with Sam Waterston

After almost 4 months of staying put, things are shifting into high gear. I went to New York to shoot a scene with Sam Waterston for “The Newsroom, Aaron Sorkin’s amazing new TV series for HBO which premiers June 24th.

One World Trade Center

While in New York, I had to see what I could of the nearly completed One World Trade Center site and snapped this photo. Have any of you been there? What do you think?

Still in NYC I went to dinner with my pal, Robin Morgan, where we had a chance to catch up. She’s finished her stunning novel which I got to read in early stages when she was with me writing at my ranch 4 years ago. This is a HUGE deal because it is a VERY IMPORTANT novel. For those who don’t know, Robin was Dagmar in the ‘50s TV series “I Remember Mama” and was a child star second only to Shirley Temple. She is also the intellectual pillar of the woman’s movement, and one of the co-founders along with myself and Gloria Steinem of The Womens Media Center. I brought her with me to a book party that Anderson Cooper gave in his new home—an old firehouse in the Village. Lots of stairs. I could have spent the whole time on the stairs looking at the eclectic art work that covered every surface. So interesting—some family photos, portraits of Anderson’s mom, Gloria Vanderbilt, antique prints of various things like bodies, animals, plants, modern paintings. But I didn’t stay on the stairs for long cause I ran into Jason Sellards with his mom, Liam Neeson, Sarah Jessica Parker, Rashida Jones, my agent Kevin Huvane, Bryan Lourd and a host of breathtakingly gorgeous creatures I did not know. The party was for Andy Cohen’s new book “Most Talkative”. Andy Cohen is the award winning Executive Vice President of programming at BRAVO at the helm of its biggest hits including: “Top Chef”, “Project Runway” “Real Housewives” etc etc. You would recognize Andy as the host of the networks reunion shows and “Watch What Happens Live”. Quite the pop culture phenomenon! Anderson Cooper, I must say, is about the best, nicest, coolest host ever!!

So, that was New York.

I went with Richard to Barbra Streisand’s 70th and that was fun. Lots of old friends. Richard’s writing a memoir and I’ve read the chapter about the work he did producing albums for Barbra and, in the process, we listened to some of the songs he writes about–”Maybe,” “Stony End,” among others. If you haven’t listened to the Stony End album in awhile, do so. Every now and then we need to be reminded of what a truly great and deeply expressive voice sounds like. I listen and feel so proud of the work Richard does to create an award winning album. I am fascinated reading about what producing an album means in the hands of one of the very best. And Richard is one of them, if I say so myself, and across so many genres. I’m not even a music person but my favorite parts of Keith Richard’s book is when he really drills down into the music…how to create a song, how he discovered 5-string guitar playing, the nitty gritty of creating music.

Richard and I flew to Salem, Oregon to celebrate the 93rd birthday of his mom, Sylvia Perry. 2 of his 3 brothers were there with their spouses and it was a lot of fun.

Today I head to the Cannes Film Festival where I will be working for L’Oreal who is one of the key sponsors of the festival. How cool is it that L’Oreal has a brand ambassador age 74!

I know, I know, I’ve done all these interesting things and have hardly any photos. Sometimes the moment just passes. I promise I will take lots of photos in Cannes. When I return I will go to my ranch and then I’m doing one of the weirdest film appearances of my life…but I don’t know how much I can give away at this point. It will be half a day’s work in Baltimore. Very funny and totally strange. More on that later.

The above trailer (click on image to play) is from my latest film Peace Love and Misunderstanding which will be released in theaters June 8th! For more release information visit the IFC Films website here: http://www.ifcfilms.com/films/peace-love-misunderstanding

I love this movie. I co-starred with Catherine Keener, Elizabeth Olsen, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chace Crawford and Nat Wolff. It’s directed by the wonderful Bruce Beresford (“Driving Miss Daisy”. “Tender Mercies,” etc) and was shot in and around Woodstock, New York, a beautiful, bucolic farming country several hours north of Manhattan. I play a free-wheeling, artistic, hippy grandmother. It was fun and a little challenging for me because, contrary to what some might think, I was never a hippie, never did the ‘60s scene in real life. I lived in France then. Totally missed out on the Woodstock generation.

