Yentl with Jordan Hoffman

[00:00:00] Clackjack with Griffin and David

[00:00:05] Clackjack with Griffin and David

[00:00:09] Don't know what to say or to expect

[00:00:12] All you need to know is that the name of the shot is by Jack

[00:00:22] Podcast can you hear me?

[00:00:25] Podcast can you see me?

[00:01:28] The thing about Barbara Jon Streisand is the way the diction is key to her vocal performance. Jordan, I can see to you that I am not as good at singing as Barbara Streisand.

[00:01:35] I take this note.

[00:01:36] I don't push back on it.

[00:01:37] No.

[00:01:38] I'm certainly missing the diction.

[00:01:39] I would say I'm missing every other aspect of what makes her a good singer.

[00:01:42] Oh, no.

[00:01:43] You've got the heart, though.

[00:01:44] That's the thing.

[00:01:45] Oh, sure.

[00:01:46] Okay.

[00:01:47] I'm texting you this.

[00:01:48] All right. Michel Le Grand, Allen and Marilyn Bergman. Forget about him. Can I, I just wanna say right now. Allen and Marilyn on the lyrics, Michel on the yanner. We, right off the top, here's the thought I had constantly while watching this movie. This thing's a fucking miracle. This is a movie where every single second of it, you're like, this should be collapsing. This shouldn't work.

[00:03:00] This shouldn't work.

[00:03:01] Everything about this movie shouldn't work.

[00:03:03] And I'm just like, anyone who has any cynicism

[00:03:05] or criticism about this movie,

[00:03:07] I'm just like, say in the book is 16. Yeah, but you know, she's got a baby face. This studio that was going to make this just got bankrupted by Heaven's Gate, a movie that is kind of similar to in certain ways on paper in terms of what the cost of it is going to be. And this sort of, I say this kindly,

[00:04:20] the vanity elements.

[00:04:21] Yeah, right, right.

[00:04:22] You're just like, any one of these things shouldn't work.

[00:04:26] And the fact that she's not thinking about yetles. Stop. Jesus. Please introduce your podcast. What were you, I wouldn't you'd finish your point about how much you love the entle? Can't remember what it was, but it was sort of along the war horse lines of like how can you not love the entle? But no, go, no, introduce our podcast and then, you know,

[00:05:41] then we can speak without fear.

[00:05:44] Oh sure, yes.

[00:05:45] We wanna get past that threshold.

[00:05:47] Right.

[00:05:47] This is Blank Chek with Gerfin and David. Bobra. Bobra. I have to constantly remind myself not to do the barbera. No, no way. No way. No way. No way. Cut it out. She took it out cleaner. Are you considering her television specials as part of her apartment? I bought them at, I'll have you know Jordan, I bought the box set and I've been working through them. Nice. She was actively involved in the production of this. I know.

[00:07:01] As of now, we're not planning to cover those in any way. But's a mast. No, the, oh, the podcast. The podcast, there you go. That's funny, right? Yeah, that's funny. It's a good joke. It's a solid joke. Okay, thanks. Shaqal, friend of the show. A real man. Doing us a mitzvah. Sure. Producer Ben Frisch. Yes.

[00:08:20] Filling in on the ones that zeros today.

[00:08:21] Hey, hey, hey.

[00:08:22] And you brought a book, please show Griffin.

[00:08:24] Yeah.

[00:08:25] This is just a be juiced in post. This is the sound of me dropping, my name is Barbara on my desk. It's a big boy. It's a hefty boy. I'm on page 440, give or take. Okay. And it's great. Yes. It's so good. JJ has been able to pull from it, tear through it pretty quickly and put it in the dossier.

[00:09:40] But admittedly, because of the time we're recording this,

[00:09:43] synced up around the release of the book

[00:09:45] and the Barbary evaluation, I hope a year from now she puts out a second volume that's also 900 pages. It's just as long as it's been a busy year. It's just her being like I went to the coffee shop by God, Nick, Salat Sandway. I'm like, you know, it gets a little more minute. I mean, the degree to which David, you're not. I mean, she actually talks about this book, right? Yes. Where she wants rice pudding. But she doesn't want rice pudding with raisins, which I disagree with.

[00:11:02] I disagree.

[00:11:03] Pin in the raisins.

[00:11:04] I have a raisins.

[00:11:05] Three chapters on this?

[00:11:06] Well, no, but there's a whole section about it. I don't know what to say. Raisins. Jordan and I have seen a lot of each other in the last few days because we were at the Iron Claw screening on Monday night. And then we were at the Napoleon screening on Tuesday afternoon and sort of rushed at the end of the year. Final movies trying to get into the wire for voters and stuff.

[00:12:20] And both screenings, he was walking around

[00:12:22] with a Ziploc bag filled to the brim

[00:12:25] with Raisins and they were like blown away. Oh, this is really good. Okay, propaganda. A couple people seem to like them. A lot of people are like, it's a raisin. You're telling me this is the yental of raisins and that everyone on it's face goes,

[00:13:40] not my kind of thing,

[00:13:41] this isn't gonna work.

[00:13:42] They take a bite and they go, I'm one over.

[00:13:43] I saw a lot of people eat the raisin

[00:13:45] and go like, basically yell at you.

[00:13:46] Yeah, Jordan, it that define your personality. Every single time it's in a new space. Yeah. Wow. Every single time it's been in a new room, one was a room to the right, one was a room to the left. Yes. You did both studios at Audiovoom and you did bands apart. Who still was in the nice studio at Audiovoom? Melbourne, Howard was in the dog shit studio.

[00:15:00] Right.

[00:15:01] Where I deserved it.

[00:15:02] And then, and the last one was at the pens department.

[00:15:04] And this one, so I just want to say to the listeners at home.

[00:15:07] Yeah.

