Tidbits!

Click here to see a MovieWeb exclusive clip of Jeff and Parker Posey in /Fay Grim. I wasn't sure I'd be too into this movie but seeing Jeff's handsome visage all artfully tousled and serious and stern just made me change my mind. I am even considering seeking out the film's precursor, Henry Fool so I can get the full picture - though reviews I've read insist that Fay Grim can stand on its own.

Here's something that surprised me. Did you know that Jeff does not yet have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame? How is it that this man has yet to be awarded one, when "celebrities" like Ryan Seacrest and Judge Judy are already up memorialized in pavement? I think it's scandalous, frankly; and apparently the city of Tel Aviv agrees with me. The German press is reporting that the city is planning it's own Walk of Fame for Jewish celebrities.

Tel Aviv hopes to set up a "walk of fame" similar to that in Hollywood on one of the city's main streets in time for its 100th anniversary in 2009, the Ma'ariv daily reported Thursday.

The walkway, initiated by Deputy Mayor Peer Wiesner, would see copper molds with the names of Jewish celebrities from Israel and abroad placed on the sidewalk of the city's Ibn Gvirol street, a long thoroughfare which is also near most of Tel Aviv's main cultural institutions.

Candidates for the Tel Aviv walk of fame, said Ma'ariv, include Woody Allen, Dustin Hoffman, Steven Spielberg, Jeff Goldblum, Mel Brooks, Sarah Jessica Parker, Goldie Hawn, Ben Stiller, Adam Sandler, Jerry Seinfeld, Bill Crystal and Barbra Streisand.

Michael Douglas and Scarlet Johansson, who are half-Jewish, are also candidates for inclusion, the daily said.

As wonderful as this is, I still think it's a crime Jeff hasn't recieved his own star in Hollywood. I was looking around the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce website and it turns out that any entertainer can be nominated by anyone (even a fan), as long as the application includes a letter of agreement from the star (or their agent), and someone's willing to foot the $25,000 bill. Damn, I'm sorry, Jeff. I love you but I ain't got a barrel of money.

And here's a little something I stumbled upon quite accidentally while reading about this year's Tribeca Film Festival. A movie called "The Grand" premiered there last week and rumour has it Jeff has a small part/cameo, along with some other big names. According to the Tribeca site:

Woody Harrelson goes all-in to save his dead grandfather's hotel-casino from a real estate developer in this hilarious mockumentary. His master plan: to win the world's most famous high stakes tournament, the Grand Championship of Poker. Anteing up the laughs are Werner Herzog, Cheryl Hines, David Cross, Ray Romano and Dennis Farina.



In the tradition of a Christopher Guest-style mockumentary, an eclectic all-star comedic cast assembles in Las Vegas for a dizzying and hilarious trip into the world of professional poker. Parallel storylines and dozens of cameos-including the likes of Jason Alexander and Brett Ratner-intersect during the game's biggest night: the Grand Championship of Poker, with high stakes for all involved. A recovering party boy is looking to reclaim his grandfather's hotel-casino (Woody Harrelson) from an eccentric real estate developer (Michael McKean), so he faces off against an all-too naïve Midwesterner (Richard Kind) and rival siblings (David Cross and Cheryl Hines) being pushed by their megalomaniacal father (Gabe Kaplan). SNL's Chris Parnell as a misanthropic genius/sci-fi geek and German auteur Werner Herzog as a nihilistic card shark who has an interesting relationship with animals-especially his rabbit- round out the poker table. As the chips fly and the players get closer to the golden pot, it's anyone's game as surprises and antics ensue. With Ray Romano as Cheryl Hines' fantasy-foot-ball-obsessed husband, the tournament becomes a rollicking good time, and the audience is sure to have as much fun as the cast. Seasoned screenwriter Zak Penn(X-Men: The Last Stand), who follows up his directorial debut Incident at Loch Ness with The Grand, knows when to add just the right amount of structure and when to back away and allow his formidable cast to improvise, raising the stakes and bringing the comedy to its full height.

