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| Wednesday, September 29, 2004 |
Passover pill popping
Thanks to the Protocols blog for bringing to our attention a soon-to-be released movie entitled When Do We Eat? about a family's Passover that gets screwy after the patriarch unknowingly ingests a hit of Ecstasy. Sounds interesting. Could it be the next Hebrew Hammer?
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Where's Mel Brooks when you need him?
The reviews are in ... and they're not so pretty: Val Kilmer is currently starring as Moses in the new Hollywood production of The Ten Commandments with peformances until the end of the month and The Hollywood Reporter is reserved in their enthusiasm: "The epic production starring Val Kilmer at the Kodak Theatre dazzles, but the pop-rock musical score needs divine intervention." Nice.
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| Tuesday, September 28, 2004 |
The curse of the Bambino -- yep, apparently also our fault
 The September 2004 issue of Boston Baseball magazine speaks to the veracity of the claim that virulent anti-Semitism is the cause behind Boston Red Sox's failure to win a World Series since 1918. An interesting hypothesis, but even more interesting is the ego-driven article's author, Glenn Stout, who told the JTA that he donated the monies earned from the article to the Anti-Defamation League. What a self-serving putz.
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| Monday, September 27, 2004 |
Jews run Hollywood
 Buy your tickets now for what has to be the most Jewy movie of the coming year. Jeremy Piven will headline 2005's Lucky 13 where he'll play the dad of a Bar Mitzvah boy trying to fix a strained father-son relationship. The coming of age movie also stars Yada regulars Jamie Gertz, comedian Larry Miller, and -- get this -- pop star Jaron Lowenstein in the role of Cantor Nathan.
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Strip club shanda
Billionaire Benefactor Marc Cuban was seen spending $2,000 on lap dances at a New York strip club. Way to give Judaism a band name. Everybody knows lap dances shouldn't cost that much.
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Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!
NBC is giving all of us an early Chanukah gift -- a primetime special about the show about nothing. Planned for two days after the much-anticipated release of the Seinfeld DVD, NBC will capitalize on the public's thirst for all things Jerry by reuniting the cast for a behind the scenes look into the greatest television show of all time ... Not that there's anything wrong with that.
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What about Bob?
 Newsweek devotes its cover this week to (sometimes) Jewish rocker Bob Dylan to celebrate the release of volume one of his long-anticipated autobiography. They also have an excerpt online in which Dylan discusses his infamous 1983 journey to the Holy Land for his son's bar mitzvah. "I went to Jerusalem, got myself photographed at the Western Wall wearing a skullcap," Dylan writes. "The image was transmitted worldwide instantly and quickly all the great rags changed me overnight into a Zionist. This helped a little."
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Sphinx denies Esther entry
Kabbalah devotee and Yada blog regular Madonna is being told she's not welcome in Egypt. Which, when you think about it, really isnt such a bad thing. since the Bible does have some sort of injunction against Jews visiting Egypt. But, we're sure Madonna's rabbi already told her that.
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| Thursday, September 23, 2004 |
Play or pray
 Los Angeles Dodger and Sandy Koufax wannabe Shawn Green has two games that will conflict with Yom Kippur this weekend and says he will miss at least one of them.
For Hillel's sake, he'd better skip both games. The college Jewish outreach organization presented Green with a Hillel baseball jersey last month. Hillel Board of Directors Chairman Randall Kaplan thanked him at the time for sitting out an important Yom Kippur game in 2001. "You are a role model for students who often have to choose between school, sports and observing Jewish holidays," Kaplan said.
"Hillel will not be reclaiming the jersey if Mr. Green decides to play a game this year," jokes Kaplan. "For all of us, this High Holy Day season is an intensely personal time of self-reflection and choice."
Um, would that be the choice to sacrifice your faith or sacrifice a fly ball?
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Passion platitudes
Buoyed by the phenomenal box office success of The Passion of the Christ, the Hollywood Film Festival will honor Mel Gibson with the Hollywood Producer of the Year Award at an October 18th gala. As the film awards season kicks into high gear over the next few months, could this be a harbinger of other accolades to come?
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A cross to bear
Reuters reports that "a 67-year-old woman was killed when a three-meter tall metal crucifix fell on her head in a small southern Italian town." Sometimes faith hurts.
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Phone jam
Some Mexican churches are using state-of-the-art technology to silence cell phones that ring during mass. Ironic part number one: The technology was invented by an Israeli company. Ironic part number two: The church's phones are now ringing off the hook with other churches who are interested in the device.
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Jesus really is my homeboy
We all knew Pamela Anderson was religious. After all, we reported to you back in November 2003 that she teaches Sunday School. Now comes word that the cultural icon is dating a guy by the name of Jesus. We're not sure if it'll last, but we do know that Mel Gibson is so jealous.
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| Sunday, September 19, 2004 |
From Batman to boychik
In preparation for his role of Moses in the Los Angeles stage production of The Ten Commandments, actor Val Kilmer has been honing up on Judaism -- including celebrating Shabbat and having traditional Friday night dinners. We hope he ultimately converts and joins the tribe because the off-beat actor would make a nice addition to these pages.
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Madonna photos: The Israel collection
 Queen Esther has arrived in the Holy Land and, by the looks of these pictures, has attended a Kabbalah class and visited the tomb of Kabbalist Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag. We're still waiting for the inevitable shot of her kissing the Western Wall.
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| Wednesday, September 15, 2004 |
Madonna likes Quakers, too
From the World Entertainment News Network:
Pop superstar Madonna has waived the exclusion zone she imposed to bar ramblers from land surrounding her English mansion -- to allow Quakers access to an old burial site.
The Kabbalah Centre could not be reached for comment.
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| Monday, September 13, 2004 |
Portman's pad
Stalker alert: Natalie Portman has just bought a one-bedroom apartment in Meier's 165 Charles Street in Manhattan. You're welcome.
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Made in Manhattan?
New York Mayor Bloomberg is hoping that Mel Brooks films the remake of The Producers in the Big Apple. Sure, because all the Law and Orders that film there aren't enough.
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| Thursday, September 09, 2004 |
The un-Passion
Mel Gibson is bringing warm and fuzzy to a TV near you. He's producing and directing Complete Savages, a family sitcom loosely based on his life raising a "gaggle of boys." The show will air as part of ABC's TGIF block -- which basically means Sabbath observant Jews will most likely not get a peak at what MSNBC is calling a show that "often veers into sitcom cliche-land."
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| Tuesday, September 07, 2004 |
Not getting any 'Younger'
Ben Younger, the modern Orthodox writer-director behind Boiler Room, needs to find a new leading lady. Sandra Bullock has just dropped out of his latest project, a romantic comedy, just weeks before filming was set to begin.
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The lost boy
Mazal tov to 80's icon Corey Feldman, 33, and wife Susie, 22, who welcomed their first child, Zen Scott, last month in California. For those of you keeping tabs at home, you'll recall Feldman got married on the finale of the first season of The Surreal Life.
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