[00:15:08] To the listeners. The Lou, water closet, you should feel confident that you will never run out of bathroom tissue or toilet paper. There are, and I counted, 40 rolls of toilet paper in that bath. I will say there was 40 rolls. There've been some dramatic emotional conversation

[00:16:22] ongoing in the blank check text thread,

[00:16:24] and I broke through it's a, what's totally fundamental because of my age and my background. But David just wrote,

[00:17:40] when you asked me before,

[00:17:41] my background is I'm from Poland

[00:17:43] and I could change sex and all that.

[00:17:44] No, no, no, no, no, no, no,

[00:17:45] but Jewish suburban boy, I guess.

[00:18:41] You write about the pictures. I write about movies, I review movies, I write articles,

[00:18:44] I interview people and I think people at home,

[00:18:46] if you're looking, you know,

[00:18:47] if you're tired of the New York Times, for example,

[00:18:50] they cost, they know, you know, I pay messenger.com

[00:18:54] is free, read the messenger instead.

[00:18:55] Free.

[00:18:56] There you go.

[00:18:57] Now I'm sorry if I misrepresented how beloved

[00:19:02] Yental is in your canon, but the thing you did say to us

[00:19:04] is that when you were a child, you would play Yental.

[00:19:07] Yeah, there's a little don't know from that. I mean, we're huge in the fire, we're serious. No, I'm serious. So, I don't like what we say. My, for example, my grandfather was a, my mother's father was a heavy Jew,

[00:20:20] but you know, didn't believe any of that stuff.

[00:20:23] Never went to Temple.

[00:20:24] Yes. Didn't pray, you know,

[00:20:26] but yet when the holidays's when he did it. So, you know, there were like things that you would, you know, in the movie, until they're studying, they do the prayers and they talk about the bureaus, and the Talmud and all these things.

[00:21:40] So it was things that connected with us in kind of a private,

[00:21:43] we were all sort of a sim,

[00:21:44] I didn't grow up in an all Jewish neighbors,

[00:21:46] assimilated Jews,

[00:21:46] but like this is like our little secret for the cousins It's really weird, but here's what, you don't say, here's what I remember. I remember like somebody would have to play Papa. Of course. And would have to be dead. Yeah, sure. And then somebody would have to like, cry over the body and say. Pretend they couldn't hear anything. Yeah, pretend they couldn't hear, just like cotton in the air. So there was that little scene that we would do.

[00:23:00] And then there would be like,

[00:23:03] the scene of like getting dressed for the wedding

[00:23:05] to the Tomorrow. It sounds like we've got rescue from Gilligan's island. We played that a lot. That makes more sense. You guys sound like you were bored as fuck Jesus Christ. We had no we didn't have that. Don't put a firecracker in a mailbox or something. This is that's the Goya Chekhaf are you saying that we wouldn't do that.

[00:24:22] We would play Gilligan's Island fool. Well, as she's first of all, the third and I'm like, I love him. But I know that name. And I literally know it because like, even though there are several layers between me and Gilligan's Island and maybe it's 20-traded enough is like, shorthand for rich. He's like a monopoly man. Right, right. First of all, you assign him. Ginger is the cutie, everyone likes ginger? Well, she's the box, no, no, no.

[00:25:40] She's the box, no, no.

[00:25:41] Marilyn.

[00:25:42] She's like an Ann Margaret Marilyn Monroe

[00:25:44] style diva, movie star, sex pot.

[00:25:47] Yes.

[00:25:48] And the professor is also on the island By my grave error, I was gonna get dragged on main if I didn't correct this on Mike. I know Luna I know I know I know she's not his daughter. I get it. I get it But to be fair it was always the read I got from watching the show I did not read it as romantic flirtatious relationship, which apparently most people did To me that feels crazy. I

[00:27:01] Went to the Wikipedia. I saw in fact

[00:27:04] The Marianne is not his daughter, but just a small-town girl who won a contest

[00:28:04] of diarrhea. It's been a really, really fun day. Who's on the island? Kill again the skipper, millionaire and his wife.

[00:28:09] I love you.

[00:28:10] I love you.

[00:28:11] I love you, star, professor Marianne.

[00:28:12] I hear you that they're on.

[00:28:13] Kill again.

[00:28:14] Do they ever meet other people on the island?

[00:28:15] Well, they're head hunters.

[00:28:16] Head hunters.

[00:28:17] No, they're head hunters.

[00:28:18] Yes.

[00:28:19] They have to play against them.

[00:28:21] But several times.

[00:28:22] They're there and then they can't help them get off.

[00:28:24] Clean crashes or something and they're able to escape but they can't take them with them.

[00:28:27] Head hunters. show. It's his island. But I also wouldn't say the skippers the hero. No. No. There's no fear. There's no seasons of this fucking thing. Tell. This is the thing. You used to make 40 episodes of a TV show and they would run for 50 years. Right. It looks like they made it to 98. So I guess they were lying seasons. Tell. Tell. Tell. Tell David about the headhunters. No, that when you settle? That's a good point. For what? I should go for the best. Don't you want the extra leg room of medical care? Well, I just don't know where to look, so I just kind of, you know, wing it. Craig enters Octoc. Hello. Hello, I am Zoctoc. Are you the place where you can find a book

[00:31:00] tens of thousands of top-tier doctors

[00:31:02] all with verified patient reviews?

[00:31:04] Yes, it is your actually about two hours. Oh, so maybe in a best case scenario, you watch two Walter Hill buddy cop films. 24 times. Listen, listen, I've used ZokDoc. It's really easy to use. You should too go to zokDoc.com slash check and download

[00:32:24] the ZokDoc app for free.

