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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Books
The Mystery of the Hebrew Detective
D. A. Mishani is an Israeli crime writer, editor, and literary scholar, specializing in the history of detective fiction. His first detective novel, “The Missing File,” was published in by Harper. His blog posts are featured on The Arty Semite courtesy of the Jewish Book Council and My Jewish Learning’s Author Blog Series. For more…
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Bar Refaeli Will Host Israel’s "X Factor"
Move over, Simon Cowell. Israeli model Bar Refaeli is confirmed to host the upcoming show of Israel’s “The X Factor,” according to the Hollywood Reporter. Following a giant success of the Israeli version of “The Voice,” Israel’s Channel 2 bought the rights last year for the FremantleMedia format and the show will debut this fall….
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‘Hitler’ Teapot Turns Heads on Billboard
A billboard promoting a teapot sold at JC Penny has been causing quite the stir online after people began noticing it had a remarkable resemblance to Adolf Hitler. The billboard, displayed on the 405 near Culver City, California, showed a teapot designed by Michael Graves, and its top looks exactly like Hitler’s mustache, while its…
The Latest
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Is Scarlett Johansson the New Hillary Clinton?
Scarlet Johansson might channel a young Hillary Clinton, pants suits and all. The Jewish actress has been listed as one of the potential stars to play the former US Secretary of State in a new biopic about Clinton’s life according to the Independent. The film, titled “Rodham,” is due out in 2016 just ahead of…
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Books Rutu Modan’s Secrets and Revelations
The Property By Rutu Modan, translated by Jessica Cohen Drawn & Quarterly, 232 pages, $24.95 The past takes many forms in Rutu Modan’s graphic novel “The Property.” There is Regina, an elderly woman returning to Poland from Israel for the first time in over 60 years; overzealous re-enactors encountered by her granddaughter Mica on the…
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There Will Be No Second ‘Lebowski’
Jeff Bridges, with his new “The Dude and the Zen Master” book, may be having a hard time saying goodbye to his “Big Lebowski” alter-ego. But that is not at all the case with the Coen brothers, who recently said quite definitively that there would be no sequel to the 1998 cult classic, whose popularity…
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First Israeli Exhibit at the Louvre
Perhaps the Mona Lisa is smiling about the fact that for the first time, an Israeli exhibition is on view at the Louvre in Paris. Visitors to the museum between now and mid-August will be able to see a 1,700 year-old mosaic floor that is believed by antiquities experts to have been part of a…
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Books Assimilation and Romanticizing the Past
Earlier this week, Joanna Hershon wrote about an insult and a memorial service she attended for a friend’s father. Her new novel, A Dual Inheritance, was published earlier this month by Ballantine Books. Her blog posts are featured on The Arty Semite courtesy of the Jewish Book Council and My Jewish Learning’s Author Blog Series….
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Adrien Brody Narrates New PETA Video
Academy Award winning actor Adrien Brody is the voice of a new PETA video ad, narrating a PSA that walks viewers through the life of apes that are used for entertainment purposes. Brody teamed up with PETA to make the film to promote the cease of using animals in film production. “The Great Ape; he’s…
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Elizabeth Taylor’s Wedding Dress Is Up for Auction
The wedding dress worn by film star Elizabeth Taylor for her first marriage to hotel heir Conrad Hilton in 1950 will go up for sale next month, auction house Christie’s said on Friday. The simple, but elegant garment created by Hollywood costume designer Helen Rose for the then 18-year-old Taylor is an oyster shell-coloured, floor-length…
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Amanda Bynes Arrested on Pot Charges
In today’s update of Amanda Bynes news, the child star was arrested last night on pot charges and tossing a bong out of her window, NBC reports. Sources say the doorman of her building on West 47th Street in New York City called the police after witnessing Bynes smoking marijuana in her lobby. Officers arrived…
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