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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Nicholas Hoult to Play J.D. Salinger in Upcoming Biopic
The phonies in Hollywood are making a movie about J.D. Salinger. Who’s playing him? Nicholas Hoult. What’s it called? “Rebel in the Rye.” Who’s directing? “Empire“‘s Danny Strong. Who’s writing the script? Also Danny Strong — based on a 2011 Salinger biography by Kenneth Slawenski. Why do we care? The celebrated author was born Jerome David…
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Backstage With Michelle Lee’s ‘Wicked’ Madame Morrible
“How did you come to “Wicked”? I asked twice Tony-nominated Michelle Lee who inhabits the role of Madame Morrible — the headmistress of Shiz University and cohort of the Wizard who mentors [the green girl] Elphaba. We were chatting in her dressing room at the Gershwin Theatre where two weeks earlier I sat next to a…
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In the Hamptons, Come For the Beach, Stay For the Jewish Cemetery
(JTA) — Forget sprawling estates and yacht slips, the hottest real estate in the Hamptons might just be a Jewish cemetery. The Shaarey Pardes Accabonac Grove Cemetery, a private plot owned by the Jewish Center of the Hamptons, a Reform synagogue in East Hampton, has become one of the most exclusive pieces of land in the…
The Latest
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Amy Schumer and Jennifer Lawrence are Billy Joel’s New Uptown Girls
Move over Christie Brinkley, the Piano Man has (two) new blondes in his life! Funny girl Amy Schumer and her , Jennifer Lawrence grooved the night away dancing barefoot on top of the piano at Billy Joel’s concert in Chicago last night. This comes days after JLaw spilled the beans to The New York Times…
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A Chat With Lisa Belkin, the Jewish Writer Behind HBO’s Show Me a Hero’
(JTA) — Good storytelling, like good comedy, often draws from real life. It also relies on timing — finding the precise moment when it won’t just entertain but resonate, provoke, perhaps even shift our national conversation. — the six-part HBO miniseries created by journalist-turned-showrunner par excellence David Simon (“The Wire,” “Treme”) with William Zorzi (who worked…
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Is the New ‘Star Wars’ Villain a Nazi?
I don’t know about you, but I CAN’T WAIT for the new Star Wars movie. Yes, I rejoice at the idea of being reunited with Luke, Leia, Han and Chewie in “Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens,” But beyond that, I’m also curious about which World War II parable we will be privy…
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Did Jewish Ashley Madison Founder Use Website To Cheat?
Noel Biderman, president and founder of extra-marital affair site AshleyMadison — and Jewish grandson of Holocaust survivors — has had multiple affairs himself. Who would have seen that one coming, other than everybody? In the past, Biderman has denied being unfaitful to his wife, maintaining that Ashley Madison was just a business for him. He…
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Distressed Spongebob Squarepants Saved by Jews in Jimmy Kimmel Experiment
Spongebob certainly “dropped on the deck and flopped like a fish” this time. Monday’s episode of ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” Jimmy Kimmel featured the latest clip of “How Long,” a “social experiment” that plays out on the Hollywood sidewalk and times how long it takes for strangers on the street to do odd tasks. This…
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When Every (Jewish) Dog Has Its Day
Jews and dogs haven’t always had the smoothest relationship. As Benjamin Ivry , our canine friends were deemed too noisy, too greedy, too stupid, and too dirty by our Biblical forebears to be considered a suitable pet. And given the routine comparisons of Jews to dogs by everyone from 19th century New Yorkers to the…
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Meet Alice Attal, France’s New Jewish ‘It’ Girl
Have you heard? The — big time. Get ready to see flares, suede, stacked heals, turtlenecks and wrap dresses — and not just in reruns of “Charlie’s Angels.” Too overwhelming? Need some style inspiration? No one, and I mean no one, made the 70s look better than Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin. The French-Jewish singer and his…
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Natalie Portman Thinks Jews Focus Too Much on The Holocaust
Do Jews focus too much on the Holocaust? Natalie Portman thinks so. The actress, who directed and stars in an adaptation of Amos Oz’s autobiography, told The Independent that the Jewish community needs to reassess the Holocaust’s place as the defining event in our, and broader society’s history. “I think a really big question the…
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In Case You Missed It
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Fast Forward Norman Podhoretz, Commentary editor and archetypal Jewish neoconservative, dies at 95
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Opinion I’m a neuroscientist. Here’s why Ahmed al Ahmed’s bravery at Bondi Beach strains our narratives.
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Opinion The Israel news we don’t hear – and the forces that silence us
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Fast Forward Zohran Mamdani visits the Rebbe’s Ohel, increasingly a pilgrimage site for politicians
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