[00:32:26] Then find and book a top rated doctor today. of most societies is a strict gender device. Does it in this corner read your picture books? The men do X and the women do Y. No time for serious thought. That's not for you. A young woman in the shtetl named Yentl. Whose father is a rabbi and he's on the down low is teaching her about the Torah, which is like the big instruction manual.

[00:33:42] Kind of a woke king.

[00:33:43] Yeah, oh for sure.

[00:33:44] Ultimate ally, Papa?

[00:33:46] Yeah, Papa's totally woke. 1968 coming right off of fun. She had just finished Funny Girl and she was like, next part right here, bang, bang. And what is said to her immediately, you are already too old, too feminine, too famous. And also, this is a thing that comes up a lot in the development of this movie, you just did Funny Girl, one in Oscar,

[00:35:00] you should not play another quote ethnic role.

[00:35:03] That is the word she gets.

[00:35:04] Two ethnic AKA, you can even more hard to imagine a studio giving her the money, I guess, even with her celebrity. Like if she was like, well, I'll direct yourself. Yeah, no, I mean, it is one of the things that gives this movie its juice. I would argue it's the thing is like,

[00:36:21] this is her Fitzcarreldo 20-year battle

[00:36:23] to get this movie uphill.

[00:36:26] And the more she puts into trying to prove He's described as like kind of like gross and obese and not fun. So, wait a minute, wait a minute. So she, so I have a door, Marry's her and it's immediately regrets it. So that's like a whole other wing of the story that's just cut out. Probably Barbara cut it out because unfair to women, right? And also just sort of sounds super funny.

[00:37:40] Unnecessary.

[00:37:42] And then the other big change, which I really found interesting.

[00:37:44] And then as I was reading a little bit about Y on, she's always gentle inside, whereas in the story, gentle truly becomes onsholes. But there is something fascinatingly deeply queer about this movie. Oh my God. And the way it examines everyone else's relationship with gentle is not for her own internal battle.

[00:39:01] Yes, true.

[00:39:01] I mean, well, yeah.

[00:39:02] The way Avador looks at her in the water.

[00:39:04] And then the way that Avador looks after she reveals herself

[00:39:07] and the way that she looks at Haddas. When trans visibility in culture was very minimal, oh my God, it would have just not. It would have been crazy. Yes. And I do think like the other movies like this, the other stories like this, let's say, right? Any movie that is hung up on someone, sort of a high concept, some like it hot, Mulan,

[00:40:23] Tootsie.

[00:40:24] There was another one I was just thinking of.

[00:40:27] Some Shakespeare play. to imagine at no point does someone say to her, yeah, Barbara, good idea for a movie. Set it in college present day. Or, you know, like, set it, like, find a different institution. Right. If you wanna make the thing about someone who wants to learn and the women are restricted at the time or whatever, like, don't make it a Talmudic study.

[00:41:40] Don't make it this, don't make it that.

[00:41:41] Like, you can just.

[00:41:42] You don't think Talmudic study is sexy?

[00:41:44] Well, it's funny because that's the other thing,

[00:41:46] is that Barbara is a dark eye on his soul? Yeah, there's some of this mumbo jumbo like old shtethel thing is like he's got the he's his family's cursed.

[00:43:00] Everyone's always worried about the dang evil eye in the old days.

[00:43:03] No matter what the culture is, they're like that evil eye though.

[00:43:05] And I'm like, come on.

[00:43:06] So that's how fun.

[00:43:07] Look at it. About it about, there is a lot of Jewish stuff in there. They're in the Sichiva study. And it's like, there are things in a setting that aren't necessarily at, that aren't imbued with that institution. Like, I don't know, what's a movie set anywhere?

[00:44:20] Like a movie about doctors.

[00:44:22] So like, there's like medical stuff in there.

[00:44:24] Like, I don't know, the paper chase is about Harvard.

[00:44:26] This movie is of Judaism.

[00:45:42] That's like the instructions.

[00:45:43] Right.

[00:45:43] The Talmud is like the, is 10,000 footnotes. you dispute it. They're gonna find a way to argue. Arguing is the purpose. They're intentionally going into it with the object of disagreeing. Well, I think much in the same way that so much of the juice of this movie is Barbara's struggle to get it made matching with the character struggle one to one.

[00:47:00] There is a similar juice to Mandy Potankin,

[00:47:03] one of the most argumentative actors in history.

[00:47:06] It's not just, right, it's Yantl's interior monologues, you know, a song where she's like, look at what a perfect woman she is. She anticipates every need. She does everything perfectly. And like, Patenkin, regardless of how she looks, how well she fits into the model of what a wife is supposed to be at that time, is always going to be more turned on by someone

[00:48:23] who gets to a fight about the Talmud.

[00:48:26] You know, like that's the thing.

[00:48:27] Like, she's speaking that love language. So rude. Now the other two examples are Glen Close in Hill Billie-Elyg, which makes perfect sense. That's sure. The Razzies got that one right? Yeah, I'm not. I'm not. But even if I agree with the Razzies in that case, you're like, that is the kind of performance that makes sense registering on both scales. Sure, sure. With both memberships, right? Yeah, who would dislike her performances as a does?

[00:49:40] I don't get it.

[00:49:41] I think the Razzies were just being meme.

[00:49:44] They did a barber strike saying,

[00:49:45] there is sexist, sexist, sexist.

[00:49:46] The other one was James Coco for, what's the movie called? it sounds like the silliest thing in the world. There's no way down. And it sounds... And it sounds like a vanity project. There are, I mean, right now, Yantl's sort of like, I don't wanna say hip, but like, you know, younger film people are like accepting it for one minute. It's coming back around, I think. But like as recently as five, 10 years ago, I personally shoved Yantl down the throats of some critics who like missed it and said,

[00:51:00] hey, I've always heard it was a joke.

