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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Fighting Aaron Swartz’s War
It’s been said that the Internet both defined and was defined by Aaron Swartz. He co-founded Reddit and co-invented RSS, but it was his fight for free speech and open access to information that was both his legacy and his downfall. Swartz used Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) computers to hack into JSTOR, the academic…
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Calvary Hospital Boasts A Rescued World War II Torah
“Most men need one woman to keep ‘em straight — I need four — and these are all nurses, Dr. Mark Kris, an honoree at the 31st Annual Calvary Hospital Gala, told the 400 black tie guests at The Pierre. The lead physician at Memorial Sloan Kettering — IBM Watson Collaboration Attending Physician Memorial Hospital,…
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David Ives Tells Truths About Roman Polanski
Playwright David Ives got a telephone message from Roman Polanski: “I love your play and want to turn it into a movie.” The two didn’t know each other. Imagine getting a voicemail like that. It would be an oversimplification to say Roman Polanski’s “Venus in Fur” is about sadomasochism, but technically it is. It’s about…
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Gary Oldman Bashes ‘Hypocrites’ Who Shun Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson has finally found someone willing to stand up for him. In an interview with Playboy magazine promoting his role in “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” actor Gary Oldman donned his defender-of-pariah-celebrities cape, labeling the climate of political correctness in Hollywood as “crap.” I don’t know about Mel. He got drunk and…
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Meet the 3 Jews Who Made ‘The Lion King’ Possible
Ready to feel old? “The Lion King” turns 20 (almost legal!) today. On June 24, 1994, one of the most successful animated features ever entered theaters. In honor of the much-loved Disney classic, we recognize the Jews who made “The Lion King” possible. 1) Matthew Broderick: Voice of Adult Simba Probably most well known for…
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‘Tyrant’ Is Brutal, But Not Anti-Arab
“Tyrant” is a new series made possible by the combination of a network willing to take chances with a producer/writer/director who understands the Middle East and international intrigue. The network is FX, which long ago decided that an audience for intelligent TV existed, and you didn’t need Kardashians to goose ratings. There followed a series…
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Watch Daniel Radcliffe Sort Celebrities Into Hogwarts Houses
Harry Potter, meet Hollywood. In this most adorable of clips, Daniel Radcliffe sorts celebrities, including — Meryl Streep, Barack Obama, Emma Stone, Miley Cyrus, Ryan Gosling, and Beyoncé — into the four Hogwarts houses (in case you’re one of those who didn’t read the books or see the movies, they are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin)….
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Israeli Actress Moran Atias Talks ‘Third Person’ and ‘Tyrant’
“Third Person,” written and directed by Paul Haggis (“Million Dollar Baby,” “Crash”), tells three love stories about passion, trust and betrayal. “In any relationship,” Haggis said, “there is always a third person present in some form.” Israeli actress Moran Atias, who starred in the TV series “Crash,” pitched the idea of a multi-plotline film about…
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Kim Jong-Un Officially Condemns James Franco and Seth Rogen
Seth Rogen and James Franco are wanted men. But this time, the pair aren’t on the run from scary-but-somewhat-lovable pot dealers a la “Pineapple Express.” Apparently, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has taken offense to the plot of the Jewish comedy duo’s new movie. Since “The Interview” basically sees Rogen and Franco as a television…
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‘Making Stalin Laugh’ Finds Humor in Tragedy
Photo: Simon Annand/JW3 The second act of David Schneider’s new play, “Making Stalin Laugh,” opens in 1935, the year the Moscow State Yiddish Theater decided to mount a production of “King Lear” with its legendary director Solomon Mikhoels as the lead. Lear, Mikhoels tells the cast as the party apparatchiki watch over his rehearsal, is…
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Is the U.S. Getting Better at Soccer?
Getty Images As Team USA carries the hopes of the English-speaking world in Brazil, inquiring minds are wondering why England is so perennially terrible at the sport it invented (and let’s not get started on cricket). It is a question that was surprisingly well answered in 2009, along with the corollary question about how America…
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In Case You Missed It
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Sports The Jewish Sport Report: After a thrilling World Series, a historic Jewish MLB offseason is on-deck
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Fast Forward Argentina’s Javier Milei selects Jewish ambassador to replace foreign minister he fired
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Culture ‘A Real Pain’ is Jesse Eisenberg’s love letter to Poland, the country his family left under duress
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News When colleges shut down their ‘Gaza solidarity sukkahs,’ they prompted debates over anti-Zionist Jewish observance
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