Interestingly, Goldblum is mentioned nowhere on the Tribeca site, nowhere on the IMDB page for the film, and the film itself is not listed in his IMDB filmography. I don't know if that means this reviewer got mixed up or if his part is so small he doesn't warrant mentioning, but I am looking into it. If anyone has confirmation one way or the other, let me know. It is of almost no consequence, since I'd go see this film if I lived anywhere near NYC. It features several of my very favourite performers, and of course the amazing Werner Herzog, perhaps the world's most absurd director. (He just may be Batman.)

The Grand plays three more nights at Tribeca, so if you're in the city, go check it out tonight, Wednesday, or Saturday. Tickets are $18 at the door.

Instant Talkshow!

Oh, this is a real treasure! Nick Scoullar wanders New York City randomly and spontaneously interviewing people, both regular folks and celebrities alike for his website, Instant Talkshow. How lucky for us that he just happened to be hanging around during the Tribeca Film Festival in 2006 and managed to convince both the lovely Ileana Douglas and gorgeous Jeff to sit down with him for many wonderful minutes to talk about Pittsburgh (which premiered at Tribeca last year, but seems to have since become a most elusive fish), prank call Nick's Dad, chat about the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra, and share some tips and tricks for serious thespians. When you visit the site, click the link at the bottom that says "Archive" and enjoy!

Who do you think would win in a fight between the Brundlefly and Robocop?

Jeff On Ellen

And when I say "on Ellen" I mean, really on Ellen.



Not to be missed: the adorable photo they show of him at age 10 or 11 or 12 in a bathing suit.

This originally aired March 21st, 2007 as part of the press junket for Raines. I've been waiting a long time to see this - his touchy-feeliness was quite the topic of discussion amongst fans but I'd missed the program.

I postulate that if anyone could convince a lesbian to "switch teams", it would be Jeff. Y/N?

Friends in High Places

The Post Chronicle reported today that:

Actor Jeff Goldblum wasn't worried when he encountered immigration problems entering Israel, because he knew he could call on the country's consul general to give him a helping hand.

The Independence Day star encountered trouble when he was told there was a problem with his passport, meaning he wouldn't be able to travel from America to Israel.

But after making a few calls, Goldblum was joined by the consul general himself in less than 10 minutes.

He says, "In 10 minutes, the consul was there with me. We go back up to the desk. The consul general said, 'Here is my stamp. Jeff can go any place he wants.'

"I didn't want to say I told you so, but I was inwardly pleased." (c) WENN

What is funny about this "news" story is that I distinctly recall seeing Jeff on David Letterman back in March, just before the premiere of Raines, and this was the anecdote he chose to tell. Unfortunately it kind of fell flat as a talkshow subject (there was no real punchline); but it is comforting to know that when Jeff takes me on a round-the-world trip some day we'll be able to rub elbows with high-ranking government officials and schmooze our way through customs, even with nearly-expired passports.

Ebay treasures for the day

Some lovely VHS ebay finds out there for the serious Jeff collector (I'd be after them if I had a VCR!).



Two Episodes of Ten Speed and Brown Shoe







The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Made for TV) starring Jeff as the school teacher who falls in love with the wrong woman!

Let me know if you bid on either of these!

Fay Grim release details

Fay Grim is a sequal to Hal Hartley's Henry Fool (1997). In it, Jeff plays a CIA agent. You can read about it on the Internet Movie Database.

"Fay Grim" will be released in theaters (see list below) on Friday, May 18. It will be shown digitally in Landmark Theaters where available.

That night it will make its cable TV premiere on HDNet with 2 screenings at 8:30 PM and 11:00 PM.

The following Tuesday, May 22, it will be released on DVD through Magnolia Home Entertainment.

Here is the list of theaters:

Opening

5/18/2007
Berkeley, CA: Shattuck Cinemas
San Diego, CA: Hillcrest Cinemas
San Francisco, CA: Embarcadero Center Cinema
West Los Angeles, CA: Nuart Theatre
Hartford, CT: Real Art Ways Cinema
Washington, DC: E Street Cinema
Atlanta, GA: Midtown Art Cinemas 8
Chicago, IL: Landmark's Century Centre Cinema
Indianapolis, IN: Keystone Art Cinema 7
Cambridge, MA: Kendall Square Cinema
Royal Oak, MI: Main Art Theatre
Minneapolis, MN: Lagoon Cinema
University City, MO: Tivoli Theatre
Huntington, NY: Cinema Arts Centre
New York, NY: IFC Center
Austin, TX: Dobie Theatre
Dallas, TX: Magnolia Theatre - Dallas

5/25/2007
Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Cinematheque

You can go directly to Magnolia Pictures' website to look at the press kit and some high-res stills from the film.

