Hollywood Heavyweights Sneak In and Out of Israel

December 10, 2006 - 6:34 PM by Allison

I actually had wind of this visit through friends with connections to the Los Angeles Federation, but like every other media chatterer, was told that they weren’t going to talk to nobody about nothin’. I promised my source I’d keep mum, but now the news is out:

A group of A-list Hollywood filmmakers was in Israel last month on an unpublicized and under-the-radar visit aimed at familiarizing themselves with Israel and the local entertainment industry.

The group included Alexander Payne, writer and director of the Oscar-winning movie Sideways; Audrey Wells, who produced, directed and wrote the screenplay for the movie Under the Tuscan Sun; and Robert Weide, who won an Emmy in 2003 for Best Comedy Series Direction for Curb Your Enthusiasm. Other participants were Jon Turteltaub, director of National Treasure and While You Were Sleeping; his wife, Amy Turteltaub, a documentary filmmaker; Michael Tolkin, who wrote The Player; and David Lonner, co-head of the Motion Picture Department at the William Morris Agency.

Lonner, an agent who represents a number of top writers, producers and directors, first came up with the idea in a conversation with Edud Danoch, Israel’s consul general in Los Angeles. The trip was organized by the Los Angeles Jewish Federation, but it was not publicized because the filmmakers did not want press coverage

“These are significant people in the film industry,” Martin Karp, director of the Israel office of the Los Angeles Jewish Federation, said of last month?s delegation. “They are public opinion makers who are quintessential story tellers and it was a wonderful opportunity for them to understand Israel, meet Israelis, and get to know their colleagues in the film industry here.”.

Great that they came, kind of sad and disturbing that they needed to keep it a state secret.

Tags: • Category: Pop Culture 

Comments

2 Comments on Hollywood Heavyweights Sneak In and Out of Israel

  1. David on Sun, Dec 10th 2006 11:42 PM

    2. If they want to keep it a secret then its better that they do not visit at all. Israel does not need these people. They contribute nothing and after Steven Spielberg’s laughable movie “Munich” it demonstrates that they are of no use either in helping Israel.

  2. Robert on Mon, Jun 23rd 2008 8:47 AM

    3. To “David”:

    This is Robert Weide, one of the visiting directors mentioned in the article which I have only now discovered a year and a half later. I don’t know where all this nonsense about “secrecy” came from. There was nothing covert or secret about our visit. We were quite exposed, quite out in the open, met with and spoke to numerous Israelis from many walks of life. What may be mistaken for secrecy was the mere fact that we didn’t go out of our way to publicize our visit. And why should we? We were there to learn about the state of Israel, not to parade around like a bunch of celebrities or pose for meaningless photo opportunities. Any unneeded attention brought to us would have only been a distraction from our purpose, which was to learn about Israeli life, in ways that might inform our thinking, involve our colleagues, and influence our work. Most of us had our eyes opened in ways that could never be achieved through print, photos, or word of mouth.

    So don’t believe everything you read on the web. Someone hears about something from someone who hears about it from someone else, and from this you make a judgment? If you can’t be open minded to those who come to learn and offer support, so be it. But such missions will continue on behalf of the many people who graciously welcomed us to your beautiful and beleaguered nation.

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