Movie News: Syrian Hero Unable To Get Visa For Oscars, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, A Harvey Weinstein Lawsuit

Image by Getty Images
Between a new lawsuit against The Weinstein Company, an update on how increased strictures on travel from the Middle East will impact the Oscars and a health update from Julia Louis-Dreyfus, this week’s movie news is, well, heavy on the news. Don’t worry, though: We have plenty of “movie” to mitigate the “news,” including Daniel Witkin’s fantastic review of Alex Ross Perry’s “Golden Exits.”
Phew, what have we missed? Maybe some movies about the news? Is “The Post” still relevant?
1) The producer and hero subject of“Last Men in Aleppo” will be unable to travel to attend the Oscars
Vulture reports that Mahmoud al-Hattar, founder of the White Helmets and subject of the documentary “Last Men in Aleppo,” will not be allowed to enter the U.S. to attend the Oscars ceremony. The director of the film, Feras Fayyad, told The Hollywood Reporter that “Barring a miracle, [al-Hattar] will not be at the Oscars with me. We are artists and we just want to share our stories and nothing more. It’s very sad he won’t have an opportunity to share his.” He blamed President Trump’s travel ban for al-Hattar’s failure to procure a visa to enter the country.
2) A very talkative tale of quiet desperation made its debut
For the Forward, Daniel Witkin examined the complex “atomic structure” of relationships in Alex Ross Perry’s chatty “Golden Exits,” released last week. The filmmaker, who previously directed “Listen Up Philip” (2014) and “Queen of Earth” (2015), here presents “a rather provincial movie, fixated on the cloistered lives led by many in this most cosmopolitan and expansive of cities,” Witkin writes.
3) ‘High Maintenance’ gave the ex-Orthodox experience its due
As Eli Reiter wrote in the Forward, the HBO series “High Maintenance” manages to accurately portray the difficulties Hasids face in leaving their communities better than most other films or TV shows. In the episode “Derech,” a recent ex-Orthodox Jew named Baruch is seen struggling to find a job given that most of his experience is in “Torah study and Kosher practice.” He asks a woman out on a date, seemingly successfully, before discovering she’s reporting on ex-Hasids for Vice. The scene resonates with Reiter, who draws on personal experience to explain how journalists take advantage of subject’s naiveté for their own gain.
4) Julia Louis-Dreyfus shared a stunning photo after cancer surgery
Becky Scott writes in the Schmooze, “It’s official – Julia Louis Dreyfus is not going to let cancer get her down.” The actress posted a picture to Instagram after her mastectomy with the caption, “Hoorah! Great doctors, great results, feeling happy and ready to rock after surgery. Hey cancer, ‘Fuck you!’”
5) Will a suit against The Weinstein Company be good for Harvey Weinstein’s victims?
In The New York Times, Andrew Ross Sorkin analyzed the New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s recent filing against The Weinstein Company. As he writes, while Schneiderman “said all the right things” about compensating the victims, his move may actually prevent said victims from receiving any money. That’s because the lawsuit may force The Weinstein Company into filing for bankruptcy. If that happens, there “would be no funds” for victims.
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion My Jewish moms group ousted me because I work for J Street. Is this what communal life has come to?
- 2
News Student protesters being deported are not ‘martyrs and heroes,’ says former antisemitism envoy
- 3
Fast Forward Suspected arsonist intended to beat Gov. Josh Shapiro with a sledgehammer, investigators say
- 4
Politics Meet America’s potential first Jewish second family: Josh Shapiro, Lori, and their 4 kids
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward Arson suspect attacked Shapiro over pro-Israel stances, search warrant says
-
Fast Forward Jewish family killed in New York plane crash
-
Fast Forward Israelis can no longer enter the Maldives after Palestinian-solidarity ban goes into effect
-
News Harvard is defying the Trump administration — after its own crackdown on academic freedom
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.