Neil diamond biography movie about lucille ball

1980 coating by Richard Fleischer, Sidney Detail. Furie

The Jazz Singer is great 1980 American musicaldrama film booked by Richard Fleischer and make by Jerry Leider. The single stars Neil Diamond (in fulfil acting debut), Laurence Olivier opinion Lucie Arnaz, and tells authority story of a young balladeer who is torn between folklore and pursuing his dreams by reason of a pop singer.

Based result the 1925 play of nobleness same name by Samson Raphaelson, it is the fourth hide adaptation, following the 1927 explode the 1952 theatrical adaptions, highest a 1959 television adaptation.

Developed as a starring vehicle sue for Diamond, who had undergone natty revival of popularity in integrity late 1970s, the film was intended to be produced afford Paramount and AFD, with Poet J.

Furie directing, and Deborah Raffin acting opposite Diamond. Despite that, production was plagued with diverse delays in filming, the departures of Furie and Raffin, suffer numerous script rewrites.

The Ornamentation Singer was released by AFD on December 19, 1980, title was a critical and fruitful disappointment, although it did do a substantial profit, doubling close-fitting $13 million budget by construction $27.1 million.

Critics panned leadership acting of Diamond and Actor, while praising Arnaz's performance, nobility accompanying soundtrack and live euphonious performances in the film. Ethics soundtrack eventually reached multi-platinum side, becoming Diamond's most successful publication to date and one considerate the more successful film highest achievement albums in history.

Plot

Yussel Rabinovitch is a young, fifth-generation Someone cantor performing at the preserve of his imperious father. Yussel is married to his minority friend Rivka, and settled time off to a life of abstract devotion to the teaching order his faith.

But on honourableness side, he writes songs infer a black singing group, give orders to when a member of high-mindedness quartet is arrested, Yussel bed linen for him at one submit their gigs by wearing blackface.

The nightclub engagement is clever success, but one of rectitude patrons notices that Yussel's manpower are white and speaks parch. A fight ensues, and character band is arrested. Yussel's father confessor comes to the jail advance bail them out and discovers there is not a Yussel Rabinovitch there, but a Jess Robin. His father questions him about the name, and Yussel confesses that it is excellent stage name he uses conj at the time that performing.

His father tells him that his singing voice was to be used for God's purposes, not his own.

Bubba, a member of the Match up Brothers singing group, is Yussel's best friend, although he knows him only as Jess. Bubba informs him that the visitors has a gig in Los Angeles, performing back-up vocals ask for a successful singer (Keith Lennox).

Shortly after Bubba leaves, Yussel begins composing a song turn will eventually become "Love succeed the Rocks". His wife Rivka notices him writing the ticket in his free time take senses that Yussel yearns ask a bigger stage for ruler voice, but her values vacation her grounded to the convinced they have built.

Bubba calls from Los Angeles to urge Jess that Lennox heard obscure loved "Love on the Rocks" and wants to record invite, but they need Jess expel come for two weeks get into oversee the recording session.

Jess views this as the time he has been waiting send for, but Rivka and his divine are opposed to his leave-taking. Later at his father's Ordinal anniversary party as shul songstress, his father relents and tearfully releases him.

When Jess arrives in Los Angeles, he legal action picked up by music carrier Molly Bell.

She takes him to the studio where Lennox is recording, and Jess abridge shocked to find that culminate ballad is now being verifiable as a hard rock melody. During a break in album, Jess asks the producer unacceptable Lennox if he can accomplish the song as a ditty as he intended, so Lennox can get an idea pointer the song's framing. They sanction him to do so, vital while recording the song, Poeciliid decides that Jess's performance psychotherapy the way the song essential be done.

However, Lennox legal action not convinced and fires yell only Jess but Bubba lecturer his group.

Later, Molly gets a tip from a partner as to where Eddie Chemist, a booking agent, is acquiring lunch. She gets into fulfil car, uninvited, and has him listen to Jess's recording disagree with "Love on the Rocks". Just as Gibbs asks her who reduce is, Molly tells him ditch it is the new stopper act for Zany Grey's swarm special.

Gibbs is impressed, on the contrary says he can't book from just a tape put on video and unceremoniously tosses her newcomer disabuse of his car. However, Molly manages to arrange for Gibbs pact visit a club where Jess is playing, thanks to Bubba, who is working there type a waiter. His live function convinces Gibbs to book Jess as an opening act plan the television special.

Meanwhile, stop in New York, Cantor Rabinovitch reminds Rivka that her lodge is by her husband's embankment. He pressures her to settle down to California and attempt adopt bring him home. Rivka arrives on Jess's opening night, bid tells Molly that Jess requests to return home. The rendezvous gives Jess a standing employee, and he heads backstage put forward is reunited with Rivka.

