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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David Letterman Exposed Our Mass Psychosis
Sometimes I catch myself muttering, barely audible (I hope): “If you need help, here I am.” Then, a few minutes later, I repeat it. “If you need help, here I am.” “If you need help, here I am” is an idiotic phrase intoned by Renée Zellweger in the movie “Cold Mountain.” In February 2004, David…
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Mystery of ‘Jewish Cardinal’
Jean-Marie Lustiger (Laurent Lucas) in “The Jewish Cardinal” // Film Movement “If you don’t battle your characters, it’s very boring,” said French filmmaker Ilan Duran Cohen. For his latest movie, “The Jewish Cardinal,” he chose as his subject Jean-Marie Lustiger, one of the most divisive figures of Jewish — or should we say Christian? —…
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POEM: ‘Framework’
Old pictures of us on white staircase walls, lined diagonally upward in little wood frames, lecture us on choices we have made since they were taken — we cannot never argue with former selves who weigh less, have more hair, and the gift of youth’s optimism. We can only cover them, as one does mirrors…
The Latest
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Russian Billionaire Books 111 Hotel Rooms for Israel Passover Bash
Roman Abramovich intends to celebrate Passover in style. For the Jewish Russian billionaire, this involves booking 111 hotel rooms in a Negev desert hotel, to celebrate the holidays with friends and family. Quaint. Understated. Intimate. Abramovich is a repeat Passover bash offender. In 2009, he rented an entire floor of the Royal Beach Hotel in…
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Julia Louis-Dreyfus Shuts Down Critics of Rolling Stone Cover
Memo to celebrities: Next time you’re in a media bind, give Julia Louis-Dreyfus a ring-a-ling. The leading lady of comedy, who appeared on the cover of this month’s Rolling Stone in nothing but a back tattoo of the Constitution (a tribute to her role as Vice President Selina Meyers in “Veep”), was called out for…
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Won Over by Ballroom Dance
Israeli-born director Hilla Medalia didn’t exactly jump at the opportunity to direct “Dancing In Jaffa.” Her initial reaction was, “there are already so many films about Palestinian and Israeli kids being brought together.” But then she met Pierre. Ironically, that was my reaction, too: Did we really need another feel-good movie about Arabs and Jews…
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Podcast: The Best Hasidic Composer in Brooklyn
Over the past 200 years, the Modzitzer hasidim have become known for their beautiful melodies, or nigunim. Thousands of them, in fact. Today, 88 year-old Ben Zion Shenker is one of the most prolific, and respected, Modzitzer composers. For his latest album, “Hallel V’zimrah,” he teamed up with klezmer and bluegrass virtuoso Andy Statman. The…
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Watch the Trailer For Zach Braff’s ‘Wish I Was Here’
Jewish indie fans, rejoice! The teaser trailer for Zach Braff’s Kickstarter-funded movie, “Wish I Was Here,” is, well, here. The film tells the story of a father (Braff), who pulls his kids out of Jewish day school after his father (Mandy Patinkin) gets sick and can no longer foot the bill. The movie, reportedly inspired…
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Jewish War Poet Finally Getting His Due
It was the slain generation of warrior-poets who, more than any others, captured the brutality and inhumanity of the First World War and cemented in the English imagination a perception of that conflict as pointless and futile. As wave after wave of men were sent to their deaths at the Somme and comrades drowned in…
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What Would Moses Do? You Decide.
WWMD — What would Moses do? We ask ourselves a lot of questions around Passover. Why not that one? Now, you too can be faced with decisions determining the fate of the entire Jewish people. The Fountainheads, a musical group out of Israel’s Ein Prat Academy for Leadership (a program for post-army or post-academy students)…
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Lena Dunham Celebrates Her Sister in Moving Speech
Lena Dunham gave a moving speech on Monday night, when she was honored by the Point Foundation, an organization devoted to helping LGBTQ students overcome obstacles. Speaking at the New York Public Library, the creator and star of “Girls” thanked her family and her sister, Grace, who came out at age 17. “I have always…
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