Although the movie is contemporary, my character still lives like it was 1969 (a lot of people do in Woodstock!). I had to familiarize myself what that period was all about, what it felt like and sounded like. So, to get me prepared, it was Catherine Keener who told me what music to listen to, what documentaries about Woodstock to watch so I would catch the vibe. In our movie, she (my daughter) was born during the Woodstock festival. In fact, as I tell one character in the film, “my water broke while Jimmy Hendrix was playing The Star Spangled Banner. I guess my daughter was destined to be conservative!” It was Keener who gave me the brilliant documentary “The Last Waltz,” about the last performance of the Band. The late Levon Helm, the drummer of the Band and the singer of “The Night they Drove Old Dixie Down,” “The Weight,” among others, lived in Woodstock and helped us with some of the music for the film.

I wanted to work with Keener whom I admire enormously. She is the quintessential independent spirit. And I wanted to work with Bruce Beresford. But I also wanted to do this film because I wanted to do a movie that would make people laugh and feel good. I am so tired of violence, special effects and dysfunction (though I must admit I did love “The Hunger Games.” Jennifer Lawrence is a totally powerful, magnificent screen presence).

“Peace, Love, and Misunderstanding” is about forgiveness which, as you know if you’ve been following my blogs, is for me an essential ingredient to a successful, happy life—something I work on within myself every day. And it is also about love. Love and forgiveness are partners. Love is not a given in anyone’s life. We must work to make ourselves ready for it when it comes our way; we must cultivate it in ourselves so that we spread it around just by being a loving person. For my book, “Prime Time,” I interviewed a 104-year-old woman who told me she smiles at everyone, “especially the sourpusses.” She felt by doing this she could make happiness and love contagious and cause, in her words, “an epidemic of love.” What a beautiful goal. I hope that “Peace, Love and Misunderstanding” will cause an epidemic of love in the hearts of the audience…I think it can…except for the cynics. I feel so sorry for cynics. How much they miss out of life! I hope you will see the film and let me know what you think.

On June 4th I am hosting a special New York City premiere of the film to benefit The Women’s Media Center (WMC). As many of you know I co-founded the WMC almost 7 years ago with Gloria Steinem, and Robin Morgan to make women more visible in the media, on every level. It will be a really fun evening! More information about the event and the WMC can be found here: https://donate.womensmediacenter.com/page/contribute/join-jane-fonda-for-the-premiere-of-peace-love-and-misunderstanding

Today is the 30th anniversary of the release of first Jane Fonda Workout Video. It feels like yesterday and 100 years ago. I’m sure you’ve had that same feeling. Still fresh yet so much water under the bridge. I am so different. The world of Fitness is so different.

Let me begin: It was 1980 or ‘81, I think. Stuart Karl came to me to ask me to make a video of the exercise routine that appeared in my first Jane Fonda Workout book. His smart wife, Debbie Karl, had read the book and suggested the idea to him. Stuart was the only person back then who made home videos. They were home improvement videos, I believe, that sold a few hundred. No one I knew even owned a VCR player. It was way too expensive and there had never been a product that anyone wanted to use over and over that would justify spending that kind of money on the expensive hardware.

At first I said to Stuart, “No way, I’m an actor and it would be bad for my career.” We’ll, I’m not sure I actually said that but that’s what I thought. I had real misgivings. But Stuart was persistent. At the time, my wildly successful Workout studio on Robertson Blvd in Beverly Hills had been open about 2 years and the business was owned, not by me, but by the political organization that my then husband, Tom Hayden, and I had founded…The California Campaign for Economic Democracy (CED). That’s where all the profits went. I finally decided, “what the heck, it won’t take long, not too many people will see it and a video will bring in a little extra funding to CED.

No one had ever done a fitness video before. I remember writing the script on the floor of a hotel room during a Christmas skiing vacation in Calgary. It was spit and prayer, flying by the seat of our tights and leg warmers. (I always wore leg warmers because my real love was ballet and ballet dancers wore leg warmers.) Sidney Galanty, who had done the campaign ads for Tom’s U.S. Senate campaign, was the director. I used some of my Workout Teachers and clients in the video with me. We rehearsed a few days, made some mistakes, did our own hair and makeup, had one camera and figured it was no big deal.

Was I wrong! I don’t remember exactly when I realized that, in spite of myself, this little Workout video had given birth to a new industry. Women began to hear about it. Friends were telling each other, “Hey, check this out! This really works!” VCR players became cheaper as the demand grew and, before I knew it, 17 million of that original video had been sold (all profits going to CED) and I was inducted into the Video Hall of Fame—the first non-engineer to receive that honor.

BTW, the first Jane Fonda Workout book was #1 on the New York Times Best Sellers list for two years! That’s when the decision was made to make separate categories for How-To books. It was shameful: a fitness book ahead of Philip Roth or Joan Dideon, I mean come on.

