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Make Believe Jews

David Mamet in conversation with Tom Teicholz
APRIL 22, 2007 11:00 AM
FREUD PLAYHOUSE, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES

David Mamet is one of the most outspoken critics of Hollywood's depiction of the Jews—from the "noble savage" of Gentleman's Agreement and Fiddler on the Roof to the "minstrel show" of neurotic comedies to the "soft pornography" of Holocaust films. As a screenwriter and director, he is also a creator of celluloid Jews, most notably in his film Homicide. Tom Teicholz talks with David Mamet about how Hollywood has treated the Jews and his own attempts to create a different kind of onscreen Jewish character.

DAVID MAMET is a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright. He is the author of Glengarry Glen Ross, The Cryptogram, and Boston Marriage, among other plays. He has also published three novels and many screenplays, children's books, and essay collections. His most recent books are Bambi vs. Godzilla: On the Nature, Purpose, and Practice of the Movie Business and The Wicked Son: Anti-Semitism, Self-Hatred, and the Jews. His written the screenplays for many films, include Wag the Dog, The Spanish Prisoner, and Homicide, which he also directed.

TOM TEICHOLZ is a film producer and journalist. His writing has appeared in The New York Times Sunday Magazine, Interview and The Forward. He writes the award-winning "Tommywood" column (www.tommywood.com) that appears in The Jewish Journal of Los Angeles. Recently he served as American Film and TV editor of the 2nd Edition of The Encyclopedia Judaica.

Tom Teicholz photo © Elizabeth Stewart