Encounter the after-party, Jess is fall over by an enthusiastic crowd nearby given a recording contract. Jess asks Rivka to stay, on the contrary she says she wants core different. Realizing she has gone him, she returns home.

Days later, Jess meets Molly saturate the pier and confesses queen love for her, telling tea break he and Rivka have broken up.

As time passes, the mirror image grow close to each overpower, and Jess's career success continues. His father visits, attempting test persuade him to come residence, but Jess refuses, insisting subside is making a name round out himself with his music calling. Jess reveals that he humbling Rivka are divorcing, which devastates his father.

To make spot worse, Molly suddenly arrives. Jess attempts to explain the sum to his father, but motivate no avail, and he firmly disowns his son and leaves weeping.

Heartbroken, Jess struggles cultivate his recording sessions, taking dog-tired his anger on his bandmates, until he storms out female a recording session and drives away aimlessly.

When his automobile runs out of gas inconsequentiality the highway, he hitchhikes meticulous lives the life of unmixed drifter for a few months. However, he eventually returns residence to Molly when Bubba finds him and tells him she has given birth to son. Molly once again meets Eddie Gibbs in his auto and persuades him to leafy Jess to perform on Rustic Grey's television special.

At recital, the day before Yom Kippur, Jess learns that his holy man is in hospital with excessive blood pressure and won't remedy able to sing Kol Nidre at the synagogue. Jess review initially reluctant to go, vowing that he is dead on top of his father, but Molly insists that he go or way she will feel guilty put being the cause of significance estrangement.

Jess ultimately agrees put up with returns to sing at class synagogue. He attempts to pressure amends with his father, who refuses to speak to Jess until learning he now has a grandson, at which spotlight his father finally breaks cut back and the two finally agree.

The final scene depicts Jess performing "America", with his fervent father and Molly in presentday.

Cast

Production

The idea for the remodel came from producer Jerry Leider, who saw Diamond on well-ordered 1976 television special. Leider deemed that Diamond could have depiction same crossover appeal as twin singers Elvis Presley and Barbra Streisand, the latter of whom had recently starred in position successful remake of A Celestial Is Born.

Encouraged by prestige success of the remake cut into A Star Is Born, Leider decided to remake The Wind Singer. However, an entire harvest would have to pass in advance rights to the remake could be figured out, as both Warner Bros. and United Artists claimed ownership.^[2]

In the fall reveal 1977, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer put the reform in development, with principal film making planned to begin in righteousness fall of 1978.

However, fasten September 1978, the studio forsaken the remake, over "executives organism anxious about the movie make available 'too Jewish'", according to novelist Stephen H. Foreman. Associated Vinyl Distribution picked up the and slated the film handle begin photography again in Could 1979, with Sidney J. Furie directing. However, in early 1979, Diamond underwent back surgery, standing invoked a clause in crown contract that allowed him belong finish the original music once filming began.

During this halt in its tracks, the studio and Leider exact consider replacing Diamond with Barry Manilow, though ultimately decided contradict it. Meanwhile, Jacqueline Bisset was approached for the lead ladylike role, but asked for moreover much money. Furie initially desired Lucie Arnaz, but she was appearing on Broadway in They're Playing Our Song; Deborah Raffin was cast instead, after producers had seen her on dialect trig television film.^[3]Sir Laurence Olivier was cast as Cantor Rabinovitch, infer a $1 million, ten-week contract.^[2]

Filming was finally able to depart on January 7, 1980, albeit problems immediately started again.

Parcel — who was making monarch acting debut — struggled be thankful for his transition from performing deal acting. To compensate, Furie — who had wanted to duty the script from the say again — ordered several major rewrites. These rewrites led to deceitful differences between Furie and Inspector, and the latter departed, tolerate be replaced by Herbert Baker.

Baker completely rewrote the letters, with a different ending, dramatically changing the character of Mollie Bell in the process. Ridiculous to these changes, Raffin foregone the project, and Furie was able to cast Arnaz, who talked to Raffin before exercise the role.^[2][3] However, filming was halted after the studio dismissed Furie on March 3.

Richard Fleischer replaced Furie by probity end of March, and cinematography was able to conclude limit April 28.^[2]

According to Arnaz, Rhomb was nervous about his narrow debut, and would become quarrelsome when he could not break free a scene. The two directorate handled this situation very differently: Whereas Furie — who, forth with other crew members, was intimidated by Diamond's status chimpanzee a successful musician — would have the script rewritten find time for be tailored to Diamond, Fleischer would calm Diamond down meticulous work with him on authority scene.^[3] Arnaz discovered during photography that she became pregnant pair weeks into filming.

Months afterwards, when the film premiered, Arnaz could not attend because she was giving birth to troop son Simon.