I made 23 more videos and now 6 more DVDs under my new Prime Time Label cause I saw that no one was addressing the needs of seniors and boomers.

The fitness industry has changed mightily. Fast bouncing and a lot of what we did back in the early 80s has gone out of favor. Core training is where it’s at and exercise physiology has made important strides in understanding what different bodies need for different purposes. As leg warmers come in and out of fashion, Women know it’s okay to have muscles, and Fitness Industry is a thriving international business.

Yes…it was just yesterday…and a lifetime ago

with Catherine Keener and Levon Helm

I just received this email:

“Dear Friends,
Levon is in the final stages of his battle with cancer. Please send your prayers and love to him as he makes his way through this part of his journey.

Thank you fans and music lovers who have made his life so filled with joy and celebration… he has loved nothing more than to play, to fill the room up with music, lay down the back beat, and make the people dance! He did it every time he took the stage…

We appreciate all the love and support and concern.
From his daughter Amy, and wife Sandy”

I got to know Levon personally because he played my husband in the ABC movie “The Dollmaker.” He was kind and deep and devoted to music, as a singer and playing not only drums, but harmonica, fiddle, mandolin, you name it.

He has lived for a long time in Woodstock, New York, where he turned his barn/studio into a place where hundreds of people would come weekly to his “Midnight Ramble“. I filmed my soon-to-be-released movie, “Peace, Love And Misunderstanding” there and had the chance to attend several of the Midnight Rambles. It was like being in church. Brilliant guest artists would come to play with him and his group. Donald Fagin, pianist and lead voice of Steely Dan, was a regular.

All you have to do is rent “The Last Waltz“, the documentary that Martin Scorsese made of The Band’s last performance together to be reminded what an astonishing drummer Levon was. He gave the Band it’s powerful, driving force, a wall of pulsating rhythm. And his voice—singing “The Weight”–all deep soul.

I am so sad.

Word is out about the film, “The Butler”. It is a beautiful and true story about a black man who grew up in the Jim Crow South and went to work as a much beloved butler in the White House through many administrations, both Republican and Democratic. Lee Daniels, the Academy Award nominated director of “Precious,” and producer of “Monsters Ball” will direct. The butler will be played by Forrest Whittaker and his wife will be played by Oprah Winfrey. It is their story. But a number of well-known actors will be playing cameos as the various presidents and first ladies for whom he worked. I will play Nancy Reagan.

While many of you have expressed positive sentiments, I know that this casting has upset some people — that I, a known progressive, would play this particular first lady, a known conservative. But I am an actor and I have no intention of allowing the political differences between us to color my portrayal of her. I will not be disrespectful. This will not be a film that, for political reasons, makes fun of or distorts any of the characters that appear. It is, as I say, a true story and a touching one, in my opinion.

In the two scenes I have, I will try to portray Mrs. Reagan as the powerful first lady and involved, protective wife I feel she was. I look forward to the challenge. And we do have a few physical similarities: we are both slight and we both have long chins. You can probably tell from the above photo that she has way better cheek bones than I do!

Speaking of work, any day I will be called in to appear in episode 10 which will conclude the first season of Aaron Sorkin’s “The Newsroom.” I can’t wait to see how he will bring this season to a close and I’m so excited I can hardly wait for the table read and get to see (and hear) Jeff Daniels, Sam Waterson, Emily Mortimer and the rest of the extraordinary cast. Thank you to all of you who have expressed such excitement about the show, I am grateful for such warm feedback.

NEWSROOM!!!!

Okay, word is out so I can talk about this and show the trailer. I am sooooo beyond excited. Working on an Aaron Sorkin project for HBO with actors like these, OMG! And the part is so much fun. I can’t give too much away but think, if you can, of a combo of Ted Turner and Rupert Murdock, but a woman-me. Jeff Daniels is one of the leads and a friend of mine. I think he is a brilliant actor…subtle, deep, nuanced, who can be funny and serious and moving. He took me aside the day of the table read (the first time all the actors, director, producers and writers sit around a huge table and read through the entire episode-I first appear at the end of the 3rd episode) and he gave me great advice. What a gift!  My scene had 4 pages of speech. I loved it so much, being able to sink my teeth into meaty stuff like that. It’s funny, cause if I did get a word or a comma wrong and then got corrected I could feel the difference immediately. Every little detail made a true difference.

I was allowed to see the pilot so that I could catch the vibe and understand the context into which I was stepping. All I can say is WOW! This series is going to knock your socks off. I had to stand up and cheer. Can’t say more.

Enjoy the Trailer! THE NEWSROOM Premiers SUNDAY JUNE 24th on HBO!  Don’t worry I’ll remind you all again.

