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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That Time Jonah Hill Fell in Love on a Plane
Jonah Hill may be a two-time Academy Award-nominated actor — how did that even happen? — but that hasn’t helped his love life. On the most recent episode of The Graham Norton Show to promote “The Wolf of Wall Street,” Hill was asked to tell the story about the time he “tried to have sexytime on…
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World War II Through a German Prism
“Generation War” (a hit in Germany as “Our Mothers Our Fathers”) is a must see for those who view World War II /Holocaust films as a kind of cinematic rosary of remembrance. With a Tolstoyan “War & Peace” sweep, its brutal battles as bloody and grim as those in Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan,” it is…
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Jewish Girl Talk With Joan Rivers and Shiri Appleby
Every week, Joan Rivers has a one night stand with the celebrity of her choice. We’re talking, obviously, about “In Bed With Joan,” (what did you have in mind?) Rivers’ online talk show which shows her dishing with fellow entertainers between the sheets. This week, Shiri Appleby (“Roswell,” “Girls,” Chicago Fire”) joined Joan for what…
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Only Jews Could Shock Berlin Like This
Remember New York in the 80’s? Than you can imagine what certain parts of Berlin look like today. Here you can still see entire neighborhoods serving as battlegrounds for graffiti writers and street artists. The graffiti scene always had a strong force in this city. The Berlin Wall was a prominent surface for protest slogans…
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When 10-Year-Old Mayim Bialik Met Cyndi Lauper
Throwback Thursday (#TBT, for those who don’t know) is the perfect time for celebrities show us (carefully chosen) snippets of their past on Twitter and Facebook. This week, Mayim Bialik wins the cool kid contest with a picture showing a 10-year-old (and too adorable for words) Mayim casually hanging with Cyndi Lauper. for #tbt, here’s…
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Michael Oren Joins CNN
Michael Oren, the former Israeli ambassador to the United States, will be a contributor to CNN. “Michael will be joining CNN as a Middle East contributor,” a spokeswoman for Oren told JTA in a statement. Oren, a U.S.-born historian who served as ambassador from 2009 until September, now splits his time between Israel, where he…
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PBS To Air ‘The Story of the Jews’
PBS this spring will air “The Story of the Jews” with Simon Schama, a five-part documentary that examines the impact Jewish culture has made on the world. Schama, an historian and award-winning writer, visits Russia, Ukraine, Egypt, Israel and Spain for the series, which was broadcast last year on the BBC to rave reviews. Along…
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Palestinian Film ‘Omar’ Nominated for an Oscar
(JTA) — The Palestinian film ‘Omar,” directed by Hany Abu-Assad, has just been nominated for an Academy Award in the Foreign Language Film category. It’s the second nomination for Abu-Assad, whose “Paradise Now” was up for the prize in 2005. It’s also the second time a Palestinian film has been nominated, according to Haaretz. “Omar,”…
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Jew and Cardinal Both
Made as a film for the French-German television network, Arté, “The Jewish Cardinal,” screening January 20 at the New York Jewish Film Festival, nevertheless has the scope and sobriety of a feature film. Without much of the bloat of the standard biopic, its focus is the period of French prelate Jean-Marie Aron Lustiger’s elevation through…
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Pamela Anderson’s Israeli Honeymoon
(JTA) — Forget Hawaii! Newly remarried couple Pamela Anderson and Rick Salomon took an El Al flight straight to Israel after exchanging vows on Sunday. According to The Times of Israel, the former “Baywatch” star and her film producer hubby (of Paris Hilton sex tape fame) are staying in a suite at the King David…
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Triumph and Tragedy of First Woman Rabbi
Diana Groó’s “poetic documentary” “Regina,” screening January 15 at the New York Jewish Film Festival, is constructed out of meager visual evidence. There is, after all, only one surviving photo of her subject, the Berlin-born Regina Jonas (1902-1944), who became the first ordained female rabbi. But if necessity is the mother of invention, then Groó’s…
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