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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Least Influential Jews
We’re heading into the end of the year, so it’s time for GQ’s list of the 25 least influential people of 2012. When it comes to this distinction, the tribe is represented by troubled starlet Amanda Bynes (ranked #2!), Oscars host Billy Crystal, “The Newsroom” writer Aaron Sorkin, and actor Adam Sandler. There are only…
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Books Author Blog: Writing About Writing
Earlier this week, David Ebenbach wrote about what makes a creative process and a short story Jewish. 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 information on the series, please visit: The period immediately after your book comes out…
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Englander’s Inspiration
The Forverts’s Rukhl Schaechter once heard a Yiddish professor complain that his American students knew nothing about Stalin’s execution of 13 Soviet Jews, which took place in August 1952. Even more discouraging, he added, was their “complete lack of interest” in the Yiddish culture that once thrived in the Former Soviet Union. Two days before…
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Movie Monsters’ Jewish Parentage
They don’t look related. But iconic movie monsters like the Mummy, The Wolf Man, Dracula, and Frankenstein’s creature share parentage. Carl Laemmle, a Hungarian-Jewish immigrant, founded what became Universal Studios in 1912; under the aegis of his son, Carl Jr., the studio went on to introduce the most memorable monsters in moviedom. Another Jewish refugee,…
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Bob Saget’s Dirty Humor Book
You may remember Bob Saget as Danny Tanner on “Full House,” but he’s actually not always as clean cut as that. In fact, he has a “dirty humor” book coming out in 2014 showcasing “the full monty of [Saget’s] crazy self.” Who knew that Scarlett Johansson has always aspired to be a weather girl? We…
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Marshall Lewy on ‘California Solo’
“California Solo,” opening November 30, is about Lachlan MacAldonich, a former British rock star who gets caught drunk driving and now faces deportation from the U.S. But the melancholy movie is less of a story than a character study, and Robert Carlyle gives an understated yet captivating performance as MacAldonich. In contrast, 35-year-old Marshall Lewy,…
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Aly Raisman on Dancing With the Stars
Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman and the rest of the Fierce Five gymnastics team appeared on “Dancing With the Stars” in a show of support for Team USA member Shawn Johnson, who is competing with partner Derek Hough. Raisman and the others donned lacy black leotards and flashed big smiles as they took part in…
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Books Author Blog: What Makes a Creative Process Jewish?
Earlier this week, David Ebenbach wrote about what makes a short story Jewish. 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 information on the series, please visit: Is my fiction Jewish? In my last blog post I came to…
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The Erotic Appeal of Israeli Literature
Jean Mattern, who is in charge of purchasing foreign rights for literature at Les éditions Gallimard, is a key player in introducing contemporary Israeli authors to French readers, including Amos Oz, Alona Kimhi, Eshkol Nevo, and Zeruya Shalev. A regular attendee at the Jerusalem International Book Fair, Mattern, who reads Hebrew fluently,, is also a…
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Amy Winehouse Biopic?
Mitch Winehouse, father of late singer Amy Winehouse thinks George Clooney would be the perfect actor to play him in a biopic about his daughter. Some have urged Winehouse, who is trying to make the film happen, to consider Lady Gaga for the role of his daughter, but Winehouse doesn’t think Gaga quite cuts it….
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Coney Island Before and After Sandy
Crossposted From Under the Fig Tree Ever since I first read John Kasson’s “Amusing the Million,” a vividly drawn historical account of Coney Island’s singular appeal as an urban “dreamland,” I’ve had a soft spot for that Brooklyn neighborhood, whose streets are called “Surf,” and “Mermaid,” and “Neptune.” In this, I’m not alone. So, too,…
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