{"id":46757,"date":"2018-12-25T01:29:50","date_gmt":"2018-12-25T07:29:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=46757"},"modified":"2018-12-25T01:29:50","modified_gmt":"2018-12-25T07:29:50","slug":"felicity-jones-on-playing-ruth-bader-ginsburg-before-she-was-the-notorious-rbg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/felicity-jones-on-playing-ruth-bader-ginsburg-before-she-was-the-notorious-rbg\/","title":{"rendered":"Felicity Jones on playing Ruth Bader Ginsburg before she was the \u2018Notorious RBG\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By CURT SCHLEIER<\/p>\n<p>(JTA) \u2014 The young attorney seems unsure of herself. As a law professor, she is unaccustomed to appearing in court, so she hesitates at first, unable to begin her summation. But once she gets going, there is no stopping her.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_46759\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/12-21-18-RBGfilm1.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-46759\" class=\"wp-image-46759 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/12-21-18-RBGfilm1-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/12-21-18-RBGfilm1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/12-21-18-RBGfilm1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/12-21-18-RBGfilm1-1024x683.jpg 1024w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/200;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-46759\" class=\"wp-image-46759 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/12-21-18-RBGfilm1-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/12-21-18-RBGfilm1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/12-21-18-RBGfilm1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/12-21-18-RBGfilm1-1024x683.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-46759\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">\u201cOn the Basis of Sex\u201d recalls that when Ruth Ginsburg entered Harvard Law School in 1956, she was one of nine women in the class, the sixth ever to accept women. (Jonathan Wenk\/Focus Features)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>It is the climactic scene of \u201cOn the Basis of Sex\u201d a biopic about Ruth Bader Ginsburg that debuts on Christmas. It focuses largely on Charles Moritz v. Internal Revenue Service, a major gender discrimination case that Ginsburg shepherded to trial years before she became a justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. To succeed, she would have to overturn years of precedent.<br \/>\nBut the film is more than your typical courtroom drama. While powerful and inspiring, the movie also manages to paint a subtle portrait of a woman finding a place for herself in a society that wants her to stay home and cook.<\/p>\n<p>Viewers here don\u2019t meet \u201cNotorious RBG,\u201d as she is often called these days \u2014 the tough, take-no-prisoners liberal pop culture icon of the last decade. Young Ruth is not yet a superhero in 1972. Yes, she is as determined to fight for truth, and is a respected lawyer, but she is still shackled by the misogyny of the time.<\/p>\n<p>That nuanced and honest approach to the character is thanks in large part to the approach of two key creatives \u2014 screenwriter Daniel Stiepleman and the film\u2019s star, Felicity Jones.<br \/>\nJones, a British actress who launched her career at age 12 and has gone on to star in blockbusters such as \u201cThe Theory of Everything\u201d and \u201cRogue One: A Star Wars Story,\u201d had an emotional connection to the film.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI understood what it felt like as an outsider on so many levels,\u201d she said in a telephone interview. \u201cI grew up on film sets where there were only a handful of women.\u201d<br \/>\nReading the script, Jones said she felt an immediate connection.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat was interesting to me was trying to find out who is the woman behind the icon,\u201d Jones said. \u201cWhat are the decisions she made and how did she get to the place where she is now. How did she harness that essence and anger and use it to her advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Stiepleman, 37, is Ginsburg\u2019s nephew. Ruth\u2019s husband, Marty, was his mother\u2019s older brother. And while he wasn\u2019t exceptionally close to his aunt \u2014 he was closer in age to her grandchildren \u2014 he remembers being at the Ginsburg house for Passover seders and Thanksgivings. (Chanukah was normally held at the home of his cousin Jane, Ruth\u2019s daughter.)<\/p>\n<p>The idea for the film originated in 2010 at Marty\u2019s funeral.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn a eulogy, someone mentioned the only case the two argued together,\u201d Stiepleman said. \u201cUntil the end of his life, he said this was one of the most important things he did.\u201d<br \/>\nGinsburg entered Harvard Law School in 1956, one of nine women in the sixth class ever to accept women.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy are you occupying a place at Harvard that could have been occupied by a man?\u201d the dean asks in the film.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo I can be a more understanding wife,\u201d she responds.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_46758\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/12-21-18-rbgfilm-3.