Arts & Entertainment
Actor Jonathan Groff plays
a character named Jeff in
Twelve Thirty.
Mother-Daughter Drama
Filmmaker introduces his film Twelve Thirty
at the Detroit Film Theatre.
Suzanne Chessler
Special to the Jewish News
I
ndependent filmmaker Jeff Lipsky
drafts his scripts using his own first
name for one of the main characters.
After the script is finished, the character
usually is no longer known as Jeff.
That's not
what happened
with Lipsky's
fourth film,
Twelve Thirty,
a mother-
daughter drama
being screened
Filmmaker Jeff Lipsky March 25-27
and April 1-3 at
the Detroit Film Theatre.
"I'd never had a character named Jeff
in my earlier films so I decided to leave
the name alone," says Lipsky, 57, who will
introduce the March 25 presentation and
answer questions after that viewing. "The
scene in which Jeff loses his virginity is
the only autobiographical scene in the
movie."
Jeff enters the dysfunctional world of
the Langley household, which includes
Vivien (Karen Young), the mother; Mel
(Portia Reiners), a 19-year-old mirror of
her mother; and Maura (Mamie Gummer,
real-life daughter of Meryl Streep), a
v iar I Nate Bloom
mat Special to the Jewish News
Kosher Wimpy
Opening on Friday, March 25, is the
teen-oriented animated/live action
film Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick
Rules, a sequel to Diary of a Wimpy
Kid, which came out last year and was
a surprise box-office hit. Both films
are based on best-selling novels by
Jeff Kinney.
As the sequel
begins, main char-
acter Greg Heffley
is now in seventh
grade and trying to
deal with his parents'
misguided attempts
to have him and
Zachary
his older brother,
Gordon
Rodrick, bond.
40
March 24 2011
22-year-old daughter with feelings of
alienation. Playing Jeff is Jonathan Groff,
who originated the role of Melchior Gabor
in Spring Awakening on Broadway and
starred as Jesse St. James (star of New
Directions' rival choir Vocal Adrenaline)
on the musical TV series Glee.
Jeff's romantic interest in Mel affects the
course of family relationships that include
the distanced father (Reed Birney).
Lipsky, who visited Detroit for the
screening of Flannel Pajamas, a film based
on his failed marriage, also has been in
town to distribute others' independent
films, the longtime focus of his profes-
sional life.
The Jewish writer-director talked about
his work with the Detroit Jewish News:
JN: How do you describe your film?
JL: It's an honest portrayal of characters
engaging in my three central and common
themes, which are family, love and sexu-
ality. There is a series of extraordinary
events taking place inside of a week.
JN: What motivated the movie?
JL: Two films motivated the creation of
the story. One was a 1980 Russian movie,
Adam's Rib, a comedy about three genera-
tions of Russian women living under the
same roof in Moscow. The other was The
Graduate.
Zachary Gordon, who just turned 13,
played Greg in the original and repris-
es his role in the sequel. Gordon, who
has a big list of TV and film credits
(starting when he was 8) was recently
interviewed by Babaganewz, a website
for Jewish kids.
He was born and raised in Southern
California. When asked what sort
of Jewish background he has, he
said: "My family and I keep kosher.
We always have. When we were in
Vancouver both times (filming Wimpy
Kid and Rodrick Rules), we went to a
synagogue on the weekends and for
Yom Kippur. I go to a Jewish summer
[sleepover] camp in Malibu called Hess
Kramer Camp. I do a lot of fun things
there. We say prayers every day. We
celebrate Shabbat and sing songs."
About bar mitzvah plans, he said:
"The rabbi is helping us plan my bar
JN: How do the women in the film relate
to the women in your own life?
JL: I admire, am fascinated by and respect
the women in my life who have very strong
voices and are very strong-willed, confident
and willing to allow their partners, friends
and relatives to have their own identities.
That's certainly what Vivien and Mel have
in common. In the case of Maura, I know
women who surrounded themselves, as she
does, with other young women perceived as
inferior because of dealing with self-image
problems.
JN: How does filmmaking compare to film
distribution?
JL: I love film distribution. It's how I've
made money my whole life. It was my
film school, especially in my years work-
ing for John Cassavetes and being his
friend. That said, I wanted to make films
since I was 10 years old, and nothing has
been comparable. There is nothing like
being a writer-director surrounded by
creative collaborators to contribute to my
vision.
JN: Does anything in general stand out
about your cast?
JL: I was able to find outstanding actors
who are age-appropriate.
JN: What do you want to cover in your
talk?
JL: I plan to have a guided discussion
about themes, commonalities with my
other films and influences. Maybe I can
find someone to finance the next movie.
JN: What's the next movie about?
JL: The next film is about an astrophysi-
cist. Even if the focus of a film is not a
professional focus, it's always part of the
backdrop of who the characters are since
what we do professionally occupies most
of our waking hours. Coming up with
careers forces me to do research in fields I
have known nothing about.
Twelve Thirty will be shown at the Detroit Film Theatre in the Detroit Institute
of Arts 7 p.m. Friday-Saturday March 25-26; 2 p.m. Sunday, March 27; 9:30 p.m.
Friday-Saturday, April 1-2; and 4 p.m. Sunday, April 3. Filmmaker Jeff Lipsky
introduces the film and answers questions for the March 25 performance.
$6.50-$7.50. (313) 833-7900; www.dia.org .
mitzvah now. It will probably be later
this year. I'm going to have a big party.
And my brothers have given me some
advice about preparing for the Haftarah:
'Relax and have fun with it. It will prob-
ably go by faster than you think."'
Mildred Pierce Returns
The 1945 film Mildred Pierce, with
Joan Crawford in the title role, was
a huge hit. Pierce is forced to be her
family's breadwinner and support her
two young daughters after her mar-
riage to her chronically unemployed
husband ends in divorce. A murder
opens the film, and the story of Pierce
and her family unfolds in flashback.
The original was brilliantly paced by
director Michael Curtiz of Casablanca
fame. Mildred Pierce stands alone
as almost the only film of its era in
which the heroine was both a divor-
cee and a businesswoman.
HBO has remade Mildred Pierce in
a five-part minise-
ries that begins on
Sunday, March 27, and
runs each successive
Sunday through April
10. Kate Winslet stars
as Pierce.
Mare Winningham,
51, plays Mildred's
Mare
aide, Ida. Playing
Winningham
her oldest daughter
Veda is Evan Rachel
Wood, 23. The tal-
ented cast includes
recent Oscar-winner
Melissa Leo. (If you
don't get HBO; note
that the series will be
released on DVD by
Evan Rachel
year's end). I I
Wood