy is such a weapon it affects everything no matter what business you’re in right now and you have to make adjustments.
And yet I was very impressed with the quality of the production values in the film.
A lot of times in the past faith-based movies the acting, the script, the look were not all they could be. With the success of movies like “Facing Giants and “Fireproof” and especially “The Blind Side,” it’s opened up a whole new world, realizing that there’s a huge under-served market out there. The vast majority of the people in this country are people of faith. To ignore that and put out the stuff that Hollywood loves to put out — it’s kind of nice to see movies being made and I hope all the people who gripe about these kinds of movies not being made will go see this one, spread the word, and fill up the seats. We’re small, we’re independent, and we rely on word of mouth.
You have quite a character arc in the film and even the way you stand and move seems to change as your character starts to see and feel things differently.
It happened organically through the script. It was a natural slide to go from the cockiness and arrogance of the guy at the beginning, from the words on the page.
There’s a wonderful contrast between the two sermons your character has to deliver, one when he is really clueless and another when he is beginning to feel his connection to a calling.
And both were shot on the same day! They were just so funny, so well-written. The second one had a sense of humor to it, too. For me as an actor it was a huge workout. I’m in almost every scene in the movie. It was a challenge for me. I had to use some muscles I didn’t have to use before.
What roles do you enjoy most?
I get a lot of scripts. I started my own production company two years ago. There’s a lot of variety, thrillers, dramas, a mixture. Coming up I play a Scrooge type of character, a comedy, and then play the father of a young boy who has a brain tumor, a very touching heart-felt story, and then a period piece.
Tell me about your foundation.
It’s A World Fit for Kids. We support after-school programs to give kids the training, tools and support they need to achieve their goals and lead fit and fulfilling lives, and were recently recognized by Governor Schwarzenegger recognized us as a statewide model for preventing childhood obesity.
What do you want people to know about the film?
Everybody has a “what if” in their life. This will strike a chord. It could be a job, a relationship. We all have regrets about what we have done or shouldn’t have done. It’s a movie about forgiveness and redemption no matter where you are in your life.
There’s a lot of great laughs, a lot of moments to tug at your heartstrings. We had a premiere in Chicago with 3600 people and we turned 1000 away. At the end people gave us a standing ovation, applauding and crying. It’s a wonderful movie. And the whole family can see it.
Posted on August 25, 2010 at 1:00 pm
Congrats to all the smarties who know their JR movies!
1. One thing she can’t do is sing very well. What all-star movie had her try a sad love song? “Everyone Says I Love You”
2. Which of her movies was originally titled “$3000?” “Pretty Woman”
3. In which movie does she play a military officer with a child? “Valentine’s Day”
4. In which movie does she rehearse for playing a military officer with a child? “Notting Hill”
5. She is usually cast in contemporary roles. But in which movie did she play a 19th century housemaid? “Mary Reilly”
6. Name two movies where she played a movie star and one where she played a movie star’s sister. She was a movie star in “Notting Hill” and “Full Frontal” and a movie star’s sister in “America’s Sweethearts.”
7. In which movie did she describe her “signature colors?” “Steel Magnolias” and I think they were blush and bashful!
8. She played characters in which two movies based on classic children’s stories? “Charlotte’s Web” and “Hook”
9. In which movie was she kidnapped? “The Mexican” (by James Gandofini!)
10. In which two movies did she play a photographer? “Step-Mom” and “Closer”
Thanks for playing!
Posted on August 25, 2010 at 8:00 am
Gertrude Berg is described in this sympathetic and engaging documentary as an earlier version of Oprah. She wrote every word of over twelve thousand scripts. She played the lead role and oversaw every element of the programs on radio, in television, and in a feature film. She branched out to a line of clothing and a cookbook. She was the first “first lady of television” before Lucille Ball took the title. It is probably more due to Desi Arnaz’s three-camera system for making infinitely rerun-able tapes that has kept “I Love Lucy” in the forefront while shows of equal quality faded from the airwaves.
Aviva Kempner (The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg) has assembled archival footage and contemporary interviews to illuminate the life of this pioneering writer/actress/producer. The film may go too far in giving Berg credit for creating the sit-com, but it makes a convincing case for her stature and influence, even more impressive in light of the era’s bigotry and the restrictions on professional advancement for both Jews and women.
For many people, “The Goldbergs” was their first exposure to a non-stereotyped Jewish family. Among the film’s most affecting interviews are the comments from viewers who speak of what the show meant to them, including the daughter of a Holocaust survivor who says that since her mother had no family, they thought of the Goldbergs as their relatives, and from non-Jewish women who talk about how the series’ portrayal of family felt very much like their own experiences and cultures.
The saddest part of the film is the portion about Philip Loeb, who played Berg’s husband on the series until his name came up during the era of the blacklist. Berg showed great courage and integrity in fighting to keep him on the show and he showed great honor in insisting that the show go on without him. The tragic outcome is conveyed with great sympathy and feeling.
Kempner has a real gift for making these almost-forgotten lives fascinating and vital. Perhaps most important, the film made me sorry that the very intriguing clips from Berg’s television series didn’t go on longer. I’d like to spend more time with the Goldbergs.