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-46758\" class=\"wp-image-46758 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/12-21-18-rbgfilm-3-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/12-21-18-rbgfilm-3-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/12-21-18-rbgfilm-3-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/12-21-18-rbgfilm-3-1024x683.jpg 1024w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/200;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-46758\" class=\"wp-image-46758 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/12-21-18-rbgfilm-3-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/12-21-18-rbgfilm-3-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/12-21-18-rbgfilm-3-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/12-21-18-rbgfilm-3-1024x683.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-46758\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Armie Hammer plays Ginsburg&#8217;s supportive husband Marty in the film. (Jonathan Wenk\/Focus Features)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Her husband (played by Armie Hammer), a year ahead of her in school, is diagnosed with testicular cancer. So Ruth juggles her own classes, attends his to take notes and cares for their newborn infant daughter, Jane \u2014 all while earning a spot on the prestigious Law Review.<br \/>\nDespite her academic success, no law firm will hire her. One offers secretarial work. Another tells her, \u201cWe hired a woman last year. What would we do with two of them?\u201d A third wonders warily if she observes Shabbat.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, Ginsburg lands a job teaching law at Rutgers University in New Jersey, but even that is tainted when she realized it was a token hire.<\/p>\n<p>She is angry but at the time, the broad equal protection clause was by precedent applied only to cases of race, not gender. There was little recourse until Marty suggested a unique approach. Charles Moritz, a Denver resident, was denied a tax deduction for home health care for his mother because he was unmarried. Women, divorced men and widowers were entitled to the benefit, but unmarried men were not. The Ginsburgs believed a male plaintiff could change the dynamic.<\/p>\n<p>Ginsburg herself was peripherally involved in the film from the beginning, giving her blessing to Stiepleman, opening her files to him and reviewing the script. She never asked for changes involving her character \u2014 her focus was on assuring that the law, and Marty, were presented accurately.<\/p>\n<p>On the subject of accuracy, some have argued that the casting of Jones erases Ginsburg\u2019s Jewishness from the film. Natalie Portman had been slated to fill the role, but that fell through in 2017.<\/p>\n<p>When the trailer debuted in July, viewers called attention to Jones\u2019 accent&nbsp;\u2014 a far cry from Ginsburg\u2019s nasal Brooklyn tone.<\/p>\n<p>Anna Miriam wrote in Alma&nbsp;that Jones, with her \u201cfine features and her awkward American accent, beautiful, perfectly manicured,\u201d erases \u201cany trace of Ginsburg\u2019s roots.\u201d<br \/>\nBesides the Shabbat reference, nothing else in the film stands out as Jewish.<br \/>\nJones has played a Jewish character: Margot Frank, sister of the famous diarist Anne, in a 2009 BBC miniseries.<\/p>\n<p>Stiepleman would have none of the criticism.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was desperate [to cast] Felicity,\u201d he said. \u201cRuth has a particular alchemy \u2014 steely, driven and precise. But when you get to spend some time with her in the comfort of her home, all of that is undergirded by joy and optimism. Some actresses can play steely. Some can play the joy. But Felicity can combine the two and she channeled Ruth\u2019s essence.\u201d<br \/>\nWhen asked about it, Jones sidestepped, talking instead about how she focused on capturing details of Ginsburg\u2019s persona.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFelicity has to depart, and it\u2019s all about becoming Ruth,\u201d she said. \u201cI become obsessive about costume, hair, makeup. I became meticulous, listening to Ruth in court, how powerful her voice is and how her Brooklyn accent comes on strong when she\u2019s frustrated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At the time of shooting, Jones was also preparing for her wedding to her longtime fiance, director Charles Guard. For Guard, the timing wasn\u2019t the best.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI kept telling him he had big shoes to fill,\u201d Jones said. \u201cLook at what Marty does for Ruth!\u201d<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"Tumblr\",\"Email\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"Felicity%20Jones%20on%20playing%20Ruth%20Bader%20Ginsburg%20before%20she%20was%20the%20%E2%80%98Notorious%20RBG%E2%80%99\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":46759,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,7139],"tags":[9797,9796,8790,8795,8788,3630],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46757"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46757"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46757\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46760,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46757\/revisions\/46760"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}