Arts & Entertainment 2.00 OFF RIBS OR BBQ CHICKEN FOR TWO All dinrwrs incluJ, salad or coleslaw, potatoes ;LnJ v.,trlic bread. Exp. 2/10/09 Love Story P5,- b TV movie is based on ancient Jewish marriage law. 24234 Orchard Lake Rd., N.E. corner of 10 Mile • 476-1377 Open 7 Days a week for lunch & dinner ItaiMIIIIIIN111111111.11111111MER- : f • Catering available at all locations • Coupons are for all locations Receive 10 % 0f€ Total Bill including Hercules Family Not valid with Specials. Not valid with any other offers. With coupon. Expires 2/28/09 Restaurant at 12 Mile & Farmington Visit us at www.leosconeyisland.com Japanese Restaurant Ph: 248-737-4408 Fax: 248-737-5032 • Catering and Carry-out Available • Gift Certificates Available 4 4157 Orchard Lake Road, Orchard Lake, MI 48323 10% OFF Total Bill N Business Hours: Mon-Sat 11:30am - 10:00pm Sunday 4:30 - 9:00pm • (with ad only) 1/22/09 through 2/4/09 Orchard Lake Road Pontiac Trail Lone Pine (17 mile) " Grape Leaves have brought much neighborhood satisfaction" - Danny Raskin MIDDLE-EASTERN CUISINE & RAW JUICES Exquisite Le anese Cuisi .......... 1 0% OFF coupon only. With MEI low no am Total Food Bill Not valid with any other offers. Dine-in only. Expires 2/10/09. Southfield location only Southfield 29181 Northwestern Hwy. at 12 Mile in Franklin Plaza 248-359-0000 B8 January 22 • 2009 Tro 2850 We 248-816 pie Carry Out/Cc:tering Open Daily for Lunch & Dinner! 1469070 AI time by a Jewish the- ater company in St. Louis. Because it had a cast of 11 characters, its prospects as a play were limited economi- cally, not ethnically. The proof of the pud- Lauren Ambrose and Adam Kaufman star ding: It was almost in Loving Leah. immediately optioned for film. "I saw it in a way like Moonstruck or Curt Schleier Special to the Jewish News Crossing Delancey," Goldstein says. "I didn't see it as a Jewish story. It's a love story; and for a love story, you have n Loving Leah, Leah Lever to have a great hook that brings them (Lauren Ambrose) is left a child- together. And the hook in this case was less widow in a Chasidic commu- that ancient Jewish law" nity. Her late husband Ben's estranged Goldstein wrote the screenplay and extremely secular family, brother and was close to going into produc- Jake (Adam Kaufman) and mother tion when the film studio that had Janice (Mercedes Ruehl), are clearly optioned it underwent a regime fish out of water when they attend his change. The new powers placed her funeral in Brooklyn. project in turnaround, the Hollywood Matters become worse when Jake is equivalent of Siberia. informed of an ancient Levirate law And there it lay until former TV that requires him to marry the child- talk show host and actress Ricki Lake less widow of his brother. saw a copy of the script and brought Initially, Jake and Leah decide to it to the Hallmark people, who loved participate in a halizah ceremony, it. While Goldstein had to make some which relieves Jake of the obligation. changes for television — some sex But guilt about his failed relationship scenes from the feature film version with Ben causes Jake to change his were taken out, some clothing was mind. He and Leah agree to a platonic added in — the religious aspects marriage arrangement. remained the same. "In fact, [the Wanting to escape the strict con- Hallmark people] were very respectful fines of her community, she moves of the Jewish stuff;' Goldstein says. into the second bedroom of Jake's Throughout the process, Goldstein apartment in Washington, D.C. He maintains she never sensed hesitancy continues his life as a successful among the Jews she worked with surgeon, dating a woman who keeps about moving forward with a project talking about a church wedding. But, that might hold an ancient tradition eventually, well ... you can fill in the up for ridicule. dots. "We were very specific about Leah's Screenwriter P'nenah Goldstein, who wrote the screenplay based on her beliefs. She didn't apologize for her religion. If you stand up and say, `This own play, was a little surprised when is what I believe, people respect you she heard the Hallmark Hall of Fame for that:' people were interested in her project. "I knew it could be made as a feature film, but for television?" Loving Leah airs 9 p.m. Sunday, Loving Leah began as a play that Jan. 25, on CBS. was successfully produced for a brief I SUSHI S • IMURi:\I Ha llmar k Ha ll o f Fame Brass Pointe P% a