On Feb. 1, 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated as it re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere, tragically taking the lives of all seven astronauts on board. Among those who never returned home were Israeli Air Force Col. Ilan Ramon — Israel’s first and only astronaut — and a miniature Torah dating back to the Holocaust.
This has been a good year for filmmaker Ira Sachs. His new feature, \”Keep the Lights On,\” received a nomination for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and won the prestigious Teddy Award at the Berlin International Film Festival. And while the intensely personal, autobiographical film centers on a tumultuous love affair between two men, Sachs believes audiences will relate to the human experience of relationships shared by all couples.
\”I remember at an early age being told in school that Jews were a minority in the world,\” filmmaker Azazel Jacobs mused. \”And I remember just not believing that because I lived in New York City and thinking they must have things wrong because I was surrounded by so many Jews. That was the whole world to me.\”
For Safdie, filmmaking is an extended family affair. His brother Benny, whose own short film was screened at Cannes, is part of the merry band of movie makers at Redbucket Films, which Sadie describes as \”kind of like a tree house for kids who wanna grow old together.\”
When writer/director Morgan Spurlock (\”Super Size Me\”) discovered he was going to become a father two years ago, he was concerned about the tumultuous state of the world into which his child was being born. Spurlock\’s wish was to give his child a safer and more harmonious place to live. So, after a crash course in combat survival, the filmmaker set off on a journey through the Middle East to find the one man who has shaped the world\’s perception of that region in recent years: Osama bin Laden. The results of that quest are documented in his new film, \”Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?\”
\”I have a strong kinship with Abbie Hoffman,\” admitted Brett Morgen, writer and director of the semidocumentary film, \”Chicago 10.\” \”I haven\’t seen anyone in my lifetime that spoke to me the way he did.\” It was during the 1969 Chicago conspiracy trial that Hoffman and his co-defendants were dubbed \”The Chicago 8.\” The radical group also included Yippie co-founder Jerry Rubin and Tom Hayden, a future California assemblyman and state senator. While researching his film, Morgen found an interview with Rubin that said they should be called the Chicago 10 because their lawyers, William Kunstler and Leonard Weinglass, were charged and sentenced for contempt. Taking his cue from Rubin, Morgen named his film \”Chicago 10.\”
Gary David Goldberg did not set out to be a screenwriter. He was already 30 when a teacher at San Diego State University guided him toward the profession. That fateful nudge set Goldberg on his path to becoming a successful writer/producer and director of a string of films and television shows that include \”Spin City,\” \”Brooklyn Bridge\” and the phenomenally popular sitcom, \”Family Ties.\”
When Jason Reitman decided to become a filmmaker, he was not only following the path of his father, producer-director Ivan Reitman, but that of his heritage as well.
\”I think Jewish people are great storytellers,\” the 30 year-old film director said. \”Celebrating our heritage and our holidays has so much to do to with storytelling. We\’ve survived so long, partly on our ability to tell stories. I love to make people laugh, and I\’ve always had an attraction to telling stories.\”
The Rat Pack\’s impromptu shows, an intoxicating hi-ball of songs, dance, jokes and alcohol, are part of Vegas legend. Now, more than 40 years later, Angelenos will have the chance to experience a dead-on recreation of those legendary nights, at the Los Angeles premiere of \”The Rat Pack — Live at the Sands\” at the Wilshire Theatre Beverly Hills.
Tamara Jenkins knows firsthand what an overwhelming task it is to care for a parent suffering from dementia. While she was in her mid-30s, she had to help care for both her father and grandmother during their final days in a nursing home. She also knows that no matter how grave a situation might be, there are always sparks of humor surrounding it. So it\’s no surprise that her new film, \”The Savages,\” addresses that very subject and does so with a healthy dose of comic perspective.
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