Post by jeffan on Feb 14, 2009 17:16:44 GMT -5
Thanks Anke!
By Corinne Ullrich
Feb. 12, 2009
Merkur.de
With "Jurassic Park" and "Independence Day" he brought in more money than Tom Cruise with all of his films combined. Now the 56 year old shines as a traumatized Holocaust survivor.
His fingers are as long and slim as his whole appearance. And they are flexible. Almost every of Jeff Goldblum's sentences are accompanied by expanding gestures of his hands. And even if they rest peacefully on the armrest, the fingers spread and stretch all the time like their owner couldn't control them.
Jeff Goldblum talks, but it seems that preferably he likes to listen and perceive his counterpart. He observes attentively. Even though he surely explained some of what he says probably hundreds of times before. An actor, a media pro, who is extremely well dressed on the top of that: elegant black jacket, light grey shirt, bronze-golden cravat. No jeans and t-shirt type then? Sure, there are such pictures of him, he explains. But when he's doing promotion for his new movie he likes to wear black to show his respect for Adam Stein, a Holocaust survivor.
In the role of Adam in "AR" Goldblum can show all of his mastery: Adam is extravagant, charming, full of life, a seducer, and at the same time he is desperate, aggressive, morbid, abysmal. He experienced all triumphs and abysses of life in the extremest form.
Source of life
"When I got the script and read it, I thought: There is just one actor who can play this part: Jeff", director Paul Schrader explains. Besides the fact that it was relevant that Goldblum is a Jew himself. That way it was easier for him to empathize with the character. "I never did a movie about the Holocaust", Goldblum explains. Until recently he never thought about his Jewish identity. He celebrates Jewish holidays "my way - nothing traditional." He believes in God in the sense of "silence and space".
It's important to him to live "ethically the right way. That means to contribute something to social life." That's why he gets involved with the Starlight Foundation that supports ill children and their families. He's also part of the managing board of End Hunger, a network that fights against malnutrition in kids in the allegedly so rich United States.
Not until the preparation for Schraders surreal movie that reminds of "Sophie's choice", Goldblum visited Israel for the first time. He talked to survivors, went to the Polish concentration camp in Lublin and to Sachsenhausen. He spent one month in Berlin, visited places the comedian Adam Stein could have been to and the train station from which the trains departed into death. His most important sparring partner during preparation was his sister Pamela, a painter in LA. "I read the whole script to her, played all parts for her and got a feeling for the story through her reactions. It was very emotional."
Was it hard to play a man who once had to play a dog? Goldblum rolls his eyes, moves back and forth, clicks his tongue. "It was hard. On the first day I had uncontrollable convulsions, seizures, virtually, snot and tears rolled down my face, I moved on my hands and feet." There was actually a lot of tears during the shooting in the concentraion camp.
Personal dismay? That's not it, Goldblum says. Luckily his family didn't lose anyone in Second World War. "Except for my uncle Chuck. He volunteered in the war and was shot down over Germany." His nephew Jeffrey was born as the third of four children in Pennsylvania seven years after the end of the war. His father Harold was a doctor, his mother a radio presenter. Jeff was a good student who was interested in arts from early on, especially in Jazz, painting and acting. "I grew up with science fiction and monster movies, things like 'I Was a Teenage Werewolf' and the work of Vincent Price." Price impressed him a lot with his films, "probably as much as I impressed kids during the 90s with my films, for example with 'Independence Day'", Goldblum says decently.
At the age of 17 he went to New York to study acting at the famous Neighborhood Playhouse. Only one year later he had his first bigger role on broadway, in "Two Gentlemen from Verona". In 1975 he is on the big screen for the first time, in "Death Wish" with Charles Bronson. He proves his comedic talent in 1985 in the successful comedy "Into the Night" by John Landis. But the final breakthrough follows one year later with his scariest part as the scientist Seth Brundle who turns into "The Fly" after a miscarried experiment.