[00:51:01] And I'm like, some pretty, I'll tell you after,

[00:51:03] like some pretty prominent people.

[00:51:04] And then like, oh my God, I actually,

[00:51:05] they showed it at the quad.

[00:51:07] And when the quad of the sport. It's the nature of the sport. Later, there's a dissolve and they're deep in it. And Avador says, when does day become night? And Ansel says, oh, sundown, when is sundown? Oh, sundown is when you can see the first three stars

[00:52:21] in the sky.

[00:52:22] That's not precise enough.

[00:52:23] Why?

[00:52:24] She shouts why and everybody wakes up on the car. I started around the same thing. It's you're gonna jump. The Orvik thing is so crazy to me, just because unlike those other two performances, her performance is so subtle, so restrained, so controlled. It's not like flashy. There's nothing embarrassing about it. And beyond that, you're just like, the fucking skill of this performance to sell us on,

[00:53:40] like she's the one who really has to make

[00:53:42] the triangle function.

[00:53:43] Right, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[00:53:44] And it's so reactive.

[00:53:45] Yeah.

[00:53:46] You give her an Oscar nomination people rewrite this script one of over the years, one of them is Singer himself, Mr. Isaac, Isaac, Trevor Singer, who says that his version is very different from what Barbara wanted to do. In my script, Dental does not stay on stage from beginning to end. You have to make room for others to have their say. This was him, once the movie came out, taking some shots at like Barbara undid the movie

[00:55:02] with her own vanity and making it all about her.

[00:55:05] Who else would you make it about?

[00:55:06] I mean, that's fine.

[00:55:07] He throws that charge at her. recently reminded me that that's what I'm fucking quoting. Right. Right. Her Devaul in network. I thought her first production was For Pete's sake, with Michael said. Her first production with first artists is a star is born. It's a huge hit. And so she's like. Not her first movie as a producer, her first production. And she goes to first artist, she's like, great, can I cash my check now and make Yantl?

[00:56:21] And still they're like, ah, I don't know.

[00:56:24] Yes, you is shed.

[00:56:25] The shuttle girl, what is this? Ryan O'Neill teaming. Right. Kristofferson is Star is Black. Oh, there, yeah. That's Peter's just being like, do the simplest fucking thing. Do a What's Up Doc reunion? Right. Obviously she's great in What's Up Doc. Yes. Right. And by then it's like, no. She's offered Eyes of Laura Mars, which eventually Fade On Away does. Yes. And then she's in the 80s.

[00:57:41] Let's say free and easy.

[00:57:42] The other guys.

[00:57:43] And she's like, I'm doing fucking Yental.

[00:57:45] Well, the other thing is this whole period of time

[00:57:46] where he's trying to convince her to do the other thing, this whole point in time, I think it's at Wembley Stadium. They offered Wembley. Wembley. I'm sorry. Wembley Stadium. National Stadium of England. They offered her a million dollars to play there. Peters is telling her, John Peters, her, you know, long time companion slash business partner slash rival, whatever, you know, complicated, really.

[00:59:00] Hair stylist, awesome.

[00:59:01] He's like, forget Yantl. Right.

[00:59:03] Just go fucking play Wembley Stadium. They'll give you a million bucks.

[00:59:07] He says, no. And she left.

[01:00:20] I mean, I just,

[01:00:20] The put that, everything she did in Hollywood was like,

[01:00:24] will you sing?

[01:00:25] And she's like, no, so the producers were right. The studio fat cats in this case were right. She should, the music did need to be there. The music gives this movie the exact right amount of height in reality to get away with everything that on paper feels like it shouldn't. I would agree. If she had made, this is a straight drama at this age.

[01:01:40] It probably would be knobsie.

[01:01:42] Yes, and I think it would be knobsie.

[01:01:44] I also think if she had made probably what they would

[01:01:46] have preferred, which was an all out singing and dancing by David Watkin, who is best known for, well, he works with lots of people. He best known for winning the Oscar for Out of Africa, but he did share it to fire. And he also did like a bunch of movies of like Ken Russell and Zephyr Rally. That's picture winners at this point. Yeah, I mean, well, Out of Africa is a couple years from now. The worst movie ever.

[01:03:00] Wow, I don't understand.

[01:03:01] It's fucking boring.

[01:03:02] Oh, wow.

[01:03:03] Do you put it bottom 10 of best picture?

[01:03:05] Well, maybe.

[01:03:06] That's fine.

[01:03:07] Now, is there stuff competition? how green was my valley is fantastic. But it is. If you haven't seen that. I have these sort of famous for beating citizen Kane, but it's rock. But it's still pretty damn good. Mrs. Miniver is one of those movies that's like incredible. Yeah. And I think people probably now mostly view as some kind of stayed British period film. It's like not at all that movie is like. Best years of my lives,

[01:04:21] best years of our lives is another one.

[01:04:23] If people don't know it, they might think it.

[01:04:24] The title is not very sexy and it's wonderful.

[01:04:27] True, and it's. One slice at a time? No, no, no. I eat the whole pizza. There are two ways I know to eat a pizza.

[01:05:40] You take one slice and you fold it, or you take a whole pie and you get flat.

[01:05:43] And I can't think of any other way in between those two.

[01:05:46] He finds a way.

[01:05:47] Green Book finds a way.

[01:05:48] Green Book is not a second time. I never watched Moonlight a second time. I watched Moonlight a lot. Moonlight's good. I think you would find a lot to love it. I thought it was fine time. You know what I like more? I like the Beale Street, who can't talk. That I thought was better than Moonlight. That's quite a picture. It's really good. First of all, you got this street. Why should I talk? No streets talk. Why should I talk? They're never on fucking Beale Street. It's in Harlem.

[01:07:00] They don't even know.

[01:07:02] They don't even know.

