Hollywood Studio Magazine (January 1972)

flow of finished scripts about Masada across her desk. Producer Josef Shaftel is currently in Israel preparing to roll “THE SIEGE OF MASADA" at the end of this year. And Universal has acquired the rights to Ernest K. Gann's best-selling novel about Masada, “THE ANTAGONISTS”. Prior to filming in Israel, Gann may write a stage version for Richard Burton and Paul Scofield. “JERUSALEM, JERUSALEM", an American production about the political activities of American and Israeli stu¬ dents, was filmed in Israel this year, starring Daria Halpern, Bruce Davidson, Nicol Williamson, and Donald Pleasence. The film was directed by John Flynn and photographed by one of France's leading cinematographers, Raoul Coutard. Last year's western “MADRON", starring Richard Boone and Leslie Caron, and featuring the Oscar-nominat¬ ed song “Till Love Touches Your Life," was the first movie with an American setting to be shot in Israel. Boone plans to settle in Israel and make more pic¬ tures there. Another American production, James Collier's “PLEASE WHISPER MY NAME", was produced this year in Israel by new producers Richard Ben- ware and Don West. Jean-Luc Godard wants to make a film showing both sides of the Arab- Israeli conflict, and the dean of Polish directors, Alexander Ford, has settled in Israel with plans to film "THE FIRST CIRCLE". Israel's flowering film industry is obviously one of the world's most thor¬ oughly internationalized. Director Mann observes that “Israel, like any small country, must incorporate international talent and learn to make films with them, not just subsist as a place for others to come to. “The Israelis are cautious about deals and foreigners, a natural attitude for a pioneer people so often mistreated in the past and still subject to so many foreign influences." Writer-producer-director Mel Shavel- son, who made “CAST A GIANT SHADOW” in Israel in 1965, and de¬ tailed the often humorous experience in the new book “How to Make a Jewish Movie", says “The Israelis are sensitive and protective. It's still hard for them to believe that people want to help them out of love. They would prefer to be respected than to be loved. But this attitude is changing with time. You can see it in the recent interviews with Teddy Kollek, the may¬ or of Jerusalem, and his son. The world Famed international actor, Richard Harris, shown with young thespian, Kim Burfield, in a scene from "BLOOMFIELD", which Harris starred in and directed. The film, having to do with an aging soccer player who is befriended by a small boy who believes in him, was produced entirely in Israel. is beginning to see Israel as a nation, rather than as a persecuted people. “In the past the Israelis have tended to make 'inside, family pictures' that appeal to the special Israeli sense of humor, with few concessions to the international market. They must open their eyes too.” Israel is opening its eyes and its gates. Elhanan Streit, president of the Israeli Film Producers Association, has said "We do not intend to be just a host country.” Co-production pacts have been signed with France, Germany, and Sweden, and other partnerships are in advanced stages of negotiation. Half the films made in Israel in 1970 were co-productions, involving such disparate countries as Rumania, Japan, and Persia. The first Israeli-Canadian co-produc¬ tion “SEVEN TIMES A DAY" co-stars A huge excavation was accomplished for the filming of Israeli comedy called "THE BIG DIG" (or "VENICE OF THE MIDDLE EAST"), a fantasy which transforms a replica of Tel Aviv's main street into a canal. Comedies are a mainstay of the Israeli cinema, although local producers now seem to be dealing more with dramatic themes.