I

JILL DAVIDSON SKLAR

Special to The Jewish News

t comes as no surprise to
those who know Jody
Podolsky that, at age 27,
she has written, directed
and co-produced her first feature-
length film.
f course, all of this comes
after completing a degree at the
film school of the University of
Southern California (USC), hold-
ing a job as an assistant to a liter-
ary agent at Creative Artists
Agency (CAA) and being named
vice president of Alphaville, the
company responsible for films
such as Mall Rats and Michael.
"People say there is no one like
her, and that is the bottom line,"
said her mother, Meryl Podolsky.
"She is intensely driven and
Co producers Darren Gold and Jody Podolsky consult on the set of All of It.
always has been, even when she
was a baby."
The third of four children born to
Meryl and Terry Podolsky, Jody
showed an interest in writing as a
child, filling journal after journal with
her daily experiences and reflections.
By the time she made it to
Cranbrook-Kingswood Upper School,
she was already well versed in script
writing, said her former English
teacher and now dean of faculty at the
Bloomfield Hills school, Charlie Shaw.
"[But] she kept turning in these
ghastly adaptations of the actual
assignment, a script that was her take
on the assignment," he recalled. "I
finally asked, 'Is this some kind of
therapy, or is this something you really
want to use?'" Shaw learned to give
the budding writer lots of room.
Podolsky said she was profoundly
influenced by Yentl, a film about a
"Jews are the other, women are. the
series of jobs, including the position at
young woman who at the turn of the
other,
artists are the other," she con-
CAA and with Alphaville, all of which
century passionately wants to learn
tinued.
"I feel akin to all of these."
prepared her for writing, directing and
Torah and must disguise herself as a
Following
the post-production por-
producing All of It.
man to do so.
tion of the film and its anticipated
Podolsky
said
she
drew
on
some
She began to demonstrate what has
1998 release, Podolsky said she plans
personal experience to write the script
become an almost trademark unwill-
to continue in the film industry.
but
that
neither
of
the
two
female
lead
ingness to give in to any kind of
roles is autobiographical.
female passivity or preconception
arren Gold turned in a life
"I didn't sit down to write my life
about the role of women in society.
with
reptiles for a career in
story;" she said. "There were precon-
"It has always been an issue for her
film.
.
ceptions when I was growing up. I
that girls limit themselves," Meryl
An avid fan of the reptile
didn't
defer
to
the
preconceptions,
but
Podolsky said.
kingdom, Gold collected a wide vari-
they were there."
At USC film school, Podolsky
ety of amphibious and reptilian
She
also
noted
that
she
related
became so ensconced in a film writing
species in his parents' Bloomfield Hills
strongly
to
the
Jewishness
of
the
char-
class that she stopped going to all of
home, occasionally hunting the crea-
acters.
her other classes. With six weeks to go
tures down when they escaped their
"I dig that I am Jewish," she said.
until the end of the semester, her par-
cages.
"Ours is a history of questioning and
ents convinced her to return to her
But the lure of the stage and then
of speaking out and standing up for
neglected studies to pass those courses.
behind-the-scenes
production work
the other."
She finished school and then took a

OD

The Producers

Jody Podolsky and Darren Gold
followed a similar path: from
Cranbrook-Kingswood to USC's film
school. Now, the duo are making
their very own movie.

D

11/14
1997

86

Li overcame his early intentions of
becoming a zoologist.
"I was glad to see him go into
film production," said his father,
0
Gold. "It was scary when
one of those snakes would get
loose in the house.
Now 27, Gold is deep into
the post-production phase of AI-13
Of/t, his first major foray into
production work following the
completion of a master's degree
from the film school at USC.
Gold began his interest in show
business during his years at
Cranbrook-Kingswood Upper
School, from which he graduat-
ed in 1988.
At first, he was an actor in
the school's many productions,
including the Pirates of Penzance
and Grease.
"I liked it, but it was tough
to focus on that one thing with-
out getting nervous," he said.
So he decided to try the production
aspect of the business. He found the
switch more fulfilling because he
could work on several different areas
at the same time.
"I am very task oriented. I can
focus on all of the different elements,"
he said.
Betsy Gold McDowall, Darren's
mom, said her son knew by the time
he was graduating from high school
that he wished to pursue film produc-
tion, and he carefully selected a pro-
gram at Boston University to do so.
"So many kids graduate and they
don't know what they are doing, but
Darren knew and worked hard to get
where he wanted to go," she said.
Gold credits his parents with allow-
ing him the freedom to search for the
right career fit.
"My parents have been really cool,"
he said. "They let me follow my
dream. I appreciate that."
Alanna Ubach, a lead actress in the
film, praises Gold's skills on the set.
She said he is kind and gentle when
things are hectic.
"He is always there for me, a con-
stant presence. I will miss him when
this is all over," she said.
Gold said he hopes to work on
other projects with Podolsky in the 0
future.
As for the animals, he hasn't forgot-
ten them. In his spare time, he works
as a naturalist docent in Topanga
Canyon near Los Angeles.
"Now it is more of a hobby," he
said. ❑