By KAT KRAMER | September 28, 2018 | The Tolucan Times

Well folks, I was pleased to attend the L.A. premiere of the new HBO documentary feature film “Jane Fonda in Five Acts” on September 13 at Hammer Museum on Wilshire Blvd. in Westwood. A film by Susan Lacy, it chronicles Fonda’s life and work and features in-depth interviews with Robert Redford, Lily Tomlin, Ted Turner, Paula Weinstein, Troy Garity and Fonda herself.

The doc includes her early life as the daughter of Henry Fonda, focuses on her legacy as an actress and two-time Academy Award winner (Klute, Coming Home, On Golden Pond with my godmother Katharine Hepburn, The China Syndrome, They Shoot Horses Don’t They?, Barbarella, Cat Ballou and Barefoot In The Park), plus her three marriages to Roger Vadim, Tom Hayden and Ted Turner. Much of the film details her activism and how Fonda revolutionized the home video industry with her Jane Fonda Workout videos.

I brought my mother to this special premiere attended by many “actorvists” and politicians such as Barbara Boxer, Rosanna Arquette, Lisa Kudrow, Saffron Burrows, Omar Benson Miller, Fonda’s son Garity with Simone Bent, Grace and Frankie co-star Tomlin and many of Fonda’s co-stars in the recent popular ensemble comedy Book Club including Diane Keaton, Don Johnson, Mary Steenburgen who brought her husband Ted Danson, the filmmakers Lacy, Emma Plides and Jessica Levin and HBO’s Richard Plepler.

The screening took place at the Hammer’s Billy Wilder Theatre, which was where we had presented the 40th Anniversary of my father Stanley Kramer’s Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner and his centennial celebration, so it’s a nostalgic location for us. In fact Jane Fonda narrated a documentary about my father in the 1980’s called Kramer on Kramer and visited our family in Seattle where I grew up. She was a guest speaker for my mother’s drama school the “Karen Kramer Drama Program For Young People.” It was a memorable evening with an afterparty in the courtyard where guests could reminisce.

Jane Fonda in Five Acts focuses on her legendary life in stages, five acts, and is moving and impactful. It’s currently playing in limited release at Laemmle’s Playhouse 7 in Pasadena.

A look ahead

Jane Fonda has also been involved in the disabilities community and even shared her acceptance speech with the deaf community using American Sign Language during her acceptance speech when she won the Best Actress Oscar for Coming Home. This historical moment is featured in Gold Pictures CinemAbility: The Art of Inclusion coming to VOD platforms iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, In Demand and DVD on Friday, October 5. This powerful award-winning documentary feature by Jenni Gold reveals a compelling and often amusing look at the history of disability portrayals in entertainment. Featuring compelling interviews from Jamie Foxx, William H. Macy, Ben Affleck, Marlee Matlin and Geena Davis, CinemAbility is narrated and produced by Jane Seymour. Some of my father’s classic films with differently-abled characters are featured including The Men and Ship of Fools. Since October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, this film release is an ideal way to share the important message of inclusion for all!

Live your dreams……
Kat