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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First Taste of the James Franco Roast
No doubt about it, James Franco deserves to be roasted. Just trying to settle on a descriptive adjective to qualify his career is parody enough: actor? director? writer? poet? perpetual student? And do we even need to mention his Oscar hosting performance? The friends and co-stars chosen to speak at the filming of the “Comedy…
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Avi Hoffman Is Still Too Jewish, Again
Just a few minutes into his performance, the screen behind Avi Hoffman lights up with an image of him as an 8-year-old with peyes. Not just any 8-year-old with peyes, mind you. He’s Tevye in a local production of “Fiddler on the Roof,” a performance his mom taped for posterity — perhaps anticipating this very…
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Israeli Series ‘Irreversible’ Making Its Way to ABC
Another Israeli series will likely make its way to American television. In fact, Deadline Hollywood reports that “Irreversible,” based the Reshet TV show “Bilti Hafich,” is almost guaranteed a spot on ABC. The network gave the okay to Sony TV and Peter Tolan (“Rescue Me,” “Analyze This”) for a pilot and agreed to a seven-figure…
The Latest
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Harry Styles Isn’t Jewish
The verdict is in on Harry Styles — by way of his dad. As Jewcy pointed out, Des Styles, “Gemma & Harry Styles’ dad. Sales and Marketing Director for Quickdox. Man Utd fan,” as described in his Twitter bio, has confirmed that his son — and One Direction heartthrob — is not Jewish. “Not at all.” Still…
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Anat Cohen: Hot at 54 Below
Israel-born clarinetist assoluta Anat Cohen accompanied by the Choro Aventuroso ensemble — Victor Goncalves accordion, Cesar Garabini on a 7-string guitar and Serginho on the Pandeiro, a large tambourine producing sounds I’d never heard — dazzled the August 22 crowd at Broadway’s 54 Below Club. Cohen — voted “clarinetist of the year” seven years in…
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Get Your Sukkah on TV
New York Public Television wants to celebrate the Holidays with you. Or, more accurately, it wants you to celebrate the Holidays with them The station is preparing a documentary, “Sacred,” it hopes will be a portrait of a year in the spiritual and religious life on earth. To accomplish that mission, it is crowdsourcing —…
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How Much Does Jon Stewart Earn? A Lot
TV Guide Magazine’s annual survey of star salaries is out and one thing is clear — Jon Stewart’s high ratings translate into dollars. According to the survey, Stewart tops the late night bracket, earning between $25 and $30 million a year. In previous years, Jay Leno and David Letterman had monopoly over the honor —…
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$5M and Bob Dylan’s Hair
If you’ve ever watched MTV Cribs, you know that all musicians like to show off their odd rock memorabilia — but Black Keys singer Dan Auerbach just parted with what could be the weirdest one yet. According to court documents obtained by TMZ, Auerbach’s divorce settlement includes giving his ex-wife a cool $5 million —…
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Larry David by Another Name Is Just as Obnoxious
It’s hard to tell sometimes whether Larry David is experimental or just lazy. Consider all of those characters playing themselves, or some version of themselves, on “Curb Your Enthusiasm”: Richard Lewis, Wanda Sykes, Larry David himself. Is that a bold blending of reality and fiction or is it all he’s got to work with? David’s…
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Beatles Promoter Sid Bernstein Dies at 95
Music promoter Sid Bernstein, who worked with legends from Judy Garland to Jimi Hendrix and orchestrated the Beatles’ historic concert in New York’s Shea Stadium in 1965, died on Wednesday aged 95. Bernstein, an agent and manager who according to his friend, publicist Merle Frimark, died in New York, worked with some of the biggest…
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Mandy Patinkin Goes Back to the Well
Mandy Patinkin isn’t just having a moment — he’s having a moment, still. That mostly has to do with his role as CIA director Saul Berenson on the hit Showtime series “Homeland,” based on the Israeli show “Hatufim” (“Prisoners of War”). In 2012 the series won a Golden Globe for Best Television Show, and Patinkin…
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