WHEW!

I haven’t blogged since the Oscars! There are all sorts of reasons why and I cannot give them all to you quite yet. This is partly because I have had some life changing experiences that I still need to process. The Vietnamese Buddhist Thich Nhat Hanh wrote, “Our own lives are the instruments with which we experiment with truth.” Yes! And these lasts weeks have led me to to paraphrase him: “Our own bodies are the instruments with which we experiment with truth.”

Not necessarily related to this, however (because I have to think about all of it more)) is the news that I’ve been working on another PRIME TIME workout DVD to join my 4 others. As most of you know, I launched the PRIME TIME brand at the end of 2010 to address the fitness needs for boomers and seniors. I ain’t the same “Go-for-the-burn” Jane I used to be and I figured neither are all those gals who started out with me, not to mention the folks who have never worked out. And through my research I have learned that staying physically active is key—# ONE— to a healthy, successful 3rd Act. I’m so happy at the wonderful feedback I’ve gotten from folks who are now doing my Prime Time programs. Pretty amazing actually. The biggest surprise has been finding out that people much younger than boomer age (as well as men) have been enjoying the DVD’s as well.

On Set

On Set

This latest DVD I just finished is a Yoga Pilates blend. I worked with the wonderful, fun, Producer/Director, Cal Pozo who directed my last two DVD’s as well. Cal has a long and successful reputation in the fitness business, and really knows his stuff! Fortunately, he is also a mad, crazy Cuban who makes it all really fun. He is a trained dancer/choreographer and has written and directed some great fitness and dance programs including: Dirty Dancing, Dances with the Stars, Denise Austin, The Biggest Loser, and Kathy Smith to name a few.

Cal Pozo

Along with Cal, I had the benefit of working with choreographer, fitness trainer Maddy Lewis, a talented angel.

with Maddy Lewis.

We put a great group together for what I hope will be a DVD that you will use and love. We all worked for several weeks, building, refining, rehearsing the program before we finally shot.

It all took three days but we did more than the DVD. There’s a new, exciting and personal fitness project of a different kind but that’s something else I can’t reveal until we announce the project.

As much as I have wanted to blog throughout the whole process there was neither the time nor the wherewithal.

Hope you enjoyed the photos, more to come!

Me and Richard

Sunday night were the Oscars, Richard and I attended the Vanity Fair dinner party and sat with many interesting people to watch the show. I tweeted a bit from the Vanity Fair Oscar party but not much. I intended to tweet throughout the evening. There were things I really wanted to tweet about and photograph but I just got an iphone…the camera is better than on my Blackberry and I want to earn to dictate my emails to Siri and save my thumbs…but I just couldn’t figure out how to use it and I need a lot more practice to do the typing on that iphone keyboard. So I gave up. It was too hard to do that and be ‘in the moment.’

Struggling with my iPhone

Trying to get a photo of Troy and Simone

The evening was really fun Highlights for me: the biggie for me was Meryl’s winning. I stood up and cheered and wasn’t the only on. I adore Viola…as a human and as an actor but Meryl—that performance! Breathtaking…besides the fact that she’s given about a dozen Oscar-worthy performances since “Sophie’s Choice.” I can tell you that as an actor, she (and Annette Benning) raise the bar and inspire me to go farther, reach higher. I also loved Billy Crystal and a whole lot else about the show.

Chatting with Gwyneth

When it ended, the tables were moved out and the room where we had dined (at the Sunset Towers) was turned into a huge party room. I did just as I had told Richard I would. I found a well situated booth and sat there well into the night talking to fantastic actors and others including Gwyneth Paltrow & Chris Martin, Cameron Diaz, P. Diddy, my brother Peter and Parky, his wife, and my son, Troy Garity and Simone, my daughter-in-law, and Bob Shaye (His company produced “Monster-in-Law” and we’re good friends), Janie Buffett, Michael Douglas (who looks terrific, handsomer than ever!), Emily Mortimer, Melody Hobson, George Lukas, Fran Leibowitz, and so on.

My Son Troy Garity

Slept most of Monday and discovered I’d lost my voice. YIKES! Not good since we resume taping tomorrow at the crack of dawn tomorrow for the rest of the week. Long days. Glad it’s yoga and not aerobics right now.