[01:07:03] They're no one near Beale Street.

[01:07:03] You called it The Beale Street Cannot Talk?

[01:07:06] It sounds like something like that.

[01:07:08] Like I said, I have make myself a father. So that's how she's reckoning with this sort of gender switching of Yantl. It's like, this is a way for me to get in touch with my dad who I essentially never knew. Yeah, I've been hesitating. It's the kind of thing Barbara Streisand would say. Whether or not to say this just because it's such a basic ass broad statement, but I do, I stand by this. The dominant theme of Barbara Streisand's work,

[01:08:22] her life's work as an artist is love, right?

[01:08:26] And you could say that aboutate sense of longing, she understood from a very young age that made her capable at 16 of singing like the great tragic love songs. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And could connect to an audience and would do anything to please them. Right. And like, you know, a story was born as a movie about love between two people who should not be together. But you're like, well, this transcends logic, right?

[01:09:41] Right.

[01:09:41] And then like Yentl, she said is the movie

[01:09:43] about her trying to like reckon with her love

[01:09:45] of her father who she didn't have. I do remember that. Huge. I feel like that was the 90s. That was your copier. No, no, no, no, no, no. It was from Barry Gitt. Oh, no, I'm sorry, it was the 80s. Yeah, it was a before-entler after. Before. Okay, so this is key, and I think this plays into it. I was like, I'm a little older than you. There he goes. So I was around when the Barry Gib collaboration album, it was as big, maybe just because I grew up

[01:11:03] in the Jewish community in New Jersey,

[01:11:04] but it was as big as Taylor Swift.

[01:11:07] Sure. who both basically have the same career. Oh. Yours talents, what do you mean? They pointed all their talent to people. The cover is my face. Other people sing every single song. It's not the barber Streisand and Barry Gibb. It's this barber Streisand guilty, but here she is hugging Barry Gibb and he's all over it. And in my memory having not listened to the record in a long time, I thought he was on every song.

[01:12:20] He's on the two of the songs.

[01:12:22] He's on guilty in what kind of fool.

[01:12:24] Oh, what kind of fool?

[01:12:25] That's right.

[01:12:25] That's a third hit.

[01:12:26] Oh my God.

[01:12:27] These, I mean, like down mine, a Bob Newhart one, and then Vaughn meters the first family. And Vaughn meter is mostly known today as the butt of a Lenny Bruce joke. Because Vaughn meter had one job. He was a John. I mean, that's stretching it that he's well known for. You're not a Lenny Bruce. I would have had, I mean, well known. I don't know if that's blowing up ticked.

[01:13:40] I don't think, well, no, the people out there listening

[01:13:43] right now who are like in their car to get back to you.

[01:13:45] You have to see the trend of like tweens

[01:13:46] mouthing along with the Lenny Bruce bit. into that kind of classic. He looks at the audience and goes, wow, Von Mete is fucked. For a good joke. That's not only is it show. It is also completely true. The guy's career was over in a day. Bill Hader and Robert Segal have been trying to make Von Mete or maybe that I was. Yes, it's fascinating. Incredible. It's not true. It's fascinating story. But like literally it was like, he probably got a call from his age in that day being like,

[01:15:00] well, your tour's canceled,

[01:15:02] your next record isn't coming out.

[01:15:03] Right.

[01:15:04] You are fucked, my friend.

[01:15:05] Right, and it's like think it's gonna be crazy. She does all night long with Gene Hackman.

[01:16:20] Peter's the person.

[01:16:20] Like the script.

[01:16:21] Yeah, easy pay day.

[01:16:23] Peter's the person who's closest to her

[01:16:24] is like the most loudly and critically repeating Okay, things are moving along. They shoot it in the Czech Republic. Number one choice for Avigdor. Oh, I never, I haven't gotten this part of the book. Dickie Gear. Richard Gear. I could see it. Makes it tremendous, I can see it. I could see it. I wanted a masculine. Yeah, he's not Jewish. He's not Jewish, but he's actually...

[01:17:40] He was Jewish, is he not?

[01:17:42] No, he's play Jewish though.

[01:17:42] He played Jewish in that movie, Norman,

[01:17:45] I think it's called, he was great in it.

[01:17:47] I think he was Jewish.

[01:17:48] No, he's like, yeah, motherfucker, you don't give many movies. Like, you know, take the role. This is what I'm saying.

[01:19:00] He was always just the most argumentative, strong-minded.

[01:19:03] So is she?

[01:19:04] Yes.

[01:19:05] So they were good for each other.

[01:19:06] Yes.

[01:19:07] Having an animal cracker. massive heart attack Pethinkin says if there was a heart surgeon in the room, he would not have survived and Basically, they were all just like wow he just it was time to go. I guess I can also said that's how I want to go Like he did it. Yeah, nice to see you all and you hold court Yeah, we should also just say at some point right as the things moving back and forth between does Barbara star

[01:20:24] Does she direct is a musical is it not when it's all finally coming together? I thought we were gonna have a more personal relationship. I thought we were gonna have an affair. And Barbara is like, I would never have an affair with an actor I'm directing, you're married. Two. And I'm not attracted to you. Three. The third one. The third one. The other two I hear you know, Barb. I simply said, I don't operate that way.

[01:21:40] Tears rolled down his cheeks.

[01:21:42] And I realized what this was really about.

[01:21:43] I wasn't paying enough attention to him as a man,

[01:21:45] not the kind of attention he wanted. Correct. They shut it down and she was like, the movie's already so fucking Jewish. What is it? That's not really the straw that's gonna break the camel's back. But Amy Irving is Jewish. Yes, but my guess is that... She was hot. She was such a beautiful, like, you know, they were like, all right, well... And she was still married to Spielberg at the time? No, they don't get married till years later.

[01:23:00] Were they at least dating?