The movie isn't airing anywhere near me, sadly - but I look forward to watching it at home! Hope some of you get to see it as it was meant to be seen.

Did anyone see the first film, Henry Fool?

Friday Funny

Spring Yields a Goldblum, a quite humorous song from the witty fellow over at Very Tasteful.

Jeff appears to enjoy it:

Raines is in a precarious position

As most fans of the show are aware, Raines - Goldblum's newest foray into television - is in a precarious position right now. The show has been well-recieved by fans and critics but the ratings have been lower than perhaps NBC would like. It has been discussed on the official Raines message boards that we should begin a mail campaign to encourage NBC to order more episodes to air this autumn.

If you are someone who thinks that there just isn't enough Goldblum in your life, or who happens to enjoy quirky detective programs, you should visit this webpage and join NBC's web panel. Or utilize the following:

Contact NBC by phone at 1-212-664-8857

By email nbcshows@nbc.com
By snail mail:
Raines
c/o NBC
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112

Holocaust Role A Spiritual Journey

By Stephen Applebaum

April 26, 2007 12:00am

JEFF Goldblum has had to dig deeply into his Jewish heritage for his latest film.

IN 1969, Israeli author Yoram Kaniuk wrote a novel, Adam Resurrected, whose protagonist was a German Jew and once Europe's greatest clown. Having survived the Holocaust by entertaining victims on their way to the ovens, Adam Stein suffers a mental breakdown years later and enters rehabilitation in Israel's Negev Desert, where he gradually finds his way back to sanity.

Now American director Paul Schrader is making the novel into a film, with Jewish-American actor Jeff Goldblum in the title role. Goldblum has been researching the role for several months when I meet him before he starts filming. The 54-year-old Pittsburgh native spent time in Berlin, talking to Holocaust survivors and studying the lives of Jews before and during the war.

His family had a different experience of the era, he says: his grandparents left Europe in the early 1900s and therefore missed the horror of the Nazi era. His paternal grandfather came from Russia and changed his name to Goldblum when he settled in the US.

Despite the wide availability of information in so many domains since the war, Goldblum says he is finding his inquiries challenging.

"We are shooting it for a few months, which is no time in relation to what people went through when they lived through those times,'' he says. "I have talked to so many survivors and I say, 'How long were you in camps?' and they say, 'Four years.' It's just unimaginable.''

Goldblum's research has taken him down some unnerving paths. He has been investigating how to be a dog, for example, as well as how to fake playing the violin. Part of Stein's repertoire includes animal impersonations: a camp commander (played by Willem Dafoe) is so amused by Stein's canine impressions that he forces him to act like a dog, even to sharing living space and food with the officer's pet dog.

Portraying the Holocaust on film was once taboo, but this has gradually been eroded by films such as Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List and Tim Blake Nelson's daring The Grey Zone.

"The Holocaust is a very delicate, holy, sacred area,'' Goldblum says. "People are still alive (that lived through it) and the world is still affected by it. So when I was reading the script, I kept thinking, 'Is this rendition of it really good? Is there a reason not to do this?'

"As I kept working on it and meeting the cast, my instinct was that it's very worth doing. It's worth doing for me at least.''

The film's German, Israeli and American actors include some descendants of Holocaust survivors. But Goldblum is vague when questioned about his Jewish identity. He was bar mitzvahed in an orthodox synagogue in Pittsburgh, he says, and attended Hebrew school.

"There are things about me that are Jewish, although I have a spiritual appetite, I might say, where I identify myself with larger groups than just Jews. And those spiritual appetites have something to do with this movie, which is why it appeals to me,'' he says.

