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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WATCH: Amy Schumer Takes Down Stockholm Hater
Amy Schumer sure knows how to take down a misogynist hater when she sees one. The comedian, writer and actress was two minutes into a performance in Stockholm last night when a heckler shouted “show us your tits!” Schumer responded in top form, pausing her act to focus in on the heckler. She interrogated him…
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WATCH: You’ll Love This Vintage Forward Commercial
A black and white screen fades in, and a blonde woman begins speaking in Russian: “The only Jewish newspaper with a bureau in Moscow, home of the world’s third largest Jewish community, is the Forward.” The screen fades out and in, and another woman, this one with short curly brown hair, begins speaking in French:…
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Corey Feldman Hears Beyond-the-Grave Message from Co-Star Corey Haim About Abuse
Hollywood’s famous two Coreys made an emotional TV reunion of sorts — if you believe in people talking from beyond the grave. Corey Feldman, best known for his roles in classic ’80s movies like “Stand By Me,” “The Goonies” and “Gremlins,” believes he heard a poignant message from his late friend and co-star Corey Haim…
The Latest
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Mel Brooks Shares Sweetest Memories of Gene Wilder
(JTA) — Mel Brooks and the late Gene Wilder — who collaborated in films such as “Blazing Saddles” and “Young Frankenstein” — had a famously decades-long friendship. When Wilder passed away on Monday, Brooks was one of the first celebrities to offer a Twitter eulogy, “one of the truly great talents of our time.” Brooks got…
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WATCH: Nixon’s Speechwriter Ben Stein Really Doesn’t Like Trump or Clinton
Ben Stein, a lifelong Republican, former speechwriter for Richard Nixon and the teacher in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” really doesn’t like either candidate for president. Stein sat down with Jimmy Kimmel last night and declared that he’s “not a fan” of Hillary Clinton, and that there is “something wrong” with Donald Trump. The actor added…
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Iris Apfel Lists Her Major Fashion Don’ts For Older Women
Iris Apfel has some choice fashion advice for older women. The style icon, who celebrated her 95th birthday on Monday, told Fashionista that there are a few major fashion don’ts she thinks need to be avoided. “There are just some certain things that older women shouldn’t do,” she said. “…Older women shouldn’t show excess flesh….
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Thanks, Vice. But Israel’s Female Soldiers Aren’t Just Pretty Faces.
Thank goodness for Vice, purveyor of useful information. After all, if it weren’t for their recent publication of Mayan Toledano’s photographs of Israeli women in the IDF, we’d have absolutely no idea that a woman continuing to be, well, a woman while in the army was actually an act of protest. Toledano is an Israeli-born,…
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“War Paint” Starring Patti Lupone Nominated For Top Chicago Theater Awards
The new musical “War Paint,” which tells the story of the 20th-century makeup mavens Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein, has been nominated for five of Chicago’s Equity Jeff Awards, the region’s top theatrical awards. The musical, which closed at the Goodman Theater on August 21st, starred Christine Ebersole as Arden and Patti LuPone as Rubinstein….
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Paula Vogel’s ‘Indecent’ Scouted For Broadway
Just after Paula Vogel’s new play “Indecent” premiered Off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theater in April, Vogel spoke to the Forward for a feature on the production. “Would I like this show to be on Broadway? You bet,” she said. “I would put on a sandwich board and walk the street in front of the theater…
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A Conversation About Regrets With ‘Is That You?’ Film Director Dani Menkin
Once you get past the “mother—-er” affectionate razzing between 60-year old Ronnie (Alon Aboutboul) an unemployed Israeli film projectionist visiting his brother in America, Dani Menkin”s film “Is That You?” settles into a meandering yet sweet “life journey” —akin to a romantic variant on Preston Sturges’ [1941] film “Sullivan’s Travels” —as the character Ronnie searches…
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Inside Gene Wilder and Gilda Radner’s Short and Sweet Jewish Love Story
The first time Gilda Radner met Gene Wilder, she thought he was suggestively rubbing his crotch on her knee. It was at the very beginning of shooting the Sidney Poitier directed romp “Hanky Panky,” and the two were introduced before filming their first scene. “When she told me this story, I said, ‘You’re nuts!’ And…
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Fast Forward Chabad on high alert after false Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens war claims
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Opinion The real reason for the US war with Iran may have nothing to do with Israel
In Case You Missed It
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Film & TV Walter Benjamin knew what Timothée Chalamet meant about opera and ballet
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Culture For the ‘Jazz Rabbi’ of Connecticut, music and Judaism are both about tradition and improvisation
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