LEGENDARY
PRODUCER JULIAN SCHLOSSBERG
with a rare screening of In The Spirit, starring Elaine May, and discussion of his new memoir, Try Not to Hold it Against Me
Sunday, June 1st at 2:30 PM
$40 Public with copy of his memoir | $35 Members with copy of his memoir
$25 Public film
& discussion only | $20 Members film & discussion only
Tickets include film screening, interview, Q&A, and book-signing reception with
live music. Copies of Julian’s memoir, Try
Not to Hold It Against Me: A Producer’s Life, are available to bundle with the film & at the box office. The book's sequel, A Producer's Life Continues, will also be available.
Multifaceted producer and conversationalist Julian Schlossberg,
who first enchanted the Cinema Arts Centre‘s audiences in April when he
interviewed his dear friend F. Murray Abraham, returns now for his own
special program: the first East Coast screening in over three decades of his
hilarious, zany comedy, In the Spirit, projected from the
only 35mm print in existence, and featuring an all-star cast topped by Elaine
May, Peter Falk, Marlo Thomas, Jeannie Berlin, Melanie Griffith and
Olympia Dukakis. Following the film, there will be a discussion of his
fascinating and funny, new insider memoirs, Try Not to Hold It Against
Me: A Producer’s Life, and A Producer’s Life Continues.
With a career spanning more than six decades, Julian Schlossberg has established himself as one of the
most prolific figures in show business. In his tell-all memoir, he recounts his
remarkable journey across movies, Broadway, television, and music. Julian has
been Paramount’s V.P. of Production
and the Producing Representative
for such figures as Dustin Hoffman, Elia Kazan, George C. Scott, and Robert
Duvall. He founded the fabled Castle
Hill Productions, distributing over 500 films by such directors as Orson
Welles, John Ford, John Cassavetes, Arthur Penn, Woody Allen, Ernst Lubitsch and
Luis Bunuel. As a Tony and Obie Award winning Broadway and Musical Producer, he has worked
with such figures as Richard Dreyfuss, Parker Posey, Eve Ensler, Alan Bates,
Frank Langella, Macaulay Culkin, Susan Stroman, Mia Farrow, Judd Hirsch,
Vanessa Redgrave, David Mamet, James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen, Joan Baez and
Judy Collins. And as television producer, interviewer and podcaster (MovieTalk), he has
created PBS American Masters portraits of Mike Nichols, Lillian Hellman and the series, Witness to the 20th
Century. His hundreds of interviews have includes those with Elaine May, Jack Nicholson, Bette Davis,
Woody Allen, Jane Fonda, Otto
Preminger, Lauren Bacall, Angela Lansbury, Clint Eastwood, Alan Alda,
Matthew Broderick, Sarah Jessica Parker, Maximillian Schell, Isabella
Rossellini, Martin Sheen, Steven Lang, Tony Shalhoub, and John Torturro, as well as political
and cultural figures such as William F Buckley, Gore Vidal,
President George Bush, Elie Wiesel, Arthur Miller, Gloria
Steinem, Madeleine Albright, Kofi Annan, Norman Lear, Henry
Kissinger, Tom Brokaw, General Colin Powell, Pat Buchanan, Noam
Chomsky and Desmond Tutu.
Learn more about Julian’s remarkable career: https://www.julianschlossbergproducer.com/
FILM:
In The Spirit
For the Manhattan-dwelling New Age devotee Reva Prosky (Marlo Thomas),
and her “temporary” house guest, the exiled Beverly Hills socialite Marianne (Elaine
May), life goes sour soon after Crystal (Jeannie Berlin, co-screenwriter/May’s
daughter), a hooker with mafia connections, expires beneath an out-of-control
waterbed. Marianne’s gentle husband Roger (Peter Falk), finally cracking
up from Reva’s clueless “assistance,” has meanwhile fled the coop. Inheriting
Crystal’s incriminating “date” book, the two unsuspecting women now find
themselves the target of a mysterious murderer who is determined to ensure that
the little black book remains unread. Reva and Marianne prepare to face their
deadly nemesis with a series of preposterous booby traps (which even catch an
unsuspecting Steve Buscemi - if you keep your eyes peeled). At one point
Elaine May and Marlo Thomas pose as hookers in a hilarious scene with Melanie
Griffith at her comedic best. (Producer/Casting Producer, Julian
Schlossberg, 94 min, 1990 | Dir. Sandra Seacat)
Also featuring a screening of the film's hilarious promo, written and directed by Elaine May herself!
