Film

Financier

Producer Gary Gilbert brings a sneak
preview - of his first movie home
to benefit JARC

Gary Gilbert,
left, on the set of
"Garden State,"
with Natalie
Portman, right.

BILL CARROLL

Special to the Jewish News

191

ormer West Bloomfield resident Gary
Gilbert worked in the mortgage business
for many years with his older brother,
Dan, chairman and president of Quicken
Loans Inc. and Rock Financial. But five years ago,
Gary Gilbert got about as far away from the mort-
gage business as he could get.
Now a resident of New York City and an inde-
pendent film producer, he's already achieving suc-
cess, producing his first movie in collaboration with
industry bigwigs Miramax Films,. the Fox
Searchlight Division of 20th Century Fox Studios
and actor Danny DeVito's Jersey Films. He's also
working on three more films, with Disney and
other studios.
Gilbert's first big venture, the much-buzzed about
Garden State, made its highly acclaimed debut at this
year's Sundance Film Festival and will be released
nationwide July 30.
But Gilbert is giving the Detroit-area Jewish corn-

munity a sneak pre-
view of Garden State as a fundraiser
for JARC, the local nonprofit group that provides
housing and services to developmentally diabled
members of the Jewish community. The producer's
brother, Dan, of Franklin, is current JARC president,
and their uncle lives in a JARC home.
Presented by the JARC Young Adult Committee,
Garden State will be shown Saturday, May 15, in
two auditoriums of Birmingham's Uptown
Palladium 12 to support the Young Adult Build for
the Future Fund, part of JARC's capital - campaign.
Co-chairs for the May 15 event are Birmingham
residents Stephanie Jacobson and Ron Applebaum.

Making The Movie

Garden State (the nickname .of New Jersey, where the •
movie was filmed) is the story of a young man who is
reunited with his estranged family and friends when

he returns home — after .a
10-year absence — for his mother's funeral.
Starring in the film are Jewish actors Natalie Portman
and Zach Braff; the latter also wrote and directed the
film. They will attend the May 15 screening and
answer questions at an afterglow.
"I was really thrilled when a well-known producer
like Harvey Weinstein of Miramax called me to collab-
orate in making the film," said Gilbert. "We showed it •
at Sundance, and the audience, including many distrib-
utors, seem to laugh and cry at the right places. They
even gave it a standing ovation at the end."
Gilbert doubled his investment on Garden
State, putting up $2.5 million to make the film

FILM FINANCIER on page 44

5/ 7

2004

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