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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Why I’m Going to See an ‘Anti-Israel’ Play
A few months ago, thanks in part to The Forward, I became aware of a controversy at Theater J. An organization housed within the Washington DC Jewish Community Center (DCJCC), the theater had announced its 2013-2014 season, which was to include a production of “The Admission” by Israeli playwright Motti Lerner. Key to this play…
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Is Sacha Baron Cohen Heading to Wonderland?
(JTA) — Sacha Baron Cohen is in early talks to join Disney’s “Alice in Wonderland 2,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. If it all goes through, he’ll appear alongside Johnny Depp and Mia Wasikowska, who both starred in the first film as the Mad Hatter and Alice, respectively. The sequel is set to be released…
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Aaron Swartz Story Comes to Sundance
(Reuters) — A year after Internet activist Aaron Swartz committed suicide, a new documentary brings to light the young computer prodigy’s earnest battle to bring online freedom of access to information for everyone. “The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on Monday and director Brian Knappenberger was…
The Latest
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Sarah Silverman Hangs With Jesus — And Talks Women’s Rights
Guess who Sarah Silverman hung out with last night? A nice Jewish boy named Jesus Christ. Yes, that Jesus. It seems that Jesus is a little upset about how his name is being used in the national discussion about women’s reproductive rights (or “intolerance and oppression,” as Silverman puts it), and wants Sarah to spread…
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Guru of the Sexual Revolution
In “The Strange Case of Wilhelm Reich,” shown recently at the New York Jewish Film Festival, Austrian writer and director Antonin Svoboda presents us with a sobering but odd theatrical feature about the controversial analyst and sex philosopher Wilhelm Reich. Reich, a Jewish refugee from Nazism who came to the United States in 1939, had…
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Zach Braff and ‘Alaskan Mohel Chic’
(JTA) — “Wish I Was Here,” Zach Braff’s Kickstarter-funded film, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival Saturday night. Fans eagerly awaiting the “Garden State” follow up—especially the 46,520 who helped pay for it to be made—will be glad to know it was warmly received. The screening ended with a standing ovation, certain critics had nice…
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Books B.J. Novak Is Writing a Children’s Book
All that dancing around to “Let’s Go Fly a Kite” in “Saving Mr. Banks” seems to have given B.J. Novak a taste for children’s literature. The Jewish actor and TV writer, who plays composer/lyricist Bob Sherman in the movie about the making of “Mary Poppins,” has signed with Penguin Young Readers Group to do a…
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Remembering Molly Picon, Yiddish Cinderella
A sparkling gem of the New York Jewish Film Festival is the U.S. premiere of the restored Joseph Green-Konrad Tom’s 1938 Yiddish film “Mamele.” Starring Molly Picon, the 5-foot-tall, 100 lb. phenom of Yiddish stage and screen, the film is set in Poland’s textile hub of Lodz, but was shot in just six weeks on…
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Drake’s ‘SNL’ Bar Mitzvah
Drake hosted “Saturday Night Live” this week — and it was pretty great. In his opening monologue, the Jewish Canadian rapper harkened back to his bar mitzvah from 1999, focusing (successfully) on having a Jewish mother and a black father. SNL cast member Vanessa Bayer (known for her role in the original and recurring Bar…
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‘Seinfeld’ Reunion or Super Bowl Ad?
The Internet almost exploded last week when someone snapped a picture of Jerry Seinfeld and Jason Alexander walking into Tom’s Restaurant, the inspiration for “Seinfeld“‘s Monk’s diner. As expected, the rumor mill started running at warp speed: Was it a promo stunt for “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee”? Were just they craving a Big Salad?…
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For Some Characters, Communism Is Never Over
A tale of adult children discovering the romantic mysteries of their parents’ past hardly presents new thematic territory. These discoveries are made after death thanks to the documentary evidence a parent leaves behind: letters, photographs, school reports, and war-related transcripts. Don’t a son and daughter in a sleepy farming community discover their mother’s hot and…
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News That whites-only, no Jews allowed Arkansas community is legal, says state’s attorney general. How?
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Film & TV How Jon Stewart evolved on Israel — at least on ‘The Daily Show’
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Opinion I have the answer to Jon Stewart’s toughest question about Israel
In Case You Missed It
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Antisemitism Decoded How Trump is banning DEI at universities — except for Jews
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Fast Forward Trump fired a commissioner over bad jobs numbers. Nixon targeted a ‘Jewish cabal’ at the same agency
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Looking Forward That time my violin teacher tried to convert me to Christianity
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Fast Forward UK’s largest Jewish group calls Israeli aid to Gaza ‘long overdue,’ months after disciplining members for criticizing Israel
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