PJ Grisar is a Forward culture reporter. He can be reached at [email protected] and @pjgrisar on Twitter.
PJ Grisar
By PJ Grisar
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Culture Behold: The trailer for Wes Anderson’s most Jewish film yet
We sometimes like to imagine the private rooms of Wes Anderson: The pastel wallpaper, staid geometry, old knick-knacks and, most of all, the reading material. Works on oceanography accrued for “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou” (2004); the collected works of Stefan Zweig, who inspired “The Grand Budapest Hotel” (2014) and J.D. Salinger, whose work…
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Culture Did Trump really miss the point of this ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ clip?
President Trump has a busy cable news-viewing schedule, so perhaps he can be forgiven for not being up to date on “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” On Monday night, the president tweeted a (NSFW) clip from the show’s season 10 premiere that aired on January 19. He appeared to miss some crucial context, but that doesn’t mean…
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Culture Did Kirk Douglas really use his last words to endorse Bloomberg?
Mike Bloomberg is paying online influencers to make his presidential campaign look hip, evidently anxious about cornering the youth vote. But the state of his base is perhaps best summed up by an altogether different alleged endorsement: That of film legend Kirk Douglas, who died last week at the age of 103. This weekend at…
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Culture The Jewish, Polish, Mexican theater director who mentored Alejandro Iñárritu
Did you hear the one about Alejandro Iñárritu’s Jewish Polish-Mexican directing mentor? If you weren’t busy checking your Oscars ballot during the commercials on Sunday, you may have heard Iñárritu, the Academy Award-winning director of “Birdman” (2014) and “The Revenant” (2016) give a shout-out to a director named Ludwik Margules during a Rolex commercial. “Ludwik…
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Culture At a historic Oscars, Jews from Taika Waititi to Joaquin Phoenix made their mark
The 2020 Oscars, host-less and lacking diversity, were mostly programmatic — but still packed some surprises. The night was historic, marking the first time a non-English language film has ever won Best Picture. Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite,” which also swept Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best International Feature Film, follows a have-not South Korean…
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Culture Your complete Jewish guide to watching the Oscars
The 92nd Academy Awards ceremony is already a Jewish affair. Though it hasn’t been advertised, the evening is not actually hostless; Elijah is slated to Emcee — the Academy is just waiting for him to show up for dress rehearsals. We jest, but film’s biggest night still has plenty of Yiddishkeit to offer. Jewish directors,…
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Film & TV ‘Incitement’ isn’t about making Rabin’s murderer — it’s about making modern Israel
We meet the killer as he’s cleaning tombstones. While he scrapes and sponges, his radio broadcasts Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s historic Rose Garden speech announcing the signing of the first Oslo Accord. When his work is done, he leaves to join protests against the peace plan in Tel Aviv. It’s 1993. In two years, this…
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Culture ‘Vienna Blood’ is the Jewish answer to your ‘Sherlock’ craving
The latest British import to PBS, “Vienna Blood,” is not about sausage. Its title is a nod to its setting, its grisly, sanguine concerns and to a waltz and operetta (Wiener Blut) by Johann Strauss the Younger. If you already knew that last part, this show is for you. The series, based on the “Liebermann…
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