Bukharian Jews celebrating the holiday of Succos, Israel, 1900.
When I first came to Hollywood I was hired by a powerful producer to write a major motion picture. After contracts were signed, I sat down with the producer and his staff and we talked about the script. The producer suggested a specific date for delivery of the first draft.
“Sorry, that’s Rosh Hashanah.”
The producer sighed wearily and suggested another date.
“Um, sorry, that’s Yom Kippur.”
The producer gave another date.
“Succos, ” I said.
The producer said: “That’s what I get for hiring a Jew in early Autumn.”
“But Fred, you’re Jewish.”
“Yeah, but I don’t let it interfere with my work.”
“I’ll have the draft on time, Fred, just not on those specific dates. You have my word.”
But I understood that no matter how good a script I wrote — and I wrote a fine screenplay — the project was doomed because my relationship with this incredibly powerful producer was poisoned, and Hollywood is a business whose engine is relationships.
Anyhoo.
That’s just a long way of Seraphic Secret explaining that tonight begins the holiday of Succos and we will be offline until Wednesday. We hope our readers will, unlike Fred, understand.
We wish all our friends and relatives an inspirational and joyous Succos.
Ariel Chaim Avrech, ZT'L, May His Righteous Memory be a Blessing.
6 Comments
impressive. you walk the walk.
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And of course, a very good Yom Tov to you and yours, on this busiest of busy days!
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And was the relationship poisoned? And if yes, how did that play out?
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Kishke:
Fred viewed me as “the other.” And from that day onward was not well disposed towards anything I wrote. He replaced me with another writer as soon as my contract was up. The film was never made.
A good Yom Tov to you and yours.
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“The film was never made.”
Why do so many Hollywood stories I hear end with this dismal sentence?
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Setting up a picture is a career in and of itself. In the old days when studios were really in control this happened but not so much. Now it is more of a crap shoot.
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