The Schmooze lies at the intersection of high and low culture. Here, the latest developments and trends in Jewish art, books, dance, film, music, media, television and theater are all assimilated into one handy pop culture blog.
The Schmooze
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6 Best Fascinators To Wear To Synagogue In Honor Of The Royal Wedding
The British are quite fond of hats. Specifically, they are enamored with fascinators; those weirdly tiny, sculptural and (often overly) ornamental protrusions that are attached to the head with a clip or a headband. Fascinators are some sort of Anglican Church tradition, and are worn at weddings. It’s why at the last major royal wedding,…
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Saying Goodbye To ‘New Girl’ — And Its Jewish Moments
New Girl ended last night after 7 seasons of slapstick comedy, group hang outs, and ham-fisted musical cues that still make me cry. The show began as a star vehicle for Zooey Deschanel and featured her character Jessica Day living in a loft with three men who were sometimes attracted to her and sometimes freaked…
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Jake Gyllenhaal and Bradley Cooper Will Play Jewish Legend Leonard Bernstein In Rival Biopics
2018: The Year Two A-List Hollywood Stars Fought To Portray A Gay, Jewish Musical Theater Composer. If Julia Louis-Dreyfuss’ historian great-grand-daughter doesn’t write a book by this title by 2098, I will eat my hat. In a bizarre cultural moment, movie stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Bradley Cooper have both been cast as legendary Jewish composer…
The Latest
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‘Brooklyn 99’ Was Just Salvaged By NBC After Fox Dropped It
We mourned too soon! On May 10, we sat shiva for the cancelled feel-good sitcom “Brooklyn 99,” an ensemble show about a police precinct in Brooklyn. Baruch Hashem, a mere 31 hours later, NBC announced that it was picking up the sitcom for a 13-episode order. According to NBC entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt, NBC initially…
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Jordan Peele’s New Movie: How A Black Detective and A Jewish Cop Infiltrated The KKK
Once, when I was a kid, my parents took me to Disneyland on my birthday and I was given a button that said “Today’s my birthday,” and park employees and characters wished me “Happy Birthday,” all day. Even my favorite, Alice in Wonderland. That feeling is the closest I can get to describing the super-sensory…
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Sheldon Adelson’s Wife Wears Dress With A Jerusalem Psalm To Embassy Opening
Fashion is about making a statement, and Miriam Adelson took that rule to heart. The American embassy has officially moved to Jerusalem and all sorts of prominent politicians and American Jews are in the holy, contested city to celebrate. On the guest list was Sheldon Adelson, prominent Jewish billionaire who is known for supporting many…
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Gal Gadot To Israel Eurovision Winner Netta Barzilai: ‘You’re The Real Wonder Woman’
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli actress Gal Gadot congratulated Netta Barzilai for her victory at Eurovision. Gadot, whose film persona Wonder Woman gets a shout out in Israel’s song “Toy,” posted her good wishes on Instagram, including a video of Barzilai’s acceptance speech, in which she thanked the audience for “choosing different” and for “celebrating diversity.”…
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Paul McCartney Isn’t Going To Israel To Receive An Award. Here’s How To Handle The News.
On the tenth day of May, two thousand and eighteen years after the start of the Common Era, it was announced that Paul McCartney will not be flying to Israel to receive the Wolf Prize for music. To help you handle this, the Forward has codified The 7 Stages of Grief many experience when learning…
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Movie News: The Holocaust Movie Stanley Kubrick Never Made, Roman Polanski Scoffs At #MeToo
In an egregious act of censorship that can only be described as Orwellian, the Cannes Film Festival banned selfies on its red carpet this year. Can someone check the Geneva Conventions? This can’t be legal. Anyway, from Roman Polanski’s latest attempt to minimize his egregious sexual misconduct, to Mila Kunis’s upcoming spy flick, to a…
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‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ Heads To Broadway As Sorkin, Harper Lee Lawsuit Settles
Justice. Truth. America! Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin and producer Scott Rudin have triumphed in a lawsuit against the estate of Harper Lee. After a pair of lawsuits from the Lee estate accused Sorkin’s stage script of “To Kill A Mockingbird” of straying too far from Lee’s book, the Rudin camp has settled. Sorkin’s version will be…
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Fox Makes Its Worst Mistake Yet And Cancels Brooklyn 99
Put on your black mourning frocks, cover all the windows in your house and crack open the doors for seven days because it’s time to sit shiva for Brooklyn 99. The show, which was too good for this bloody, lonely world, has been cancelled by Fox to make way for the return of right-wing Tim…
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