During the shooting of David Cronenberg's remake Goldblum falls in love with his film partner Geena Davis. For her he divorces his wife at that time, Patricia Gaul, after 12 years of marriage. He marries again and gets divorced again two years later. He never commits hisself to anyone no more - although the change of girlfriends every two or three years turned into some kind of program: Geena Davis is followed by Laura Dern, they fall in love during the shooting of Jurassic Park, one of the most successful movies of the 90s. But did he never crave for a real family? Goldblum shrugs: "To be honest, I was never keen on having kids."
Roland Emmerich's distressing patriotic alien blockbuster "Independence Day" made Goldblum the most famous actor of the 90s. With "Jurassic Park" and "Independence Day" alone he brought in more money than Tom Cruise, Hollywood's golden child, with all of his films combined. And still he's one of the silent, unknown stars in Germany.
Orchestra of men
No wonder: Goldblum condemns the Hollywood jetset, instead he is engaged in painting and Jazz music. From time to time he plays piano in small clubs in LA with his band "The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra". During the premiere party of "Two days in Paris" on the Berlinale two years ago he gets behind the keyboard in the hotel lounge and cuts loose. But who is this Mildred Snitzer - at last her "orchestra" consists of men only. He grins: "She's a 100 years old lady in LA. We only played for fun and therefore our band had no name. And then we played at the Playboy Jazz Festival in Hollywood Bowl and they wanted to annonce us in the program." Mildred Snitzer was a friend of the family. "And I liked her name!"
Jeff Goldblum loves to be the boss, which also applies for his work. In 1995 he had his debut as a director of the short film "Little surprises" which brought in an Oscar nomination. Additionally he works as an acting teacher. In 1982 he founded the Neighborhood Playhouse with Robert Carnegie. He [Jeff] teaches there until today. He still plays on stage. Last year he played in "Speed the Plow" with Kevin Spacey at the Ruhrfestspiele in Recklinghausen. A critic of the London "Independent" wrote: "Goldblum's electrifying hypnotic and exotic performance raises hackles." The same can be said of his presentment of Adam Stein, the seducer and victim, the fun lover and desponding. For Jeff Goldblum it's the part of his life.
www.merkur.de/2009_07_Der_unbekannte_Su.32601.0.html?&no_cache=1
By Corinne Ullrich
Feb. 12, 2009
Merkur.de
With "Jurassic Park" and "Independence Day" he brought in more money than Tom Cruise with all of his films combined. Now the 56 year old shines as a traumatized Holocaust survivor.
His fingers are as long and slim as his whole appearance. And they are flexible. Almost every of Jeff Goldblum's sentences are accompanied by expanding gestures of his hands. And even if they rest peacefully on the armrest, the fingers spread and stretch all the time like their owner couldn't control them.
Jeff Goldblum talks, but it seems that preferably he likes to listen and perceive his counterpart. He observes attentively. Even though he surely explained some of what he says probably hundreds of times before. An actor, a media pro, who is extremely well dressed on the top of that: elegant black jacket, light grey shirt, bronze-golden cravat. No jeans and t-shirt type then? Sure, there are such pictures of him, he explains. But when he's doing promotion for his new movie he likes to wear black to show his respect for Adam Stein, a Holocaust survivor.
In the role of Adam in "AR" Goldblum can show all of his mastery: Adam is extravagant, charming, full of life, a seducer, and at the same time he is desperate, aggressive, morbid, abysmal. He experienced all triumphs and abysses of life in the extremest form.
Source of life
"When I got the script and read it, I thought: There is just one actor who can play this part: Jeff", director Paul Schrader explains. Besides the fact that it was relevant that Goldblum is a Jew himself. That way it was easier for him to empathize with the character. "I never did a movie about the Holocaust", Goldblum explains. Until recently he never thought about his Jewish identity. He celebrates Jewish holidays "my way - nothing traditional." He believes in God in the sense of "silence and space".
It's important to him to live "ethically the right way. That means to contribute something to social life." That's why he gets involved with the Starlight Foundation that supports ill children and their families. He's also part of the managing board of End Hunger, a network that fights against malnutrition in kids in the allegedly so rich United States.