I cannot tell you how happy it makes me to hear from those of you who have done my latest Prime Time DVDs. As my grandma would say, “It warms the cockles of my heart!” And, right now, I feel every bit a grandmother. I’m tired and I’m sore and so I will now get into a hot tub full of Epsolm Salts (it really works), have a good soak and go to bed. Love to all. xxx

Eve Ensler just came over to visit me. I haven’t seen her in many months. Too many months, because being with Eve opens my heart and lifts my spirit. I have known Eve since the end of the 1990s when our mutual friend, Pat Mitchell, brought her to Ted’s flagship ranch in Montana where I was having a women’s weekend sleepover—7 or 8 women friends, most involved with CNN in some capacity. We all slept in a big tent, cooked out, did a sweat lodge (built by friends of mine from the Lakota tribe), threw ourselves into the cold river and talked late into the night. Eve and I bonded right away. It’s hard not to bond with Eve –unless you’re bothered by fearless energy and grand vision.

Eve, for those of you who don’t know it, is the author of the iconic play, “The Vagina Monologues,” among many others. She was incested for years as a young girl and, instead of being a victim, she became a warrior, writing about women and girls and their bodies, their sexuality and how to reclaim their power when it has been wrested from them. The non-profit organization which grew out of the play is called V-Day: Until the Violence Stops…(‘V’ for Valentine, Vagina, Victory.) The Vagina Monologues has been performed all over the world—literally—and the money raised from the productions supports local efforts to stop violence against women and girls—in Haiti, the Philippines, Croatia, Greece, Egypt, all over the U.S., Europe, you name it . This Valentines V-Day there will be 5000 productions in 2000 locations!

Working with women in East Congo who have been victims of rape and torture, V-Day has built The City of Joy—a place where 90 women can live, study, heal, learn skills, dance, sing, They live there for 6 months and then they return, in teams and with new skills and courage, to their villages to help heal others. They will soon buy a large farm near the City of Joy, big enough to build a factory, to farm fish, pigs, chicken, rice, and become self-sufficient. 90 new women and girls, the second “class,” have just come into the City of Joy. Everyone who has been there and witnessed the women’s transformation, come away with the renewed sense that deep change is possible, even in the worst, most violent of circumstances; that the City of Joy can become a template for change. I urge you to go onto the V-Day website (listed on my homepage) to see more of what they are doing.

Almost 2 years ago, Eve was diagnosed with fistulated ovarian cancer. She almost died. The night before she went into surgery, she said to me on the phone, they’re going to open me up and find the stories of all the women. She was right. The women in the Congo with whom she works suffer from fistula. Because of rape and torture the wall between the vagina and rectum is ruptured. We almost lost Eve. She suffered unbearably. She survived. She experienced all this with a courage and force that none of us had ever seen. She allowed the cancer to change her, to “burn away the dross,” as she put it. I didn’t think she could become a deeper, braver person but she did. And it taught us all—all of us who know and love her. She has written about her cancer. One article, “Congo Cancer,” was in the Huffington Post. Check it out.

But now she is traveling again. All over the world, delivering her message: “We must stop violence against women and girls and when we do, everything will change”. 1 billion women have been sexually violated so Eve has created a growing movement called “One Billion Rising.” Next year, Valentines Day 2013, a billion women will get up from their tables, their desks, their cars, and go into the streets and dance and sing—raise our voices, our spirits, our determination to make a difference and to feel our numbers.

So why am I writing this now? Well for the last few days I’ve been feeling sad. In a funk. Maybe some of it has something to do with Whitney, even though I didn’t really know her, just enough to feel the loss of someone who seemed ready and wanting to turn things around for herself.

My friend Eve shows up and I begin to appreciate all over again the importance of my female friends. The bonds that we share with each other are so important to our overall health and well being. With Eve, I am immediately reconnected with my essentially optimistic spirit. There is much to be optimistic about. We are optimistic because of the 10s of 1000s of small organizations—non-governmental organizations—all around the world that are making a difference and all the beautiful individuals who founded them and run them and so have given their lives greater meaning beyond themselves. The Occupy Wall Street movement is but one example. In the beginning, people said, “Oh but they have no leader. They have no strategy. Just a rag tag bunch of ner-do-wells.” Well they’re making a difference. They’ve changed the dialogue. And it’s not over. There are things happening all over the globe and I feel a change coming. Actually, according to the Mayan calendar (and other sources), 12/21/12, the next Winter Solstice (which happens to be the day I will turn 75) is the day there will be a global (cosmic?) paradigm shift. I choose to believe it will a shift away from ego dominance to a feminine paradigm.

Eve has gone now, leaving me reenergized and recommitted to do all I can to speed up this paradigm shift and ensure it tilts the right way. Some of us can do it in big ways and some in small ways but we can all make a difference.