Interview with Lisa D’Apolito director of SHARI AND LAMB CHOP selected at SBIFF

Interview by Emmanuel Itier:
With Director: Lisa D’Apolito for SHARI AND LAMB CHOP.

Television star Shari Lewis broke nw ground in the 50’s and 60’s with her ventriloquism and beloved puppet: ‘Lamb Chop’. Now, director Lisa D’Apolito, who brought us the brilliant ‘Love, Gilda’, is bringing for a very emotional portrait of Lisa and now she truly revolutionized children tv shows. This film brought tears to my eyes as it reminded be the purity and the humanity, we all are touched by as young children. Then we grow up and the ugliness of the world forces us to grow up and build an emotional mental amor to protect us from various abuses. Bless Lisa D’Apolito for resurrecting in us the faith we can, again, be a child, and live with hopes and dreams. And thanks to Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop for making these hopes and dreams become a reality.

Q: What was the idea behind this film, how did it come together?

Lisa: I love films about entertainers. I always look for characters who are brilliant but who are not necessarily known by the big audience out there. I knew who Shari and her ‘Lamb Chop’ puppet were but I didn’t know anything in details about them. I’m part of that generation who was in between the tv shows from the 60’s and from the 90’s. Shari was on may talk shows; therefore, I had an idea of who she was. Legendary Gene Wilder, with whom I worked on my previous film, ‘Love, Gilda’, approached me to put together a documentary about Shari and Lamb Chop. I agreed at once. It felt right doing this film and it made me feel happy doing so, like bringing back some types of happy memories. When I think of ‘Lamb Chop’ I think of something happy. This project really felt right from the beginning.

Q: What did you discover about Shari that really surprised you and how it inspired you?

Lisa: Her immense talent impressed me and inspired me. She wasn’t just a children performer and a ventriloquist. I had no idea she was from New York City and that her father was a famous magician. Shari grew up in a very magical environment and that environment created the Shari Lewis she became.

Q: Tell me about the various challenges you faced making this film?

Lisa: The biggest challenge was about to really know who Shari was. She was very careful and guarded when she gave interviews so I had to figure who she truly was. It took lots of digging to find materials, footages, where Shari wasn’t performing and where I could find out about the real woman behind the name. Also, Todd, her assistant has saved so much footage and boxes of stuffs in his garage. And so we were able to keep digging. We even found one “cassette” about her last performance where she sings that song “hello, goodbye”. This finding was golden. So the main challenge was to find this unique material any filmmaker needs to find to put together the movie he/she is trying to achieve.

Q: What do you think this truly about? What is the take away?

Lisa: It’s all about never give up! Keep going and hope your dreams come together. Shari was struggling many years before she became successful. Her goal was always to get on television, and it took many years to achieve this goal. And then, after Saturday Night Live she struggled another 30 years before getting back on television with ‘Lamb Chop’. She always believed in herself. She always believed children should believe in themselves. If you persevere, things do work out. She on television in her 60’s for a children show when she was doing ‘Lamb Chop’ and this is quite unique. It rooves that if you keep going and you keep believing in yourself, magic will come you way.

Q: Did making this film transform you in any ways?

Lisa: For sure. Shari was so under-estimated. She was a woman, and she was 4’’11! She had to fight to see herself seen. Her spirit empowered me. You have to speak up for yourself as a woman. You have to be in charge of your destiny and of your creative. No one is going to do anything for you. I really felt empowered by the spirit of Shari to take my destiny in my control. “keep going, you can dot it”!

Q: Tell me about your expectations about being in the Santa Barbara International festival and what is coming next for your film?

Lisa: I have always wanted to go to the Santa Barbara film festival. This is one of the best festivals in the USA to attend! I love Santa Barbara, it’s such a beautiful place. Also, Shari’s daughter will be in Santa Barbara, performing with ‘Lamb Chop’, so this will be quite an amazing experience. Every time Lamb Chop appears it’s really magic and it moves the audience. The film is in negotiations with distributors right now  so I hope something great will come out from being here in Santa Barbara.