[01:23:00] Yes.

[01:23:01] Because she was supposed to be Willie Scott.

[01:23:04] She had tested for...

[01:23:05] Yeah, she married him, of her contract on this movie is that the film went over budget or over schedule came out of her salary directly, which it did. She was like, I'm just going to keep going. I'm fine to not make money on this movie. She gives up Final Cut, which is big for her to do. Yeah, huge. Who had Final Cut when she wasn't directing. Exactly. And then when she's been in the editing room for a while, she gets this ultimatum of like,

[01:24:23] you've already gone $1 million over budget. But he's great in that first scene. No, and he had like a protracted period of not working in film or television where he went back to theater and then was sort of revived around this period and had this crazy second life on Law and Order. It's also great in the firm. He's great in the firm. He's a great actor. I mean, his whole thing in Law and Order was eventually

[01:25:40] you were like, you know, Waterston would be like,

[01:25:42] all right, we gotta take the case

[01:25:43] and they go to this like I was about to say. There are no, does Papa Mascowit make it to America? I think so. I thought that he is in all the direct to video fibles as well. How many of those are there? He has this like, I don't know.

[01:27:00] Blue for real ear hurt his brand with those.

[01:27:04] With those, well, I'm emotional about it.

[01:27:07] Like the fact that he's like, my health is declining, I'm gonna retire and enjoy my final years. He died a year ago. Holy shit. He mentioned it's 102. He mentioned it's 102. And yet his last credit is, his last on-screen credit is twins in 1988.

[01:28:23] He plays the doctor in twins.

[01:28:24] Apparently, so in Angels in America,

[01:28:26] the Mike Nichols.

[01:28:27] He's in the group of old Jewish tailors being like, I have to leave the room now for them to take his trousers off or whatever, which is fun. It's really funny and a good song. A good song. To Marronite.

[01:29:40] Right, that scene encapsulates everything the movie is capable of doing all at once.

[01:30:41] They're gonna do the affair, season five, have a particularly mental.

[01:30:43] It's the first affair that doesn't happen.

[01:30:46] Someone was recirculating, I think it's on the Blu-ray,

[01:30:49] which is out of print very hard to find the Twilight time disc.

[01:30:53] But Barbara keeps very active archives of everything.

[01:30:56] So her movie discs all have like extensive rehearsals.

[01:31:00] Right, yeah, yeah.

[01:31:01] And there's a clip that someone uploaded

[01:31:03] that was circulating around Twitter,

[01:31:04] which is Streisand directing she's doing in this clip where she's literally giving him notes while the camera's rolling. I think she's talking more about, I can adjust my performer as an actor. And in real time, I totally. I'm probably pretty rare. I just remember when I interviewed Clooney, yes, one of the great actor directors. Never misses. Leatherheads.

[01:32:20] It's a shame he hasn't directed a film in 20 years.

[01:32:22] He should get back to it.

[01:32:24] Cause this track record's like perfect.

[01:32:26] Well, what's your answer? Well, I don't know. But I do, I want to ask you guys this, because you've been talking about Barbara, and I'm sure you've talked in other episodes about Funny Girl. The ending of Yental, when she's singing her guts out on a boat.

[01:33:41] She's on the boat.

[01:33:42] Yeah.

[01:33:43] Do you find that to be like, America where all people are free like you know there's a little bit of like a kind of like okay She'll direct I like it. Yeah, right United artists Um I like it because it's barber Streisand on a boat singing like you're saying Yeah, right. It does feel a little like play the hits in a way I enjoy yeah, it doesn't bother me in the slightest

[01:35:00] She's but yeah, I cannot deny that yentle is cheesy or

[01:36:03] You could just like, you know, go to the store and not worry about being killed for no reason. So it was, you know, that sort of added a yay America thing is kind of ridiculous.

[01:36:08] Like, you know, there's still sexism in America when she lands, but, you know, it's just,

[01:36:13] I just feel it's a change that really is for the best.

[01:36:18] Also what year did Neil Diamond and the jazz singer come out?

[01:36:21] Oh, yeah.

[01:36:22] Film with no problems whatsoever.

[01:36:23] Definitely now the same year.

[01:36:25] Right.

[01:36:26] That one questionable scene.

[01:36:27] One questionable scene. Kings on the way folks rude way to make that announcement right he stepped down as director He's the kind of director of a project that doesn't exist yeah He stepped down because you pulled out the ladder And you imagine if he was in the room I think both of the house gang This is it that I walk the streets and people yell at me king. I can't wait to see more king

[01:37:43] Do you think they're regretting the fact that when they introduce that fucking character? Roberson never did a, well he was in Blade. Chris Dauphus. Chris Dauphus in pre-MCU, but still a comic book film. There's that great thing in the. It's just a hot guy to go get the vampires. I have, boy. Has Dustin Hoffman been in Marvel? No. It's not really been welcome in like, smarter movies for quite a while. Yes. He works in Italy mostly. Red for the only one. I think, well yeah, because when

[01:39:01] Ryan O'Neill.

[01:39:02] When Ryan O'Neill was in the Marvel movies,

[01:39:03] it was pretty fucking weird.

[01:39:04] It was wild.

[01:39:05] It was wild.

[01:39:06] He was like, all right Nick Fury, how are you doing? You know what? I'm like a business. You know what? I'm like a business. You know what? I'm like a business. I'm like a business. You know what? I'm like a business. I'm like a business. You know what? I'm like a business. You know what? I'm like a business. You know what? I'm like a business. You know what? I'm like a business. You know what? I'm like a business.

[01:40:20] You know what?

[01:40:21] I'm like a business.

[01:40:22] You know what?

[01:40:23] I'm like a business.

[01:40:24] You know what?

[01:40:25] I'm like a business.

