July
15The Fine Art of Reinvention
A seer once gave me the following advice: The key to survival in Hollywood was to master the art of reinvention. With this in mind, I hereby give my Masters-of-Reinvention Award to the husband-and-wife team of Sherry Lansing and Billy Friedkin.Sherry ran a studio, remember? And when she walked away, some folks predicted she would return -- who can resist the lure of the movie business?
Well, Sherry could -- happily. She’s involved in more causes and philanthropies than anyone I know, ranging from stem-cell research to marshalling resources for a remarkable group that teaches older folks how to retire productively. Like she has.
Billy used to be a film director, and he’s still doing a film from time to time, but his principal role has become that of an impresario-at-large. He’ll open the Los Angeles opera season, which will feature three short Puccini operas -- he’ll direct two and Woody Allen the third.
In Paris last week, the French Minister of Culture honored William as a “Grande Officier des Arts et Lettres." Friedkin also let it be known that he would be directing an opera at La Scala based on Al Gore’s book on global warming, “An Inconvenient Truth”.
The couple’s brilliant reinvention is thoroughly appropriate, their friends believe. As a studio chief, Lansing was a rarity in that she actually preferred to say ‘yes’ -- her philanthropic instincts were even then in evidence. As for Friedkin, some of his films were, well, operatic. Hence La Scala is a suitable edifice to house his talents.
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