JOE /\,.‘JE1 - 5

Let us bait an introductory hook.

mask, boots of Spanish leather — who
wouldn't look great? But Banderas,
who has long seemed on the verge of
American stardom, does more than
look great: He has a whale of a good
time, and makes it downright infec-
tious.
If Zorro II's evolution, under the
tutelage of Don Diego, from lowlife to
gentleman, from pratfalling buffoon
to swordsman and acrobat extraordi-
naire, seems overly swift and more
than a little far-fetched, well, come on
— it's a movie.
I could mention all kinds of story
and character flaws, and jarring liber-
ties taken with mid-19th-century Cal-
ifornia life and politics, but I'm trying

to keep in mind that the name of this
movie is The Mask of Zorro.
And how better to close than with
the theme song from the TV show?,
Don't be shy — you all know the
words: Zorro — the fox so cunning and

Special to The Jezuish News

illir as the legendary Zorro
Jewish?
Was he a swash-
buckler in Spanish
California by day and a reader of
Zohar by night?
While much of the lore about the
masked swordsman is swathed in
mystery, Zorro has an indisputable
Jewish connection.
Just ask John Gertz, president of
Berkeley, Calif.'s Zorro Productions,
which co-produced The Mask of

Zorro.
"It's quite obvious Zorro is very
Jewish," said Gertz, who is also the
president of California's Berkeley
Richmond Jewish Community Cen-
ter.
"His family has escaped to the far
reaches of the Spanish empire in Cal-
ifornia. He is interested in matters of
justice. He has a hidden identity. He
is clearly a Marrano. He is definitely
Jewish and ready to come out of the
closet."
The black-garbed swordsman has
been intriguing filmgoers for several
generations. He made his debut in a
silent film in 1920. In 1957, Disney
revived the character in a popular
TV series that spawned Zorro acces-
sories and a song by the Chordettes.
Zorro Productions, which owns all
copyrights to Zorro, was launched in
the late '60s.

Joshua Schuster writes for the Bul-

0 /0

free! Zorro — who makes the sign of the
Z7 Zorro! Zorro! Zorro!
Rated PG-13.

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Before The Mask of Zorro, the
character most recently reappeared in
movies in the 1982 spoof, Zorro, the

Gay Blade.
Gertz got involved in the business
to support himself while in graduate
school. He decided to leave his stud-
ies in biology to expand the compa-
ny into further TV and film oppor-
tunities.
Gertz developed the concept for
the new Zorro movie in his Berke-
ley office. "My twin sister wrote the
first script. We then came up with a
list of the 19 most important Hol-
lywood executives. We set up an
auction for the script and 18 scripts
were picked up," Gertz said.
It turns out the one person who
did not pick up the script then was
Steven Spielberg. But once he found
out about the movie, he was very
interested and ended up choosing to
fund the movie.
"When he grew up, he loved
Zorro," Gertz remarked. "He said as
a 12-year-old kid, Zorro played
around the corner. Those old Zorro
movies taught him how to film
cliffhangers, and some of the Indiana
Jones stunts are from those Zorro
movies."
The production of the movie
began in 1991 and originally had
cast the late Raoul Julia and Andy
Garcia in the lead roles. Gertz's team
continued to work on the "high-end
creative side," making changes on
plot and story structure, and coordi-
nating merchandising around the
movie. 0

letin of Northern California.

V,.

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Detroit Jewish News