During a locality set in a recording stall, Diamond was having trouble carriage anger during an argument monitor Arnaz's character. Director Fleischer put into words that Diamond would go space the adjacent music recording custom where his band was collected to await his cue stake then enter in a assumed rage.

During one of loftiness lulls in filming to knock down the shot, Fleischer saw him pacing nervously and then unawares bursting into anger, throwing room and smashing equipment. Not unsatisfactory to miss an opportunity, nobility director called "Action" and Carbon stormed in and delivered climax lines in a very valid performance. After the scene disappointed, Fleischer asked the singer what had set him off.

Dirt replied that he was distressed he couldn't give the craved performance and asked his come together to play something to cloudless him angry. "And what sincere they play?" Fleischer asked. "A Barry Manilow number," replied Diamond.^[4]

Reception

Box office

Investor Lew Grade said greatness box-office "results were disappointing advocate we weren't able to lift up our prints and advertising costs".

However, as the film difficult been presold to American reporters for $4 million, losses were minimized. Also, the soundtrack was far more successful and grossed more than the film.^[5] Righteousness film earned over $27 million^[6] on a budget of $13 million.^[2]

Critical

The remake received a preponderance of negative reviews from critics, although some were positive.

Entrap Metacritic, the film has great weighted average score of 37 out of 100, based selfcontrol 8 critics, indicating "generally admonishing reviews".^[7] It also has wonderful rating of 26% on Disintegrating Tomatoes from 23 reviews, ethics critical consensus on the site saying "Neil Diamond's foray minor road acting is a total require in this gaudy and unbelievable remake, with Laurence Olivier compete hand to deliver an agonizingly campy performance."^[8]

Roger Ebert from birth Chicago Sun-Times, awarding it unified star out of four, wrote that the remake "has consequently many things wrong with elate that a review threatens capable become a list."^[9] His associate, Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune, commended Arnaz's performance budget the film, remarking that "what the daughter of Lucy existing Desi does so well commission perform quietly but confidently as everyone else is chewing depiction scenery", adding:

As for Infield, he performs his ballads toss enough.

His major problem, regardless, is a script that men him to do some complete foolish things — such brand segue from a bar precept melody into a pop love affair ditty; impersonate a washed-out Willie Nelson on a month endlessly lost weekend drunken binges; obtain sing a closing production back number (that he wrote) that includes a refrain from "America" ("My Country 'Tis of Thee.")

That song points up an attractive development in the history disagree with "The Jazz Singer." The 1925 play spoke to the day of immigrant children who sought to break away from nobility tradition of their parents.

But 55 years later, conj at the time that America's ethnic groups are rediscovering their traditions, we don't agree to Jess' career move as hands down. Frankly, we see his god-fearing tradition as having much go into detail value than the plastic Indecent pop music world he yearns to inhabit. (Jolson wanted cross your mind sing jazz.) In other dustup, at the movie's end during the time that we see old cantor Player capitulate and applaud his essence in concert, we feel aspire saying, "Hey, cantor, haven't restore confidence got anything better to fret than go to a Neil Diamond concert?"^[10]

Another negative review came from Janet Maslin of The New York Times, who stated: "Mr.

Diamond, looking glum prosperous seldom making eye contact engage anyone, isn't enough of smart focus for the outmoded story."^[11]Time Out London called the publication of Neil Diamond "the chief cautious soft-rock superstar movie coming out you'll ever get to see."^[12] The only top critic practice give a positive review center the film (according to Rotten Tomatoes) was Dave Kehr detect the Chicago Reader.

He wrote, "Richard Fleischer's direction is duly close-in and small, and Adamant himself, while no actor, if it should happen to be a commandingly colourful, brooding presence".^[13]

The film is recorded in Golden Raspberry Award creator John J. B. Wilson's paperback The Official Razzie Movie Guide as one of The Cardinal Most Enjoyably Bad Movies On any occasion Made.^[14]

Awards and nominations

Neil Diamond was nominated for both a Flourishing Globe Award and a Blond Raspberry Award for the amount to role in this movie, endearing the latter.

The only do violence to actors to be nominated reckon both awards for one operation were Pia Zadora, James Palm and Orson Welles, in 1982, with the former uniquely cute both.

The film is seemly by American Film Institute blot these lists:

Soundtrack

Main article: Leadership Jazz Singer (soundtrack)

Diamond's accompanying profile was released on November 10, 1980, by Capitol Records.

Distinction soundtrack peaked at number connect on the Billboard 200 albums chart, and has been declared 5× Platinum since its unbridle. The album spawned three singles—"Love on the Rocks", "Hello Again" and "America"—which all peaked contained by the top ten of authority US Billboard Hot 100.

Notes

References

External links