It’s no secret that Jews and Jewish-themed movies have heavily influenced American filmmaking. This year, stalwarts such as Woody Allen and Steven Spielberg have been nominated for Academy Awards, as were the Israeli film “Footnote” and the Polish Holocaust movie “In Darkness.” In addition to celebrated directors, actors and screenwriters, there are plenty of artists…
American audiences have become dulled by the depiction of the Holocaust in Hollywood movies that are increasingly celebrity filled and philosophically bland. But viewers familiar with Agnieszka Holland’s spellbinding and justly acclaimed “Europa Europa,” and her less well-known Oscar nominee, “Angry Harvest,” know that her portrayals of characters and their relationships to each other during…
The 2012 Oscar nominations, announced this morning by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, included nods for Woody Allen, Steven Spielberg, and both Israeli and Polish films. Allen continued his string of recent successes with three nominations for “Midnight in Paris,” which was shortlisted in the Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay…
Oscar nominations won’t be announced for another month, but at least one prediction can already be made with confidence: no Holocaust films will be among this year’s major contenders. That’s both a relief and something of a surprise, given the ubiquity of the genre at recent Oscar ceremonies. Holocaust movies haven’t yielded too many actual…
There are plenty of changes in the works for the 2012 Academy Awards ceremony now that both its producer and host have stepped down amid controversy. Producer Brett Ratner (whose latest film, “Tower Heist,” is currently out in theaters) announced yesterday that he would step down from the Oscars following insensitive remarks he made about…
‘Footnote’ director Joseph Cedar arrives at Cannes Film Festival in May. Courtesy of Getty Images. After sitting out the Academy Awards in February, Israel is hoping for its fourth nomination in five years with “Footnote,” a drama that combines the worlds of academia and Talmudic study. The film won top honors tonight at the Ophirs,…
Sean Penn may play Jewish again. But this time, the role couldn’t be further from his Oscar-winning performance as the late civil-rights pioneer Harvey Milk. The 51-year-old thesp, reports Deadline.com, has been offered the role of notorious L.A. mobster Mickey Cohen in “Gangster Squad,” a crime drama to be directed by Jewish “Zombieland” helmer Ruben…
Jews behind the camera, and one who works in front of it, scored big at last night’s 83rd annual Academy Awards. As widely expected, Israeli-born thesp Natalie Portman nabbed the Best Actress honor for her mad-ballerina shtick in “Black Swan.” Backstage, the with-child Portman told reporters, “[Pregnancy] has sort of been a protection against all…
די דרשה איז אויך לינגוויסטיש אינטערעסאַנט: כאָטש דער רבי רעדט ליטוויש ייִדיש, זאָגט ער אַרויס „פֿרוי“ ווי „פֿרו“.
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