[01:40:26] You know what?

[01:40:27] I'm like a business.

[01:40:28] You know what? It's not bad at all to the story. Well, it makes me feel a little dumb. Nahofen doesn't like to present that side of the story. I like to be kind of the guy who knows what's the best. You're a real swab. All right, so Barb of what's the name? And Michelle Pfeiffer is doing promo for a motion picture that no one's heard of called The Family.

[01:41:40] Oh, the Luqubison De Niro Bob.

[01:41:43] Definitely move if she wants to remember.

[01:41:45] So I go, I'm a professional driver. So I go in and I'm trying to be a little fun before I sit down my iPhone and get my seven and a half minutes with her about, what's it like shooting the family with Luc Vasun? So I go in and I try to be like, oh, look at this view. This is incredible and it is an incredible view. So I'm kind of like going behind her and kind of looking at the view. I'm like, hey, that you can see all the way

[01:43:01] to the Hexure playground.

[01:43:02] You can see the whole thing here.

[01:43:03] It's so beautiful.

[01:43:05] And she's back advice and she's like, they always recognize me. I'm such an idiot. I had her the story before. It's so funny. Such a lot. Just the idea is you, five person like her sixties and you're offering her notes on how

[01:44:21] to avoid like camera eye-craps.

[01:44:22] I can't these eyes.

[01:44:23] I said something like that.

[01:44:24] I said something like that.

[01:44:25] I said something.

[01:44:26] I said something.

[01:44:27] I said something. character who sings, which is a very interesting take. And a thing that you watch is you go like, huh, that's not a device other movies you use. Are there movies that do that? But it's a really interesting storytelling device. It is. It shouldn't really work. No. Okay, what's your point? Sorry. But I do think there's something too, as much as she's saying, I didn't wanna make the Plancky Macbeth version

[01:45:42] of this movie, this film is aggressively, nakedly earnest,

[01:47:03] but it is doing so in a very kind of like focused,

[01:47:06] serious minded way. She takes the chemistry between them and their longing and their feelings and wrestling with it very seriously. And for how much this movie does, or at least for a long time did have a reputation as like this very bizarre silly vanity project. How do they ever make that as a movie? You watch it now and it's so much less silly than you would imagine it being. Right, yeah. You're totally right.

[01:48:21] Yes.

[01:48:22] For how much she's not trying to like

[01:48:23] make it a kitchen sink drama.

[01:48:25] And also let you understand the right amount

[01:48:26] of cheese to put in there. incessantly, which I knew her being loved because she was just like, I've never gotten this much sort of like hands on attention from a director. And then said that basically transmuted into me being like, I feel like I'm in love with her. So like she's fostering an energy that actually translates into the chemistry of the movie. Of Barbara just being like, you're my little doll,

[01:49:40] I'm gonna let you perfectly,

[01:49:42] I'm gonna make you up perfectly.

[01:49:44] I'm gonna like wait on you hand and foot. be able to do all those things at the same time, especially given that it's this kind of like glowing period piece, right? Like it's not some work of realism or whatever. And like, you know, the keeping of the balance is why Yantl works. And it's why Patinkin can yell.

[01:51:01] Like because that feels of a piece with work print of the movie. In one way, film it and then be like,

[01:52:20] great, deconstruct it, try something new.

[01:52:23] So that she would have these editing records

[01:52:26] of all the different versions to the city and stops to get lunch and she meets a bunch of rabbinical students. Like there's no, there's no cossack, like in Filler on the Roof thing, there's always the cossacks. Fucking cossacks. That are questionable. And in American Tale, except their cats. Except the cats. But there's not. We're no cats in America. No, but there is none of the fucking the start of the movie. There's no, I don't even wanna call it a threat,

[01:53:40] just to pierce the bubble.

[01:53:42] This is not.

[01:53:42] It's a totally, it's a totally a locked system.

[01:53:46] Well, I like that and I wish someone would say that about me. You are a wonderful, giddy little shrimp. David, thank you. That's the kindest thing that's ever been said to me. I've been with my whole friend. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Wonderful, giddy little shrimp. A shellfish is not coaching. The scene when they go to get like cinnamon buns or something at one point in the movie. It's during a montage.

[01:55:00] They go to cinnabon.

[01:55:01] Yeah, they go to cinnabon.

[01:55:02] They go to the air.

[01:55:03] They're all American.

[01:55:04] They're the prog, the prog cinnabon.

[01:55:05] Yeah.

[01:55:06] It's just a great little, like scene within a take, it's just by the choices she's making as an actor against them. She's not usually in the middle of a scene breaking reality down and noting them. But I also think maybe that's the way with the nature of the relationship and the dynamic as it had been set up with the Tempe Nant at that point, there needed to be that needling

[01:56:24] in order to get the thing flowing.

[01:56:25] Right.

[01:56:26] It feeds the performance in another way. Yes, I think so, right? I was not going to say that that quickly. It might have been not. Maybe it's not my question, but a hell of a record. But he asked her to write the notes for the back cover of the album, and she responds, Mandy, you put me through hell. I can't write these notes for you. I'm sorry, but I just can't do it. Why did you give me such a hard time? And he said, well, I was scared, really?

[01:57:41] And then her line is, Barbara, I mean, in the book,

[01:57:44] I guess people have different ways of reacting to fear. So when I'm not working, I really enjoy doing fucking nothing. You know? She likes having ice cream with Jim Brolin. Right. Whereas like, Potemkin is very like, yeah, it's combative. For basically his whole career. So we need to just anything else we want to say about Yantl before we play the box office

[01:59:01] game because we are running off to live.

[01:59:03] We're running off to live.

[01:59:04] I think, I would say, it's a sort of hidden community.

