Next Year in Jerusalem (1998) with Louis Edmonds Coming to DVD

[David]

 

I'm pleased as punch to announce that Louis Edmonds' final film role, Next Year in Jerusalem, comes to DVD
this summer.
Some of you may already know that I wrote & directed the film~~I'm NEVER doing that again!

In the film, Louis has two scenes. He's the patriarch
of an Orthodox Jewish family in Brooklyn NY.
His grandson Charlie is secretly gay & carrying on with another Orthodox boy.
OY VEY!
What would the Rabbi say!

Louis was quite ill when we shot it, but he wanted to see if he could still act~~yes, he could!
He was GREAT!
His daughter in the film is played by former 1970s porn queen
Georgina Spelvin, who was 61 when we shot it & who turned out to be a superb actress. 

I'll post the release date as soon as I know it.

David

PS when we had a cast/crew screening in NYC 10 years ago, Marie Wallace & Terrayne Crawford came to show support for Louis.
The actress who played the Rabbi's wife in the film, a DS fan, slobbered all over them.
It was a hoot!

[CrazyJenny]

That's very exciting, David.  Will there be any extras on the DVD?  I remember you talking about a blooper you were particularly fond of.   

[MagnusTrask]

Again, I'm stumped for a proper response seeing as how I just woke up... the film itself and all the details are intriguing (that's some time for people to find out you can act, at age 61), and I suspect there's more where that came from.   

[Nancy]

Congratulations, David!  That's very exciting!

Nancy

[David]

Jenny!
I never responded to your PM last summer, shame on me!
But we can chat this summer~~I'm coming to my first fest in years!

No extras on the disc, but I'm talking to my distributor
about a special promotion for DS Boards:
call Water Bearer Films, mention DS Boards, and get a photocopy of the actual contract Louis & I signed before making the film!

I may post that blooper here.
In one take, Louis "went up" (forgot) his line.
He was supposed to say:
"I suppose we should thank The Almighty that you have graced us with your presence."
He turned to me & said: "Who am I supposed to thank?"
"The almighty," I say, off camera.
"That's right, The Almighty! Goddammit!!!" said a pissed off Louis Edmonds!!


Trask:
I just sent you a tape this morning.

Prior to porn, Georgina Spelvin was a Broadway chorus girl
who dreamt of both movie & ballet stardom.
In 1972, at age 36, stardom finally came.
She starred in the porn classic The Devil in Miss Jones, a film she made because she needed the money~~doing the film got her caught up in her back rent & kept her from losing her apartment!
She did porn as a major star for the next 10 years.

My film gave her a chance to show she could act without having sex.

Louis & Georgina had one scene together.
They met the day we shot it.
After they spent an hour running their lines, Louis came over to me.

"She's terrific", he said. "Where did you find her?"

"That's Georgina Spelvin, the porn queen," I said.

"No kidding!!" said Louis. "Can I titty f~~k her?"

True  story!

David

[David]

 


Thanks, Nancy.
For all you've done for me behind the scenes over the years, I'm putting you on the DVD Freebie list.

David

[Gothick]

God, I miss Louis.  In a world of fakes and posers, he was the real deal.

G.

[MagnusTrask]

He turned to me & said: "Who am I supposed to thank?"
"The almighty," I say, off camera.
"That's right, The Almighty! Goddammit!!!" said a pissed off Louis Edmonds!!

Trask:
I just sent you a tape this morning.

My film gave her a chance to show she could act without having sex.*

"That's Georgina Spelvin, the porn queen," I said.

"No kidding!!" said Louis. "Can I titty f~~k her?"

David-- thanks for the tape!

I enjoy the name "Spelvin".

*Good...

As many of these stories as you care to spill, please...!

[Charles_Ellis]

Well, there's an inside joke to the name "Georgina Spelvin".  In the old days, when an actor had to play a dual role in a play, in the program the second role would be credited to "George Spelvin".  Considering that the future porn goddess was a longtime Broadway 'gypsy' in shows like The Pajama Game prior to her X-rated career, it would make sense she'd take advatage of the old custom in picking her new stage name.  Kinda like when Elizabeth Montgomery played Samantha Stephens on Bewitched while her lookalike cousin Serena was played by a "Pandora Spocks" (say it fast!).

Well, I'm looking forward to seeing this film again- David, any more films up your sleeve?

[David]

Water Bearer Films will indeed offer a special promotion to DS Boards members.
Order the film & mention the board, and you get a copy of Louis Edmonds' contract for the film.

Details will be posted when the film is released to disc in a few months.

Charles:
I'm done with filmaking, I don't have that kind of stamina.
My writing career is exploding, and writing is far more restfull than making a film!

Trask:
I'll post more Louis stories over the weekend.

David

[ProfStokes]

Congratulations on the DVD release, David!  You must be very proud.

I'm coming to my first fest in years!

 
Even more good news!

ProfStokes

[Midnite]

I'm coming to my first fest in years!

That's fantastic, David!  I'm looking forward to seeing you again.

And congrats on the DVD.

[David]

 

BTW, this is an R rated film.
Please be prepared to show ID when purchasing!
(I wouldn't want to corrupt anyone, though I must say, my lead actors have adorable bare butts!)

OK, a funny story, though it doesn't involve Louis:
after we shot their nude love scene, we had a pizza break.
Daniel, the guy who played Emanuel, the story's other Orthodox boy, really took his time in getting dressed.
30 mins after the cameras stopped, and the dude was still naked!

I suppose if I looked like him.........

David

[David]

Here, as best as I can remember it, is the speech I made when we had our cast/crew screening of Next Year in Jerusalem:

The cast & crew, including Louis, and his friends Marie Wallace, Terry Crawford & DS fan Guy Haines were present.

"Before we start the film, I'm going to talk for a moment
about Dark Shadows, which always seems to come up whenever I'm around."

"You got that right," said Guy Haines.
Louis, Terrayne & Marie laughed, as did I.

"Watching Dark Shadows for all these years is what made me want to do films. With this project, I actually cast a Dark Shadows actor, who's here tonight."

"Louis, you were wonderful, I'm your slave for life." As I handed him a box of chocolates, I said: "I'll be over on Saturday to mop the kitchen."

Everyone laughed.

"There are two other Shadows actors here. I won't embarass them by introducing them, but I do want them to know, if they ever make a film for me, I'm their slaves too."

Terrayne, sitting in front of Marie, turned around & said: "Should we get up a take a bow, Marie?"
Marie rolled her eyes.

Sitting next to Marie were some housewives from Queens, friends of a cast member.
Boy did they perk up after Terrayne's words.

"You were on Dark Shadows," they excitedly said. "Wow! I used to run home from school to watch that!!!!
Who did you play.....?"

It was a GREAT night!

David

[MagnusTrask]

I'm not doing so well with the words today, but thanks for the stories David...