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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Stephen Harper Serenades Bibi With ‘Hey Jude’
(JTA) — On his first trip to Israel this week, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper hit all the expected stops for visiting dignitaries. He went to Yad Vashem and the Western Wall, picked up an honorary degree from Tel Aviv University, and laid the cornerstone for a bird sanctuary that will soon bear his name….
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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…
The Latest
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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…
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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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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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