20A <strong>Federation</strong> <strong>Star</strong> <strong>January</strong> <strong>2017</strong> <strong>Star</strong>s of David By Nate Bloom, Contributing Columnist Editor’s note: Persons in BOLD CAPS are deemed by Nate Bloom to be Jewish for the purpose of the column. Persons identified as Jewish have at least one Jewish parent and were not raised in a faith other than Judaism – and don’t identify with a faith other than Judaism as an adult. Converts to Judaism, of course, are also identified as Jewish. December Oscar Contenders Many films thought to be Oscar contenders open in December so they are fresh in the minds of Oscar voters when they start voting in <strong>January</strong>. Here are three such “Oscar-worthy” releases that may still be playing near you and have big Jewish connections. Jackie stars NATALIE PORT- MAN, 35, as Jackie Kennedy. It centers on the most dramatic period of Jackie’s life – the time just after the JFK assassination. It’s almost a sure bet that Portman and others connected with the film will be Oscar-nominated. Portman has mastered Jackie’s distinctive voice: a mixture of a New York accent, finishing school diction, and a breathiness that reminds one of Marilyn Monroe. But her performance is far more than the voice. Top critic DAVID EDELSTEIN, 57, says Portman just nails “Jackie’s mix of slyness and shyness.” MAX CASSELLA, 49, co-stars as Jack Valenti, the LBJ aide who clashed with Jackie when she insisted that she would walk in the open streets with JFK’s casket as it was taken to his funeral. The screenplay, by NOAH OP- PENHEIM, 38, has already won awards. Oppenheim has a foot in screenwriting and politics and that’s perfect for this film. A Harvard grad, where he sometimes wrote on Jewish issues for the Harvard Crimson, he went on to produce political talk shows like The Chris Matthews Show and Scarborough Country. Currently, he is senior producer of The Today Show (he’s the guy who fired Billy Bush). Jackie is his first solo screenplay, but he has contributed to the scripts of two recent action films. The romantic musical La La Land has received major kudos from critics. The co-stars, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, were well-cast. They had real romantic chemistry in Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011). When their La La characters meet, he’s a jazz musician working in dives and she’s an aspiring actress/ barista trying to survive. They fall in love, but as they become successful, that success starts tearing them apart. JASON FUCHS, 30, whose father was raised Hasidic, has a smallish supporting role. The film was written and directed by Damian Chazelle, whose best known for his 2014 film Whiplash, which won three Oscars. The main Whiplash character was a young Jewish jazz student. In 2015, Chazelle told the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles that his Catholic parents were dissatisfied with his Christian Sunday school and they sent him, instead, to Hebrew school for four years. About those four years, Chazelle said: “…I was very, very into Hebrew…and then I went with my class to Israel when we were in the sixth grade. I don’t think they even knew I wasn’t Jewish. I was, like, ‘passing.’” Chazelle met JUSTIN HUR- WITZ, 31, the La La Land film composer, at Harvard, and there they formed a nationally successful rock band. Hurwitz wrote 15 songs for La La and some are full production numbers. The lyrics for these songs were JEWISH INTEREST Interested in Your Family’s History? Nate Bloom (see column at left) has become a family history expert in 10 years of doing his celebrity column, and he has expert friends who can help when called on. Most family history experts charge $1,000 or more to do a full family-tree search. However, Bloom knows that most people want to start with a limited search of one family line. So here’s the deal: Write Bloom at nteibloom@aol.com and enclose a phone number. Nate will then contact you about starting a limited search. If that goes well, additional and more extensive searches are possible. The first search fee is no more than $100. No upfront cost. Also, several of this newspaper’s readers have asked Bloom to locate friends and family members from their past, and that’s worked out great for them. So contact him about this as well. written by the team of Justin Paul and BENJ PASEK, 31. Pasek and Paul met at orientation at college and quickly hit it off, despite different backgrounds. Paul’s father is a Protestant minister and Pasek comes from a religious Jewish home. They’ve written several shows together, including the Broadway hit musical version of A Christmas Story. Oscar talk is in the air for the lead actors of Manchester By the Sea and for KENNETH LONERGAN, 55, the film’s director and screenwriter. Joe Chandler and his 16-year-old son, Patrick (Lucas Hedges), live just north of Boston. Joe suddenly dies and his will names his younger brother, Lee (Casey Affleck), as Patrick’s legal guardian. The modest monetary benefits that come with the guardianship persuade Lee to give up his dead-end job and come back home – even though it forces him to deal with a tragic past involving his ex-wife (Michelle Williams), who lives in Manchester. Lonergan, whose mother was Jewish, has plowed this ground before. Most of his works begin with an unexpected event that forces a confrontation between close friends or family members. The confrontation always features dialogue that is smart, sharp and surprisingly funny. Lonergan’s first Broadway success, This is Our Youth (1996), was about three young adult Jewish friends who face a real crisis involving embezzled money, a possible mob hit on one, and the need to quickly raise cash through selling drugs. Still, there’s humor in the play. Likewise, his film You Can Count on Me (2000) was a critical hit about a “half Jewish” brother and sister who work to sort out their relationship after a crisis. PLEASE SUPPORT OUR ADVERTISERS THEY HELP MAKE THE FEDERATION STAR POSSIBLE Sc h o l a r i n r e S i d e n c e We e k e n d with Dr. Stephen Berk <strong>January</strong> 27-29, <strong>2017</strong> at Temple Shalom NO COST RSVP RECOMMENDED 239-455-3030 or ADULTED@NAPLESTEMPLE.ORG FRIDAY, JANUARY 27 7:30pm Lecture following Erev Shabbat services Honoring International Holocaust Memorial Day: Auschwitz Liberated in 1945 The Holocaust Revisited: 71 Years after the Liberation of Auschwitz SATURDAY, JANUARY 28 12:15pm Lunch & Learn Zion & America: The American Jewish Experience 7:30pm Lecture Our People Are Your People: American Jewry and the Struggle for Civil Rights SUNDAY, JANUARY 29 10:00am Lecture Middle East in Crisis DR. STEPHEN BERK is the Henry and Sally Schaffer Professor of Holocaust and Jewish studies at Union College in Schenectady, New York. He is the former Chair of the Department of History, Director of the Program in Russia and East European Studies, and helps advise the Hillel organization at Union. Professor Berk is considered to be superb lecturer and teacher, and he is in high demand as a guest speaker. He is always informative, interesting and entertaining. He is widely known for his expertise on the Holocaust, Russia, the Middle East and a variety of Jewish subjects. Proud partner and exclusive Naples provider of the Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning For more information, contact Dr. Anna Salomon, Director of Congregational Education at (239) 455-2233 Temple Shalom of Naples | 4630 Pine Ridge Road | Naples, Florida 34119 | www.naplestemple.org THIS EVENT MADE POSSIBLE BY THE SHIRLEY AND HENRY KRAUS SCHOLAR IN RESIDENCE FUND
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