Not until the preparation for Schraders surreal movie that reminds of "Sophie's choice", Goldblum visited Israel for the first time. He talked to survivors, went to the Polish concentration camp in Lublin and to Sachsenhausen. He spent one month in Berlin, visited places the comedian Adam Stein could have been to and the train station from which the trains departed into death. His most important sparring partner during preparation was his sister Pamela, a painter in LA. "I read the whole script to her, played all parts for her and got a feeling for the story through her reactions. It was very emotional."
Was it hard to play a man who once had to play a dog? Goldblum rolls his eyes, moves back and forth, clicks his tongue. "It was hard. On the first day I had uncontrollable convulsions, seizures, virtually, snot and tears rolled down my face, I moved on my hands and feet." There was actually a lot of tears during the shooting in the concentraion camp.
Personal dismay? That's not it, Goldblum says. Luckily his family didn't lose anyone in Second World War. "Except for my uncle Chuck. He volunteered in the war and was shot down over Germany." His nephew Jeffrey was born as the third of four children in Pennsylvania seven years after the end of the war. His father Harold was a doctor, his mother a radio presenter. Jeff was a good student who was interested in arts from early on, especially in Jazz, painting and acting. "I grew up with science fiction and monster movies, things like 'I Was a Teenage Werewolf' and the work of Vincent Price." Price impressed him a lot with his films, "probably as much as I impressed kids during the 90s with my films, for example with 'Independence Day'", Goldblum says decently.
At the age of 17 he went to New York to study acting at the famous Neighborhood Playhouse. Only one year later he had his first bigger role on broadway, in "Two Gentlemen from Verona". In 1975 he is on the big screen for the first time, in "Death Wish" with Charles Bronson. He proves his comedic talent in 1985 in the successful comedy "Into the Night" by John Landis. But the final breakthrough follows one year later with his scariest part as the scientist Seth Brundle who turns into "The Fly" after a miscarried experiment.
During the shooting of David Cronenberg's remake Goldblum falls in love with his film partner Geena Davis. For her he divorces his wife at that time, Patricia Gaul, after 12 years of marriage. He marries again and gets divorced again two years later. He never commits hisself to anyone no more - although the change of girlfriends every two or three years turned into some kind of program: Geena Davis is followed by Laura Dern, they fall in love during the shooting of Jurassic Park, one of the most successful movies of the 90s. But did he never crave for a real family? Goldblum shrugs: "To be honest, I was never keen on having kids."
Roland Emmerich's distressing patriotic alien blockbuster "Independence Day" made Goldblum the most famous actor of the 90s. With "Jurassic Park" and "Independence Day" alone he brought in more money than Tom Cruise, Hollywood's golden child, with all of his films combined. And still he's one of the silent, unknown stars in Germany.
Orchestra of men
No wonder: Goldblum condemns the Hollywood jetset, instead he is engaged in painting and Jazz music. From time to time he plays piano in small clubs in LA with his band "The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra". During the premiere party of "Two days in Paris" on the Berlinale two years ago he gets behind the keyboard in the hotel lounge and cuts loose. But who is this Mildred Snitzer - at last her "orchestra" consists of men only. He grins: "She's a 100 years old lady in LA. We only played for fun and therefore our band had no name. And then we played at the Playboy Jazz Festival in Hollywood Bowl and they wanted to annonce us in the program." Mildred Snitzer was a friend of the family. "And I liked her name!"
Jeff Goldblum loves to be the boss, which also applies for his work. In 1995 he had his debut as a director of the short film "Little surprises" which brought in an Oscar nomination. Additionally he works as an acting teacher. In 1982 he founded the Neighborhood Playhouse with Robert Carnegie. He [Jeff] teaches there until today. He still plays on stage. Last year he played in "Speed the Plow" with Kevin Spacey at the Ruhrfestspiele in Recklinghausen. A critic of the London "Independent" wrote: "Goldblum's electrifying hypnotic and exotic performance raises hackles." The same can be said of his presentment of Adam Stein, the seducer and victim, the fun lover and desponding. For Jeff Goldblum it's the part of his life.
www.merkur.de/2009_07_Der_unbekannte_Su.32601.0.html?&no_cache=1
Jeff is a multi-facted guy who always surprises!