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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Kirk Douglas Loves Pope Francis
“I am a Jew who loves the Pope.” So writes Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch) in a column for The Huffington Post’s Religion vertical. The Jewish man who immortalized Spartacus, is apparently a big fan of the new guy ruling over Rome (well, the Vatican). “I have always said, ‘don’t be too religious,’ he adds….
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The Mischievous Life of Marcel Ophüls
The documentary “Ain’t Misbehavin’” — which received its American premiere January 8 at the New York Jewish Film Festival — is a significant change of pace for its director, Marcel Ophüls. Previously, Ophüls has given us magisterial inquiries into 20th century moral outrages, including his pre-eminent “The Sorrow and the Pity,” a disturbing exploration of…
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Man Who Would Buy NY Times Makes Remarks About Jews, ADL Angry
Double “oops” for Chinese recycling tycoon Chen Guangbiao: After an unsuccessful bid to buy The New York Times (not for sale), the business man gave an interview to a Chinese newspaper saying he has an “equally competent IQ and EQ” as Jews. He also added that he is “very good at working with Jews.” (Good…
The Latest
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Hitchcock Holocaust Doc To Be Screened At Last
A Holocaust documentary by Alfred Hitchcock will be screened in theatres and at festivals later this year, and on television in early 2015 to mark the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Europe at the end of World War II. It was not widely known that Hitchcock was enlisted in 1945 by his friend and…
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Praying for Caleb Jacoby at the Kotel
The search for missing 16-year-old Jewish day school student Caleb Jacoby is still underway, with more and more people taking to social media to pray for the teenager’s safe return. Even in faraway Israel, concerned strangers sent out messages of hope and comfort, with some going as far as praying for Caleb’s safe return at…
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Meryl Streep Disses Walt Disney as Anti-Semite
Meryl Streep launched into a 9-minute rant on Walt Disney at National Board of Review dinner in New York on Tuesday. Onstage to introduce Emma Thompson, who stars as “Mary Poppins” creator P.L. Travers in the behind the scenes Disney flick, “Saving Mr. Banks,” the grande dame of Hollywood called out good ol’ Walt —…
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Israeli Apocalypse Rock Breaks Big Stateside
The fuzzy guitars, pulsating bass,and incomprehensible lyrics intrigued me. So I looked up the song that was streaming on KEXP, the Seattle indie-rock station I broadcast at home. The band’s name seemed Finnish or Icelandic, until I realized the words were actually phonetic Hebrew. Vaadat Chirigim, it turns out, is that rarest of musical animals…
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Rolling Stone Writer Pens Lou Reed Biography
The life and times of the late rocker Lou Reed will be detailed in a biography that will be penned by Rolling Stone magazine writer Will Hermes, publisher Farrar, Straus and Giroux said on Wednesday. Reed, the frontman of the 1960s influential band The Velvet Underground, died of liver disease last October at the age…
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Get Ready for Lena Dunham on the Cover of Vogue
(JTA) — Not only is “Girls” coming soon to a small screen near you (that’s Sunday January 12th on HBO, in case you haven’t yet set a phone alert)—it’s also hitting the newsstands (that’s where you can find magazines printed on glossy paper, in case you were born anytime after 1990.) According to Page Six,…
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Carole King Musical Is More Than a Jukebox Show
Somewhere in the universe of critics, a Broadway purist will dismiss “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” as just another jukebox show. But don’t mention that to Jarrod Spector, 32, who portrays Barry Mann: “A jukebox musical is something like ‘Mamma Mia,’ where you take a bunch of songs and make up a story around them….
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Drew Barrymore, Shiksa Wife
Want to add Drew Barrymore to your list of celebrity sightings? Try dropping in on services at New York’s Central Synagogue. In an interview for the February 2014 cover Marie Claire, the actress talks about married life with Jewish hubby Will Kopelman, whose father, Arie Kopelman, was the former head of Chanel. “I try to…
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