Steve Rubin was born a “Chicago Boy” however moved to LA when he was 4. His household lived throughout the road from the old Stadium Theatre in West Los Angeles and was “at the movies three times a week. I grew up a movie kid. I loved movies; my mother loved movies; my dad loved movies.”
Rubin attended UCLA, studied historical past and journalism, and wrote for his school paper. After school Steve “did a bunch of freelance jobs” and began writing. His first guide was known as Combat Films, American Realism, 1945-1970. “I basically went around and interviewed filmmakers who made the great World War II movies. Everything from Battleground to Patton.” Rubin didn’t make a lot money from this guide, so he was “a little cannier about his next subject.” He wrote the primary behind the scenes historical past of James Bond films, known as The James Bond Films: A behind the scenes historical past. This one offered rather well and prompted a sequel.
From that time he started working primarily within the film business, beginning as a publicist. After 25 years in that subject Rubin started producing films. His first was a baseball comedy known as Bleacher Bums, in 2002. The subsequent effort was a WWII film primarily based on a real story known as Silent Night. At this level Rubin crossed paths with David Lee Miller, who was working The Criterion Collection, an American home video distribution firm. Rubin was employed to do commentary on the primary three James Bond films, and the 2 grew to become shut associates.
Miller was very curious about youngsters’s literature. He additionally grew to become conscious of one thing Rubin calls “this little hobby of mine.” He has “dozens and dozens” of audio tapes of films—not simply soundtracks however the whole dialogue of films. Rubin finds these tapes to be very instructional for him as a result of he hears examples of fine dialogue with out being distracted by the motion onscreen. A former roommate referred to these tapes as ear films.
While listening to The Diary of Anne Frank and a scene involving Anne, Peter, and a cat named Mouschi, Rubin “wondered what the cat thought of this strange situation.” He known as Miller and proposed the thought. Miller “went crazy. He thought it was a terrific idea. Thus began a very long journey to write The Cat Who Lived with Anne Frank.” The Anne Frank Center on the University of South Carolina campus opened to the general public September 15, 2021. This heart is the Official U.S. Partner of the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam and the one associate web site in North America.
The Anne Frank Center brings to life the story of the young Jewish lady who documented two years of hiding in German-occupied Amsterdam throughout World War II by recording day by day happenings and emotions in her diary.
By sharing Anne’s legacy with guests, college students, and lecturers, USC’s Anne Frank Center seeks to encourage the dedication to by no means be bystanders however as an alternative to face up collectively in opposition to antisemitism, bigotry, and inequality wherever it might exist.
Anne Frank wrote 3 times in her diary in regards to the chestnut tree she may see from the attic window of the Secret Annex. When it fell in 2010, seeds have been gathered to develop authentic saplings at particular websites world wide.
The University of South Carolina Anne Frank Center was awarded the final authentic sapling from the New York non-profit AFC USA. This tree is displayed on the grounds as a residing tribute to Anne Frank and to those that have been instrumental in ensuring her story was informed and continues to be remembered.
On February 29, 2024, The Anne Frank Center hosted the inaugural Anne Frank Awards in Columbia, a celebratory occasion to acknowledge inspiring college students, educators, and group companions dedicated to instructing in regards to the life and legacy of Anne Frank throughout South Carolina and the United States.
Steve Rubin, together with Shoshona Brower, who serves because the media and training coordinator for Rubin and Miller, visited the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., earlier in February earlier than touring to Columbia. Miller was unable to attend due to a marriage in his household. Rubin and Brower got a tour of USC’s Anne Frank Center and visited All Good Books to signal a couple of copies, after a presentation on the Richland Main Library that included a presentation, Q&A, and a guide signing.
Writing The Cat Who Lived with Anne Frank was a “long journey. We didn’t know anything about writing children’s books and had to do lots of research.” The duo wrote the Anne Frank House to inquire in regards to the cat and have been informed nobody had ever requested in regards to the cat, which appeared like signal they have been heading in the right direction.
Miep Gies, who saved the diary and wrote a guide about that, didn’t know what occurred to the cat however confirmed there was one. A “forensic reading” of Anne’s diary confirmed that info. She talked about Mouschi a number of instances.
Miller and Rubin knew a youngsters’s guide in regards to the Holocaust couldn’t be correct within the telling of the horrors of the holocaust. “The horrors of what happened would be a little much for eight-year-olds.” Adding the cat gave extra credence to the story by introducing a personality each youngster would love and likewise present substance to the plot since Mouschi was capable of exit and about with out coping with safety forces.
The Cat Who Lived With Anne Frank was revealed in 2019. Illustrated fantastically by Elizabeth Baddeley, this depiction of Anne Frank was lauded by the School Library Journal and the Jewish Book Council as “A gentle introduction to one of the darkest times in modern history and a gentle but effective introduction to one aspect of the Holocaust.”
The guide is available on Amazon.
For extra info on the Anne Frank Center at USC, go to sc.edu/examine/colleges_schools/training/partnerships_outreach/anne_frank/index.php.
