The Jazz Singer is a 1980 American musical drama film directed by Richard Fleischer and produced by Jerry Leider.
But on the side, he writes songs for a black singing group, and when a member of the quartet is arrested, Yussel covers for him at one of their gigs by wearing blackface.
Bubba informs him that the band has a gig in Los Angeles, performing back-up vocals for a successful singer (Keith Lennox).
His wife Rivka notices him writing the song in his free time and senses that Yussel yearns for a bigger stage for his voice, but her values keep her grounded to the life they have built.
Molly once again meets Eddie Gibbs in his car and persuades him to allow Jess to perform on Zany Grey's television special.
At rehearsal, the day before Yom Kippur, Jess learns that his father is in hospital with high blood pressure and won't be able to sing Kol Nidre at the synagogue.
However, in early 1979, Diamond underwent back surgery, and invoked a clause in his contract that allowed him to finish the original music before filming began.
Furie initially wanted Lucie Arnaz, but she was appearing on Broadway in They're Playing Our Song; Deborah Raffin was cast instead, after producers had seen her on a television film.
Baker completely rewrote the script, with a different ending, dramatically changing the character of Molly Bell in the process.
During a scene set in a recording booth, Diamond was having trouble conveying anger during an argument with Arnaz's character.
Director Fleischer said that Diamond would go into the adjacent music recording stage where his band was gathered to await his cue and then enter in a supposed rage.
During one of the lulls in filming to reset the shot, Fleischer saw him pacing nervously and then suddenly bursting into anger, throwing chairs and smashing equipment.
Not wanting to miss an opportunity, the director called "Action" and Diamond stormed in and delivered his lines in a very convincing performance.
On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 37 out of 100, based on 8 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".
[7] It also has a rating of 26% on Rotten Tomatoes from 23 reviews, the critical consensus on the website saying "Neil Diamond's foray into acting is a total miss in this gaudy and unconvincing remake, with Laurence Olivier on hand to deliver an excruciatingly campy performance.
"[8] Roger Ebert from the Chicago Sun-Times, awarding it one star out of four, wrote that the remake "has so many things wrong with it that a review threatens to become a list.
His major problem, however, is a script that forces him to do some very foolish things — such as segue from a bar mitzvah melody into a pop romance ditty; impersonate a washed-out Willie Nelson on a month of lost weekend drunken binges; and sing a closing production number (that he wrote) that includes a refrain from "America" ("My Country 'Tis of Thee.")
But 55 years later, when America's ethnic groups are rediscovering their traditions, we don't accept Jess' career move as easily.
"[10]Another negative review came from Janet Maslin of The New York Times, who stated: "Mr. Diamond, looking glum and seldom making eye contact with anyone, isn't enough of a focus for the outmoded story.
"[11] Time Out London called the appearance of Neil Diamond "the most cautious soft-rock superstar movie debut you'll ever get to see.
"[12] The only top critic to give a positive review of the film (according to Rotten Tomatoes) was Dave Kehr of the Chicago Reader.
He wrote, "Richard Fleischer's direction is appropriately close-in and small, and Diamond himself, while no actor, proves to be a commandingly intense, brooding presence".
The only other actors to be nominated for both awards for one performance were Pia Zadora, James Coco and Orson Welles, in 1982, with the former uniquely winning both.