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March 21, 2003
Director inspired by criminal
Nicholas Racz planned to attend medical school but ended up in
film.
KYLE BERGER REPORTER
Screenwriter and director Nicholas Racz had never even heard of
a chevra kadisha (Jewish burial society) until his girlfriend's
mother mentioned it to him more than eight years ago.
Fascinated by the idea that people actually volunteer to take so
much care of the dead, he explored the world of Jewish burial rituals
and the more he learned, the more interested he became. His fascination
with this Jewish tradition became half of the inspiration behind
his first full-length feature film The Burial Society, which
opened at Tinseltown March 14.
The other half of the film's inspiration came from a friend of his
who he claimed was "involved in some grossly illegal activity."
"He was a really nice guy and a really rich character and it
made me think about how criminals are portrayed in film," Racz
(pronounced "ratz") told the Bulletin. "In film,
when you're bad, you're bad. Yet in reality, they are usually the
most screwed up people with the most interesting problems."
Starring Rob Labelle, David Paymer and Jan Rubes, The Burial
Society tells the story of loans manager Sheldon Kasner (Labelle)
from the Hebrew National Bank who finds himself using a small-town
chevra kadisha to hide from some mobsters involved in a money laundering
scam. With wry humor, Kasner is depicted as a bit of a shlemiel
who doesn't know how to get himself out of the predicament in which
he finds himself, and the film's plot takes enough turns you'll
be hard-pressed to figure out who is responsible for which illegal
activities until the very end.
The Burial Society was first released locally for the Vancouver
International Film Festival in the fall, where Racz won the Canada
Screenwriters Award. It has also been featured in more than 15 other
film festivals across North America.
Racz, who describes himself as "three-quarters Jewish,"
said that completing the film was an accomplishment in and of itself.
He is, however, also enjoying all the positive attention the film
has received since its release.
"Very few people come up to the director and say, 'Wow! I really
hated that.' But in this industry people will tell you what they
think and you can tell when people are really sincere," he
said. "The idea was to make something accessible, commercially
viable and fun and, at the same time, interesting and distinctive."
Interesting and distinctive might also describe Racz's unique path
to becoming a successful screenwriter/director. Years before he
had even heard of a chevra kadisha, Racz had been accepted into
medical school at McGill University, but he bailed out of the program
three days before his first class.
Instead, he began writing copy for ad agencies, which eventually
led to a career as an award-winning TV commercial director. His
claim to fame, he said, was a commercial he made a year and a half
ago for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) that
featured a group of cats having sex. (The spot can still be viewed
on PETA's Web site at www.fixcats.com.)
He has also directed award-winning short films and documentaries
such as The Real Thing for the Comedy Network and Ozone
and the Politics of Medicine for the National Film Board of
Canada.
The Burial Society is his first full-length feature film but
it won't be his last. Racz has already begun working on his next
project, David Paymer's Private Life, which he calls a "really
insane, dark, funny film" that will be "really different
than anything." Not surprising considering, given the success
of Burial Society, Racz has already shown he's got a knack
for the unique.
Burial Society also stars Bill Meilen, Allan Rich, Bill Mondy,
Jeff Seymour and Seymour Cassel. It is produced by Richard Baumgartel
and Howard Dancyger.
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