Prompted to elaborate, he says: "With stories of horrible, shocking, violent, complete loss, it's always - as the wisdom literature tells us - an opportunity for grace, potentially, and I'm interested in that. And that's an element in Adam Resurrected.''

When Goldblum started acting in the 1960s, training involved exploration of other mental and physical disciplines, such as yoga, say.

"I was interested in space and the magical world beyond thinking, and the magical world of being, and of being anything and nothing,'' he says.

Acting looked to him early on like it could be a "spiritual adventure''.

Goldblum's parents were interested in theatre, though neither of them acted professionally. He left home at 17 and went to live in New York, where he studied with famed acting teacher Sanford Meisner. Initially supported by his parents, he soon started earning enough money from acting to support himself.

From an inauspicious start as a rapist in Michael Winner's Death Wish, Goldblum went on to get a bit part in Robert Altman's California Split, and then a bigger one in Altman's masterpiece, Nashville. He also had a small role in Woody Allen's Annie Hall. But it was his role in The Big Chill that made his name. Since then he has moved between independent films such as Igby Goes Down and Hal Hartley's new movie, Fay Grim, which screened in Berlin in February, and blockbusters such as Jurassic Park and Independence Day.

He returned to the theatre in 2005, in a Broadway production of Martin McDonagh's Pillowman (which will have its Australian premiere in Melbourne next month) and won a critics' award. He has done more film than theatre, but doesn't prefer one to the other.

"I just like acting,'' he says. ``It depends on the material and the people you're working with.''

The material he is working on now is clearly stretching him. I ask him whether he believes we have learned anything from the Holocaust. After all, today in eastern Europe, nationalists are again targeting Jews.

"In some ways it feels like it's getting worse in some places, and in the whole human organism, and in some ways getting better,'' he says. "There's an opportunity for grace and enlightenment now more than ever, but urgently, as things are getting more radically dark, too.''

source

Supermarket of the Stars - The Lost Episode

This is a real gem on YouTube. Ileanarama - Supermarket of the Stars appears to be a vanity project by Ileana Douglas. The premise is that a number of famous and semi-famous actors and actresses quit show biz and begin working a "regular" job in a small supermarket. Much hilarity ensues. This is just the "lost episode" - there are actually several other well produced videos on the youtube site if you enjoy this one.

Jeff makes a wonderful cameo in this, ostensibly shopping for ingredients for a cake. He is suckered into doing a performance in the aisle with Ileana for an audience of four.



"Are you Nepali?" Haaaaaa.

Not to be missed: Jeff's rant about women at the end. OH MY. Orient me in such a way, Jeff!

It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's....The Fly?

I took a screenshot from the Raines episode "Stoned Dead" (Season One, Episode Four) and mucked around with it a bit in Photoshop to come up with this for you.

It was drawn by Raines' hallucinated "vic" while they chatted in his car. The hallucination said it was his newest comic character, Captain Raines. Raines responded by telling the kid that he got his quads right, but the "bulge is a little modest". Which is just as well, since we don't want to scare the kiddies.

I have stared at this picture for a while now and can't come up with anything witty to say about it. Enjoy. I'll be over here in the corner biting my fist.

Oh, and now you can download and listen to the Raines theme song while you dribble over his image.

Insect Politics - put your foot down!

Oh, serious movie collectors might be interested in buying the half-human half-fly foot prosthetic Jeff wore in 1986's The Fly remake!

Check it out on Ebay.

Welcome

Welcome to my Jeff Goldblum fan site. I don't have a real "vision" for the place yet; I just recognized a need that had to be filled online. It seems that most current information on Mr. Goldblum and his projects both past and present is hopelessly scattered across multiple websites, some of them quite outdated. I wanted to create a space where info could be gathered and disseminated quickly and easily to all my fellow fans.

I haven't got much time today for an update of any substance (I spent far too long trying to figure out how to set this ding-a-ling site up), but here is a lovely photo of Jeff Goldblum from a recent TV Guide magazine article. I originally found this on the message board for Jeff on IMDB, generously scanned and uploaded by user kelsey049.

If you have any Jeff news, images or information you'd like to see posted here, email me with it and I'll be happy to do your bidding!

Thanks for visiting. Have an amazing day!