[01:59:08] And I like was a success. Yeah. More than doubled its budget, made about 40 million domestically got some good reviews. Paul and Kale probably the most. But it was in the top 20 high school films of the year. Yes. It was a lower part of that time. But yeah. Maslyn sort of slammed it in the times and

[02:00:22] Streisand said that destroyed her. Well, now. There's another one in Tolde, Jane Kim. They just let me ripen stall, huh? That's terrible. No, Sophia Coppola. That's later.

[02:01:40] That's not later.

[02:01:41] She was not right for this question.

[02:01:42] Oh, sorry.

[02:01:43] I'm sorry.

[02:01:43] First Jane Kimpian.

[02:01:44] I'm an idiot.

[02:01:44] Yeah.

[02:01:45] Do you realize also, do you realize also I would agree now I'm looking at the nominees. Yeah, who got nominated and I'll tell you who should have. Brooks wins this year. James L. Brooks wins for terms of endearment. Good movie. Mike Nichols for Silkwood. Good movie, but he's probably already been nominated a bunch of times. He has and that's not a best-picture nominee so he's sneaking in. Bruce Baresford for Tender Mercy. Good movie.

[02:03:00] Yeah, good movie.

[02:03:01] Yeah, good movie.

[02:03:02] Which is a best-picture nominee.

[02:03:03] Peter Yates for the Dresser, another best-picture nominee.

[02:03:07] Okay.

[02:03:08] And Peter Yates is a masterpiece big chill is more the kind of movie that gets snub for director because it's and write stuff This is all talk a big Financial Because Larry Larry a financial bomb no but that movie bomb so hard. They probably were like well That's not over praise it with the Oscar even clear the tower. I mean

[02:05:42] I think actually the right offices is a horror sequel. Kind of a fun tagline.

[02:05:43] I want to tell you the Roberts is in this one. Max is fucking Brolin took a hike at this point. So amnaeville 3D. Yeah. Yeah. It's opening number one. It's like like you say that Ganta was a limited limoush release. Okay. Number two, I just mentioned it. Big best fiction nominee terms generational film. Nope. Oh, a big

[02:07:01] chill. Big chill. You know, what?

[02:07:04] greatest thing about Big chill is that the

[02:07:06] movie just ends. It does.

[02:07:08] Sure. But do you should see it's very good. Yeah, it's very funny. Never seen it. I know it's got a little boy with glasses. I think it genuinely is good. You do have to work a little bit to get past the memeiness of it now, which is a problem, the culture

[02:08:22] not of the movie. Yeah, obviously becomes a. Not Irvin Kershner. He worked the barber. Is that the one that Tully Sivalis? No, it's Max von Sido is in that one. Cost Maria Brandauer. Yeah, well, he, okay, anyway, look. Someone plays blow-fowl dude, I can't remember who. All right, number five at the box office. I can't say I know this film.

[02:09:42] It was a bomb. Okay.

[02:09:43] It's well known for including Brian Adams' hit single Heaven

[02:09:47] as part of the century really strange sort of Parable very weird You've got the fucking pure ass masterpiece the dead zone. I'm a rock. Yes. Yeah

[02:12:01] the rock band Fish. But instead, I'm going to see the Walt Disney picture.

[02:12:04] I'm sure you're gonna do that soon.

[02:12:06] Here's my picture.

[02:12:06] Who's in Wish?

[02:12:07] I mean, it's a cartoon nobody else in it.

[02:12:08] I don't fucking know.

[02:12:09] I had a man work when Ariana DeBose,

[02:12:10] Chris Kine and Alan Tudic.

[02:12:13] It's the origin story of the famous Wishing Star

[02:12:15] that's run across the history of Disney picture.

[02:12:17] Really?

[02:12:18] It's a Disney internal...

[02:12:21] The star falls out of the sky.

[02:12:23] And I have to...

[02:12:23] That's what it's served.

[02:12:24] You know, ladies and gentlemen in the audience, We keep saying let's do lunch. Okay. Let's do lunch. You around next week? No, it's the Thanksgiving week. I'm going to ask you a second. That was my one good one. Booked up. Actually, I might be free Wednesday. Who's busy Wednesday before? Thanks. And I say to you, let's get lunch next Wednesday. We're certainly not recording. What kind of food do you want? I like a good lots of ones. Look at some lots of little soup.

[02:13:40] Where's the diner in your neighborhood?

[02:13:41] Oh my God.

[02:13:42] Neptune?

[02:13:43] Wrap this episode up.

[02:13:44] I got to go.

[02:13:45] Go to the swear to God.

[02:13:46] You're making diner plans on night.

[02:13:47] The Neptune diner.

[02:13:48] Let's go know the people. Yes. There's like two Hoffman boosters and I don't know them personally I hope no like but like frothing when he coming back Crickets from most of your you know 99.9% of your fans, you know don't want to get a fine taste. It's a refined taste It's for their fine panel it But those two guys Hall of Fame guests. Oh listen to that

[02:15:03] And I love my friends and in all sincerity, I joke around with David sometimes he's a pretty good guy. I joke around with you Griffin. Ben, not the typical Ben, this is Ben Prime today. My first time meeting Ben Prime, very nice to meet you. And to the listeners out there, thanks for everything. Turn your munch. Bye. Round of applause for Jordan Hoffman. Thank you all for listening.

[02:16:20] Please remember to rate, review, and subscribe.

[02:16:22] David is getting into his car and driving away.

[02:16:26] His car parked in the studio. theme song. Go to BlanchackPaw.com for links to some real nerdy shit including Blanchack Special Features, our Patreon where we do film series, Terminator, Dont Dont Dont Dont Dont. Tune in next week for Prince of Tides. We already recorded it, Katie's on it. The Queen of the Carolinas. And as always, Jordan is currently using yet another role of toilet

[02:17:41] paper.