In the movie Between the Temples, Jason Schwartzman and Carol Kane play an unlikely duo, frequently interrupting each other with energetic banter. Their dynamic in real life seems pretty similar.
Schwartzman plays Ben, a cantor at a synagogue who loses his ability to sing after the death of his wife. His childhood music teacher Carla (Kane) reenters his life as his adult bat mitzvah student, helping him to confront his anxiety and grief.
Yahoo Entertainment had a wide-ranging conversation with the stars, who seemingly couldn’t resist talking about the joy of filmmaking and their appreciation for each other.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Tell me a little bit about why you wanted to be in this movie.
Carol Kane: I’ll tell you a little bit. [Gesturing to Schwartzman] That’s the little bit! Working with him. I couldn’t believe I had the opportunity to do that. When I read the script treatment, I thought it was a really interesting story. I knew it was loosely based on [writer-director Nathan Silver’s] mama.
Was it a lot of pressure to portray a character based on his mom?
Kane: No, because I didn’t model myself after her. I could have made that choice — I often do, but I didn’t. I just wanted Carla to be Carla, but I did have the inspiration of my own mother. She completely took a leap of faith and changed her life [at 55], so I have that in my DNA, and that informed Carla.
It seems like a lot of people want to work with [Schwartzman,] he was the most-watched actor on the [film social platform] Letterboxd in 2023.
Jason Schwartzman: I can’t even really talk about it because I don’t even really believe it.
Kane: If I was on Letterboxd, you’d have my vote.
Schwartzman: But how can it be true? I don’t get the math!
I get how it’s true — people love the Spiderverse movies that you’re in, as well as Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and you’re in almost every Wes Anderson movie.
Schwartzman: Honestly, thank you. I was very fortunate to be in those movies. When the team first sent me a screengrab about how I was the most-watched, I thought it was someone showing off their Photoshop abilities. But seriously, that’s so awesome. The most fun thing is to know that when the time you spend on something — someone else is going to spend their time watching it. I think that’s so moving.
Carol, I love how excited you said you were to work with him. What was the first Jason Schwartzman movie you ever watched?
Kane: Rushmore was the first, but I’ve watched pretty much everything he’s in. That’s why I’ve got to join Letterboxd.
Schwartzman: I have a strange question. Who is the No. 2 most-watched?
I don’t know, maybe Willem Dafoe? He’s in everything. [Editor’s note: It’s Ryan Gosling.]
Schwartzman: It was [Dafoe] in 2022, I know that. Where are you from, by the way?
North Carolina. Raleigh.
Kane: You don’t have a Southern accent.
No, I’ve been in New York for like 10 years. I don’t have an accent but there are some words I still can’t say right.
Kane: If I gave you a margarita, would it come out?
Definitely. Now, I’ve heard that the script for Between the Temples was a bit unconventional. It was first presented to you like a novella, then you would receive lines of dialogue shortly before it was time to film. Was it difficult working that way?
Kane: It was a learning curve for me, but it became very enjoyable because of that on my part.
Schwartzman: Same for me. It’s hard because everyone was working so hard on this movie, and that was just our contribution. We wanted to do as good of a job as everyone else was doing. But it’s not that hard when you’re working with Carol Kane. When we filmed one of our first scenes together, I was like, “Well, that’s why she is who she is! That’s why her name means so much to people.” It’s crazy. She’s like a magician.
Kane: I don’t really know. … Speaking of my name, when I was young, people would get me mixed up with Carole King. Not infrequently, people will come up to me and tell me how much they love my Tapestry album.
What do you say to that? “I’m so glad!”
Kane: Sometimes! If it’s somebody really emotional — one person came to me and said, “You saved my mother’s life in the ’70s!” If it’s somebody like that, I won’t say, “Oh, you made a big mistake!” When [King] and I met back in the day, Carrie Fisher and Penny Marshall used to have these extraordinary birthday parties together. So many people would be there. One of those days, I was on the patio at [Fisher’s] house and I saw [King] sitting on the couch on the patio. It was like a bad commercial: We ran into each other’s arms because over the years so many people would compliment her on my movies.
So what was your first Carol Kane movie?
Schwartzman: Believe it or not, Scrooged had a really big impact on me because it made me think about morality—
Kane: What part of it, because you’re watching your life go by—
Schwartzman: Yes! The way you play the character is so wonderful, because it’s sweet but you also hit and punch. I love how your character manhandled Bill Murray.
Kane: I don’t think Bill Murray liked that.
Schwartzman: I also loved Dog Day Afternoon and The Last Detail. These things mean a lot to me! They’re not just movies. They’re like birthdays.
I feel lucky getting to watch you guys interact together, which is so much of Between the Temples. I know some of it is improvisation. Why do you think audiences love hearing that some of their favorite lines and scenes have been improvised?
Schwartzman: I think it’s more like musical improvisation. When something comes out of someone’s body, you’re like “How did that just come out of there?” There are people who make it an art form, like Christopher Guest.
Kane: Have you ever been in a Christopher Guest movie?
Schwartzman: No, but I keep This Is Spinal Tap on my iPad whenever I travel, so if there’s turbulence I can put it on to make me laugh. Also, if the plane crashes, that’s what I’m going out watching.
Between the Temples is now playing in theaters.
