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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Sorry Guys, No Amy Winehouse Hologram Tour
(JTA) — If you thought rumors of a concert tour featuring a hologram version of the late Amy Winehouse seemed too good to be true — or perhaps creepy — you would be correct. Last week, the UK newspaper The Sun reported that billionaire Alki David was planning to use 3-D computer technology plus an orchestra…
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Read Darren Aronofsky’s 7th-Grade ‘Noah’ Poem
“Noah,” the blockbuster biblical adaptation by Darren Aronofsky, just came out in theaters on March 28, but the story has been on the director’s mind for a long time. Aronofsky first said he was planning to make a “Noah” movie in 2007. When it didn’t happen right away, he wrote a graphic novel instead with…
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Remembering Felix Fibich, Yiddish Choreographer-Dancer
Whenever Warsaw-born dancer, choreographer Felix Fibich — who died on March 20, at 96 — and I would meet, we’d discuss Jewish choreography and sometimes end up dancing together. At the June 24, 2002 “Celebration of Stars” 67th anniversary of the Yiddish Artists & Friends Actors Club at Sutton Place Synagogue, club president Cory ‘G’daliah’…
The Latest
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Donald Rumsfeld Gets Interrogated
Academy Award-winning documentarian Errol Morris (“The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons From the Life of Robert S. McNamara”) has most recently turned his Interrotron on former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld for 33 hours of interviews in his new film, “The Unknown Known.” When asked a question Morris’s brain ticks while he stares directly at…
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This Is What Joan Rivers’ Bedroom Looks Like
Joan Rivers is the Queen of Mean. And we love her for it. But for all of her “Fashion Police” style dos and don’ts, the snarky diva made one heck of a decor faux-pas when she designed this particular room. Picture courtesy of Christie’s Images, Ltd. 2014. Yikes. On the off-chance that frothy pink upholstery…
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POEM: ‘On the Machine’
my grandmother did not change my grandfather’s greeting, so his voice ripened my sadness before the tone. I considered how he might find contentment knowing we were checking on the short woman he had left to the heavy warmth of lower Florida, how for the children of Israel, it is customary to leave desperate notes…
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PBS Station Loses Much-Maligned Yiddish Quiz
I may have gone too hard on my bubbe in a blog post last week. As it turns out, she may not have been at fault for my abysmal score on Thirteen-WNET’s Yiddish quiz, created in honor of Simon Schama’s five-part series, “Story of the Jews.” In fact, my poor score may not even have…
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Julianna Margulies Can Really Lay on The ‘Jew Guilt’
What to do when a key player on your hit series has one foot out the door? Invoke your bubbe at her most manipulative. At least that’s the route “The Good Wife” star Julianna Margulies took when trying to convince co-star and friend Josh Charles to stay on the show, Entertainment Weekly reports. Last night…
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Lena Dunham Directed Her Boyfriend’s New Music Video
In “Girls” withdrawal after Sunday’s season finale? Here’s a little something to tide you over: Lena Dunham directed a video to go along with the first single by boyfriend Jack Antonoff’s new band, Bleachers. In “I Wanna Get Better,” Antonoff plays a therapist listening to Hannah Horvath-esque patients talk about their problems (memorable lines include:…
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Filmmaker Made Public Humiliation His Muse
Independent filmmakers can face many discouraging obstacles on the road from concept to screen. But Seth Fisher found a way to make sure he would not abandon his first full length feature along the way: his fear of public humiliation. “As soon as I started writing ‘Blumenthal’ I started a blog called watchmemakeamovie.com,” he said…
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Israel Philharmonic Orchestra Wows With Brahms and Tchaikovsky
In past years the American Friends of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra concert at Carnegie Hall opened with the IPO orchestra on their feet in a rousing rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” followed by “Hatikvah.” At this year’s March 20th concert — a welcome addition was Cantor Azi Schwartz of Park Avenue Synagogue, who led…
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