“I don’t just like In the Spirit - I love it!”
– Meryl Streep
“Elaine May is the funniest woman in America.” –Los Angeles Times Film
Review
JULIAN SCHLOSSBERG’S NEW MEMOIRS
BOOK ONE
Try Not to Hold it Against Me
Julian Schlossberg grew up in New York City with an early love of
entertainment. As a child, he harbored ambitions of meeting his favorite stars
one day. Little did he know that in the course of his career, he would not only
meet many of them, but also become their producer, representative, and friend!
After working at the ABC network, at 27 he became the youngest head film buyer
for the famed Walter Reade Organization, worked as a top executive at Paramount
Pictures, and started Castle Hill Productions, one of the largest independent
film-distribution companies in the world. Schlossberg takes us through the trials and triumphs of work and play in every
avenue of the business: negotiating with such stars as Al Pacino and Burt
Reynolds; experiencing the
paranormal with Shirley MacLaine; running the Orson Welles
estate and restoring Welles'
masterly film adaptation of Othello;
partying with Barbra Streisand
and Liza Minelli; testifying in a lawsuit against The Beatles;
and interviewing over 120 of the most influential figures of the 20th century
for his series Witnesses to the 20th Century. Written with
engaging humor and self-deprecation, Try Not to Hold It Against Me
gives listeners a behind-the-scenes pass to Cannes and Las Vegas,
the lives and homes of the stars, and the rarely seen but crucial work of the producer
in the midst of it all. It's a compelling read for film, television, and
theater enthusiasts alike—and a one-of-a-kind autobiography by one of
entertainment's true insiders. Foreword by Elaine May.
SEQUEL, BOOK TWO:
My First Book – Part 2: A Producer’s Life Continues
The sequel
to Try Not to Hold it Against Me includes revelatory new profiles
of working with true geniuses, the great, the near great, the notorious, the
exasperating, the nutcases and the utter pains in the neck (including many
legends), all written with engaging humor and behind-the-scenes stories never
before told. Another foreword by
Elaine May.
“A LOVE LETTER TO SHOW BUSINESS! Try Not to Hold It Against Me is
a must-read written by one of the best and funniest in the industry. A
fascinating memoir that will captivate and delight any reader,” - Susan Stroman, Tony Award-Winning Broadway Director and
Choreographer.
“If I had only had the chance to read Julian Schlossberg’s Try Not To Hold It Against Me when I
launched my own career, I would have been introduced to a world that took me
decades to discover. Such a wealth of insight into how things get done. The
memoir is a joy to read, including a trip down memory lane during perhaps its
most creative era.” - Tony Roberts, Actor
“Mike Nichols invited me to join
him and Jeremy Irons for
a bite, where he introduced me to Julian Schlossberg. When Julian left … Mike
said, ‘There goes the nicest producer in show business.’ Like a fool, I
believed him. I still do.” —F Murray Abraham,
Academy Award Winning Actor
“One terrific adventure after another. A reader might well feel that he isn't
reading but is instead having dinner with a marvelous raconteur." —
Masterworks Broadway
“Try Not To Hold It Against Me is
a blockbuster! It was like I was standing on his shoulders seeing VIP doors
suddenly open. You’ll love this book. I promise. – Steve Guttenberg
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Produced and Curated by Jud Newborn
Thanks to our Sponsors:
Hicks Nursery of Westbury and All
of Long Island
Lydia Sabosto,
Pianist and Vocalist
Christopher Appoldt,
Portrait Photogapher
Waldo Cabrera, National Video
Journalists Network (NVJN)