November 6, 2009

“The Little Traitor,” a feature film starring client Alfred Molina, has just opened in L.A. It is based on the Amos Oz novel “The Panther in the Basement,” which has long been a favorite of mine and Fred Molina. So much so, that we tried to buy it a few years ago when we had a deal as producers at Sony Pictures.

To our chagrin, the movie rights had already been optioned by Monte and Marilyn Hall whom had engaged screenwriter/director Lynn Roth to co-produce, write and direct. As luck, or “Divine Providence” would have it, Lynn is a friend of mine and fellow Board Member of the Morningstar Commission and was running a program for the Jewish Federation in Tel Aviv. Before you could say “Divine Providence,” Mr. Molina was in costume, shooting the movie in Israel and loving every second of his time in Israel accompanied by his wife actor/writer Jill Molina.

Go see this movie, and while you’re at it go see Mr. Molina in “An Education.” 

I am kvelling for him.

Joan Hyler is one of the entertainment industry’s most highly regarded executives—and one of the nicest individuals you will ever meet!

Joan created and operates Hyler Management, a boutique talent management and production company. Prior to establishing her own company, for two illustrious decades she was a talent agent and Senior Vice President of the William Morris Agency and International Creative Management. As an agent she represented icons including Andy Warhol, Madonna, Meryl Streep, Bob Dylan and Peter O’Toole. In addition, she was involved with many ground-breaking talents, and was known for developing as well as redefining such careers as Karen Allen (Raiders of the Lost Ark), Candice Bergen (Murphy Brown), Ricki Lake (The Ricki Lake Show) and Oscar nominee Diane Lane with whom Joan has been involved since her first feature film, A Little Romance, in l979.

As a manager and producer Joan Hyler continues to represent gold standard actors, many of whom have been nominated for or have won Oscars, Tony Awards, Golden Globes and Emmys, and include: Alfred Molina, Amber Tamblyn, Rutger Hauer and Diane Lane. As a producer, Joan co-produced the CBS TV series Ladies Man, with client Alfred Molina; the Miramax feature documentary Get Bruce, which starred writer/performer client Bruce Vilanch; and the feature film Precious Find, starring client Rutger Hauer. She also produced the off-Broadway one-man show Almost Famous.

With great appreciation for her many successes, Joan wanted to “pay it forward” and spearheaded the leadership of several non-profit organizations including the Morning Star Commission, which was originally founded by Hadassah to advocate for a healthier diversity of portrayals of Jewish women in the media and entertainment industry; the National Foundation of Jewish Culture’s Entertainment Council; and the Outreach Program for the Women in Film Foundation, where Joan served as President.

In addition, Joan has played a significant role in the affairs of the entertainment and communications industries and takes pride in sharing her knowledge and experience. She has been teaching for several years at USC where she created a course in representation for their Graduate Program, and has also been a Visiting Professor at Tel Aviv University, UCLA, and several other national and international institutions.

Is talking to God a prerequisite for being a Jewish leader?  If so Adam would have been the first Jewish leader; but he was not.  Is being a tzadik, a righteous person a prerequisite for Jewish leadership?  If so Noah would have been first Jewish leader; but he was not.  It is Abraham in our Torah portion this week who is the first Jewish leader.  Abraham is a very contradictory figure.  He has two very different experiences and reactions in this week’s portion.

God tells Abraham that He is going to destroy the city of Sodom and Abraham argues with God.  Perhaps there are 50 righteous people in Sodom?  Maybe 40? maybe 30?  Will the Judge of the universe not do justice?  In the end of course it turns out that there aren’t even 10 righteous people.  Abraham brings Lot his nephew, the one righteous person out of Sodom.

Here we see Abraham fighting for the world and even questioning God, showing justice to the world.  Being a blessing to the nations, teaching them justice as God commanded him to.  On the other hand, just a few paragraphs later, Abram is told by God to “take your only son and bring him up as a burnt offering.”  What does Abraham say?  Nothing! Abraham is the dutiful servant of God, spiritually turned it to the Divine and God’s command.  Abraham is both very outwardly directed, concerned about the welfare of the world and its nitty gritty, and about being a blessing unto the nations and teaching them justice, about feeding he hungry, saving the people of Sodom and welcoming the stranger yet at the same time Abraham lives a profound spiritual life completely tuned into God, completely dutiful, so much so that he is willing to sacrifice his only son when God says to.

In Moses we see the same thing.  He concerns himself with the welfare of the people, getting them food and water, rebuking them, deciding cases of justice between them.  He is the leader of the Jews and must concern himself with the structure of the people, the nitty gritty of taking them through the desert.  The same Moses goes up on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights, does not eat or drink for those full 40 days and descends the mountain on such a high spiritual level that he has to wear a veil to protect the people from the the light rays which emerge from him.

The same is true of Rabbis and Jewish leaders today.  The rabbi might have to change the light bulbs in the shul, make peace among congregants, feed the hungry, cloth the naked and council the downtrodden.  At the same time we must cultivate a deep, dutiful and elevated spiritual life and relationship to the Divine.  It is from that spiritual place that our ability to be a blessing to the nations, to take care of the Jewish people and the world must emerge.