|
"Up the Sandbox" Director
November 27, 2010
Famed director Irvin Kershner passed away at his home in Los
Angeles. He was 87. Kershner was the sixth movie director to work with
Barbra Streisand. Their film, "Up the Sandbox," though not commercially
successful, is one film that Barbra is particularly proud of, even today.
"Sandbox" was produced in 1972 as Barbra's first contribution to her own
production company, First Artists.
According to the Associated Press, Barbra remembered Kershner through the
following statement:
|
"He had the most incredible spirit, an exuberance for life. Always working, always thinking, always writing, amazingly gifted and forever curious. We met doing 'Up The Sandbox' in 1972 and remained friends ever since. I loved him." |
Together, Kershner and Streisand delivered a contemporary and socially relevant film that
dealt with the changing role of women in society. The Anne Richardson Roiphe novel on
which the film is based employs a series of fantasy sequences to tell the
story. Paul Zindel's screenplay allowed Barbra to deliver the film's
message through the clever use of similar reality vs. flashback
devices. It was a creative concept that Kershner
brilliantly integrated throughout the film.
Kershner's résumé included a myriad of television episodes and major
motion pictures. Two years after "Sandbox," he directed Elliott Gould and
Donald Sutherland in the 1974 film, "S*P*Y*S." In 1978, Kershner was Jon
Peters' choice to direct Faye Dunaway in the film, "The Eyes of Laura
Mars."
Kershner's greatest claim to fame came in 1980 when George Lucas hired him
to direct the second installment in the original Star Wars trilogy, "The
Empire Strikes Back."
|
