Once a Rabbi, Always a Rabbi
My late wife Marion and I worked together the way every director and film editor should—inside each other's heads. From our very first meeting, I was struck by Marion’s vast knowledge of literature, art and film and I thought…maybe we could work together. Marion invited me to a screening of “Badlands" the first film she edited and I was overwhelmed. She introduced me to the executive producer, Max Palevsky and the director, Terrence Malick. They raved about Marion and what it
By the Rivers of Babylon
One of the songs I remember from filming Sunsplash in Jamaica is Jimmy Cliff's "By the Rivers of Babylon." You can see how I as a Jew—painfully aware of the brutality of the galut, the exile/diaspora—could relate to longings of these people that were captured in their homes and carried off to become slaves in a strange land.
You'll Never Lose the Light
I was introduced to Jamaica by Glynn Turman, an award-winning actor and one of my oldest and dearest friends. We made our first film together in Sweden in 1970. Glynn was the lead actor and I directed. That film was titled A.W.O.L. and it set both our careers in motion. Some years later, Glynn was approached by investors with ties in Jamaica to shoot a film there. He and I went to scout the Island and it turned into one of the most amazing, confusing and highly spiritual expe
Books and Serendipity
I recently received this lovely note from my friend, Gina Jennings. The serendipity of her experience made me smile. -- Herb Woke up. Pulled out four books to possibly start or continue reading... The first book is a primer on how to be, and remain, happily married, Staying Married... and Loving It. Odd reading for a single girl. …Just planning ahead. The second book, a personal favorite, Why Worry? is a Buddhist book filled with all the real and valid reasons of why not to w
Dancing to the Tune of the Cuban Bolero
Many years ago I made a film on the beautiful island of Puerto Rico. The work was challenging, but come the weekend there was never the possibility of overtime. It was DANCING TIME. My director of photography was Cuban and he explained to me why nothing, not even the shot we might miss because of the late hour, could take place once it was officially the weekend—which among Cubans meant dancing time. My wife Marion and I loved to dance and the shoot was so full of problems of
