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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24 Top Power Couples: Jewish Edition
They have power. They have charm. They have longterm commitment. And some of them are annoying. With the understanding that we are merely scratching the surface, here they are, in no particular order: the power couples of Judaism. The A-Listers: Diane von Fürstenberg and Barry Diller Status: Married (2001) Him: A business brainiac who has…
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‘Frozen II’ Is Finally Happening — Here’s The First Look At The ‘Epic’ Sequel
Born of cold and winter air And mountain rain combining This icy force both foul and fair Has a frozen heart worth mining! So cut through the red tape, negotiate well Get Idina Menzel and Kristin Bell There’s piles of cash in tickets to sell Split the frames apart! Give ‘Frozen II’ a start. Yes,…
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Sarah Silverman Says As The Only Jewish Kid At School She Felt Like a ‘Hairy Monkey’
(JTA) — “I was the hairy Jewish monkey in a sea of blond kids.” That’s not Seth Rogen or Jonah Hill — it’s Sarah Silverman talking about her upbringing in Bedford, New Hampshire, on an upcoming episode of “Finding Your Roots,” the celebrity genealogy show on PBS. Bedford, the comedian explains, was not exactly a…
The Latest
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CBS Fired Les Moonves, Citing Sexual Misconduct. Now He’s Back In Business.
Les Moonves presided over CBS for decades, breathing into existence shows like “Friends,” “Survivor,” and “The Big Bang Theory.” Under his leadership, CBS was the most-watched network in America for 10 years. In September 2018, Moonves resigned from CBS, following over a dozen accusations of sexual misconduct, which a later independent investigation found credible. Now,…
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Mass Die-In To Protest The OxyContin Sackler Family By Nan Goldin At The Guggenheim
If you were at the Guggenheim Museum on Saturday you could have caught a free new exhibit, created by Jewish artist Nan Goldin and her group “PAIN” (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now.) Around 6:30pm, flurries of fake scripts fell from the ceiling of the iconic building, proscribing Solomon R. Guggenheim 80 mg of OcyContin, to be…
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The ‘Wicked’ Musical Movie Adaptation Is Finally Happening
Something has changed within me. What is this feeling, so sudden and new? The smash Broadway musical “Wicked” is finally, finally going to be a big-budget Hollywood movie, produced by Universal pictures for December 2021. Thank goodness! When “Wicked,” the untold story of the Wicked Witch of the West (and all that happened before “Dorothy…
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Going To Synagogue Makes You Happier, Pew Study Finds
A Pew study has good news for Jews in pews and dues-paying Hebrews — going to synagogue, or regularly engaging with any religious community, really does make you happier. New analysis from the Pew Research Center found that “regular participation in a religious community” was linked to greater happiness for people in the US and…
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Amazon Doesn’t Want To Make Woody Allen’s Films. So He’s Suing Them.
Woody Allen is confused. In late August 2017, Amazon Studios acquired exclusive rights to the next four movies made by Woody Allen. Amazon Studio head Roy Price told Allen that he wanted the studio to be his home for the rest of his career. Now, Amazon Studios doesn’t want to make any more of Allen’s…
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BAFTA Takes Bryan Singer’s Name Off ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ Nomination
“Bohemian Rhapsody” may win a BAFTA, but it looks like the film’s director, Bryan Singer, won’t. The BBC reports that Singer’s nomination has been suspended from the Queen biopic’s bid for Outstanding British Film. The decision is due in part to allegations, including an expose from The Atlantic, of sexual misconduct and statutory rape. Singer…
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The New Falafel Emoji Is…Not Good.
It is an ongoing debate among US leaders — should the United States be the world’s policemen? And so, too, we find ourselves wondering — should the Forward be the emoji Jew-ish food police people? We find ourselves at it again, obligated to observe that the new designs for the falafel emoji look like soot-covered…
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Why Is Ezra Miller, A White Actor, Starring As ‘Sakachiku Shizuto’ In ‘The Mourner’?
Note: This article has been updated to reflect comments made by by the screenwriter. In Japanese writer Arata Tendo’s novel “The Mourner,” a young man named Sakachiku Shizuto commits to traveling Japan, mourning for those who have no one else to mourn for them. The novel, which won the prestigious Japanese Naoki Prize in 2008,…
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Fast Forward Why the Antisemitism Awareness Act now has a religious liberty clause to protect ‘Jews killed Jesus’ statements
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Culture Trump wants to honor Hannah Arendt in a ‘Garden of American Heroes.’ Is this a joke?
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Fast Forward The invitation said, ‘No Jews.’ The response from campus officials, at least, was real.
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Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
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Fast Forward Reconstructionist leader to step down as head of movement riven by tension over anti-Zionism
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Culture Alfred Dreyfus was not the man you think he was — and the history of Jews in France is a little different too
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Yiddish World This synagogue ‘gets’ why you need Yiddish on Yom Hashoah
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Culture A subreddit notorious for Holocaust denial is back online — now as a memorial
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