I went out to LA last week to discuss the film option for IMMORTAL. Great experience. The movie industry is a business anecdotally filled with sharks and snakes, but somehow I have stumbled upon honorable people. Not just honorable, also smart, creative, funny–a pleasure to be with. I went out for drinks with my gorgeous friend Michelle, and we quaffed too much wine and giggled over nefarious plans. Then I had an enjoyable evening, dining out with an old friend who’s an agent at CAA and with the producer who wants to option IMMORTAL and her husband. Two tables over was Jack Black, looking adorable in a funky hat. “How is this possible for a married lady and mom to be here now?” I wondered. I’m ready to move to LA.
But I live here now, and my family welcomed me back with their usual aplomb: “A movie of Immortal? Great! Can you raise my allowance? Can you iron my dress for the bat mitzvah? Are there any snacks in the house?”
My family keeps me real. The other night I made a seder during which my eldest daughter read an atheist poem by John Keats, my middle daughter sneaked swigs of the Manishewitz, my step-daughter said “Oy Vey” forty times to prove she was an honorary Jew, my 3 year old ran around the table trying to blow out the candles, and my husband fretted about the roast: “Ten plagues? Do you think the roast is over-cooked? That was a really nice piece of meat. How long has it been in? Did you put enough rosemary on it?”
But I soldiered on with the Haggadah, because I am convinced something worthwhile will rub off. The good news is that my eldest says she will still send her children to Hebrew school because “Every child should come to reject organized religion on their own.” The middle daughter expressed a similar opinion when she sobered up. The little one didn’t set herself or the house on fire. And the roast came out beautifully.