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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Ophira Eisenberg and The New Yorker’s Emily Flake Bring Parenting Humor To Brooklyn
On a recent summer Thursday, the cramped basement performance space of Brooklyn’s Union Hall filled with groups of friends, couples on dates, and a few loners who gave the impression they were there every night. It was about the crowd you’d expect at a night of standup comedy, which New Yorker cartoonist Emily Flake, as…
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WATCH: 7 Things We Learned From The First Trailer of Woody Allen’s Amazon Series
Amazon just released the first full trailer for “Crisis in Six Scenes,” Woody Allen’s return to television. (Ok not really television, online streaming, but that’s just details.) The comedy, which starts streaming on September 30, takes place in the 1960s and centers around a quirky, middle class suburban family. Here are seven things we learned…
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Jeffrey Katzenberg Hosts 700-Person Shabbat Dinner at Burning Man
If you thought Burning Man and Jewish tradition had nothing in common, think again. Jeffrey Katzenberg, chairman of DreamWorks Animation, and his son David, just hosted a Shabbat dinner at the annual festival—with a cool 700 people making it on the guest list. “Anyone and everyone is welcome,” Katzenberg told The Hollywood Reporter. “Everyone in…
The Latest
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Jonah Hill Was Insulted During An Interview. Here’s Why That Shouldn’t Have Gone Viral.
Things got randomly weird and sexual during a French TV interview with Jonah Hill last week. The 32-year-old actor was appearing on Le Grand Journal to promote his new film “War Dogs,” when host Ornella Fleury decided to embark on a one-woman roast against him. She started out by saying she has a “sexual fantasy”…
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Meet Sarah Silverman’s Hilarious Tweeting Dad From Boca
Meet Donald Silverman, Sarah Silverman’s father. He tweets from an account called @RantsFromBoca (which has an impressive 18,400 followers.) pic.twitter.com/zakTzYuYSY — Donald Silverman (@RantsFromBoca) July 15, 2016 Donald is 79-years-old. He feels weird about that. Today I turn fucking 79. That’s fucking old. Same fucking heart beating day & night constantly for 79 fucking years….
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Arrest Warrant Issued for Amy Goodman — Again
In the introduction to Amy Goodman’s recent book, “Democracy Now! Twenty Years Covering the Movements Changing America,” the journalist and longtime “Democracy Now!” co-host describes her many run-ins with law enforcement. “As reporters we shouldn’t have to get a record for putting things on the record,” she writes. And yet her “rap sheet” includes being…
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The Famous Jews of AEPi — and AEPhi
In light of our recent look into Alpha Epsilon Pi, the historically Jewish fraternity, and how tensions over bidding non-Jewish members have led to several chapters disaffiliating with the national organization, we thought we would take a look at the famous Jews that have graced the halls of AEPi, and AEPhi, the historically Jewish sorority….
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2016 Man Booker Prize Finalists Include Deborah Levy and Paul Beatty
The shortlist for the 2016 Man Booker Prize includes Jewish novelist Deborah Levy’s “Hot Milk” and Paul Beatty’s “The Sellout,” a novel that prompted the Forward’s Adam Langer to wonder whether its author might be the new Philip Roth. The other titles to make the shortlist, drawn from the longlist released in July, are Graeme…
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Richard Cohen and Nora Ephron: The Real-Life Harry and Sally
Former Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen insists that he was not the inspiration for Harry, the lovable neurotic in Nora Ephron’s rom-com “When Harry Met Sally.” The 75-year-old writer even has a whole chapter in his recently released Ephron biography, “She Made Me Laugh,” entitled “I am Not and Never Have Been Harry.” And yet,…
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Joey Alexander, 13-Year-Old Jazz Prodigy, Talks About Second Album
In the first decade of his life, jazz pianist Joey Alexander released his first album and became the youngest person ever to be nominated for a Grammy at age 11. Now, at 13, Alexander has a second album, “Countdown,” which he said shows more exploration. But the Bali native, who at the age of eight…
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5 Ways to Remember Alexis Arquette, Actress and Transgender Advocate
Alexis Arquette, the actress and transgender rights activist, passed away on September 11th. She was 47 years old. A statement on her brother Richmond’s Facebook page, written by their sister Patricia, said Arquette’s death came at the end of a long illness, and that she passed away surrounded by her brothers and sisters, listening to…
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In Case You Missed It
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