Billy Crystal, now 73, is hardly sitting on his already impressive laurels.
On the heels of a well-received indie film “Standing Up, Falling Down” in February, Crystal is co-starring in a new comedy with Tiffany Haddish “Here Today.” Crystal plays a successful veteran comedy writer Charlie Burns suffering from early-onset dementia who starts an unlikely friendship with a free-spirited New York City street singer Emma Payge (Haddish).
It opens in wide release in movie theaters across America this weekend.
Crystal, in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Wednesday, said he and the film’s co-creator and former “Saturday Night Live” scribe Alan Zweibel finished shooting the film before the pandemic began but resisted the temptation to place it on a streaming service.
“This was such an audience movie,” Crystal said. “We had already had two test screenings that were just tremendous.”
So two months ago, Sony Pictures ― seeking viable films to place in movie theaters as the country began opening up ― eagerly bought the rights to “Here Today.”
“If you feel safe enough and take your mask and hopefully you’re vaccinated, come to a theater,” Crystal said. “This is a real movie experience for a family, especially Mother’s Day. It’s a very funny and beautiful story about friendship and something I think is sorely missing in this country, which is empathy. We need to care for and reach out to others.”
Crystal’s character in the film is loosely based on an actual “Saturday Night Live” writer when Crystal and Zweibel were on the show in the mid-1980s named Herb Sargent. “We both had great affection for Herb,” he said. “He was somebody we learned from, somebody we looked up to.”
While writing the script, Crystal had seen a gypsy jazz band perform in New York City on the streets and created Haddish’s character. He had also seen Haddish host “SNL” after she starred in the Will Packer comedy “Girls Trip” and was immediately enchanted.
“She has such great energy, and her comedic timing is great,” Crystal said. “She’s really a force of nature.” He sent Haddish the script while she was vacationing in Africa. Intrigued, she met with Crystal and quickly said yes.
In the film, their characters meet when they have a lunch date her ex-boyfriend had purchased at a charity auction ― for $22. Emma, just trying to get a free meal, has no idea who he is, but they form an immediate bond.
“She was looking for parts to grow into and do things she hadn’t done before,” Crystal said. As the director of the film as well as the costar, Crystal worked with Haddish to focus on becoming more like the Emma Payge character and not the other way around.
Indeed, Haddish goes out of her comfort zone by leading a band, singing Fats Waller, Louis Prima and Bob Dylan.
It helps that the connection between Crystal and Haddish is not forced. They became genuine friends, and when Haddish decided to convert to Judaism, she had Crystal take part in her bat mitzvah in 2019. .
Crystal used his extensive Rolodex and had Sharon Stone, Bob Costas, Kevin Kline and filmmaker Barry Levinson appear in a key scene. He also inserted violinist Itzhak Perlman into the script and tracked Perlman down to actually perform in the movie.
“He came late one night, and he is sitting in the window playing,” Crystal said. “That’s him playing live! It was another great new friend who wanted to be in the picture.”
Crystal, often cited as one of the best Oscar hosts in history, said he was disappointed by the most recent telecast, which was a more intimate affair and ultimately drew the lowest ratings in Oscar history.
“It’s a television special,” Crystal said. “It’s not a film. For those who didn’t see the movies, which were mostly small, beautiful films on streaming, you have to at least show clips and show what people were nominated for and have some entertainment. When I did the show, I tried my best to be entertaining!”
IN THEATERS
“Here Today,” opening wide May 7 in movie theaters nationwide
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